Broader Impacts Proposal Requirements
Agency: National Science Foundation
Proposals submitted to the National Science Foundation (NSF) are evaluated through the use of two merit review criteria, intellectual merit and broader impacts. All NSF proposals should incorporate rigorous, meaningful and innovative broader impacts activities that integrate with the research being proposed and should be specifically addressed in the Project Summary, Project Description, and the Results of Prior Support section as follows:
- Project Summary must clearly address in separate statements (within the one page limit) both the intellectual merits and the broader impacts of the proposed activity.
- Project Description must describe, as an integral part of the narrative, the broader impacts resulting from the proposed activities, addressing one or more of the following as appropriate for the project:
- Integration with research and education to promote teaching, training, and learning;
- Participation of underrepresented groups
- Enhancement of infrastructure for research and/or education,
- Benefits to society at large
- Results of Prior Support must report on the award most closely related to the proposal and include project results, publications, and a description of available resources.
Project activities related to broader impacts must be of the same caliber as the intellectual merit criterion. They should be based on good scholarship, and be designed to achieve clearly stated goals and metrics, while possessing the appropriate expertise and resources available for implementation. A simple listing of outreach activities, or reference to inclusion of research personnel who are members of underrepresented groups, will not satisfactorily address this criterion. Additional information is available through the URL listed below.
URL:http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2008/nsf08044/nsf08044.jsp?govDel=USNSF_25
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Committee for the Towson Academy of Scholars Accepting Applications for Academic Year 2008 – 2009
Agency: Towson University Committee for the Towson Academy of Scholars
Deadline: April 28, 2008
The Committee for the Towson Academy of Scholars is pleased to announce that it will be accepting applications for Towson Scholars for the academic year 2008-2009. All full time faculty up to the rank of Assistant Professor or Librarian I and II who have been at Towson three years or less are eligible to apply. The purpose of the Academy is to gather senior-mentors with junior faculty in a seminar setting that will give the latter an opportunity to share their research projects, reflective thinking essays, or portions of their dissertations under revision. The research, thought-analyses, or revisions will be undertaken during the year preceding presentation with support provided by the Towson Academy of Scholars.
A committee of senior faculty members will oversee this initiative, and will serve as a review panel to select participating scholars. Applications may be blind reviewed by external reviewers. The committee will select up to three scholars from applications submitted from across the university community in the spring. For the academic year 2008-2009, junior scholars will receive $1,000 in cash from the University and two hundred dollars in books from Houghton Mifflin Publishers.
In the spring of 2009, at a date to be arranged by the committee, each of the junior scholars selected will present his or her seminar paper in the Towson Room, Cook Library. In consultation with the scholars, the committee will arrange for one or two authorities in their fields to serve as discussants.
Faculty members who are selected to be Towson Scholars will be encouraged to invite their students to their presentations. Seminars are open to the university community, and junior faculty will be required to make their papers available upon request.
While papers, essays, and/or chapters may reflect the academic discourse of their discipline, the oral presentations must communicate broadly to the University community.
Applications may be obtained on-line at the Office of University Research Services Web site, http://www.towson.edu/ours. Completed applications should be submitted to the Office of University Research Services, 7800 York Road, Room 225, by 5:00 pm April 28. Applications emailed to mhealy@towson.edu by 5:00 pm April 28 will also be accepted.
Committee for the Towson Academy of Scholars
Patricia W. Romero, CLA and Chair
Deborah Nolan, Library
Sharon Buchbinder, College of Health Professions
Brian Masters, Fisher College of Science and Mathematics
Debi Gartland, College of Education
Mary Louise Healy, Office of University Research Services
Peter Lev, College of Fine Arts and Communication
Dong Yao, College of Business and Economics
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Reminder: Faculty Development and Research Committee’s Research Monetary Awards and Teaching Innovation Grants for Fall 2008
Agency: Towson University Faculty Development and Research Committee
Deadline: May 1, 2008
The Faculty Development and Research Committee is pleased to announce its call for applications for Research Monetary Awards and Teaching Innovation Grants for use during the fall semester 2008. Applications will be accepted through 5:00 pm Thursday, May 1, 2008.
Research Monetary Awards of up to $5,000 will be made for projects leading to a scholarly product, such as a proposal to an external funding source, or a publication, presentation, invention, composition, performance, or exhibition. Funds may be used for project-related expenses such as research assistants, supplies, and travel, and will be made available upon approval of awards. All funds awarded under this application round must be expended within 12 months of the award date, though requests for extensions may be considered by the Committee.
Full program guidelines for both the Research Monetary Awards and Teaching Innovation Grant programs are available on the Office of University Research Services’ Web page, http://grad.towson.edu/ours/index.asp. Application forms for both programs are available in hard copy or as Word documents from the Office of University Research Services (extension 4-2236 or by email, mhealy@towson.edu) or on the Web at the above address. An original and eight copies of completed application forms and accompanying documentation as described in the application form should be submitted to the Office of University Research Services, 7800 York Road, Room 225.
URL:http://grad.towson.edu/ours/index.asp
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Reminder:Faculty Mini-Grants
Agency: Towson University Institute for Teaching and Research on Women
Deadline: April 15, 2008 for summer grants
The Towson University Institute for Teaching and Research on Women (ITROW) seeks to promote scholarship, course development and programming on issues related to women/gender, including the intersections of gender with race/ethnicity, nation, class, disability, and/or sexuality. To this end, ITROW is initiating a faculty mini-grants award program. Awards will range from $100 to $500, are limited in number, and will be awarded on a competitive basis. ITROW seeks to sponsor activities such as:
- New course development within the faculty member’s department/discipline which will produce a course to be cross-listed (counted toward) the Women’s Studies major. Substantial restructuring/transformation of a current course with the goal of integrating women/gender topics throughout the syllabus will also be considered. Faculty receiving course development awards will consult with the Director of ITROW in the development or restructuring of a course and will be expected to offer the new or transformed course within a year of having received the grant.
- Scholarship focused on women/gender issues, or scholarship which contains a significant women/gender component. Faculty receiving awards for scholarship will be required to present their research/artistic creation in ITROW’s Women and Gender Faculty Colloquy series. Travel funds for presentation of such scholarship at conferences will also be considered.
- Campus-wide or departmental events focused on women/gender issues such as speakers, film series, and conferences.
During summer monetary awards can be granted (application deadline April 15, 2008)
For further information contact Karen Dugger (kdugger@towson.edu). Application forms can be found on the ITROW website as shown below.
URL: http://www.towson.edu/itrow
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Agency: United States Department of Agriculture
Deadline: June 5, 2008
This crosscutting program addresses the complex problem of obesity prevention. Projects funded by this program should lead to a better understanding of the behavioral and environmental factors that influence obesity and to the development and evaluation of effective interventions to prevent obesity. Obesity is the number one nutritional problem in America. Food is an integral part of the process that leads to obesity and USDA has a unique responsibility for the food system in the United States.
The long-term (10-year) goals for this program include identifying the behavioral and environmental factors that influence obesity to develop effective obesity prevention strategies; developing valid behavioral and environmental instruments for measuring progress in obesity prevention efforts; and promoting effective strategies for preventing overweight and obesity. The ultimate goal of the program is to stem the rising tide of obesity.
The milestones toward reaching these long-term goals include developing theories on how behavioral and environmental factors influence obesity; testing validity of behavioral and environmental measures for evaluating progress in obesity prevention efforts; and testing the effectiveness of strategies for preventing overweight and obesity.
Proposals may be submitted for research and/or integrated projects under this program. Priorities for both research and integrated projects include:
- Social and psychological factors influencing obesity
- Involvement of at risk populations
Research grants support fundamental or mission-linked research that is conducted by individual investigators, co-investigators within the same discipline, or multidisciplinary teams. Under Research Project Proposals, TU faculty are eligible for new investigator awards and equipment grants.
FY 2008 Priority for Research Projects - Applicants must address at least one of the following priorities.
- Improved understanding of the behavioral and environmental factors that influence obesity.
- Epidemiological studies related to these priorities that may involve secondary analyses of large national databases.
An integrated project should include at least two of three components: research, education, and extension around a problem or issue. and interweave at least two of the three components throughout the course of the project. In general, strong integrated projects will be stakeholder driven, issue focused, and outcome based. They will exhibit a collaborative team approach, contain strong plans for project management and project evaluation, and produce sustained education/extension initiatives. Please note, integrated project eligibility requirements are different than for research applications.
FY 2008 Priority for Integrated Projects - Applicants must address at least one of the following priorities.
- Improve understanding of the behavioral and environmental factors that influence obesity and use this new information to develop effective intervention strategies for preventing overweight and obesity and/or develop educational programs to help prepare the next generation of researchers and educators to address the complex problems of obesity. See Other Key Information – Research and Integrated Projects below for examples of priority focus areas.
- Develop and implement behavioral and environmental instruments to measure progress in obesity prevention efforts. This activity may necessitate the development of new instruments or the modification and validation of existing ones related to food, physical activity, and environmental factors.
Approximately $10.5 million, with up to 9.5 million for integrated projects is available. Research projects budget requests must not exceed $500,000 for project periods of 2-4 years and integrated project budgets must not exceed $1.5 million for project periods of 2-4 years.
URL: http://www.csrees.usda.gov/funding/rfas/pdfs/08_nri.doc#_31.5_Human_Nutrition
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Scholars Program
Agency: William T. Grant Foundation
Deadline: July 9, 2008
The William T. Grant Foundation dedicates the majority of its funding to support empirical studies that advance theory, as well as policy and practice, to improve the everyday settings of youth between the ages of 8 and 25 in the United States.
The William T. Grant Scholars Program is designed to facilitate the professional development of early career scholars who have some demonstrated success in conducting high-quality research and are seeking to further develop their skills and research program. Applications are invited from promising early career researchers who want to tackle questions important to theory and either policy or practice for improving youth settings. The foundation is interested in applicants trained across a range of social, behavioral, and health sciences.
Applicants at all nonprofit institutions are eligible and must have received their terminal degree within seven years of submitting their application. Candidates are nominated by a supporting institution and must submit five-year research plans that demonstrate creativity, intellectual rigor, and a commitment to continued professional development; are grounded in theory and sound research methods; and provide evidence for appropriate mentoring from senior investigators.
Every year, four to six William T. Grant Scholars are selected and each receives $350,000 distributed over a five-year period.
Complete program information and application procedures, are available at the URL listed below.
URL: http://fconline.foundationcenter.org/pnd/15012265/wtgrant
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