Welcome to NSF EPSCoR in Idaho

WELCOMEto NSF EPSCoR in Idaho

2013 - 2018

2 • Welcome to NSF EPSCoR in Idaho

ABOUT

04 EPSCoR04 ISHEN04 Idaho STEM Pipeline05 Idaho EPSCoR Committee06 Idaho EPSCoR Office Staff08 MILES08 Executive Leadership Team 09 Component Team Leads

RESEARCH10 Boise-Treasure Valley 12 Coeur d’Alene 14 Pocatello

EDUCATION16 Adventure Learning 18 MURI 20 Ambassador Program

REVIEW21 Project Advisory Board21 External Evaluation

PARTICIPANT INFORMATION22 Participation24 Financial26 Reporting

ADDITIONAL FUNDINGOPPORTUNITIES

28 IWG30 iSEED 32 CCD

COMMUNICATION

34 GoTo Meeting34 Teleconferencing34 Videoconferencing35 Websites35 Social Media

WHAT IS EPSCoR

34 Goals and Objectives

Welcome to NSF EPSCoR in Idaho • 3

WELCOMEOn behalf of the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) in Idaho, we welcome you as a participant in the statewide Research Infrastructure Improvement (RII) program funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the State of Idaho. EPSCoR is the only state-based program at the NSF. Idaho won a $20M award in 2013 focused on building research capacity related to Managing Idaho’s Landscapes for Ecosystem Services (MILES). This program is based on strong collaboration among Idaho’s public universities - University of Idaho, Boise State University, and Idaho State University - as well as participation of Idaho’s 2-year and 4-year colleges. The purpose of an NSF EPSCoR RII grant is to provide support for lasting improvements in a state’s academic research infrastructure and its research and education capacity in areas that support state and university Science and Technology Strategic Plans. Idaho EPSCoR is governed by the Idaho EPSCoR Committee. The intent of NSF EPSCoR is to partner with Idaho to increase our national competitiveness for research funding in strategic areas of importance to the State and to enhance our reputation within the science community for high impact research. Idaho’s NSF RII award IIA-1301792 is a cooperative agreement to the University of Idaho, where the Idaho EPSCoR Office resides. The RII research theme, MILES, is summarized later in this document and more fully in the NSF EPSCoR RII proposal submitted to NSF. This NSF award is a continuing award that has been approved for five years starting June 2013; however, funds are awarded one year at a time based on ongoing demonstration of progress in meeting the goals and objectives of Idaho’s MILES project. The goals and objectives are articulated in the MILES Strategic Plan. Meaningful collaboration and integration among MILES participants is essential to effectively develop, leverage, and add value to Idaho’s research capabilities. This project is designed to help Idahoans make science-based decisions about natural resources as rproject esults and products provide us all with a better understanding of the complex relationship between people and the environment. Again, welcome and congratulations on your participation in this unique statewide infrastructure improvement award. We hope this booklet gives you a glimpse of the exciting nature of an EPSCoR award, and we look forward to seeing how MILES will enhance Idaho’s contributions to the national science community.

Sincerely,

Peter Goodwin Rick SchumakerProject Director Assistant Project DirectorIdaho EPSCoR Idaho EPSCoR

Editor Althea Sheets, [email protected] Graphic DesignMandi Coulter, [email protected]

Version 1.0, August 2014


about

IDAHO STEM HIGHER EDUCATION NETWORKTo promote state-lead coordination for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), Idaho EPSCoR established the Idaho STEM Higher Education Network (ISHEN). The Network fosters communication across university and college campuses to encourage the formation and dissemination of new ideas, values, and learning and provides leadership to carry out integrative activities. The Network involves Idaho’s three public universities and 2-year and 4-year colleges, assists in creating sustainable partnerships, and strengthens recruitment and retention efforts, particularly for underrepresented minorities, women, and persons with disabilities. See the Idaho EPSCoR website for more information idahoepscor.org.

idahostem.org

IDAHO STEM PIPELINEThere is a growing need in our Nation to prepare more students, teachers, and practitioners in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). There are many excellent programs in Idaho designed to prepare and encourage students to pursue STEM fields. To better integrate various efforts and establish online access to multiple programs, the “Idaho STEM Pipeline” was created as a user-friendly web portal that provides easily accessible information on these Idaho programs to students, parents, teachers, and Idaho communities.

EPSCoRThe Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) is a National Science Foundation (NSF) initiative to partner with eligible states to promote the development of science and technology capacity throughout the United States. NSF establishes partnerships with government, higher education, and industry that are designed to effect lasting improvements in a state’s or region’s research infrastructure, R&D capacity and hence, its national R&D competitiveness.

idahoepscor.org

idahoepscor.org/ishen

Dr. Howard GrimesIdaho State University

Dr. John McIverUniversity of Idaho

Maxine BellIdaho State Representative

John GoeddeIdaho State

Senate

Dr. David TuthillIdaho Water Engineering

Dr. David HillIdaho National

Laboratory (ret.)

Dr. Frank RobertoNewmont Mining

Corporation

Matt BorudIdaho Department

of Commerce

Bill GoeslingEx Officio Member

State Board of Education

Dr. Mark RudinBoise State University

Dr. Dennis StevensVeterans Affairs Medical Center

Doug ChadderdonGreat Floors LLC

Gynii GilliamEconomic Development

Consultant

David BarnebyNevada Power and Sierra

Pacific Power (ret.)

Leo RayFish Breeders of Idaho

Dr. Doyle Jacklin, Vice-Chairman

Riverbend Commerce Park

Dr. Laird Noh, ChairmanIdaho StateSenate (ret.)

Dr. Jean’ne ShreeveUniversity of Idaho


IDAHO EPSCoR COMMITTEEIdaho EPSCoR is led by a State Committee of volunteer members with diverse professional backgrounds from both the public and private sectors and from all regions of the state. The EPSCoR Committee is appointed by and reports to the Idaho State Board of Education and receives matching funds via the Higher Education Research Council (HERC). In addition to ongoing oversight, the EPSCoR Committee is responsible for identifying research themes having the best potential to improve Idaho’s future R&D competitiveness.


IDAHO EPSCoROFFICE

MANAGEMENT

Dr. Peter Goodwin

Project Director

[email protected]

208-850-1211

RII Principal Investigator

Scientific & technical leadership

Maintain cohesive research enterprise

Implement EPSCoR Committee directive

Promote excellence in STEM

Promote productive research environment

Rick Schumaker

Assistant Project Director

Project Administrator

[email protected]

208-885-5742

Program coordination

Monitoring goals and objectives

EPSCoR Office operations

Liaison with NSF & EPSCoR Committee

Program evaluation and reports

Fiscal oversight

Fostering state & institutional partnerships

As a statewide program interacting with hundreds of participants at all levels, the Project Director is assisted by a professional staff to ensure the effficient and effective performance of all project responsibilities. The Idaho EPSCoR Office and Project Director are located at the University of Idaho. Idaho EPSCoR currently administers the $20 million, 5-year Research Infrastructure Improvement (RII) Track 1 grant (MILES - IIA-1301792) and the $6 million, 3-year RII Track 2 Tri-State (Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico) grant (WC-WAVE - IIA-1329513). Detailed information is available on idahoecosystems.org (MILES) and westernconsortium.org (WC-WAVE).

Contact Us: 875 Perimeter Drive, MS 3029 Moscow, Idaho 83844-3029208-885-7102208-885-5111 faxidahoepscor.org


FINANCE AND HUMAN RESOURCESEDUCATION, OUTREACH, AND DIVERSITY

Julie Bachman

Administrative/Financial Coordinator (part-time)

[email protected]

208-282-4630

ISU financial management

Administrative support

Track-1 and Track-2 RII

MEDIA & COMMUNICATIONS, REPORTING, MEETINGS & EVENTS

Althea Sheets

Communications Manager

[email protected]

208-885-4144

Media/news, communications, highlights

Newsletter Editor

Website(s) Administrator

Social Media & Events Supervisor

Reporting

Mandi Coulter

Events Coordinator

[email protected]

208-885-1295

Event coordination, planning & logistics

Videoconference and technology support

Graphic design

Social Media

FINANCE AND HUMAN RESOURCESMichele Mattoon

Finance & Human Resources Manager

[email protected]

208-885-5842

Sub awards, service contracts & purchase orders

Budget planning & management

Financial compliance & policies

UI hiring process and procedures, finance,

human resources & admin. supervisor

Maria S. Horta-Vorse

Administrative/Financial Coordinator

[email protected]

208-885-7102


EPSCoR teleconference numbers & GoToMeeting

Reimbursements & invoice processing

UI travel authorizations & reimbursements and

payroll updates & changes

Kay Trotter

Administrative/Financial Coordinator (part-time)

[email protected]

208-426-2912

BSU financial management


Track-1 RII

Sarah Penney

Education. Outreach, and Diversity Manager

[email protected]

208-885-2345

Idaho STEM Pipeline

Diversity and broadening statewide participation in STEM

MILES Undergraduate Research and Internships (MURI) Program

MILES and WC-WAVE Workforce Development

2-yr and 4-yr College Ambassadors Program


EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP TEAM

The Executive Leadership Team (ELT) includes three faculty members, one representing each university as scientific and administrative leaders on MILES. The ELT directs, guides and monitors the implementation of the MILES project. It is responsible for:• Serving as their institution’s primary point of contact

for coordinating MILES.• Coordination of new personnel (faculty, postdocs, etc.) at

their respective campuses.• Overseeing seed-funding awards such as iSEED and IWG.• Integration of multiple RII components. • Coordination with institutional initiative and priorities.• Serving as liasons between their home institution’s scientists

with other Idaho universities and the Idaho EPSCoR Office.• Leveraging of the EPSCoR project into other proposals and

fostering groups of faculty to pursue funding opportunities related to MILES.

Dr. Shawn BennerBoise State [email protected]

Dr. Jan BollUniversity of [email protected]

Dr. David RodgersIdaho State [email protected]

The VISION of the MILES program is for Idaho to be widely recognized as a national leader and model state for applying coupled natural-human systems research focused on ecosystem services to inform sustainable development of mid-sized cities.

The MISSION of MILES is to: 1) advance understanding of changes in ecosystem services at the interface between urban and rural environments, 2) relate those changes to societal and climate drivers, and 3) provide science-based tools and training to inform policy decisions about the sustainable management of these ecosystem services.

The GOAL of MILES is to create new knowledge about relationships between ecosystem services, landscape change, and associated social ecological systems (SES), and establish the infrastructure to provide science-based decision support needed to sustainability management Idaho’s resources.

MILESMANAGING IDAHO’S LANDSCAPES FOR ECOSYSTEM SERVICES


COMPONENTLEADERS

Components represent strategic priority areas of the MILES project. Component Leads are responsible for the respective intellectual and collaborative leadership to ensure statewide progress toward the goals and objectives identified in the MILES proposal and Strategic Plan.

VISUALIZATION & VIRTUALIZATION

INTEGRATION

INTEGRATIVE MODELING OF SES

CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE

STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT

WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT

Dr. John AndersonUniversity of [email protected]

SES CHARACTERIZATION & VULNERABILITY

Dr. Colden BaxterIdaho State [email protected]

Dr. Jan BollUniversity of [email protected]

Dr. Alejandro FloresBoise State [email protected]

Dr. Nancy GlennBoise State [email protected]

Dr. John TracyUniversity of [email protected]

External Engagement andAdventure LearningDr. Lee VierlingUniversity of [email protected]

Diversity & MURISarah PenneyIdaho [email protected]

SustainabilityDr. Peter GoodwinIdaho [email protected]

Evaluation & AssessmentRick SchumakerIdaho [email protected]

To advance this fundamentally integrated work, MILES is developing three, place-based case studies. These studies allow project integration at a manageable scale. The capacity to integrate all components and the integrative nature of our work will increase throughout the project.

CASE STUDIESRESEARCH


BOISE-TREASURE VALLEY

Questions: Dr. Shawn Benner [email protected]

This project strives to better understand how population growth, coupled with climate change, will alter the Treasure Valley’s landscape. Our initial focus is on water resources guided by the question: How will water availability and water use change in the Treasure Valley into the future?

Our goal is to develop science-based support tools that can inform decisions by policy makers to sustainably manage Idaho’s resources.

The project will build a modeling framework that will allow researchers and stakeholders to identify potential trajectories of change to the landscapes of the Treasure Valley. The project will bring together researchers with broad backgrounds in hydrology, public policy, ecology, and economics to develop an integrative understanding of how

research

Water resources in the face of a growing population and a changing climate.


NowTraining the next generation of researchers who will have the capacity to conduct research in this challenging arena.

FutureWe hope to provide tools that allow society to view their alternative futures: How will decisions now influence what the Treasure Valley, its landscapes, and its ecosystem services look like in the future?

human activities will alter the landscape into the future and how the landscape and it’s economic, ecological, and physical characteristics will change in response to stressors like urban growth and climate change.

A key component of the project is a modeling framework that explicitly integrates biophysical (e.g. climate, water flow, vegetation growth) and societal processes (economics, policy, values) to produce projections of landscape change under different scenarios (alternative futures). Initially, the project will focus its activities on better understanding the future of water resources in the Treasure Valley, but will expand to include topics

of interest to the community including water quality, wildfire, and recreation.

The project depends on a robust stakeholder engagement process to focus research on topics and questions of interest to stakeholders and decision makers in the Treasure Valley. A robust and ongoing stakeholder engagement process will help ensure that the project creates value for the community.

Urban and exurban growth are increasing vulnerability of recreational fishery to algal blooms and cyanobacteria outbreaks.


COEUR D’ALENEIdaho scientists are learning how citizens and decision-makers envision goods and services that their local environment provides. Through engagement with stakeholder groups, they are developing new knowledge on how urban growth and climate change influence how a watershed’s functions affect the ability of the landscape to provide the water-based ecosystem services stakeholders have come to rely on.

Decision makers, whether individuals or delegated authorities, often operate in a data poor environment that may fail to optimize opportunity. Accurate, replicable characterization of the complex web of individual and social behaviors is a necessary first step in identifying and reducing the changes in the goods and services ecosystems provide and humans rely on. Using new computer expertise and social media, UI scientists are creating interactive data-driven virtual worlds as cutting edge stakeholder decision-making tools. We are closing the social ecological feedback loop, providing informed iteration of future urban development and climate change scenarios to Idaho’s citizenry and decision-making bodies.

Questions: Dr. Jan Boll [email protected]

NOWTo support management decisions, complex datasets that describe the Fernan Lake social ecological system now and in the future are being created and made accessible and available to individuals, communities, and agencies.

The eagerness of stakeholders to participate in the greater Coeur d’Alene area study is palpable and growing.

FUTUREStakeholders maintain desired ecosystem services in the face of urban growth and climate change.


POCATELLOIdaho Scientists are engaging with stakeholders in finding tradeoffs between flood protection and aesthetic, recreational and water quality services associated with the Portneuf River system on the outskirts and through the city of Pocatello, Idaho. Decision-makers will have available model-based visualizations of the past and present along with future outgrowth scenarios.

Pocatello is a mid-sized city poised to expand along the length of the Portneuf River. Through this research community leaders and decision-makers will learn to work with scientists to improve or protect ecosystem services in concert with urban expansion. MILES project will provide a means to track the history and future of mid-sized city growth, informing the decisions by city-officials, policy-makers, and the general public through effective communication.

What are the tradeoffs between flood protection and the aesthetic, recreational, and water quality services associated with the Portneuf river system in and near the mid-sized city of Pocatello, Idaho?

Questions: Dr. David Rodgers [email protected]


NowDocumenting flood histories, ground water quality, and community values.

FutureWe can inform the public how to develop ecosystem services in concert with urban expansion, in a way best suited to community values.

Understanding ecosystem service behavior and trajectories requires data for characterization and vulnerability assessment. The project uses spatial data layers on land use, flooding, nitrate contamination, and wildlife habitat gleaned from historic archives. In addition, the investigation involves assessing changing perceptions and attitudes of the community toward the river. A constraint is federal legislation, which on the one hand caused channelization to prevent floods, while on the other hand demands that the community restore the river to meet the “beneficial uses”provisioned under the Clean Water Act. Idaho scientists meet regularly with stakeholders and partners including

the City of Pocatello, Idaho DEQ, Corps of Engineers, interested citizen organizations, and Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, and formal surveys of these stakeholder groups and citizens are underway.


ADVENTURELEARNING

IJOIN THE ADVENTURE

daho’s EPSCoR project, MILES, is creating opportunities for Idaho scientists, other educators, decision makers, students, and the public to explore these social ecological

interactions in hands-on, place-based, team-oriented approach, and to share their adventure with the world through an online environment idahoecosystems.org/education/adventure.

Teams of university scientists, educators, community decision makers and land managers (stakeholders), K-12 teachers, and students, together, are embarking on summer learning adventures, called expeditions, to explore the complexities of how social and ecological issues affect the communities and landscapes that span their own Gem State.

The complex interaction of society and the environment, and the societal benefits that the environment provides (called “ecosystem services”) can create difficult decisions for policy makers and land managers.

Adventure Learning expeditions are laying an important foundation for better research, better education, and better science-based policy decisions to benefit local communities and the health of surrounding landscapes.

450 teachers will participate in the Adventure Learning program throughout the five year award through in-person, on-line, and in-classroom modes of statewide participation.

education

Questions: Dr. Karla [email protected]

Dr. Brant [email protected]

education


A truly amazing adventure! Much more than I ever expected and so much I am going to take back to my classroom. I really appreciated how hands-on and “real life learning” this week was. The information and ideas from the week have changed the way in which I will teach this subject and others in my classroom.”--Luke Waldron, 2014 Summer Pocatello Adventurer


The MILES Undergraduate Research and Internships (MURI) Program is designed to engage undergraduates in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields in hands-on, paid summer and academic year research experiences

Undergraduate interns are analyzing historical and current patterns of landscape change, identify social and political drivers of change, and identify vulnerable ecosystem services. All interns are part of an exciting statewide effort.

Interns must have interests or expertise in one or more of these areas: social sciences, political science, urban planning, chemistry, geosciences, biology, ecosystem sciences, environmental education, GIS, computer modeling, and visualization.

A central goal of the MILES project is to produce a workforce in Idaho than can sustainably manage urbanization, landscape change, and ecosystem services.

Up to 60 MURI Scholars positions will be offered each year across Idaho, with a goal of recruiting a large number of students traditionally underrepresented in STEM fields (e.g., women, ethnic minorities, and students with disabilities). MURI students will primarily work within MILES Study Areas located in Boise (Treasure Valley), Coeur d’Alene/Post Falls/Moscow, and Pocatello/Idaho Falls.

Working with many mentors was amazing. I gained a great deal of knowledge about stream ecology. I got a close look at how much work goes into obtaining a doctorate degree or a masters degree. Learning about the process of designing a thesis and having to change things on the fly when part of the project isn’t working really made me appreciate how scientific process are unstoppable and they always find a way to move forward.” --Adam Eckersell, Spring 2014 MURI student

Questions: Sarah [email protected]

MURIMILES UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH AND INTERNSHIPS


Collecting pollinators out in the field!Photo by Cole Morrison, Summer 2014 MURI student

The first cohort of MURI, Spring 2014, provided internships

for 31 undergraduate students working under faculty

mentors from many different disciplines on projects ranging

from incorporating social-ecological data in a virtual

reality game, to non-invasive DNA sampling of endangered

species populations, to water column phosphorus loading

from lakebed sediments.

• First research experience for 74%

• 52% now plan to pursue a Master’s degree in STEM

• The largest gains, 75% of participants’ experience,

were “understanding the research process” and

“how scientists work on real problems”

OUTCOMES


The EPSCoR Ambassador Program is designed to foster stronger relationships between Idaho’s 2-year and 4-year colleges and research universities, and increase the number of students in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) pipeline of research and education. Ambassadors are ‘campus champions’ who can connect instructors and students to EPSCoR and related STEM opportunities throughout the State.

Dr. David MakingsCollege of Southern Idaho [email protected]

Dr. Keegan SchmidtLewis-Clark State College [email protected]

Willard PackCollege of Western Idaho [email protected]

Julie Van MiddlesworthNorth Idaho College [email protected]

AMBASSADORPROGRAM

Questions: Sarah [email protected]


review

Dr. Sharon NunesIBM (ret.)

Dr. Anna Waldron (PAB Chair)Director, Office of Science Outreach

University of Missouri

Dr. Jeanne SmallOfficer and Co-Owner

Quantum Northwest, Inc.

Dr. Jeffrey KeayDeputy Regional Director

Pacific Region, USGS

Dr. Joshua CollinsChief Scientist

San Francisco Estuary Institute and Aquatic Science Center

James HoehnEPSCoR/IDeA Foundation (ret.)

PROJECT ADVISORY BOARDThe Project Advisory Board is a group of independent external experts who annually review the progress of the MILES project and provide guidance to help ensure its success. Their recommendations are provided in written reports to EPSCoR leadership and the National Science Foundation.

Dr. Rose ShawMetrica, Inc.

EXTERNAL EVALUATIONThe RII program includes review and evaluation by an independent external evaluator. Our evaluator regularly contacts project participants during preparation of her reports; your positive reponse to her requests will be appreciated.


Faculty participation in MILES is coordinated by the Executive Leadership Team member at each university. Policies and procedures governing participation are administered by the Idaho EPSCoR Office. Here are some important points to remember.

Support of Ongoing Management and Oversight:The cooperative agreement with NSF requires that project participants participate in site visits, reverse site visits,

and/or other activities to demonstrate progress relative to established goals and objectives of the EPSCoR program. This may include requests for information or on-site reviews, and timely access to appropriate project documentation.

PARTICIPATION

participant information

Questions: Dr. Shawn Benner [email protected]

Questions: Dr. David [email protected]

Questions: Dr. Jan [email protected]

Questions: Rick [email protected]

1.


Participant Performance and Success Factors: A primary goal of NSF EPSCoR and this project is to help teams of investigators become nationally competitive for external

research funding and thus to help Idaho win major externally-funded research initiatives. MILES infrastructure improvements should help to increase Idaho’s funding substantively.

Acknowledgments:If your work benefited from the use of EPSCoR equipment, an EPSCoR sponsored student worked in your lab, or you received money from EPSCoR that contributed to your

research or career, cite EPSCoR on all publications, presentations, press releases, requests for proposals, bid invitations, or any other documents or applications that describe projects or programs that were supported by EPSCoR. (i.e. This publication was made possible by the Idaho NSF EPSCoR program and by the National Science Foundation under award number IIA-1301792.) Where appropriate, also add: It’s contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of NSF.

Selection of New Participants: Faculty participation in MILES is coordinated by the Executive Leadership Team member at each university. Selection of new investigators to fill program vacancies will

ensure that strategic goals set forth in the RII proposal are met. Selection will be grounded in the nominee’s potential to contribute and benefit from the theme of the NSF-Idaho EPSCoR plan.

Idaho NSF EPSCoR Annual Meeting: Annual meetings will be attended by members of the state legislature, the State Board of Education, university officials, and members of the research community.

Annual meeting attendance is expected of each participant. Investigators may be asked to make a formal presentation to an external Project Advisory Board, the State EPSCoR Committee and/or representatives of the NSF at the annual meeting.

Safety: Participating faculty should enforce high safety standards in the laboratory and in the field at all times. Participants are expected to use best safety practices.

Responsible Conduct of Research Training: Responsible Conduct of

Research training is required by NSF for all participating postdocs, graduate students and undergraduate students. Training is

available through each institution directly.

Collaboration: Activating productive collaborations among disciplines and institutions across the state is a key objective of the NSF EPSCoR program. Participants are encouraged to seek opportunities

to expand collaborations with faculty and students throughout the state.

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FINANCIAL

Funding ExpendituresNSF EPSCoR funding is to be a catalyst for sustainable improvements in research and education capacity. It is not the appropriate mechanism to fund individual research projects.

MILES funding may be provided to participants in a one-time award amount or on an annual basis according to the MILES scope of work.

Annual Funding - Annual funding amounts will be reviewed and determined by the Executive Leadership Team based on the RII proposal.

One Time Funding - One-time funding awards will be reviewed and awarded by the Executive Leadership Team, by an appointed committee, or by an appointed individual.

Funding Allocations - Future funding allocations depend on the successes of the participants, the State in meeting the award requirements, goals, and milestones established in the strategic plan and the appropriate and timely investment of previously allocated funds..

Meeting Reporting Requirements - Future NSF and State funding allocations may be suspended if reporting requirements are not met.

Carry Funds Forward - Participants must not expect to carry forward funds from one project year to the next or end-date of a one-time award..

Project expenditures are governed by the federal cost principles (OMB circular A-21) and must conform to NSF policies, grant provisions, grantee internal policies, and Idaho EPSCoR Office requirements.

Boise State University - Transactions will be processed by the BSU EPSCoR Administrative/Financial Coordinator, Kay Trotter.

Idaho State University - Transactions will be processed by the ISU EPSCoR Administrative/Financial Coordinator, Julie Bachman.

University of Idaho - Transactions will be processed by the UI EPSCoR Administrative/Financial Coordinator, Maria Horta Vorse; except for departmental credit card statements. Credit card charges must be pre-approved by the Idaho EPSCoR Office and documentation must be provided along with the corresponding journal number.

Documentation - Timely submission of expenses to the institutional financial coordinator that are allowable, allocable, and reasonable with proper documentation is expected.

Retroactive Payments - Retroactive payments are not allowed. This includes, e.g., payments for travel performed prior to proper travel authorization documentation; salaries or wages for services performed prior to personnel action dates; and payment for goods/services prior to receiving them.

Questions: Michele [email protected]

Questions: Kay [email protected]

Questions: Julie [email protected]

Questions: Michele [email protected]


Human Resources TravelMinimum Idaho EPSCoR-supported student compensation levels have been established and must be followed to help foster a culture of recruitment and retention of the best students and personnel.

Graduate Students - The minimum compensation for graduate students working on EPSCoR funds is $26,010 for Ph.D. students and $22,440 for M.S. students per 12-month appointment, plus fringe benefits.

The graduate student compensation package also includes in-state fees and the enhanced student health/accident insurance offered through each university in the same proportion to their EPSCoR appointment.

Undergraduate Students - The minimum compensation for undergraduate students supported by EPSCoR is $11.00/hr. plus fringe benefits.

Undergraduate students participating in the project on an hourly wage must also be covered by worker’s compensation insurance provided via university appointment procedures.

Summer Salary - Most faculty will not be eligible for summer salary on the RII award. Component Leads are eligible for summer salary (one month maximum).

Summer salary must be consistent with NSF guidelines, which dictate that NSF EPSCoR summer salary combined with all other NSF summer salary must not be more than 2/9 of the participant’s academic year salary.

Foreign Airline Tickets - Foreign airline tickets purchased with EPSCoR funds must conform to the Fly America Act (U.S. airline carriers).

Travel Expenses - Travelers will be provided the full allowable university standard travel funding to fully cover their EPSCoR business travel costs, unless limits are mutually agreed upon in writing prior to the travel taking place.

Prior Authorization - Without proper travel authorization prior to travel, reimbursement will not be allowed.

Did you know?Idaho has won $224 Million

in direct EPSCoR/IDeA Funding since it’s inception

in 1989.


REPORTING QUESTIONS:

ALTHEA SHEETS

[email protected]

208-885-4144

To showcase achievements to NSF, which may be highlighted for general public; to show compliance with award requirements; and to show how EPSCoR supported research and education is positively affecting quality of life, education, and economic prosperity in Idaho.

EPSCoR reporting requirements are greater than those of a standard award.

Participants must be willing to provide ad hoc and regular reports of progress. Annual reports will be due via an Idaho EPSCoR online reporting system by February 1st. Reports will include topics such as technical progress, key outcomes and achievements, and anticipated or achieved impacts linked to the Strategic Plan; training and professional development; broadening participation; outreach activities; publications; proposals; websites, data

and other products; technologies & techniques, patents, inventions, licenses; organizational collaborations; and honors and awards.

EPSCoR reports must include the number of women and members of underrepresented groups in STEM fields that participate in activities funded by the award.

Idaho EPSCoR will work with participants to ensure that demographic data can be reported to NSF in aggregate for

the project AND for each participating institution.

Future EPSCoR funding will be based, in part, on the project’s progress in increasing the number of women and members of underrepresented groups in STEM activities and positions.

NSF is particularly interested in linkages, coordination, and collaboration with other NSF-funded projects that add value to and enhance Idaho’s research infrastructure improvement efforts.

broadening participation

leveraging nsf programs

reporting requirements


Upon reasonable request, participants must provide Idaho EPSCoR with updated information about their research, education, and outreach activities and accomplishments for five years after RII award completion. This information will be important to promote the lasting

impacts of the EPSCoR investments and to the state when the Idaho EPSCoR State Committee applies for future EPSCoR support.

Please submit photographs

and any recognition

(e.g., newspaper stories,

magazine articles,

websites, etc.) about

EPSCoR supported research

and education or other

accomplishments to

Althea Sheets

[email protected].

POST award reporting


Increasing trans-disciplinary collaboration related to Social Ecological Systems will enhance Idaho’s ability to secure competitive funding and tackle complex research agendas. Therefore, Innovation Working Group (IWG) funds are being made available to support collaborative, trans-disciplinary workshops by MILES researchers. These workshops will lead to collaboration among scientists and stakeholders from different disciplines and development and submission of proposals to NSF crosscutting programs and/or the publication of synthesis papers in peer reviewed journals. The workshops will also be used to enhance intra-state collaboration. The IWG program is managed by the MILES Executive Leadership Team (ELT) and Idaho EPSCoR staff.

ADDITIONAL FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

MILES is predicated on the supposition that integration is key to expanding Social Ecological Systems

(SES) research capacity in Idaho.

The MILES IWG program is designed to support this goal.

IWGINNOVATION WORKING GROUPS


Proposals are normally solicited four times per year.

IWG due dates are posted in “Important Announcements” on the Idaho EPSCoR website idahoepscor.org

IWG workshops will provide a venue to engage Idaho scientists and educators, along with invited nationally and internationally recognized experts, in activities modeled after those hosted by the NSF-supported National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis. IWG funds are designed for working groups that are clearly related to MILES integrative goals (see MILES Strategic Plan for more information) and advance MILES research and education objectives: (1) increasing the human and physical resource base for advancing research capacity in the delivery and sustainability of ecosystem services, (2) advancing fundamental science that informs landscape management policy; and (3) developing and implementing education and workforce programs to prepare a diverse group of students to succeed in a 21st Century economy.

IWG support is aimed at working groups that emphasize cross-site integration among MILES institutions and the collaborative development and testing of important ideas and theories. An IWG typically will support ~8-12 researchers who work collaboratively for ~1-3 days on an issue. IWG topics may address one or many of the MILES project areas: integration, SES characterization and vulnerability, integrative modeling, visualization and virtualization, stakeholder engagement, and workforce development.

WHAT WILL IWG FUNDS SUPPORT

WHO SHOULD APPLY

Any faculty member and/or postdoc from an Idaho academic institution participating in MILES may submit IWG proposals. IWGs are not intended to fund the collection of new data or field research.

Questions: Rick [email protected]


iSEEDIDAHO SOCIAL-ECOLOGICAL EXPLORATORY DYNAMICS

QUESTIONS:

RICK SCHUMAKER

[email protected]

208-885-5742


Through MILES, Idaho EPSCoR offers internally competitive awards for Idaho Social-Ecological Exploratory Dynamics awards (iSEED) once per year.

Research proposals submitted under the RFP are intended to address social ecological research questions of significance to the MILES project, with the principal objectives to: (1) Conduct research relevant to social ecological systems in one or more of the MILES study areas or with cross-site implications; (2) Serve as seed funding for projects that can grow into larger programs; (3) Foster graduate and undergraduate student involvement in social ecological research; and (4) Encourage highly innovative, integrative and creative investigation. Integration in the MILES RII program is essential. Proposals must describe how the proposed research or results advance the social ecological topics inherent in any one of the MILES elements outlined in the Strategic Plan. Interdisciplinary and/or multi-institutional proposals (i.e., multiple investigators from different institutions in Idaho) are required. Funding through the MILES RII is not intended to provide a substitute for NSF individual investigator funding. Proposals that integrate with or leverage other components of the EPSCoR grant (MURI, CI, Workforce Development, External Engagement, etc.) are encouraged. Approximlatey $150,000 in total iSEED funding is available under the internal RFP each year. The maximum awards (direct costs only) for multi-investigator, interdisciplinary proposals are $50,000; for two-institution proposals $60,000; for three-institution proposal $90,000.

Projects normally begin each June with a duration of either one or two years.

Request for iSEED proposals and due

dates are posted in the “Important

Announcements” on the Idaho EPSCoR website

idahoepscor.org


QUESTIONS:

RICK SCHUMAKER

[email protected]

208-885-5742

Courses and curriculum can support Idaho’s vision “to be widely recognized as a national leader for applying coupled natural-human systems research focused on ecosystem services to inform sustainable development of mid-sized cities.”

The CCD announcement solicits multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional proposals to develop courses or curriculum that will address the social ecological topics inherent in any one of the MILES elements. Courses and curriculum developed under the MILES CCD program must clearly contribute to the mission of MILES, which

is to:(1) Advance understanding of changes in ecosystem services at the interface between urban and rural environments(2) Relate those changes to societal and climate drivers, and(3) Provide science-based tools and training to inform policy decisions about sustainable management of these ecosystem services.

Examples of competitive MILES CCD proposals include those with:• multiple contributors or instructors from different Idaho institutions,• instructors from different disciplines,

collaboration with MILES stakeholders,• course delivery to multiple campuses, and/or• enrollment by students from multiple Idaho institutions.

Proposals that have synergy with or leverage other components of the MILES award (MURI, CI, Workforce Development, Research, External Engagement, etc.) are also encouraged.

A total of up to $20,000 direct cost is available statewide for all CCD awards. Two awards of no more than $10,000 each (direct cost) are anticipated each year.

CCDCOURSE AND CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT

Arkansas MaineMontanaSouth CarolinaWest Virginia

Alabama Kentucky Nevada North Dakota Oklahoma Puerto Rico Vermont Wyoming

Idaho Louisiana Mississippi South Dakota

Kansas Nebraska

Alaska

U.S. Virgin Islands

Hawaii New Mexico

Iowa Utah

Guam Missouri

Delaware

New Hampshire Rhode Island Tennessee

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2002

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EPSCoR Jurisdictions


Requests for Proposals and due

dates are posted in the “Important Announcements”

section on the Idaho EPSCoR website

www.idahoepscor.org

Did you know?Despite a national decline in proposal success rates due to tightening federal R&D budgets, Idaho is the only EPSCoR jurisdiction to double its number of

NSF proposal submissions during the past two

decades with no decline in succes rate.


COMMUNICATE COLLABORATE, INTEGRATECommunication is key for collaboration and integration! Idaho EPSCoR hosts a number of websites, social media venues, and blogs to enhance communication and promote the positive impacts of STEM research and education in Idaho.

GoTo Meeting, videoconferencing, and teleconferencing services are also available for participant use.

communication

SERVICES VIDEOCONFERENCING

TELECONFERENCING

GOTO MEETING

Reserve a teleconference number contact Maria Horta-Vorse at [email protected] or 208-885-7102.

Do you want to connect 4 or fewer videoconference sites? EPSCoR‘s videoconference system is available at no cost. Contact Mandi Ortiz Coulter at [email protected] or 208-885-1295.

University of Idaho Campus:A videoconference room is located in Morrill Hall, Room 402. Reserve this room through UI Videoconference Services and/or for hosting a meeting involving more than 4 sites; a link is provided on the www.idahoepscor.org website.

Boise State University Campus:Contact Kay Trotter for assistance [email protected].

Idaho State University Campus:Contact Julie Bachman for assistance [email protected].

Reserve the GoToMeeting account, contact Maria Horta-Vorse at [email protected] or 208-885-7102.

Questions: Althea [email protected]

Did you know?Idaho Public Television is working to promote MILES research; your positive response to their request for information will be appreciated.


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WEBSITES

This site provides information specific to MILES study sites, research teams, stakeholders, virtualization, strategic plan, blogs, contact information, media galleries, documents, adventure learning, MURI, and other MILES resources.

This site provides important EPSCoR announcements, call for proposals, news, highlights, calendar of events, headlines on twitter, plans and policies, office staff contact information, online report system, videos, and other resources.

IDAHO EPSCoR8 7 5 P E R I M E T E R D R I V E M S 3 0 2 9

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National Science Foundation (NSF) Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) is intended to improve the

research competitiveness of states by enhancing their academic research infrastructure in areas of science and engineering supported

by NSF and critical to the jurisdiction’s science and technology efforts.

EPSCoR goals are:• to provide strategic programs and opportunities for EPSCoR participants that stimulate sustainable

improvements in their R&D capacity and competitiveness;• to advance science and engineering capabilities in EPSCoR jurisdictions for discovery, innovation and overall

knowledge-based prosperity.

EPSCoR objectives are:• to catalyze key research themes and related activities within and among EPSCoR jurisdictions that empower

knowledge generation, dissemination and application;• to activate effective jurisdictional and regional collaborations among academic, government and private sector

stakeholders that advance scientific research, promote innovation and provide multiple societal benefits;• to broaden participation in science and engineering by institutions, organizations, and people within and

among EPSCoR jurisdictions;• to use EPSCoR for development, implementation and evaluation of future programmatic experiments that

motivate positive change and progression.

What is EPSCoR?

Welcome to NSF EPSCoR in Idaho

Documents

Transcript of Welcome to NSF EPSCoR in Idaho