Sustaining Infrastructure for Biological Research (Sustaining)

Sustaining Infrastructure for Biological Research (Sustaining) is sponsored by National Science Foundation (NSF), Directorate for Biological Sciences (BIO), Division of Biological Infrastructure (DBI). This program supports the sustained operation and improvement of existing biological research infrastructure.

This could include ongoing support for computational resources or platforms vital for long-term studies in biomolecular structure and dynamics, and glycosylation.

NSF 21-503: Sustaining Infrastructure for Biological Research (Sustaining) | NSF - U.S. National Science Foundation Archived funding opportunity This solicitation is archived. Important information for proposers and award recipients All proposals must be submitted in accordance with the requirements specified in the funding opportunity and in the Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) and its supplements .

All NSF grants and cooperative agreements are subject to the applicable set of NSF award terms and conditions . NSF has updated its research security policies for NSF funded projects. NSF 21-503: Sustaining Infrastructure for Biological Research (Sustaining) To save a PDF of this solicitation, select Print to PDF in your browser's print options.

National Science Foundation Directorate for Biological Sciences Division of Biological Infrastructure Full Proposal Deadline(s) (due by 5 p. m. submitter's local time): Proposals Accepted Anytime Important Information And Revision Notes Innovating and migrating proposal preparation and submission capabilities from FastLane to Research.

gov is part of the ongoing NSF information technology modernization efforts, as described in Important Notice No. 147 . In support of these efforts, the Directorate for Biological Sciences (BIO) is now requiring the use of Research. gov for the preparation and submission of proposals in response to its core programs that do not have deadline dates (see Dear Colleague Letter NSF 20-129 ).

As such, full research proposals submitted in response to this program solicitation must be prepared and submitted via Research. gov. Proposals also may continue to be submitted via use of Grants. gov. NSF is taking proactive steps to move the preparation and submission of all proposals from FastLane to Research.

gov, however until capabilities are fully implemented, the other types of proposals outlined in Chapter II. E of the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG), as well as accomplishment-based renewal proposals, must be prepared and submitted via FastLane or Grants. gov in accordance with the applicable guidance contained in the PAPPG or the NSF Grants.

gov Application Guide . A description of how to report the public release of data from previously funded projects in the "Results from Prior NSF Support" section has been updated. Full research proposals submitted in response to this program solicitation can no longer be prepared and submitted via FastLane.

Any proposal submitted in response to this solicitation should be submitted in accordance with the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG).

Summary Of Program Requirements Sustaining Infrastructure for Biological Research (Sustaining) The Sustaining Infrastructure for Biological Research (Sustaining) Program supports the continued operation of existing research infrastructure that advances contemporary biology in any research area supported by the Directorate for Biological Sciences (BIO) at NSF.

The Sustaining Program focuses primarily on sustaining critical research infrastructure that is cyberinfrastructure or biological living stocks and that is broadly applicable to a wide range of researchers.

Projects are expected to ensure continued availability of existing, mature resources that will enable important science outcomes achieved by users representing a broad range of research supported by BIO and its collaborating organizations. Cognizant Program Officer(s): Please note that the following information is current at the time of publishing. See program website for any updates to the points of contact.

Sustaining Program, telephone: (703) 292-8470, email: SustainingDBI@nsf. gov Applicable Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number(s): 47. 074 --- Biological Sciences Anticipated Type of Award: Standard Grant or Continuing Grant or Cooperative Agreement Estimated Number of Awards: 1 to 3 Approximately 1-3 new awards will be made per year.

Anticipated Funding Amount: $5,000,000 Approximately $5 Million is anticipated for this activity. Funding levels for awards vary and are contingent upon availability of funds and demand for sustained resources.

Who May Submit Proposals: Proposals may only be submitted by the following: Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) - Two- and four-year IHEs (including community colleges) accredited in, and having a campus located in the US, acting on behalf of their faculty members.

Special Instructions for International Branch Campuses of US IHEs: If the proposal includes funding to be provided to an international branch campus of a US institution of higher education (including through use of subawards and consultant arrangements), the proposer must explain the benefit(s) to the project of performance at the international branch campus, and justify why the project activities cannot be performed at the US campus.

Non-profit, non-academic organizations: Independent museums, observatories, research labs, professional societies and similar organizations in the U.S. associated with educational or research activities. There are no restrictions or limits. Limit on Number of Proposals per Organization: There are no restrictions or limits.

Limit on Number of Proposals per PI or Co-PI: There are no restrictions or limits. Proposal Preparation and Submission Instructions A. Proposal Preparation Instructions Letters of Intent: Not required Preliminary Proposal Submission: Not required Full Proposals submitted via Research.

gov: NSF Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG) guidelines apply. The complete text of the PAPPG is available electronically on the NSF website at: https://www. nsf.

gov/publications/pub_summ. jsp? ods_key=pappg .

Full Proposals submitted via Grants. gov: NSF Grants. gov Application Guide: A Guide for the Preparation and Submission of NSF Applications via Grants.

gov guidelines apply (Note: The NSF Grants. gov Application Guide is available on the Grants. gov website and on the NSF website at: https://www.

nsf. gov/publications/pub_summ. jsp?

ods_key=grantsgovguide ). Cost Sharing Requirements: Inclusion of voluntary committed cost sharing is prohibited. Indirect Cost (F&A) Limitations: Other Budgetary Limitations: Full Proposal Deadline(s) (due by 5 p.

m. submitter's local time): Proposals Accepted Anytime Proposal Review Information Criteria National Science Board approved criteria. Additional merit review criteria apply.

Please see the full text of this solicitation for further information. Award Administration Information Additional award conditions apply. Please see the full text of this solicitation for further information.

Additional reporting requirements apply. Please see the full text of this solicitation for further information. Transformative discoveries in the biological sciences are often catalyzed by the development and dissemination of new research tools and methods.

For such advancements to take place, research infrastructure needs to be supported at all stages of its life-cycle that includes: Innovation (the design of novel or greatly-improved research infrastructure), Capacity (the scaling of or major improvements to infrastructure), and Sustainability (continued operation of existing infrastructure).

The Division of Biological Infrastructure (DBI) supports this life-cycle of research resources in biology by having three different programs focused on each of these important stages of development of research infrastructure in resources and services.

The goals of the Sustaining program are aligned with the third stage in this cycle to advance contemporary biology in any research area supported by the Directorate for Biological Sciences at NSF.

DBI is particularly interested in increasing the participation of underrepresented groups in biological research and education such as women, persons with disabilities, and underrepresented minorities [1] [2] , and those from geographically underrepresented areas in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

Proposals submitted to any program described in this solicitation are strongly encouraged to involve PIs, co-PIs, postdoctoral fellows, students, and other personnel who are members of these groups. Proposers are also strongly encouraged to consider involving veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces as part of NSF's broader effort to promote veteran involvement in STEM research and education.

Proposers should review the Introduction section of the PAPPG for a general description of research topics normally outside the scope of NSF funding such as disease, clinical, or drug related or other biomedically related research. Proposals to develop or provide infrastructure that is primarily to enable research in these excluded topics will not be eligible for support under this program and will be returned without review.

[1] https://ncses. nsf. gov/pubs/nsf19304/digest/introduction [2] https://www.

nsf. gov/od/oia/activities/ceose/reports/CEOSE_ReportToCongress_RP_FVmp_508. pdf The Sustaining Infrastructure for Biological Research Program (Sustaining) supports the continued operation of existing research infrastructure that advances contemporary biology in any research area supported by the Directorate for Biological Sciences (BIO) at NSF.

The Sustaining Program focuses primarily on sustaining critical research infrastructure that is cyberinfrastructure or biological living stocks and that is broadly applicable to a wide range of researchers.

Projects are expected to ensure continued availability of existing, mature resources that will enable important science outcomes achieved by users representing a broad range of research supported by BIO and its collaborating organizations.

The Sustaining Program is an operation and maintenance funding opportunity, which differs from other programs in the Division of Biological Infrastructure in that it does not provide funds for research or development leading to new capabilities or features, methods, or tools.

Competitive proposals will clearly describe the resource that will be sustained and present documentation of its past impacts in science and education and a compelling justification for why these impacts are expected to sustain or grow during the proposed award period.

Requests for sustaining awards may not include funds for research or development leading to new capabilities, or features, but must be limited to activities and materials essential for maintaining the current level of functionality. Budgets must describe only those expenses to be covered with the NSF funds and may not reference expenses covered by other sources of funding.

The budget justification should clearly identify how the NSF funds will be allocated to the major activities and deliverables identified in the proposal.

Requests may include costs related to two general areas: Human resource costs of daily operations, updating technical components as required by external technology changes for instrumentation or cyberinfrastructure; scaling of codes, schemas and physical capacities as required to accommodate new users of existing functionality or expanded content; and costs of providing support and training to user communities.

Costs associated with development and implementation of policies and procedures that shift some fraction of the cost burden onto revenue that is recovered directly from the members of user and stakeholder communities. This program serves all research areas supported by the BIO. Funds are limited, and individual awards may not be sufficient to cover 100% of the operating costs of a given resource.

While institutional cost-share is not allowed, it is expected that resources supported under this program will make every effort to generate revenue through the development of a business plan that will spread some of its operating costs onto its user community or other funding sources in a manner that does not unduly restrict open and fair access for research, education and the public.

Continued support through this program may be contingent on evidence of cost recovery efforts to reduce the dependency on direct NSF support for ongoing operations.

In developing a business plan, PIs should be aware that proposals submitted to any NSF research program that rely on the use of infrastructure such as data repositories, collections, or computational services may include in their budget funds to cover the cost of certain fees associated with those resources (see NSF 19-069 , Effective Practices for Data, https://www. nsf. gov/publications/pub_summ.

jsp? ods_key=nsf19069 ). Anticipated Type of Award: Continuing Grant or Cooperative Agreement or Standard Grant Estimated Number of Awards: 1 to 3 Approximately 1-3 new awards will be made per year.

Anticipated Funding Amount: $5,000,000 Approximately $5 Million is anticipated for this activity. Funding levels for awards vary and are contingent upon availability of funds and demand for sustained resources. Estimated program budget, number of awards and average award size and duration are subject to the availability of funds, the quality of submissions, and the anticipated benefits to biology.

Both standard and continuing grants will be awarded. Large and complex projects may be awarded as cooperative agreements. The specific grant type will be determined on a proposal by proposal basis.

IV. Eligibility Information Who May Submit Proposals: Proposals may only be submitted by the following: Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) - Two- and four-year IHEs (including community colleges) accredited in, and having a campus located in the US, acting on behalf of their faculty members.

Special Instructions for International Branch Campuses of US IHEs: If the proposal includes funding to be provided to an international branch campus of a US institution of higher education (including through use of subawards and consultant arrangements), the proposer must explain the benefit(s) to the project of performance at the international branch campus, and justify why the project activities cannot be performed at the US campus.

Non-profit, non-academic organizations: Independent museums, observatories, research labs, professional societies and similar organizations in the U.S. associated with educational or research activities. There are no restrictions or limits. Limit on Number of Proposals per Organization: There are no restrictions or limits.

Limit on Number of Proposals per PI or Co-PI: There are no restrictions or limits. V. Proposal Preparation And Submission Instructions A.

Proposal Preparation Instructions Full Proposal Preparation Instructions : Proposers may opt to submit proposals in response to this Program Solicitation via Research. gov or Grants. gov. Full Proposals submitted via Research.

gov: Proposals submitted in response to this program solicitation should be prepared and submitted in accordance with the general guidelines contained in the NSF Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG). The complete text of the PAPPG is available electronically on the NSF website at: https://www. nsf.

gov/publications/pub_summ. jsp? ods_key=pappg .

Paper copies of the PAPPG may be obtained from the NSF Publications Clearinghouse, telephone (703) 292-8134 or by e-mail from nsfpubs@nsf. gov . The Prepare New Proposal setup will prompt you for the program solicitation number.

Full proposals submitted via Grants. gov: Proposals submitted in response to this program solicitation via Grants. gov should be prepared and submitted in accordance with the NSF Grants.

gov Application Guide: A Guide for the Preparation and Submission of NSF Applications via Grants. gov . The complete text of the NSF Grants.

gov Application Guide is available on the Grants. gov website and on the NSF website at: ( https://www. nsf.

gov/publications/pub_summ. jsp? ods_key=grantsgovguide ).

To obtain copies of the Application Guide and Application Forms Package, click on the Apply tab on the Grants. gov site, then click on the Apply Step 1: Download a Grant Application Package and Application Instructions link and enter the funding opportunity number, (the program solicitation number without the NSF prefix) and press the Download Package button. Paper copies of the Grants.

gov Application Guide also may be obtained from the NSF Publications Clearinghouse, telephone (703) 292-8134 or by e-mail from nsfpubs@nsf. gov . In determining which method to utilize in the electronic preparation and submission of the proposal, please note the following: Collaborative Proposals.

All collaborative proposals submitted as separate submissions from multiple organizations must be submitted via Research. gov. PAPPG Chapter II. D.

3 provides additional information on collaborative proposals. See PAPPG Chapter II. C.

2 for guidance on the required sections of a full research proposal submitted to NSF. Please note that the proposal preparation instructions provided in this program solicitation may deviate from the PAPPG instructions. The following information provides instructions that supplement the PAPPG or NSF Grants.

gov Application Guide. Project Summary (1 page): Each Project Summary must include the following sections labelled as they are here: Overview : This section should begin with a comma-separated list of keywords as the first line. It should then provide a brief overview of the proposed activities, planned deliverables, and the anticipated impacts on the research community.

Intellectual Merit : This section should include a brief description of the proposed activities and the anticipated impacts on basic biological research. Broader Impacts : This section should include a brief description of the potential impacts beyond the targeted research community, including general science, educational, or public audiences.

Project Description (maximum length 15 pages): The project description should provide sufficient detail on the following topics to allow a conceptual understanding of the infrastructure resource to be sustained and an evaluation of its current and projected impacts on biological science.

The first paragraph of the project description should provide a concise, clear description of the resource or services that will be sustained under this award. Describe, using a minimum of specialized language, what it consists of, where it fits within the broader context of existing infrastructure, and how its continued availability will benefit the biological sciences.

The remaining sections, described below, may appear in any order in the project description, but should be labelled as such. Identify the critical areas of the biological sciences to be impacted, the significant research questions to be addressed, and how the proposed resource is uniquely positioned to enable outcomes.

Provide summary information on the user community, its usage statistics, demographics, geographic and disciplinary breadth in narrative, tabular, and/or graphical form. Identify, with appropriate citations, the impacts on science resulting from the use of the infrastructure to be supported under this proposal. Provide clear justification for projecting the estimated usage for the proposed period of support.

The Project Description must contain, as its own distinct element within the narrative, a section labeled "Broader Impacts". General guidance is provided in the PAPPG Chapter II. C.

2. d(i). For all activities or outcomes described under broader impacts, demonstrate how they will benefit from continued availability of the resource.

Describe the specific resources and/or services to be provided under this request, using tabular or graphical summary as appropriate to convey the major components and services. This includes primary resources such as digital or physical as well as services provided, including maintenance, operations and support activities.

Provide an outline of the logical and conceptual structure of the proposed infrastructure resource and a general outline of its physical implementation. Describe how the proposed resource operates within the broader context of a national (or international) community of comparable or complimentary resources, including identification of resources it is dependent on, resources that depend on it, and how these interactions are enabled.

Technical Implementation . Describe the relevant systems and technologies essential to implementing and operating the proposed resource: computation resources (hardware and software), digital and physical storage capacity, instrumentation, experimental facilities, software, networking and communications systems, or any other technological or capital components.

Describe any policies and procedures related to sustaining these systems during the award period. Project Management Operations . Describe the organization and management of the project including the roles of principal participating institutions, key personnel, and collaborators.

For existing or future collaborations with national or international groups, describe the relationship to the proposed activity and how the components will be coordinated.

Document mechanisms for interacting with the user community, including advisory boards, feedback mechanisms, support services, outreach and training, etc. Provide an overview of the short term (the duration of this award) and long term (post award expiration) fiscal planning for the project.

For the short term, indicate any planned or potential sources of support (in qualitative terms) for activities complementary to those supported by this request. Note that NSF restrictions on cost share precludes co-mingling of funds with those requested from NSF for the same scope of work.

Be sure to indicate how any additional support for the project will be used for activities above and beyond the specific scope of this project yet contribute to the overall success of the resource. For the long term, discuss planned or potential sources of revenue that might provide partial or full support for activities currently supported by this award.

Potential sources may include other government or private grants, fees for service, subscriptions, donations, or any other means as applicable. Identify what metrics will be used to measure success toward the stated goals of the project (both for Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts) and by what process the project will collect and evaluate them. Results from Prior NSF Support .

The Project Description must contain, as its own distinct element within the narrative, a section labeled "Results from Prior NSF Support". General guidance is provided in the PAPPG Chapter II. C.

2. d(iii). Document the history of prior support for the resource from the institution including NSF, non-NSF funding sources, and/or cost-recovery in the form of contributed effort, facilities and equipment provided, and/or service fees collected.

When appropriate, this section must include evidence of deposition of samples, data and/or data products in recognized, accessible, community-accepted repositories by listing such repositories and, if practical, metadata.

All publications, data, data products, programs and/or scripts that are specifically mentioned in the Results from Prior NSF Support section must be referenced in the References Cited section and must provide unique, resolvable and persistent identifiers (such as Digital Object Identifiers [DOIs]; Uniform Resource Locators (URLs), or similar).

Facilities, Equipment and Other Resources (Maximum length 2 pages) The purpose of the facilities section is to document those existing resources, including space, computational equipment, or effort that will contribute to the project goals. List only those resources that will be used by the project and understand that listing them implies a commitment that they will be available.

No dollar amounts may be referenced for any resource discussed in the Facilities section. If the budget requests funds for equipment, materials, or resources identified in the facilities section, the budget justification should clearly account for the duplication.

The Division of Biological Infrastructure expects that institutions suitable for the development of advanced infrastructure will typically have adequate computing and equipment resources as well as appropriate support staff to facilitate the proposed research. Special Information and Supplementary Documents This section may contain ONLY the following types of documents. Letters of Collaboration .

All Proposed activities must be documented in the Project Description. Statements from individuals who are identified in the Project Description as providing assistance or collaboration to the project, but are not included in the budget, should verify their participation with brief statement as per the PAPPG Chapter II. C.

2. d. iv Unfunded Collaborations.

Proposal including letters with expanded text or letters of support or endorsement will be asked to remove them and this may delay review. Provide any independent quotes, estimates or other documentation used to determine the costs for any equipment, contracts, or consulting services included in the budget.

Memoranda of Understanding, permits, licenses, agreements, or other documents as appropriate that demonstrate that the awardee institution has the appropriate authority to carry out proposed activities on property or with resources owned by other organizations. For example, documents authorizing use of external computing facilities or non-public data resources.

Collaborators and Other Affiliations Information : Proposers should follow the guidance specified in Chapter II. C. 1.

e of the NSF PAPPG. Inclusion of voluntary committed cost sharing is prohibited. Budget Preparation Instructions: Budget Guidance: Budgets should be well justified according to the effort required to carry out the proposed work.

Typical award budgets are expected to vary widely depending on the nature of the infrastructure, the resources and effort required to sustain them, and the relative breadth of the biological science community likely to be impacted.

Proposers are advised to pay close attention to the following guidelines: The budget justification should clearly identify how the NSF funds will be allocated to the major activities and deliverables identified. It must be clear how the effort requested for each individual is apportioned to the activities they will be doing. Proposers should carefully read the NSF PAPPG section II.

C. 2. g.

i. a concerning Senior Project Personnel Salaries. A soft-money position is not, by itself, sufficient justification for exceeding the 2 month limit.

For major equipment or software purchases, a vendor, model, and price quote should be included or referenced with a catalog citation. Justification should explicitly address why the need cannot be met by existing facilities either at the institution or within national cyberinfrastructure supported by other NSF programs.

Requests for equipment must account for administration and maintenance both during, and beyond, the tenure of the award.

For computing equipment, the proposal should also explain how any cycles or storage space not consumed by the project would be made available to the broader scientific community at the campus, regional or even national scale Travel requests must be justified to specific research, collaboration, or dissemination activities described in the proposal. Foreign travel must identify the destination country or countries.

PIs are encouraged to include requests for travel and participation in training programs in sustainable fiscal planning such as the Ecological Society of America's Sustaining Biological Infrastructure program ( https://esa.

org/sbi/ ) If there is an institutional policy setting direct cost fees for the use of computational facilities by sponsored projects, then funds for these fees should be included on line G4 Computer Services as per the NSF PAPPG section II. C. 2.

g. vi. d.

Note that resources or effort that will be contributed from non-NSF sources will be regarded as an important indicator of commitment to the resource by the institution and the stakeholder community. However, such contributions must ONLY be described in narrative form (non-fiscal terms) in the Facilities, Equipment and Other Resources section of the proposal and may NOT be discussed in the budget justification.

Full Proposal Deadline(s) (due by 5 p. m. submitter's local time): Proposals Accepted Anytime D.

Research. gov/Grants. gov Requirements For Proposals Submitted Via Research.

gov: To prepare and submit a proposal via Research. gov, see detailed technical instructions available at: https://www. research.

gov/research-portal/appmanager/base/desktop? _nfpb=true&_pageLabel=research_node_display&_nodePath=/researchGov/Service/Desktop/ProposalPreparationandSubmission. html .

For Research. gov user support, call the Research. gov Help Desk at 1-800-673-6188 or e-mail rgov@nsf.

gov . The Research. gov Help Desk answers general technical questions related to the use of the Research.

gov system. Specific questions related to this program solicitation should be referred to the NSF program staff contact(s) listed in Section VIII of this funding opportunity. For Proposals Submitted Via Grants.

gov: Before using Grants. gov for the first time, each organization must register to create an institutional profile. Once registered, the applicant's organization can then apply for any federal grant on the Grants.

gov website. Comprehensive information about using Grants. gov is available on the Grants.

gov Applicant Resources webpage: https://www. grants. gov/web/grants/applicants.

html . In addition, the NSF Grants. gov Application Guide (see link in Section V.

A) provides instructions regarding the technical preparation of proposals via Grants. gov. For Grants. gov user support, contact the Grants.

gov Contact Center at 1-800-518-4726 or by email: support@grants. gov . The Grants.

gov Contact Center answers general technical questions related to the use of Grants. gov. Specific questions related to this program solicitation should be referred to the NSF program staff contact(s) listed in Section VIII of this solicitation. Submitting the Proposal: Once all documents have been completed, the Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR) must submit the application to Grants.

gov and verify the desired funding opportunity and agency to which the application is submitted. The AOR must then sign and submit the application to Grants. gov. The completed application will be transferred to the NSF FastLane system for further processing.

Proposers that submitted via Research. gov may use Research. gov to verify the status of their submission to NSF.

For proposers that submitted via Grants. gov, until an application has been received and validated by NSF, the Authorized Organizational Representative may check the status of an application on Grants. gov. After proposers have received an e-mail notification from NSF, Research.

gov should be used to check the status of an application. VI. NSF Proposal Processing And Review Procedures Proposals received by NSF are assigned to the appropriate NSF program for acknowledgement and, if they meet NSF requirements, for review.

All proposals are carefully reviewed by a scientist, engineer, or educator serving as an NSF Program Officer, and usually by three to ten other persons outside NSF either as ad hoc reviewers, panelists, or both, who are experts in the particular fields represented by the proposal. These reviewers are selected by Program Officers charged with oversight of the review process.

Proposers are invited to suggest names of persons they believe are especially well qualified to review the proposal and/or persons they would prefer not review the proposal. These suggestions may serve as one source in the reviewer selection process at the Program Officer's discretion. Submission of such names, however, is optional.

Care is taken to ensure that reviewers have no conflicts of interest with the proposal. In addition, Program Officers may obtain comments from site visits before recommending final action on proposals. Senior NSF staff further review recommendations for awards.

A flowchart that depicts the entire NSF proposal and award process (and associated timeline) is included in PAPPG Exhibit III-1. A comprehensive description of the Foundation's merit review process is available on the NSF website at: https://www. nsf.

gov/bfa/dias/policy/merit_review/ . One of the strategic objectives in support of NSF's mission is to foster integration of research and education through the programs, projects, and activities it supports at academic and research institutions. These institutions must recruit, train, and prepare a diverse STEM workforce to advance the frontiers of science and participate in the U.S. technology-based economy.

NSF's contribution to the national innovation ecosystem is to provide cutting-edge research under the guidance of the Nation's most creative scientists and engineers. NSF also supports development of a strong science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce by investing in building the knowledge that informs improvements in STEM teaching and learning.

NSF's mission calls for the broadening of opportunities and expanding participation of groups, institutions, and geographic regions that are underrepresented in STEM disciplines, which is essential to the health and vitality of science and engineering. NSF is committed to this principle of diversity and deems it central to the programs, projects, and activities it considers and supports. A.

Merit Review Principles and Criteria The National Science Foundation strives to invest in a robust and diverse portfolio of projects that creates new knowledge and enables breakthroughs in understanding across all areas of science and engineering research and education.

To identify which projects to support, NSF relies on a merit review process that incorporates consideration of both the technical aspects of a proposed project and its potential to contribute more broadly to advancing NSF's mission "to promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national defense; and for other purposes."

NSF makes every effort to conduct a fair, competitive, transparent merit review process for the selection of projects. 1. Merit Review Principles These principles are to be given due diligence by PIs and organizations when preparing proposals and managing projects, by reviewers when reading and evaluating proposals, and by NSF program staff when determining whether or not to recommend proposals for funding and while overseeing awards.

Given that NSF is the primary federal agency charged with nurturing and supporting excellence in basic research and education, the following three principles apply: All NSF projects should be of the highest quality and have the potential to advance, if not transform, the frontiers of knowledge. NSF projects, in the aggregate, should contribute more broadly to achieving societal goals.

These "Broader Impacts" may be accomplished through the research itself, through activities that are