National Science FoundationExperimental Program to

Stimulate Competitive Research (NSF EPSCoR)

May 24, 2012

National Academies

1

NSF Organization

National Science Board

Director & Deputy Director

Computer & Information

Sci & Eng Engineering

Geo-Sciences

MathematicalMathematical& Physical& PhysicalSciencesSciences

Education & Human Resources

Office of Budget,

Finance & Award

Management

Office of Information

Resource Management

Biological Sciences

Office of Cyber-

infrastructure(OCI)

Office of Polar

Programs(OPP)

Office of International

Sci & Eng(OISE)

Office of Integrative Activities

(OIA)

Social, Behavioral &

EconomicSciences

EPSCoR

(BIO) (CISE) (ENG) (GEO) (MPS) (SBE)

(EHR)

2

People: The EPSCoR Team

3

Program Specialist

EPSCoR in Context

• Established by NSB Resolution in 1978

• Target: States receiving lesser amount of NSF research support funding

• Purpose: To build sustainable capacity of educational institutions in those states to compete more successfully in NSF and other research programs

EPSCoR Strategic Objectives

•Catalyze key research themes

•Activate effective jurisdictional and regional collaborations

•Broaden participation

•Use EPSCoR for development, implementation, and evaluation of programmatic experiments

Strengthen Jurisdictions Capacity for Competitiveness

NSF EPSCoR Eligibility History

FY Parameters Award Size Duration1979 >$1M of NSF R&RA and

S&E indicators$3M 5 Years

1985 >$3M of NSF R&RA and revised S&E indicators

$3M 5 Years

1992 ≥0.5% of NSF R&RA and S&E indicators

$4.5M 3 Years

2001 ≥0.5% of NSF R&RA and S&E indicators

$9M 3 Years

2002 ≥0.7% of NSF R&RA $9M 3 Years

2003 ≥0.75% of NSF R&RA $9M 3 Years

2008 ≥0.75% of NSF R&RA $15M 5 Years

2009-Present

≥0.75% of NSF R&RA $20M 5 Years

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Eligible EPSCoR Jurisdictions

• Have historically received lesser amounts of NSF Research Support; and

• Have demonstrated a commitment to develop their research bases and improve science and engineering research and education programs at their universities and colleges.

What is EPSCoR?• State-based capacity-building program

- Governance includes State committee- Alignment with State S&T plan- Research driven: Science First!- State co-investment – 20% Cost Sharing- Economic development

• Multidisciplinary• Multi-institutional• Close interaction between NSF and the EPSCoR

community

Multi-faceted State-wide program!

EPSCoR Investment Strategies

• Research Infrastructure Improvement Awards (RII)

Support physical, human, and cyber infrastructure within academic institutions at the state level

• Co-Funding with NSF Directorates and OfficesSupports individual investigators and groups from EPSCoR jurisdictions by co-investment with disciplinary research programs in their meritorious proposals

• Outreach Activities and WorkshopsBrings EPSCoR jurisdiction investigators together with NSF program staff; builds mutual awareness and

transparency

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RII Track-1 Program

Statewide Virtual Center: Science First- PLUS

• Diversity Plan • Workforce Development• Cyberinfrastructure Plan • External Engagement• Evaluation and Assessment • Sustainability• Management Plan • 20% Cost Share Required

Up to $4M/yr for up to 5 yrs

Strategically aligned with State S&T Plans

Research Foci of Track-1 Awards

• Sustainability & Water Resources• Modeling Climate Change• Energy• Environmental Science• Genetics, Genomics, & Proteomics• Materials Research• Nanoscience• Sensor Development

Each Track-1 Project has multiple areas of interdisciplinary research that cuts across 2 or more of these overarching

themes.

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• Arkansas - Renewable Energy:• Plant biosynthesis, alternative energy, and

nanotechnology

• Iowa - Sustainable Energy Systems: The transition in energy supply from subsurface energy stores to renewable energy flows at or near the earth’s surface

• Louisiana - Multiscale Modeling: Electronic, energy and biomolecular materials computational modeling

Track-1 Awards Research Foci

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• Rhode Island - Impacts of Climate Change on Marine Life: Response of marine ecosystems to ocean warming and acidification

• Tennessee - Solar Energy Conversion and Storage: Sustainable methods and materials to enhance energy efficiency

• West Virginia - Bionanotechnology for Public Security and Environmental Safety: Sensors for heavy metals and toxins; biomimetics

Track-1 Awards Research Foci (+)

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EPSCoR Investment Tools for Capacity Building (+)

• Research Infrastructure Improvement Awards (RII)

Track-2: Up to $2M/year for up to 3 years to consortia of jurisdictions to support innovation-enabling cyberinfrastructure of regional, thematic, or technological importance. (New in FY 2009)

1616

EPSCoR Investment Tools for Capacity Building (+)

• Research Infrastructure Improvement Awards (RII)

Track-2: Up to $2M/year for up to 3 years to consortia of jurisdictions to support innovation-enabling cyberinfrastructure of regional, thematic, or technological importance. (New in FY 2009)

1717

EPSCoR Investment Tools for Capacity Building (+)

• Research Infrastructure Improvement Awards (RII)

Cyber Connectivity (C2): Up to 2 years and $1M to support the enhancement of inter-campus and intra-campus cyber connectivity and broadband access within an EPSCoR jurisdiction. (New in FY 2010; ARRA)

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EPSCoR Investment Tools for Capacity Building (+)

Co-Funding:

Joint support of research proposals submitted by EPSCoR researchers to non-EPSCoR NSF programs that have been merit reviewed and recommended for award, but could not be funded without the combined, leveraged support of EPSCoR and the Research and Education Directorates and Offices.

EPSCoR Co-Funding ($M)FY EPS Dir/Off NSF Total Leverage

2001 33.7 49.1 82.8 2.5

2002 37.7 64.2 101.9 2.7

2003 39.7 58.7 98.4 2.5

2004 36.2 66.2 102.4 2.8

2005 33.7 67.7 101.4 3.0

2006 36.4 56.1 91.5 2.6

2007 36.2 67.4 101.0 3.0

2008 46.7 104.4 151.1 3.2

2009 40.5 66.7 107.2 2.6

2010 44.8 84.3 129.1 2.9

FY 01-10 385.6 684.8 1070.4 2.8 19

FY11 Co-Funding by Directorates/Offices

DIR/Off # Cofund

Cofund ($ M)

Total($ M) Leverage

BIO 31 5.9 17.5 3.0CISE 26 4.6 11.0 2.4EHR 22 7.0 27.3 4.0ENG 40 6.1 12.7 2.1GEO 36 5.1 12.6 2.5MPS 45 7.2 16.9 2.3OCI 4 0.3 1.3 4.3OISE 30 0.2 0.5 2.5OPP 5 1.0 2.1 2.1SBE 10 1.3 3.0 2.3

Total 249 38.9 104.9 2.7 20

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EPSCoR Investment Tools for Capacity Building (+)

Outreach & Workshops

Support of outreach activities by NSF disciplinary and professional staff; Support of strategic planning and capacity-building workshops.

EPSCoR Budget ($M)FY 1992 – 2011

NSF EPSCoR Funding ($M)

1

Activity FY07 FY08 FY09 FY10 FY11

RII 65.8 72.8 91.3 100.2 106.2

Co-Fund 34.5 46.7 41.1 45.4 39.4

Outreach Workshop 1.8 0.5 0.5 1.5 1.2

Total 102.1 120.0 132.9 147.1 146.8

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Indicators of ProgressFY 2011

•Patents – 22 awarded, 23 pending

•Publications – Primary RII support = 153 – Partial RII support = 362

•K-12 Outreach – Teachers trained = 4,340 – Students reached directly = 46,538 – Students reached via teacher

training = 75,454