The Division of Integrative Organismal Systems (IOS) held a Virtual Office Hour on May 18, 2023, providing information on current solicitations and Dear Colleague Letters of potential interest to the community. This overview was followed by our topic of the month, the Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) Solicitation (NSF 22-586). Program Directors familiar with …
RePost: Learn about the new tracks in NSF’s Convergence Accelerator
Reposted from BioBuzz The NSF Convergence Accelerator has issued a new funding opportunity for three new research track topics: Equitable Water Solutions, Real-World Chemical Sensing Applications, and Bio-Inspired Design Innovations. Researchers and innovators have two submission pathways to submit their proposals: Solicitation, NSF-23-590, and Broad Agency Announcement (BAA), NSFBAA-CA23-01. Required letters of intent are due by July …
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RePost: Join BIO for a Virtual Office Hour on Broader Impacts
Reposted from BioBuzz Susan Renoe, PhD Special Guest: Susan Renoe, PhD, Advancing Research Impact in Society (ARIS) Join NSF’s Directorate for Biological Sciences (BIO) on Wednesday, June 7, 2023, from 2pm to 3pm ET for a virtual office hour on broader impacts. BIO Program Directors and staff will be joined by special guest Susan Renoe, PhD, Associate Vice Chancellor …
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Learn More about the Building Research Capacity of New Faculty in Biology Program (BRC-BIO)
Join the Directorate for Biological Sciences (BIO) on Monday May 22, 2023 at 4pm ET to hear more about the Building Research Capacity for New Faculty in Biology (BRC-BIO) program. This webinar will also include time for Q&A. The BIO-BRC program focuses on enhancing research capacity and broadening participation of new faculty at minority-serving institutions …
Meet with NSF Program Directors at ASM Microbe 2023
Program Directors from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Directorate for Biological Sciences (BIO) will be attending the Microbe meeting of the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) in Houston, Texas on June 16-18, 2023. Come visit us at in the Exhibitor Hall at booths 2202 and 2204 on Friday and Saturday from 10am-5pm, and Sunday 10am-4pm …
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Volunteer to be an IOS Reviewer!
The success of the NSF merit review process depends on qualified scientific reviewers (like yourself!) to share your time and expertise to review proposals submitted by your peers. IOS needs reviewers to serve as both ad hoc reviewers (typically reading 1 proposal and providing a written review)) and panelist reviewers (who sit on a 2- …
LIFE: Leveraging Innovations From Evolution Town Hall and Scoping Sessions
NSF, in partnership with KnowInnovation, will be hosting a virtual Town Hall and two Scoping Sessions (one in-person and one virtual) focused on LIFE: Leveraging Innovations From Evolution. LIFE aims to bring together diverse scientists to think on specific research challenges and opportunities, including technological and educational training needs, that leverage convergent evolution to investigate …
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Don’t miss it! IOS Virtual Office Hour on the Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) solicitation
Join us on Thursday, May 18th, 1 – 2pm ET for the next IOS Virtual Office Hour. Program Officers involved in the Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) (NSF 22-586) will discuss the CAREER program and solicitation requirements. Representatives from IOS programs will also be available to answer any questions about IOS core programs. REGISTER …
Panel Summaries – What are they?
If a proposal was reviewed by a panel at any point during the review process, the panel summary and recommendation, along with all individual reviews, will be provided to the PI once the merit review process concludes. Note that some proposals are not reviewed by a panel, but might for various reasons only be reviewed …
Did you miss it? April 2023 Virtual Office Hours Recap: How to Write a Great Budget: A visit with DGA (Division of Grants and Agreements)
The Division of Integrative Organismal Systems (IOS) held a Virtual Office Hour on April 20, 2023 providing information on current solicitations and Dear Colleague Letters of potential interest to the community. This overview was followed by our topic of the month, how to write a great budget. Vanessa Richardson and Staci Jenkins from NSF’s Division …
RePost: The Postdoctoral mentoring plan
Reposted from NSF 101 The postdoctoral mentoring plan has been an NSF requirement since 2007, recognizing the important role that mentorship plays in the postdoctoral experience and their future career paths. While you will find many templates online, NSF does not endorse a prescriptive format and encourages researchers to lead the way in creating unique …
A Note from the Division Director
I’m marking the milestone of 6+ months since I started as the Division Director of Integrative Organismal Systems with a blog post. While there is much to write about, I’ve decided to focus on something I had not fully appreciated about IOS before joining NSF. It’s the people. When fully staffed there are a total …
Save the Date! NSF Virtual Grants Conference June 5-8, 2023
Are you a new faculty, researcher or administrator wondering about funding opportunities available at NSF? Would you benefit from learning more about NSF policies or procedures? The 2023 NSF Virtual Grants Conference is designed to give key insights into a wide range of current issues at NSF. Highlights will include new programs and initiatives, proposal …
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NSF-wide Program Assistant vacancy announcement
An NSF-wide Program Assistant vacancy announcement was posted on USAJobs on April 3, 2023, and is anticipated to stay open for approximately two weeks. IOS and other Divisions in BIO will be interviewing candidates from this announcement. The role of the various administrative staff within IOS has been previously posted on HERE. Program Assistants working …
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Don’t miss it! IOS Virtual Office Hour featuring how to write a great budget
Join us Thursday, April 20th, 1 – 2pm ET for our next IOS Virtual Office Hour. Program Officers will be joined by the Division of Grants and Agreements to discuss tips and tricks for writing a great budget. Representatives from IOS programs will also be available to answer questions. To participate, please use the registration link below. Upcoming IOS Virtual …
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Did you know? Integrative Research in Biology (IntBIO) has been added as a track to the core IOS solicitation
We want to highlight that the "Integrative Research in Biology (IntBIO)" funding opportunity is now a track within the IOS core programs (NSF 23-547). The purpose of this track is to support collaborative proposals to tackle bold questions in biology that require an integrative approach. Typically, this type of research will span different sub-disciplines of …
NSF Workshop: Building Bridges to Use-Inspired Research and Science-Informed Practices
We invite you to participate in a workshop aiming to strengthen partnerships among academic, private, and government organizations. Supported by NSF's Directorate of Biological Sciences (BIO), the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), and the Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (TIP) this workshop will build new connections among key biological sciences communities to successfully conduct …
Did you know? NSF’s Policy on Dual Use Research of Concern (DURC)
NSF's new Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG, NSF 23-1) contains an update to the agency's policy on dual use research of concern (DURC) (i.e., research that uses one of 15 select agents, produces one of 7 effects, and has the potential to be misused). NSF policy still prohibits funding of life sciences …
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Don’t miss it! DEB Virtual Office Hour focused on Primarily Undergraduate Institutions (PUIs)
We welcome the IOS community to attend an upcoming Virtual Office Hour (VOH) hosted by the Division of Environmental Biology (DEB) on April 10, 2023, from 1-2pm ET. This VOH is relevant for all biologically-focused scientists and staff at Primarily Undergraduate Institutions (PUIs) and will cover a variety of topics to help PUI faculty be …
NSF-wide Program Specialist vacancy announcement
An NSF-wide Program Specialist vacancy announcement was posted on USAJobs on March 24, 2023 (https://www.usajobs.gov/job/715082400). IOS and other Divisions in BIO will be interviewing candidates from this announcement. The role of the various administrative staff within IOS has been previously posted on HERE. Program Specialists working in IOS are essential to the grant review and …
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Did you miss it? March 2023 Virtual Office Hours Recap: IOS Synthesis Center for Understanding Organismal Resilience
The Division of Integrative Organismal Systems (IOS) held a Virtual Office Hour on March 16, 2023 providing information on current solicitations and Dear Colleague Letters of potential interest to the community. This overview was followed by our topic of the month, the new IOS Synthesis Center for Understanding Organismal Resilience (NSF 23-564) funding opportunity. Cognizant …
New Opportunities for Bioinspired Design
NSF released two new Dear Colleague Letters (DCLs) focused on bio-inspired design and prioritizing interdisciplinary collaborations: Bioinspired Design Collaborations to Accelerate the Discovery-Translation Process (BioDesign) Announcement of 2023 Convergence Accelerator Track M: Bio-Inspired Design Innovations BioDesign DCL Through the new BioDesign DCL, the IOS Core Programs and Plant Genome Research Program aim to facilitate the translation …
Broader Impacts 101
One of the unique merit review criteria of an NSF proposal is the Broader Impacts. Writing this section of a proposal may seem daunting to first time applicants (and even experienced applicants), so we’ll first start here with defining what NSF means by Broader Impacts and follow with some tips on how to describe these …
Don’t miss it! Virtual Office Hour featuring the new IOS Synthesis Center for Understanding Organismal Resilience Solicitation (NSF 23-564)
Join us on Thursday, March 16th, 2023 from 1 – 2pm ET for IOS’s next Virtual Office Hour. Cognizant Program Directors involved in the new IOS Synthesis Center for Understanding Organismal Resilience solicitation (NSF 23-564) will discuss what a synthesis center is and the solicitation requirements. Representatives from the various IOS programs will also be …
I3: Proposal Writing Tips
When we talk to Principal Investigators (PIs), a common question is typically “Are there any tips for writing a strong grant proposal?”. We offer a virtual office hour (VOH) annually that covers this topic. If you missed the last VOH on this topic, you can read a recap and download the slides here. Below we …
Did you miss it? February 2023 Virtual Office Hours Recap: Funding opportunities for infection biology at NSF
The slides are available here. The Division of Integrative Organismal Systems (IOS) held a Virtual Office Hour on February 16, 2023 providing information on current solicitations and Dear Colleague Letters of potential interest to the community. This overview was followed by our topic of the month, funding opportunities for infection biology research at NSF where …
RePost: New Global Centers Program Aims to Address Challenges in Climate Change and Clean Energy
RePost from BioBuzz NSF has announced a new Global Centers (GC) program, an ambitious effort to fund international, interdisciplinary collaborative research centers that will apply best practices of broadening participation and community engagement to develop use-inspired research on climate change and clean energy. Centers are also expected to create and promote opportunities for students and early career researchers …
How are Broader Impacts Reviewed?
As described in the NSF Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG, NSF 23-1), all NSF proposals are evaluated through use of two merit review criteria: Intellectual Merit – the potential to advance knowledge Broader Impacts – the potential to benefit society and contribute to the achievement of specific, desired societal outcomes. Both criteria …
RePost: Second Virtual Office Hour on New Requirement for Safe and Inclusive Work Environments Plan
RePost from BioBuzz As was noted previously in this blog, several solicitations from the Directorates for Biological Sciences (BIO) and Geological Sciences (GEO) will soon require the submission of a Safe and Inclusive Work Environments Plan (list of those solicitations below) that will be considered as part of the Broader Impacts criteria during the review process. A …
RePost: GRANTED – Funding for conferences, symposia, and workshops
RePost from DEBrief Growing Research Access for Nationally Transformative Equity and Diversity – GRANTED is a new initiative at NSF that seeks to fund conferences, symposia, and workshops around one or more of three primary themes: enhancing practices and processes within the research enterprise, strengthening the research enterprise workforce, and partnering with national and regional professional societies …
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NSF announces solicitation for open-source ecosystems
Are you interested in developing a community to manage open-source products, such as software, hardware, models, specifications, programing languages or data platforms? If so, consider submitting a proposal to the Pathways to Enable Open-Source Ecosystems (POSE) program. This program aims to support new managing organizations to catalyze distributed, community-driven development and growth of new open-source ecosystems (OSEs). The expected …
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RePost: Can People at Other Agencies Submit to NSF Programs?
RePost from BioBuzz Can researchers at USDA, a National Lab, the Smithsonian, or those in other federal positions be funded? If so, how? Are you a federal employee whose work might fit an NSF program? Perhaps you are a scientist at a college or university looking to work with a federal employee on an NSF …
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Did you miss it? January 2023 Virtual Office Hours Recap: Enabling Discovery through GEnomics (EDGE)
The Division of Integrative Organismal Systems (IOS) held a Virtual Office Hour on January 19, 2023 providing information on current solicitations and Dear Colleague Letters of potential interest to the community. This overview was followed by our topic of the month, the Enabling Discovery through GEnomics (EDGE; 21-546) funding opportunity. General information about the EDGE …
Guidelines for Revising and Resubmitting your Proposal
Receiving a notice that your proposal has been declined is discouraging for all principal investigators. At the bottom of this page is NSF’s official guidance on resubmission, but we first provide some information to help you evaluate whether to resubmit a revised proposal. Suggestions before considering resubmission Take time to read and digest the results …
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IOS Bids Farewell to Evan Balaban
For the past seven years, Evan Balaban has been a Program Director in the IOS Neural Systems Cluster working with the Organization and Activation Programs. Evan will be starting a position as a Distinguished Researcher/Full Professor at the Universidad Carlos III Madrid (UC3M) in Spain, where he will be guiding the development of their new Neuroscience …
Upcoming 2023 Solicitation Due Dates
Although the Directorate for Biological Sciences (BIO) core programs solicitations are accepted anytime, there are other BIO and NSF-wide funding opportunities that have due dates. Below is a list of some solicitations relevant to the IOS community with upcoming deadlines and due date windows. Please note that this is not a comprehensive list as new …
What are “Cognizant Program Officer Comments” and where can you find them at Research.gov?
What are “Cognizant Program Officer Comments”? When a proposal decision has been made, the PI(s) can view the following information at Research.gov: Proposal status (such as awarded or declined) De-identified copies of all reviews A panel summary (if the proposal was reviewed by a panel) Cognizant Program Officer Comments (if written) The Cognizant Program Officer …
Reminder: January 27, 2023 is the Last Day New Proposals and Supplemental Funding Requests Can Be Submitted in FastLane
Moving forward, new proposals to NSF must be prepared and submitted in Research.gov or Grants.gov, and all supplemental funding requests must be submitted in Research.gov. The last day that new proposals can be submitted via FastLane is Friday, January 27, 2023 (5:00pm submitter’s local time). Any in-progress proposals currently in FastLane must either be submitted …
New faces and a few goodbyes at IOS!
It’s a new year and there are some changes in the IOS Staff that we wanted to update you about. We have recently welcomed two new Staff! Julie Kellner has joined as the Science Advisor and will be coordinating scientific activities and outreach across IOS. Miriam Ashley-Ross, from Wake Forest University, has recently started as …
Don’t miss it! Virtual Office Hour featuring PAPPG Changes Thursday Jan. 19, 2023
As many of you have already heard the NSF has published a new Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG) (NSF 23-1). This new Guide features several changes which take effect as of Jan 30, 2023 and are summarized here. For now, we want to focus on changes to the formatting of BioSketches and …
Continue reading Don’t miss it! Virtual Office Hour featuring PAPPG Changes Thursday Jan. 19, 2023
Is your research close to that funded by the Enabling Discovery through GEnomics (EDGE) program? Learn more at the first Virtual Office Hour of the New Year!
Office hour: January 19, 2023, 1:00 pm ET EDGE proposal deadline: February 16, 2023 The Directorate for Biological Sciences (BIO) at the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will host a virtual office hour about the EDGE program and the current solicitation (NSF 21-546). …
Learn More About a New IOS Solicitation! Organismal Response to Climate Change (ORCC): Expanding Understanding and Improving Predictions of Life on a Warming Planet (22-513)
BIO’s new solicitation, Organismal Response to Climate Change (ORCC), calls for proposals focused on understanding the mechanistic underpinnings of organismal response to climate change to improve our ability to predict and to mitigate maladaptive biological responses to rapidly changing environments and to facilitate organismal adaptation and persistence. Full Proposal Deadline: March 1, 2022 In particular, …
Tell Us How We are Doing
The Division of Integrative Organismal Systems (IOS) is committed to ensuring that the research community remains current with news, opportunities, and events within the division and throughout the National Science Foundation. One of the ways we do this is via our blog: IOS in FOCUS. In our efforts to better serve you, we are asking …
IOS in Focus 