The Division of Integrative Organismal Systems (IOS) held a Virtual Office Hour on August 19, 2021, providing an overview of DCLs, RAPIDs, EAGERs and Conference and Workshop proposals.
General questions about these opportunities included:
Is there a general range of funding amounts available for the conferences?
The IOS web site states $10,000 to $15,000 for a conference proposal, but higher amounts have been provided. What is requested will depend on what is planned.
I have a current NSF grant. May I submit an REU supplement? Can advice be given about REU supplement specifics (e.g., amount requested in REU supplements, number of undergraduates involved, provide travel support, supplementing existing undergraduate stipends)?
It is preferred that a proposal include funding for undergraduate researchers when the proposal is first submitted. However, IOS realizes that there are instances in which new and unexpected undergraduate researchers may have the opportunity to perform research related to a proposal. In this case, the supplement would cover the cost of a stipend for an undergraduate researcher and could also include travel support for field work. REU supplements usually request one undergraduate researcher for a summer research experience. Note: the supplement mechanism is extremely flexible but requests that differ from what is described above may be of lower priority for program support. Always reach out to a program officer prior to submitting a supplement request.
If a project is funded as an EAGER, understanding that it is ‘high-risk, high-reward’, and that the point is not to gather preliminary data, are there renewals and/or options for seeking longer-term funding at the end of the two-year EAGER funding? Where I can find more info on EAGER projects, like the total number funded?
The expectation is that a PI will submit a new proposal subject to external review that is based on the intellectual progress spurred on by EAGER funding. Go to the NSF Award Search website and search for the word “EAGER” in the title or abstract to obtain a list of active EAGER awards.
Could you explain more about Career Life Balance (CLB) supplement? Could this be applied to a postdoc?
Funded Principal Investigators (PIs) can submit supplemental funding requests to support additional personnel (e.g., research technicians or equivalent) to sustain research when the PI is on family leave. These requests may include funding for up to 6 months of salary support, for a maximum of $30,000 award. More details can be found at https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2021/nsf21021/nsf21021.jsp.
IOS in Focus 