Date: Thu, 09 Apr 98 16:16:36 EST 
From: mmcclosk@nsf.gov 
Message-Id: <9803098921.AA892164019@yrelay.nsf.gov> 
Subject: Important Information about KDI Grant Proposals 

Hi,


This is message is being sent to all submitters of KDI letters of intent.  It 
contains important information, and I urge you to print it out and read it 
carefully.


Please do not use your email program's reply option to respond.  If you have 
questions, please send them to kdi@nsf.gov; and, as indicated below, changes in 
the contact person for your proposal should be sent to kdiletin@nsf.gov.


Thanks and good luck with your proposals.


Mike McCloskey
Chair, KDI Working Group




CONTENTS


I.   Purpose of Letters of Intent
II.  Contact Person
III. Assessing Your Project's Appropriateness for KDI
IV.  Special Categories of Researchers and Institutions
V.   Proposal Preparation (includes corrections to instructions in the KDI      
       Proposal Solicitation)





I.  Purpose of Letters of Intent


     The purpose of the letters of intent is to help us plan for the review of 
the full proposals.  The letters will not be reviewed, and we won't be providing
individualized feedback.  You should proceed with your full proposal.


II.  Contact Person


     We have sent this message to the individual who, as far as we could 
determine, was the intended contact person for your proposal.  If you would like
to have subsequent messages directed to a different email address, please inform
us by sending a message to kdiletin@nsf.gov.  Be sure to include enough 
information to allow us to match up the new address with the appropriate letter 
of intent.


III.  Assessing Your Project's Appropriateness for KDI


KDI has received 1126 letters of intent.  Because we will be able to make only 
60-75 awards, we expect the funding rate to be less than 10%.  Under these 
conditions a proposal is likely to be competitive only if it conforms closely to
the aims of the KDI initiative.  Hence, you may want to consider how well your 
project fits with KDI. 


Many of the letters of intent described projects that appear well-matched to the
goals of KDI.  However, we also received many letters outlining projects that, 
while potentially appropriate for other NSF programs, appear not to be 
well-suited for KDI.  The following are some points to consider in assessing 
your project's fit with KDI.


The Proposal Solicitation states the following:  "To achieve the aims of KDI, 
proposals are solicited from individuals or groups for research that is 
inherently multidisciplinary or that, while lying within a single discipline, 
has clear impact on at least one other discipline."


To meet this criterion a project must go beyond merely involving researchers or 
methods from more than one discipline; the research questions, and the answers 
to these questions, must be of interest to multiple disciplines.  For example, a
project using well-established computer simulation methods to address 
disciplinary questions in biology would probably not be multidisciplinary in the
sense required for KDI.  Even if computational as well as biological researchers
and methods were involved, the project would not meet the multidisciplinarity 
criterion as long as the issues and results were of interest only within 
biology.  In contrast, if addressing the critical biology questions required the
development of new simulation methods, then the project would advance both 
biology and computational simulation, the issues and results would be of 
interest both for computation and for biology, and the project would be a better
fit with the aims of KDI.


Another point to consider is that KDI is a research initiative.  As a 
consequence, projects are unlikely to fare well in the competition if they focus
narrowly on developing specific applications, without having a clear research 
component.  For example, a project aimed solely at developing a knowledge 
network for use by a particular research community would probably not be 
competitive, unless the work had broader implications.  KDI welcomes proposals 
for projects that create prototypes of knowledge networks or collaboratories.  
However, such proposals should make clear what new knowledge would be gained 
from building and studying a prototype, and what implications the project would 
have beyond the specific application area.  (The Proposal Solicitation discusses
such projects as follows: "Constructing and using working prototypes of 
domain-specific, multidisciplinary knowledge networks and collaboratories. Of 
specific interest are prototypes and experiments that are compatible across 
networks and disciplines, accessible to outside communities, and inclusive of 
disaggregated or virtual teams and members of very different disciplines.")


Finally, you may also want to consider your project in light of the other review
criteria described in the KDI Proposal Solicitation.
IV.  Special Categories of Researchers and Institutions


A.  KDI Participation of For-Profit Organizations
1)  KDI welcomes proposals for projects involving partnerships between 
non-profit institutions and for-profit organizations.  Typically the 
non-profit organization submits the proposal, with the for-profit 
partner receiving funds through a sub-contract from the submitting 
institution.
  
2)  KDI does allow submission of proposals by for-profit 
organizations.  However, such proposals face the burden of 
demonstrating that "the project is of special concern from a national 
point of view, special resources are available for the work or the 
proposed project is especially meritorious" (NSF 98-2, Grant Proposal 
Guide,  Section I.D.3) 
  
3)  KDI does not require cost-sharing from either non-profit or 
for-profit institutions, although the commitment of the participating 
institutions to the project is a factor reviewers consider when 
evaluating proposals.
  
4)  Researchers at for-profit organizations may want to consult NSF 
98GC1, Grant General Conditions, for information concerning such 
matters such as income earned through supported acitivities, patents, 
and copyrights.  This document may  be downloaded from the NSF web 
site at http://www.nsf.gov/cgi-bin/getpub?nsf98gc1
B.  KDI Participation of Researchers from Foreign Organizations
1)  Employees of US institutions need not be US citizens to submit, or receive 
support from, grants made through the KDI program.
  
2)  Participation in NSF-funded projects by researchers from foreign 
institutions is allowed and indeed welcomed, PROVIDED THAT funds are 
not requested from NSF to support this participation.  Except under 
unusual circumstances, NSF considers support only for the US portion 
of cooperative projects involving US and foreign organizations. 
  
3)  Unusual circumstances that might allow support for foreign 
organizations are quite limited.  One example would be a situation in 
which a project based at a US university had need of technology or 
expertise not available anywhere in the US.  In this situation NSF 
might allow a subcontract to a foreign institution with the needed 
technology or expertise.  
  
4)  If you are contemplating submission of a KDI proposal that 
requests support for a foreign organization, you should get in touch 
with NSF (via email to kdi@nsf.gov) before preparing the proposal.
  
5)  For more information about international programs at NSF, see the 
International Division's web page at http://www.nsf.gov/home/int/start.htm
C.  KDI Participation of Federal Agencies and Government Labs


1)  Participation in NSF-funded projects by researchers from Federal 
agencies or government laboratories is allowed and indeed welcomed, 
PROVIDED THAT funds are not requested from NSF to support this 
participation.  Except under unusual circumstances, NSF funds cannot 
go to other Federal agencies, to government labs, or to employees of 
these institutions.  The following points provide further explanation. 
2)  Except under unusual circumstances, NSF does not allow Federal 
agencies or government laboratories to submit grant proposals. 
3)  Except under unusual circumstances, NSF grants made to eligible 
institutions cannot include funds to support participation in the 
project by researchers from Federal agencies or government 
laboratories.
4)  Researchers who have joint appointments with a university and a 
Federal agency or government lab may submit proposals through the 
university and may receive support if they are bona fide faculty 
members of the university.
5)  Other `unusual circumstances' are quite limited.  One example 
would be a situation in which a university-based project had need of 
technology or expertise available in the US only at a Federal agency 
or government laboratory.  In this situation NSF might allow a 
subcontract to the institution with the unique technology or 
expertise.  
6)  If you are contemplating submission of a KDI proposal that 
requests funds for researchers from a Federal agency or government lab 
(except as allowed under point 4 above), you should get in touch with 
us (via email to kdi@nsf.gov) before preparing the proposal.


V.  Proposal Preparation


A.  Proposal Format


1)  The format for KDI proposals is the same as that for regular NSF research 
proposals, except as noted in the KDI Proposal Solicitation.  You should consult
the NSF Grant Proposal Guide (publication NSF 98-2) for information on proposal 
format and preparation.  This publication is available on the web at 


http://www.nsf.gov/cgi-bin/getpub?nsf982


2)  We ask that KDI proposals involving multiple institutions be submitted by 
one institution, with the others as subcontractors.  The reason is that KDI is 
on a very tight time schedule, and awards can be processed more quickly when 
there is one submitting 
institution with subcontracts, than when each institution submits a proposal.  
If you feel you have a compelling need to submit multiple proposals, please 
write to kdi@nsf.gov, explaining the situation.


3)  In addition to the Principal Investigator (PI) NSF allows up to 4 
individuals to be listed as Co-Principal Investigators (Co-PIs) on a proposal.  
Many KDI proposals will involve more than 5 researchers, however.  In this case 
the additional researchers can be listed in the Senior Personnel category.  (On 
the FastLane FORM SELECTOR page, click on `Add/Modify Non Co-PI Senior 
Personnel')


B.  Special Instructions


The KDI Proposal Solicitation contains some special instructions for preparing 
your proposal.  


IMPORTANT:  SEE BELOW FOR TWO CORRECTIONS TO THESE INSTRUCTIONS.


Following are the original instructions, with corrections and clarifications 
indicated in UPPERCASE.  


**** Excerpt from Proposal Solicitation ****


On the cover page you must enter NSF 98-55 as the program solicitation number 
and you must enter  KDI/KN, KDI/LIS, or KDI/NCC, as the NSF organization to 
consider this proposal.  In case the proposal is at the intersection of several 
KDI foci, choose the primary one and indicate in the Project Description the 
overlap.


CLARIFICATIONS:  


1)  TO ENSURE THAT YOUR PROPOSAL IS ROUTED PROPERLY, IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOU 
INDICATE THE SOLICITATION NUMBER AND ORGANIZATIONAL UNIT ON THE COVER PAGE.
2)  TO CHOOSE THE ORGANIZATIONAL UNIT: WHILE PREPARING THE COVER SHEET IN 
FASTLANE, CLICK ON `ADD ORGANIZATIONAL UNIT.'  ON THE LIST THAT POPS UP SCROLL 
PAST THE DIRECTORATES AND DIVISIONS TO THE ALPHABETICAL LIST OF PROGRAMS WHERE 
KDI/KN, KDI/LIS, AND KDI/NCC ARE LISTED. 
3)  CHOOSE ONLY ONE ORGANIZATIONAL UNIT.  IF YOUR PROPOSAL SPANS MORE THAN ONE 
KDI COMPONENT CHOOSE THE ONE MOST CLOSELY RELATED TO YOUR PROJECT.  (YOU WILL 
INDICATE ALL OF THE RELEVANT COMPONENTS IN THE PROJECT SUMMARY; SEE BELOW.)



The following makes up the Project Description file to be uploaded to FastLane:


1)  Project Summary


CORRECTION:  THE PROJECT SUMMARY IS NOW A SEPARATE FORM IN FASTLANE, AND SHOULD 
NOT BE INCLUDED IN THE PROJECT DESCRIPTION FILE.


AS THE END OF THE PROJECT SUMMARY PLEASE INDICATE THE RELEVANT KDI COMPONENT(S),
AS FOLLOWS:


Relevant KDI Component(s):  <one or more of KN, LIS, NCC>



2)  A project description of up to 15 single-spaced pages.  The description 
should indicate the roles of the senior investigators on the project.


CLARIFICATION:  THE PROJECT DESCRIPTION MAY NOT EXCEED 15 PAGES.  KDI DOES *NOT*
ALLOW THE GROUP PROPOSAL FORMAT IN WHICH THE PROJECT DESCRIPTION MAY BE LONGER.


3)  For each PI or co-PI, up to 2 additional pages to describe results of prior 
NSF support focusing only on those results relevant to the proposed project.


CLARIFICATION:  SEE THE GRANT PROPOSAL GUIDE (NSF 98-2) FOR INSTRUCTIONS ABOUT 
WHAT TO INCLUDE IN RESULTS FROM PRIOR NSF SUPPORT.  THESE PAGES DO NOT REPLACE 
THE BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES, WHICH ARE ALSO REQUIRED. 


4)   An additional section, up to 2 pages, that describes and justifies 
specifically a) the plans for dissemination of the results and b) the 
institutional commitment as to space and equipment.


5)  For projects with a three year budget exceeding $1.0 million (optional for 
projects with smaller budgets), an additional page describing realistic 
performance goals for each year.


6)  For projects involving more than one university department, or more than one
organization, an additional 1-page description of the project management plan.  
Subcontracts may be used in multi-institutional proposals.


Full proposals must be received at NSF no later than 11.59.59 P.M. EST, May 8, 
1998.


CORRECTION:  THE DEADLINE IS 11.59.59 EDT.  PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS IS EASTERN 
TIME, NOT LOCAL TIME.


A hard  copy of NSF Form 1207 (Cover Sheet) with original signatures must be 
received by 5:00 P.M. EST, May 22, 1998.  The Cover Sheet should be sent to the 
following address:


                 Proposal Number ______________
                 Solicitation No. NSF 98-55
                 NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION PPU
                 4201 WILSON BLVD.
                 ARLINGTON, VA 22230


CORRECTION:  USE THE FOLLOWING ADDRESS INSTEAD.


          KDI
          ROOM 995
          NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
          4201 WILSON BLVD.
          ARLINGTON, VA 22230


**IMPORTANT**:  DO NOT SEND THE COMPLETE PROPOSAL TO THIS ADDRESS.


**** End of Excerpt ****