Federal Landscape for Early-Career
Opportunities
A Presentation to UC Riverside
Michael Ledford, Kaitlin Chell, and Karen Mowrer
Lewis-Burke Associates, LLC
January 2014
Lewis-Burke Associates, LLC
Lewis-Burke Associates, LLC is a leading full-service government
relations firm specializing in advocating for the public policy
interests of institutions of higher education and other research
and education organizations
• Began working with UC Riverside in November 2012
• 23 professional staff members
• 26 clients, all nonprofits involved in research and/or education
– 15 universities
– 3 contractors running national research facilities
– 8 associations
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Department of Defense
• Young Investigator Program
– Office of Naval Research (ONR)
– Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR)
– Army Research Office (ARO)
• Young Faculty Award
– DARPA
• CDMRP New Investigator Awards
• NSA Math Science Program, includes young
investigators grants
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Departments of Education
• Institute of Education Sciences
– Research Training Program in Special Education:
Early Career Development and Mentoring
• PIs must be within three years of completing their
doctoral degree or postdoctoral program and must
hold a tenure track position or accepted an offer for
such a position
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Department of Energy
• Early Career Research Program
– Support given for disciplines supported by Office of
Science
– No more than 10 years can have passed between the
PI’s PhD and the year of the deadline for the
application
– ~30-50 awards made annually
Health and Human Services (NIH & AHRQ)
• NIH Independent Scientist Award (Parent K02)
• NIH Academic Career Development Award (Parent
K07)
• NIH Career Transition Awards (K22)
• NIH Pathway to Independence Award (Parent
K99/R00)
• NIH Director’s New Innovator Award Program (DP2)
• NIH Director’s Early Independence Award (DP5)
• AHRQ Independent Scientist Awards (K02)
NASA
• Space Tech Research Opportunities for Early-Career
Faculty
– Aligned with space technology roadmaps
– Must be within 7 years of receiving PhD
• Fellowships for Early Career Researchers in Planetary
Science
– Limited to specific planetary science research programs
• Early Career Investigator Program in Earth Science
(new)
– Proposals must contain significant outreach/education
component
NEA & NEH
• NEA Literature Fellowship
– Alternates annually between fellowships in poetry and
prose
• NEH Fellowship
– Funds individuals conducting research valuable to
humanities scholars and/or general audiences
NSF
• Faculty Early Career Development Program
(CAREER)
– Provides five years of funding to pre-tenure
faculty for integrated research and education
activities
– Must be “assistant professor” or equivalent in a
tenure-track position
Early Career Agency Interactions
• Improve understanding of the federal
government and how the research agencies
operate
• Make connections with relevant program
officers; they want to talk to you!
• Understand how to frame proposals for
maximum success
Working with Program Officers
• Do your homework: many questions program officers are asked can be
answered by reading the solicitations, an agency’s proposal guidelines, or
a program’s website
• Don’t cold-call: instead, send an email with a short summary and suggest
times to discuss by phone. This allows the program officer to do some
research on you and any past/current awards that you have
• Annual meetings: many program officers staff the booths at societies’
annual meetings. Be sure to stop by and have a conversation with them.
If you want to have a longer conversation at a meeting, send them an
email in advance
Contact
Kaitlin Chell
Lewis-Burke Associates LLC
1341 G Street, NW
Eighth Floor
Washington, D.C. 20005
e: kaitlin@lewis-burke.com
p: 202.289.7475
f: 202.289.7454
www.lewis-burke.com
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