Today, nearly twenty years after the publication of the Final NIH Statement on Sharing Research Data in 2003, we have released a Final NIH Policy for Data Management and Sharing. This represents the agency’s continued commitment to share and make broadly available the results of publicly funded biomedical research. We hope it will be a critical step in moving towards a culture change, in which data management and sharing is seen as integral to the conduct of research. Responsible data management and sharing is good for science; it maximizes availability of data to the best and brightest minds, underlies reproducibility, honors the participation of human participants by ensuring their data is both protected and fully utilized, and provides an element of transparency to ensure public trust and accountability.

This policy has been years in the making and has benefited enormously from feedback and input from stakeholders throughout the process. We are grateful to all those who took the time to comment on Request for Information, the Draft policy, or to participate in workshops or Tribal consultations. That thoughtful feedback has helped shape the Final policy, which we believe strikes a balance between reasonable expectations for data sharing and flexibility to allow for a diversity of data types and circumstances. How we incorporated public comments and decision points that led to the Final policy are detailed in the Preamble to the DMS policy.

The Final policy applies to all research funded or conducted by NIH that results in the generation of scientific data. The Final Policy has two main requirements (1) the submission of a Data Management and Sharing Plan (Plan); and (2) compliance with the approved Plan. We are asking for Plans at the time of submission of the application, because we believe planning and budgeting for data management and sharing needs to occur hand in hand with planning the research itself. NIH recognizes that science evolves throughout the research process, which is why we have built in the ability to update DMS Plans, but at the end of the day, we are expecting investigators and institutions to be accountable to the Plans they have laid out for themselves.

I strongly suspect we will hear both from those who think we should have gone farther and required that all data resulting from NIH-funded research be shared, regardless of extenuating factors, and those who think we have gone too far in requiring all applicants to develop a Plan. Which perhaps means we’ve gotten it just right! For some investigators and disciplines, who have been at the forefront of data sharing, this will be very familiar; for others, this will be new territory. Anticipating that variation in readiness, and in recognition of the cultural change we are trying to seed, there is a two-year implementation period. This time will be spent developing the information, support, and tools that the biomedical enterprise will need to comply with this new policy. NIH has already provided additional supplementary information – on (1) elements of a data management and sharing plan; (2) allowable costs; and (3) selecting a data repository – in concert with the policy release.

As NIH Director Francis Collins notes in his Director’s Statement today, the novel coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the importance of making research data broadly accessible. But even as the world struggles with this acute global crisis, it is important to note that we are at an extraordinary time in biomedical science, where new technologies, data science, and understanding of fundamental biology are converging to accelerate the pace of discovery and medical advancement. The Final NIH Policy for Data Management and Sharing builds on those exciting opportunities, and we look forward to working with our stakeholders to fulfill its vision.

For more Information, Please visit the NIH page.

Submission Window Date(s) (due by 5 p.m. submitter’s local time):

     January 11, 2021 – January 25, 2021

DMREF is the primary program by which NSF participates in the Materials Genome Initiative (MGI) for Global Competitiveness. MGI recognizes the importance of materials science and engineering to the well-being and advancement of society and aims to “deploy advanced materials at least twice as fast as possible today, at a fraction of the cost.” MGI integrates materials discovery, development, property optimization, and systems design with a shared computational framework. This framework facilitates collaboration and coordination of research activities, analytical tools, experimental results, and critical evaluation in pursuit of the MGI goals. Consistent with the MGI Strategic Plan, DMREF highlights four sets of goals:

• Leading a culture shift in materials science and engineering research to encourage and facilitate an integrated team approach;
• integrating experimentation, computation, data-intensive/-driven approaches, and theory, and equipping the materials science and engineering communities with advanced tools and techniques;
• making digital data findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable, and useful to the community; and
• creating a world-class materials science and engineering workforce that is trained for careers in academia or industry.

DMREF will accordingly support activities that significantly accelerate materials discovery and development by building the fundamental knowledge base needed to advance the design and development of materials with desirable properties or functionality. This will be accomplished through forming interdisciplinary teams of researchers working synergistically in a “closed loop” fashion, building a vibrant research community, leveraging data science, providing ready access to materials data, and educating the future MGI workforce. Achieving this goal could involve some combination of:

• strategies to advance materials design through testing methodology;
• theory, modeling, and simulation to predict behavior or assist in analysis of multidimensional input data; and
• validation through synthesis, growth, processing, characterization, and/or device demonstration.

This FY 2021 solicitation is open to all materials research topics. DMREF aligns with the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) recommendations for strengthening American leadership in Industries of the Future, namely, artificial intelligence (AI), quantum information science, advanced manufacturing, advanced communications, and biotechnology. Furthermore, DMREF aligns with national priorities for defense and homeland security, information technologies and high-performance computing, critical minerals and sustainability, human health and welfare, clean energy, and the development of a diverse science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce. By facilitating interdisciplinary integrative materials research, DMREF is supportive of the NSF long-range transformative agenda, “Big Ideas for Future NSF Investments“.

This solicitation represents a crosscutting activity involving the Directorates for Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS), Engineering (ENG), and Computer & Information Science & Engineering (CISE). Additionally, partnership with other federal agencies, specifically the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), including the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), may lead to an interagency effort. Submitted proposals may be shared with interested representatives from AFRL and AFOSR.

Anticipated Type of Award: Standard Grant

Estimated Number of Awards: 25

The number of awards will depend on the availability of funds and the quality of the proposals.

Anticipated Funding Amount: $40,000,000

Anticipated funding amount is pending availability of funds.

These funds will be partitioned among the participating Divisions (funds are not pooled), each of which will support proposals of scientific interest to that Division. Proposals on topics situated at the boundaries between two or more Divisions may be co-reviewed by those Divisions. Such proposals, if highly ranked, will be eligible for co-funding by those Divisions.

For more information concerning the details of the program, eligibility, and submission instructions, please visit the NSF page.

NSF Major Research Instrumentation Program (MRI): Limited Submission Opportunity

Internal Notification of Interest Deadline to the Office of Research Administration: Friday, November 6, 2020, 5:00 pm.

NSF Proposal Submission Window: January 1, 2021 – January 19, 2021

The Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) Program serves to increase access to multi-user scientific and engineering instrumentation for research and research training in our Nation’s institutions of higher education and not-for-profit scientific/engineering research organizations. An MRI award supports the acquisition or development of a multi-user research instrument that is, in general, too costly and/or not appropriate for support through other NSF programs.

MRI provides support to acquire critical research instrumentation without which advances in fundamental science and engineering research may not otherwise occur. MRI also provides support to develop next-generation research instruments that open new opportunities to advance the frontiers in science and engineering research. Additionally, an MRI award is expected to enhance research training of students who will become the next generation of instrument users, designers and builders.

An MRI proposal may request up to $4 million for either acquisition or development of a research instrument. Beginning with the FY 2018 competition, each performing organization may submit in revised “Tracks” as defined below, with no more than two submissions in Track 1 and no more than one submission in Track 2.

• Track 1: Track 1 MRI proposals are those that request funds from NSF greater than or equal to $100,000 and less than $1,000,000.
• Track 2: Track 2 MRI proposals are those that request funds from NSF greater than or equal to $1,000,000 up to and including $4,000,000.

Cost sharing is required for Ph.D.-granting institutions of higher education and for non-degree-granting organizations. Non-Ph.D.-granting institutions of higher education are exempt from cost-sharing and cannot provide it. National Science Board policy is that voluntary committed cost sharing is prohibited. When required, cost-sharing must be precisely 30%.

Limit on the Number of Proposals per Organization:

Each performing organization is now limited to a maximum of three (3) proposals in revised “Tracks” as defined below, with no more than two (2) submissions in Track 1 and no more than one (1) submission in Track 2.

Any MRI proposal may request support for either the acquisition or development of a research instrument.

For full details on this program, please visit the NSF MRI webpage and the NSF MRI Solicitation, 18-513.

For additional details regarding The University of Akron’s limited submission process, visit the ORA Limited Submission webpage.

If you are interested in submitting a NSF MRI proposal, please visit the ORA Limited Submission webpage and complete step 1: Notification of Interest, by the deadline above.

• Individuals interested in applying to a limited submission program must submit a Notification of Interest no later than 5pm on the internal deadline. To submit this notification applicants must email limitedsubmissions@uakron.edu (cc’ing emily@uakron.edu) with the subject line of the email formatted as follows: “Last name, First name; Limited Submission Notification of Interest”. Notifications will be emailed, and applicants will either be approved to apply or will be prompted to provide a white paper.
• If ORA receives internal notices of interest in excess of the NSF limit on the number of proposals per organization, an internal competition will be necessary and additional information will be sent to those who submitted a notice of interest.

The Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) education outreach program offers an opportunity for schools with formal or pending education partnership agreements in place with the Naval Air Warfare Center, Aircraft Division, Lakehurst, New Jersey, to submit an application for the 2021 Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education Grants Program.

These competitive grants are designed to increase the participation and performance in science, technology, engineering and mathematics programs for students grades 4-12 in Ocean, Monmouth, Mercer, and Burlington Counties in New Jersey.

Funding opportunities associated with this grant are in the following categories:

• Costs associated with the development and execution of virtual STEM Learning and Activities, such as STEM Camps and other initiatives.
• Costs associated with teacher participation in a STEM education program or conference. Includes travel expenses (transportation, lodging, and per diem) and conference registration.
• Robotics competition participation in the 2020/2021 school years. Includes registration and associated costs. Robotics competitions include, but are not limited to, FIRST (www.usfirst.org), SEA PERCH (www.seaperch.org), and VEX (vexrobotics.com).
• Costs associated with other STEM Education Outreach Initiatives that harness and collaborate with National or Regional organizations. This might include, but not be limited to: Math Counts (www.mathcounts.org), the Journal of Visualized Experiments (www.jove.com), Camp Invention (www.invent.org).

For more information about eligibility or grant details, please see the grant page.

Current Closing Date for Applications: Feb 16, 2021  

Archive Date: Mar 18, 2021

Estimated Total Program Funding: $100,000,000

Award Ceiling: $750,000

Award Floor: $750,000

DOE SC hereby invites applications for support under the Early Career Research Program in the following program areas: Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR); Basic Energy Sciences (BES); Biological and Environmental Research (BER); Fusion Energy Sciences (FES); High Energy Physics (HEP); Nuclear Physics (NP); Isotope R&D and Production (DOE IP); or Accelerator R&D and Production (ARDAP). The purpose of this program is to support the development of individual research programs of outstanding scientists early in their careers and to stimulate research careers in the areas supported by SC.

SC’s mission is to deliver the scientific discoveries and major scientific tools to transform our understanding of nature and advance the energy, economic, and national security of the United States. SC is the Nation’s largest Federal sponsor of basic research in the physical sciences and the lead Federal agency supporting fundamental scientific research for our Nation’s energy future.

• SC accomplishes its mission and advances national goals by supporting:
• The frontiers of science—exploring nature’s mysteries from the study of fundamental subatomic particles, atoms, and molecules that are the building blocks of the materials of our universe and everything in it to the DNA, proteins, and cells that are the building blocks of life. Each of the programs in SC supports research probing the most fundamental disciplinary questions.
• The 21st Century tools of science—providing the nation’s researchers with 28 state-of-the-art national scientific user facilities – the most advanced tools of modern science -propelling the U.S. to the forefront of science, technology development and deployment through innovation.
• Science for energy and the environment―paving the knowledge foundation to spur discoveries and innovations for advancing the Department’s mission in energy and environment. SC supports a wide range of funding modalities from single principal investigators to large team-based activities to engage in fundamental research on energy production, conversion, storage, transmission, and use, and on our understanding of the earth systems.

For more information about eligibility and award details, please visit the grant page.