November 23, 2009 Newsletter

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    Please note for all proposals that must be submitted via Grants.gov, the Office of University Research Services must have the final complete proposal, with all required attachments, no later than 48 hours prior to the agency deadline. Because of the higher possibility of technical difficulties with this new submission engine, the OURS cannot guarantee that proposals received later than 48 hours prior to the deadline will be submitted on time. Please direct any questions to the Office of University Research Services, 4-2236 or ours@towson.edu.

    Institutional, University Wide, or Cross-Disciplinary Opportunities

    Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need

Agency:           United States Department of Education
Deadline::        December 18, 2009

The Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need (GAANN) program provides fellowships in areas of national need to assist graduate students with excellent academic records who demonstrate financial need and plan to pursue the highest degree available in their courses of study at the institution. No department, program, or unit shall be eligible for a grant unless the program of post-baccalaureate study has been in existence for at least 4 years at the time of application. The US Department will only consider applications that meet the following priority:

  • A project must provide fellowships in one or more of the following areas of national need: Biology, Chemistry, Computer and Information Sciences, Engineering, Mathematics, Nursing, Physics, and Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research.

Funding will be provided for a period of up to 3 years. It is estimated that 52 awards will be made. This program requires that each institution provide, from non-Federal funds, an institutional matching contribution equal to at least 25 percent of the amount of the grant received under this award.

URL: http://www.ed.gov/programs/gaann/applicant.html  
         (Program page)

         http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/pdf/E9-27581.pdf
         (Federal Register announcement)

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    Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language

    Agency:        United States Department of Education
    Deadline:       December 17, 2009

    The Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language (UISFL) program provides grants to strengthen and improve undergraduate instruction in international studies and foreign languages. The current notice contains one competitive preference priority and two invitational priorities. They are as follows:

    • Competitive Priority: Applications from institutions of higher education or combinations of these institutions that: (a) require entering students to have successfully completed at least two years of secondary school foreign language instruction; (b) require each graduating student to earn two years of postsecondary credit in a foreign language or to have demonstrated equivalent competence in the foreign language. The agency will award an additional five points to an application that meets this priority.

    • Invitational Priority 1: Applications that, through collaborative efforts between colleges, departments, or schools of education within a single higher education institution and other colleges, departments, or schools of education in a consortium of higher education institutions, propose projects that will strengthen instruction in foreign languages and international studies in teacher education programs that provide pre-service training for K–12 teachers in foreign languages and international studies.

    • Invitational Priority 2: Applications that propose programs or activities primarily focused on language instruction or applications that propose the development of area or international studies programs to include language instruction on any of the seventy-eight (78) priority languages listed within this program announcement.

    Depending on Congressional appropriations, the US Department of Education intends to allocate $2,105,000 for new awards under the UISFL program. The estimated levels of funding will depend on whether applicants are applying as a single institute of higher education (IHE) or consortia of IHE’s. For a single award the range is $50,000–$100,000, with an average award size of $92,000 for up to 24 months. For consortia, the range is $80,000–$160,000 with an average award size of $130,000 for up to 36 months. Annual budgets exceeding $100,000 for a single IHE application, and $160,000 for a consortium of IHEs/organizations/associations application will be rejected. The Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education may change the maximum amount through a notice published in the Federal Register. It is e stimated that the sponsor will make 23 awards.

    URL: http://www.ed.gov/programs/iegpsugisf/applicant.html(Program page)

             http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/pdf/E9-27579.pdf (Federal Register)

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    Summer of Service Grants FY10

    Agency:           Corporation for National and Community Service, Learn and Serve America
    Deadline:         December 10, 2009

    Summer of Service grants will support collaborative efforts to implement community-based service-learning projects during the summer months. Programs will engage middle school students (students who will be enrolled in grades 6 through 9 in the school year following the end of the summer) in community-based service-learning projects that are intensive, structured, supervised, and designed to produce identifiable improvements to the community. This opportunity should provide youth, particularly those from disadvantaged circumstances, with service-learning experiences that will motivate them to become more civically engaged and aspire to obtain higher education. Program participants must complete at least 100 hours of service within the summer program. For this competition, service activities should address environmental and/or disaster preparedness issues relevant to the community served.

    Each successful applicant will propose to engage approximately 100 to 500 youth. Applicants may describe a structure appropriate to the proposed plan. For example, the proposed program may be a stand-alone summer program or an extension of school-year service-learning projects. Implementation may occur at a single location or multiple sites. The program narrative must describe the program size and structure and how it will be implemented and managed effectively.

    Students who complete at least 100 hours of service in an approved summer of service position, as certified through a process determined by the Corporation, are eligible for a summer of service educational award of $500. These funds are not included in the grant award and are provided directly to the student through the National Service Trust. The student may use the award to pay for educational expenses at qualified institutions of higher education. Participants have up to ten years after the term of service has ended to use the award.

    The maximum amount an applicant can request from the Corporation for operating costs (not including Education Awards) is $500 per program participant. (For example: if you estimate that you will enroll 250 student participants, your budget may not exceed $125,000.) Funding for 2010 is contingent upon appropriations, and is estimated to be $1,000,000 for approximately 5-7 grants. Successful applicants will be notified by May 2010.

    URL: http://www.nationalservice.gov/pdf/09_1026_nofa_lsa_summer.pdf

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    Obesity Policy Research: Evaluation and Measures

    Agency:           National Institutes of Health
    Deadline:         February 16, 2010; June 16, 2010;and October 16, 2010 (February 16, June 16, and                           October 16 annually thereafter through October 16, 2012)

    This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) encourages Small Research Grant (R03) applications that propose to: (1) conduct evaluation research on obesity-related “natural experiments” (defined here as research on community and other population-level public policy interventions that may affect diet and physical activity behavior), and/or (2) develop and/or validate relevant community-level measures (instruments and methodologies to assess the food and physical activity environments at the community level). The overarching goal of this FOA is to inform public policy and research relevant to diet and physical activity behavior, and weight and health outcomes of Americans.

    This FOA will utilize the Small Research Grant (R03) grant mechanism, and runs in parallel with FOAs of identical scientific scope, PA-10-027 and PA-10-028 that encourage applications under the NIH Research Project (R01) and NIH Exploratory/Developmental (R21) grant mechanisms. Budgets for direct costs of up to $50,000 per year and a project duration of up to two years may be requested for a maximum of $100,000 direct costs over a two-year project period

    URL: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-10-029.html

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    Opportunity for Faculty Members in the Arts

    ARTvantage Grant Program

Agency:         Maryland State Arts Council
Deadlines:     January 14, 2010

The purpose of this grant is to provide opportunities for people to experience and participate in a wide range of art forms and activities, enable arts organizations and artists to expand and diversify their audiences, extend the arts to underserved populations, and emphasize the potential of the arts to help strengthen communities. This grant must be submitted in collaboration with another non-profit organization incorporated in Maryland. Grant awards range from $5,000 - $10,000.

In preparation of the January deadline, two “ARTvantage” information workshops have been scheduled for December 9, 2009 and December 15, 2009. The workshop flyer can be accessed at http://www.msac.org/docs_uploaded/ArtvantageWorkshopFlyer.pdf. Registration is required.

URL: http://msac.org/grants_detail.cfm?sec=Grants&id=61&pid=61

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