Category Archives: Multidisciplinary

NIJ New Solicitation: Research and Evaluation of Domestic Terrorism Prevention

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The National Institute of Justice recently published a solicitation that supports research and evaluation of domestic terrorism prevention. The solicitation, “…seeks to build knowledge and evidence related to strategies for effective prevention of terrorism in the United States.”

Areas of specific research interest to NIJ include:

  • Evaluations of programs and practices to prevent terrorism
  • Research to inform terrorism prevention efforts
  • Research on the reintegration of offenders to the community

Funded projects will apply an approach that engages researchers and practitioners in an active partnership to develop more effective solutions to specific problems, and to produce lessons and strategies that may be adapted to help other localities with similar problems.

All applications are due by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on April 1, 2020.

NIH Notice of Intent to Publish a Funding Opportunity Announcement for Accelerating the Pace of Drug Abuse Research Using Existing Data (R01 Clinical Trial Optional)

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Notice Number: NOT-DA-19-035

Key Dates

  • Release Date: July 17, 2019
  • Estimated Publication Date of Funding Opportunity Announcement: September 08, 2019
  • First Estimated Application Due Date: October 05, 2019
  • Earliest Estimated Award Date: February 01, 2020
  • Earliest Estimated Start Date: February 01, 2020

Related Announcements: PAR-18-062

Purpose

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) intends to reissue PAR-18-062 “Accelerating the Pace of Drug Abuse Research Using Existing Data (R01 Clinical Trial Optional)” to solicit applications proposing innovative analysis of existing social science, behavioral, administrative, and neuroimaging data to study the etiology and epidemiology of substance using behaviors (defined as alcohol, tobacco, prescription and other substances) and related disorders, prevention of substance use and HIV, and health service utilization.

This Notice is being provided to allow potential applicants sufficient time to develop meaningful collaborations and responsive projects.

The FOA is expected to be published in September 2019 with an expected application due date in October 2019.

This FOA will utilize the R01 activity code.

Details of the planned FOA are provided below.

Research Initiative Details

This Notice encourages investigators to submit innovative analyses of extant data, including new aims that are being addressed with existing data, new or advanced methods of analyses, or novel combination and integration of datasets to allow the exploration of new questions.

Strongly encouraged is the application of innovative methods or techniques from other disciplines that are novel to substance use and disorder research, such as utilization of systems science methodologies (e.g., agent based modeling, system dynamics modeling, network analysis) or geographic information systems (GIS). Use of multiple sources of data towards predicting substance use behaviors and solutions is also encouraged.

Grants under this announcement are not intended as a means to carry out currently ongoing data analysis, for the maintenance and distribution of data sets, or to analyze banked biospecimens for which data are not already available. Proposed research should be distinct from the aims and methods of the primary research under which the data were collected. For example, datasets collected for other purposes might be reanalyzed to address issues of health disparities and subgroup differences in the trajectories of substance use, prevention outcomes, and treatment utilization and outcomes including morbidity and mortality. Research using extant data that analyzes effects or outcomes that were not previously examined in the original scope of research is a priority for this announcement.

National Science Foundation (NSF) and Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) Collaborative Research Opportunity in Smart and Connected Communities

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The US National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) have signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) on Research Cooperation. The MOC provides an overarching framework to encourage collaboration between the US and Japanese research communities. NSF and JST are pleased to announce a collaborative research opportunity aligned with the goals of the NSF Smart and Connected Communities (S&CC) Program.

Complementary expertise and resources in the US and Japan enable research in areas which are fundamental to smart and connected community solutions. Specific areas include, but are not limited to, disaster response and emergency management, precision agriculture, cybersecurity of the electric grid and Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices, and wired and wireless networking.

Proposals are expected to adhere to the solicitation guidelines for the NSF and JST programs from which the funding is sought and must represent an integrated, well-coordinated collaborative effort. This document provides guidelines for the preparation, submission, review, and award of NSF-JST collaborative proposals. Proposers are advised that all documents submitted to NSF or JST may be shared with the other agency in order to implement the two-way agency activities

NSF Solicitation – Smart and Connected Communities, NSF 19-564. Eligible award category: Planning Grants.

NSF Deadline: September 6, 2019

JST Solicitation – Japan (JST) – US (NSF) Joint Research 2019. Deadline: September 8, 2019.

Additional information can be found in the NSF Dear Colleague letter about the joint NSF – JST Collaborative Research Opportunity. 

Science & Technology Highlights in the First Year of the Trump Administration

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The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) recently published a report entitled Science & Technology Highlights the First Year of the Trump Administration detailing many of the Science & Technology (S&T) achievements over the last year.  Reading between the lines, this document provides researchers valuable information about the Federal Government’s funding priorities and areas of interest.

Researchers can reasonably anticipate that Federal funding agencies will give priority to the OSTP areas of interest, if not additional or special funding opportunities.  For example, NIH’s National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIDA) has a special notice for funding research on Advancing Research of Effect of Maternal Opioid Exposure on Developing Brain and NSF‘s 2019 budget request (news release 18-012) seeks an increase in funding to accelerate the progress of its “10 Big Ideas for Future Investments“, including special attention for cybersecurity research.

Per the report, “The Trump Administration is committed to advancing technological development and conducting research and development (R&D) to ensure national security, grow the economy, create well-paying jobs, and improve the lives of Americans across this great nation. Over the past year, OSTP has led coordinated Administration efforts to promote emerging technologies, empower Americans to innovate, and defend American technologies abroad. President Trump demonstrated his commitment to the importance of Federal scientific exploration by requesting $151.2 billion for Federal R&D investment in the FY 2018 budget – a 2% increase over FY 2017.1 Furthermore, the President’s FY 2018 Budget Request would result in the highest percent of the budget for the conduct of R&D since the FY 2014 Budget Request.2 In August, OSTP and OMB released the annual Administration R&D budget priorities for FY 2019, advising agencies to prioritize basic and early-stage applied research, the foundation for the development of transformative commercial products and services.”

The S&T areas highlighted in the report include:

  • Artificial Intelligence & Autonomy
  • Biomedical Innovation
  • Connectivity
  • Cybersecurity & Government IT Services
  • Digital Economy
  • Energy Dominance
  • Homeland Defense & National Security
  • Opioid Epidemic Response
  • Scientific Discovery
  • Space Exploration
  • STEM Education

“These highlights represent only a fraction of the tremendous scientific and technological work conducted across the Federal Government. Every day, Federal scientists and policymakers advance the frontiers of human knowledge and inform national policy to deliver the benefits of these advances to the American people. OSTP looks forward to continuing to advocate for American scientists and technologists in the year ahead, and working together to ensure that the United States continues to lead the world in technological innovation and scientific discovery.”

Additional information on the S&T highlights, including advances for each priority area, can be found in the Science & Technology Highlights report or on the OTSP webpage.