(NSF 07-540) National Science Foundation Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship Program (IGERT)

WHO: Texas A&M University faculty, including TAES, TEES and TTI personnel.

WHY: Awards will be made in amounts up to $600,000 per year for five years.

WHEN: Internal proposal deadline of February 5, 2007.

HOW: Faculty should submit internal proposal to OSP for review by the internal selection committee.

THE FINE PRINT:

The funding agency below has limited the number of preliminary proposals submitted by an institution to four. If the number of faculty wishing to submit a preliminary proposal exceeds the number allowed by the agency, we will conduct an internal selection process. Below are due dates for the program, including the due date of the internal proposal for review by the internal selection committee, the date for announcement of the internal selection and the due date for submission of a preliminary proposal to the agency.

AGENCY: National Science Foundation (NSF)

AGENCY PROGRAM TITLE: NSF 07-540 Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship Program (IGERT)

BRIEF PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: The IGERT Program is intended to catalyze a cultural change in graduate education for students, faculty and institutions by establishing innovative models for graduate education and training for collaborative research that transcends traditional disciplinary boundaries.

Proposals must be integrative, research-based, graduate education and training activities in emerging areas of science and engineering. The IGERT project should provide students with experience relevant to both academic and nonacademic careers, and may involve activities such as internships and mentoring in industrial, national laboratory, academic or other settings.

Also, IGERT projects are expected to integrate the following features: a comprehensive interdisciplinary theme appropriate for doctoral-level research; integration of interdisciplinary research with innovative graduate education; an environment that exposes students to a broad base of state-of-the-art research instruments, equipment, educational tools and methodologies; career development opportunities; program strategy and plan for recruitment, mentoring, retention and graduation of U. S. graduate students; strategy and methodology for formative assessments of the project’s effectiveness; administrative plan and organizational structure that ensures effective management of the project resources; plan for dissemination of innovative graduate education activities both within and outside the institution; and institutional commitment to facilitating and furthering the plans and goals of the IGERT project.

More information can be found here.

ELIGIBLE PROJECT COSTS: Indirect Cost (F&A) Limitations: Limited to 8% of total direct costs, excluding equipment and cost-of-education allowances, but not excluding participant support.

COST SHARING: NONE.

Internal Selection Procedures and Deadlines

January 19, 2007: The Office of Proposal Development will be giving an informational meeting for faculty interested in preparing an IGERT preliminary proposal on Friday January 19, 2007 from 9:30 to 11:00 in the Jack Williams Administration Building, Room 302. All interested faculty are welcome to attend. If you have questions about this informational meeting, please contact Libby Childress via email.

February 2, 2007: Deadline for an email of intent, including the names of the PI and co-PIs, title of internal proposal and a 1-3 sentence description of the project. Send email of intent to OSP. This will allow us time to identify internal review committee members, if necessary.

February 5, 2007: Deadline to obtain signatures of approval from your department head and college dean to submit an internal proposal to the Office of Sponsored Projects for review by the internal selection committee. The internal proposal should include:

• An executive summary, up to three pages, based on the proposal description as outlined in the NSF program announcement;
• Tentative budget;
• Project and Management Plans (including team members)

If your proposal is a resubmission, you may include a summary of the reviews from the last submission.

The form for completing the internal proposal is here.

This completed form should be submitted electronically (via email) for review by the internal selection committee.

Please read the RFP carefully for specific requirements of the program here.

Selection of a proposal will be based on NSF guidelines. Meeting the needs of the university’s reinvestment plan will also be taken into account.

During the selection process, the internal selection committee may contact departments and colleges for their opinions and commitments. They may also request additional information from PIs.

February 16, 2007: The Internal Selection Committee will notify PIs of the result of the internal competition.

April 5, 2007 : Deadline for preliminary proposal: (due by 5 p.m. proposer’s local time). Full proposals are by invitation only.

October 5, 2007: Deadline for full proposals, by invitation only: (due by 5 p.m. proposer’s local time). Institutions are restricted to a maximum of three single-institution full proposals.