Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship Program (IGERT)

PROGRAM SOLICITATION – NSF 08-540

Preliminary proposals for the 2008 solicitation for the Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship Program (IGERT) are due to NSF on April 24, 2008. Since, there is a limit of four preliminary proposals that may be submitted per institution, there will be an internal selection process to choose the four MIT applicants.

To apply, please submit a brief proposal (approximately 5 pages) in hard copy including: a list of participants, vision and goals, major research efforts of the program, education and training mechanisms and how they are to be integrated with the research to Debra Martin, VPR Programs Manager, 11-268 by Friday, March 21, 2008.

Please note that if you have been encouraged by a program manager to apply in this cycle, you will need to participate in the selection process. Proposals that were chosen in the MIT selection in previous years but were not funded by NSF must participate in this year's selection process in order to resubmit. All four MIT applications will be determined through the selection process.

Since this is a Traineeship program student support should be budgeted as stipends. (All stipend recipients supported by IGERT funds must be citizens or permanent residents of the U.S. ) The Institute will cover the tuition shortfall on these proposals per Robert A. Brown's memorandum of April 29, 2004.

For full proposals details, please see:
http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2008/nsf08540/nsf08540.htm

Synopsis of Program:
The Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) program has been developed to meet the challenges of educating U.S. Ph.D. scientists and engineers who will pursue careers in research and education, with the interdisciplinary backgrounds, deep knowledge in chosen disciplines, and technical, professional, and personal skills to become, in their own careers, leaders and creative agents for change. The program is intended to catalyze a cultural change in graduate education, for students, faculty, and institutions, by establishing innovative new models for graduate education and training in a fertile environment for collaborative research that transcends traditional disciplinary boundaries. It is also intended to facilitate diversity in student participation and preparation, and to contribute to a world-class, broadly inclusive, and globally engaged science and engineering workforce.
Limit on Number of Preliminary and Full Proposals per Organization:
For IGERT Traineeship proposals:

• There is a limit of four (4) preliminary proposals that may be submitted by an institution either as a single institution or as a lead institution in a multi-institution preliminary proposal.
• There is a limit of three (3) full proposals that may be submitted (By Invitation Only based on the outcome of the preliminary proposal competition) by an institution either as a single institution or lead institution in a multi-institution full proposal.

A multi-institutional proposal is defined as one that has at least one co-PI at a different academic institution than that of the PI, a subaward to a different academic institution than that of the PI, or both.
For IGERT Resource Center proposals: There is a limit of 1 proposal per submitting institution/organization. There will be no preliminary proposals.

Limit on Number of Proposals per PI:
For IGERT Traineeship proposals: Any given individual may participate as PI or co-PI in only one proposal submission. That restriction applies to preliminary proposals as well as full proposals. A PI or co-PI on one proposal may serve as a faculty participant on other proposals.
For IGERT Resource Center proposals: Any given individual may serve as PI or co-PI on only one proposal submission.

B. Budgetary Information

• Cost Sharing Requirements: Cost Sharing is not required under this solicitation.
• Indirect Cost (F&A) Limitations:
• For IGERT Traineeship proposals: Partial reimbursement of indirect costs not to exceed 8% of total direct costs, excluding equipment and cost-of-education allowances, but not excluding participant support. Please note this is in variance with Chapter II.C.2.g.v of the Grant Proposal Guide and with Chapter V.7.10 of the NSF Grants.gov Application Guide.
• For IGERT Resource Center proposals: these indirect cost limitations do not apply.

III. AWARD INFORMATION
IGERT Traineeship awards: NSF plans to make approximately 20 new and renewal IGERT traineeship awards from this competition as continuing grants, depending on the quality of the proposals and the availability of funds. The anticipated funding amount in FY 2009 is $12,000,000. For new projects, the first year award will be up to $400,000 and in amounts up to $600,000 for each of the next four years. For renewals, awards will be made in amounts up to $600,000 per year for five years. Projects requiring substantially lower levels of funding may also be proposed.

• For new IGERT projects only: Additional funds of up to $200,000 may be provided in Year 1 for purposes appropriate to the new IGERT project, including shared research equipment, special-purpose research materials, software, and databases, and faculty release time for development of new curricula. (See Section V. for additional information on Budget and Allowable Costs.)
• For new and renewal IGERT projects: If proposed, additional funding up to a total of $200,000 PER AWARD may also be provided for IGERT projects that include strongly integrated international training activities in Years 2 through 5. These activities should be designed to significantly enhance the research, education, and training experiences of the IGERT students. NSF plans on allocating up to $2,000,000 from this competition to support well integrated international research activities for approximately 10 of the IGERT awards.

For the IGERT Resource Center: NSF anticipates making one award for a Resource Center. This will be funded for up to 5 years at a maximum total of $3M and an annual average of ~$600,000.

A. Proposal Preparation Instructions
Preliminary Proposals (required): Preliminary proposals are required and must be submitted via the NSF FastLane system, even if full proposals will be submitted via Grants.gov.

Preliminary proposals are required for the IGERT traineeship competition, but not for the Resource Center.

All preliminary proposals submitted in response to this solicitation must be submitted via the NSF FastLane system. IGERT does not accept collaborative proposals as separate submissions from multiple organizations.