The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development; National Cancer Institute; National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism; National Institute on Drub Abuse; National Institute of Nursing Research; Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research; and Office of Dietary Supplements are inviting grant applications that will enhance the understanding of the origin, evolution, and termination of health risk behaviors during childhood and adolescence. The health risk behaviors of interest to this program announcement (PA) include:

• Substance abuse;
• physical inactivity and poor dietary practices; and
• intentional and unintentional injury

The Grosvenor Grant Program of the National Geographic Society Education Foundation (NGSEF) supports efforts to engage K-12 students and teachers in the exploration of geographic skills and perspectives leading to an appreciation of the world, its peoples, and its resources. In 2004 the program seeks proposals for programs that will raise the visibility of geography education by demonstrating its vibrancy and relevance to students' lives and the life of the community, state, and regions. Partnerships between state geographic alliances, schools, institutions of higher education, businesses, governmental agencies, and other nonprofit organizations are encouraged. Innovative and effective uses of technology in all of the categories will be highly regarded. To be funded, proposals in all categories must strive for maximum visibility, reach, and impact on student achievement as well as address a topic that helps exemplify the relevance and utility of geographic skills. Projects involving disadvantaged children and underserved urban and rural regions in the United States are particularly encouraged. Grants are made that address one or more of the following categories:.

• Establishing geography's position and importance in the K-12 curriculum. Partnerships between the above-mentioned groups will be given priority consideration.
• Engaging K-12 students in real-world geographic issues. For this category NGSEF is supporting experiental-learning opportunities that follow the standards in the publication Geography for Life and engage students and their teachers in high-profile, real-life problems related to environments, economies, and cultures. In addition, NGSEF is soliciting proposals giving students and teachers the opportunity to study geographic information systems (GIS).
• Supporting innovation in professional development of K-12 geography educators. Projects must build on the standards in Geography for Life. Innovative and effective uses of technology in all of the categories will be highly regarded.

First-time applicants must submit a letter of inquiry and receive a reply from NGSEF encouraging the submission of a full proposal. NGSEF will reply within two weeks of receipt regarding the Foundation's potential interest in receiving a full proposal. The letters of inquiry may be faxed, mailed, or e-mailed to the NSGEF. Applicants should allow enough time prior to the full proposal deadline to receive a reply and write a full proposal if invited to do so.

The United States Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences will make research awards for proposals addressing one of the following three goals, contributing to the Institute's research program on Mathematics and Science Education:

• Development of new interventions in mathematics or science education, with preliminary testing of effects. Typical awards for projects supported under this goal are $150,000 to $500,000 (total cost) per year for two to three years.
• The establishment of the efficacy of existing mathematics or science education interventions with small-scale efficacy or replication trials. Typical awards for projects supported under this goal will be $250,000 to $700,000 (total cost) per year for up to four years. Larger budgets will be considered if a compelling case can be made for such support.
• Evaluations of mathematics or science education intervention taken to scale. Applicants for projects to be supported under this goal may request funds for a period of up to five years with total funding over the period not to exceed $6,000,000 (total cost).

Applicants to goals one and two must target students at any level from pre-kindergarten through grade 12. Applicants to goal three must target students at any level from kindergarten through postsecondary.

Research supported through this program must be relevant to United States schools.

The National Science Foundation Geoscience Education Program (GeoEd) invites proposals to initiate or pilot innovative geoscience education activities. Projects that are informed by the results of current education-related research or that will conduct new educational research within a geoscience education venue are particularly appropriate for consideration under this program. Awards are intended to provide start-up or proof-of-concept funding to enable projects to reach a level of maturity that will allow them to compete for longer-term funding from other sources or become self-sustaining. All proposed projects should have strong dissemination and evaluation plans.

Proposals may target any educational level: elementary, middle, secondary, undergraduate, graduate, or postdoctoral. Proposals to develop or improve the quality of geoscience-oriented pre-service teacher training and in-service professional development programs are also encouraged, as are proposals to increase or improve the geoscience content of informal education programs. Proposals to develop Web-based educational materials that can be made available through the Digital Library for Earth System Education are also invited. Projects designed to recruit and retain students during the critical transition from high school to college are appropriate for consideration by the GeoEd program.

Desirable attributes of projects funded by the GeoEd program include:

• an Earth System Science approach;
• focus on fundamental concepts that unify the geosciences;
• emphasis on processes rather than facts;
• mathematical rigor, and the application of concepts from the other basic sciences; and
• the use of data and the scientific method in geoscience research.

An individual may be Principal Investigator or co-Principal Investigator on only one proposal submitted per competition.

The NSF will make an estimated 15 awards under this program. The maximum amount that may be requested is $200,000 per year for up to two years. The average award size is expected to be less than $100,000 annually for up to two years.

The National Science Foundation has updated the Grant Proposal Guide (GPG); guidelines outlined in the new document are to be used for all proposals submitted on or after September 1, 2004.