1. NSF CAREER TTVN Seminar February 3, 2009
VPR Office of Proposal Development
Lucy Deckard
TEES Office of Strategic Research Development
Laurie Garton

2. For an electronic version of this presentation
For More Info
Go to
click “Seminar Materials”, then “Seminars by Date” and look for this seminar (first link)
Faculty in Engineering: go to and click on “Workshops“
For an electronic version of this presentation
For additional resource materials

3. CAREER Seminar Schedule
Presentations (50 min.):
NSF and CAREER overview – Lucy Deckard
Preparing a competitive CAREER proposal – Laurie Garton
Eugene Billiot (Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi) CAREER and PECASE Awardee and Reviewer – discussion and Q&A (45 min)
Q & A

4. Advance frontiers of knowledge
NSF Strategic Goals,
Discovery
Advance frontiers of knowledge
Emphasize areas of greatest opportunity and potential benefit
Establish nation as global leader in transforming science and education
Learning
Cultivate a world-class, broadly inclusive S&E workforce
Expand scientific literacy of all citizens

5. NSF Strategic Goals (cont’d)
Research Infrastructure
Build nation’s research capability through investments in advanced instrumentation, facilities, cyberinfrastructure and experimental tools
Stewardship
Support excellence in science and engineering research and education through a capable and responsive organization

6. Divided into directorates:
NSF Structure
Divided into directorates:
Biological Sciences (BIO)
Computer and Information Science and Eng (CISE)
Education and Human Resources (EHR)
Engineering (ENG)
Geosciences (GEO)
Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS)
Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE)
Office of Polar Programs (OPP)
Each directorate divided into divisions and programs
See for description of programs

7. Each directorate has its own culture and priorities
NSF Culture
Each directorate has its own culture and priorities
Get to know the directorates and divisions that could fund your work
Read web site – goals, priorities of directorate, division, programs
Get to know program directors
Use funded programs data base to find out what has been funded recently -
Volunteer to serve as reviewer

8. NSF CAREER Program Duration: 5 years
Funding level: “minimum” $400K total (except min. $500K total for BIO directorate)
Eligibility:
Have a PhD
Untenured, holding tenure-track Asst. Prof. position or equivalent
Have not competed in CAREER more than two times previously
Have not won a CAREER award
Due: July 21 – 23 depending on directorate
NSF CAREER page:
Solicitation:

9. Submit CAREER to specific disciplinary program
Except for special interdisciplinary proposals
Be sure you’re submitting to the right program!

10. In 2007 NSF CAREER Statistics ~2600 proposals submitted
458 awards made (18%)
Success rate NSF-wide typically 15% - 23%; varies by directorate
But remember you have three tries
About 20% of awards go to non-research-intensive institutions (“judge research in context of organization”)

11. Success Rates for CAREERs 2006
Directorate Submitted Awarded %
ENG %
MPS %
CISE %
BIO %
GEO %
EHR %
SBE %

12. Success Rate for New Investigators: CAREER Compared to Other Awards
(From presentation at Fall 2007 NSF Regional Grants Conference; Year not Specified)

13. Key Points for CAREER
Career Development Plan to “build a firm foundation for a lifetime of integrated contributions to research and education”
Where is your field going over the next 20 years?
What will help you become established at national level?
Establish that you have the experience and resources to accomplish what you propose

14. Career development plan must have two major components:
Key Points for CAREER
Career development plan must have two major components:
Research plan
Integrated education plan
Plus
Description of how research and education are integrated with each other
Results of Previous NSF support, if applicable

15. Review Criteria
Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts weighted equally
Must show you have the skills to carry out the project
Support from your department is critical
State benefits of your research clearly
Be sure to emphasize integration of education and research

16. “Strengths of Successful Proposals
Novel or high-impact research focus
Innovative research plan
Education plan is well-developed, integrated with research and includes some consideration of evaluating its success
Education plan goes beyond routine course development expected of all assistant professors”
Quoted from J. Tornow presentation at QEM Workshop

17. “Weaknesses of Unsuccessful CAREER Proposals
Research is either too ambitious or too narrowly focused
Proposed methods do not address the stated research goals
Educational component is either limited to routine courses or is unrealistically overambitious
Integration of research and education is weak or uninspired”
Quoted from J. Tornow presentation at QEM Workshop

18. Planning and preparing a CAREER proposal
Step by Step

19. Coming up with a Research Idea
What do you want to do?
Does it address important questions in your field?
Is it novel and cutting-edge?
Do you have the background and resources to accomplish your goals?
If you are moving into a new but related area, be sure you discuss collaborations with researchers who will fill any gaps
Will it contribute to your career goals?
Will it contribute to your department’s goals?
Important: Talk to your department head and research departmental goals!

20. Next Step – Strategic Info Gathering
Determine which NSF program to submit your proposal to.
Extremely important! Submitting to wrong program can doom good proposal.
Do this by ing or calling program director.
Have a paragraph summary of your proposed research prepared.
Use NSF web site
Search awarded CAREER projects in directorate
Check program goals
Talk to senior researchers in the area: where are they funded?