Iowa NASA EPSCoR
Charisse Buising, Ph.D., Interim Director • Drake University
128 Olin Hall, 2507 University Ave • Des Moines, IA 50311 • E-mail: charisse.buising@drake.edu
INE Office: 515-294-3106 • Fax: 515-294-1047 • E-mail: isgc@iastate.edu • www.iaspacegrant.org/nasa-epscor-iowa
Research Infrastructure Development (RID) Program
http://www.iaspacegrant.org/nasa-epscor-iowa
September 10, 2013
Purpose: The Iowa NASA EPSCoR Program (INE; Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive
Research) sponsors projects to build a cadre of principal investigators (PIs) who can submit competitive
NASA research proposals that help statewide research competitiveness and economic development. As
part of this effort, INE is soliciting proposals to the INE Research Infrastructure Development (RID)
Program to support seed funding in three areas: 1) Travel Grants, 2) Research Grants, and 3) Partnership
Development Grants. Please note: NASA EPSCoR monies cannot be used to fund general-purpose
equipment, foreign organizations, foreign travel, or facility modifications.
1. Travel Grants
Iowa researchers who wish to make connections with NASA that can potentially lead to research funding
are encouraged to apply for a travel grant. The key to building better ties with NASA Centers is to foster
researcher-to-researcher communications. Traditionally, the major impediment to this has been a lack of
travel support, which the travel grant is designed to remove. Travel grants support the travel of Iowa
researchers to NASA Centers to meet and interact with Center research groups or to NASA Headquarters
to interact with program managers. It is intended to provide sufficient time for a detailed interchange of
ideas and capabilities and for planning mutually beneficial projects.
Budget, Eligibility and Restrictions: The INE anticipates making ten to fifteen awards with a
maximum single award of $1,500. The cost of a trip must be matched at 100% from non-federal
funds as cash or in-kind, which may or may not include the waiver of indirect costs. Allowable costs
include domestic travel related expenses; no international travel is allowed. Other unallowable expenses
include salary and indirect costs.
Application Procedure: Submit a short one-page request, including budget, by answering the following
questions:
1. Who will use the travel grant? Provide full contact information.
2. What is the purpose of the travel grant? (Clearly state the NASA connection, if you have
email communications with NASA centers, please include as an appendix.)
3. When will the trip take place?
4. Where will you travel and with whom will you meet? (No foreign travel is allowed.)
5. Provide a statement of how the travel grant will strengthen the development of a grant
proposal.
6. Budget and Justification: Budget must include detailed costs for all categories. For example,
travel costs must include airfare and per diem. Each line item must have a budget narrative to
fully explain the cost request. Describe cash or in-kind contributions and plans to address the
required 100% cost-share. Proposals containing insufficient detail will not be considered.
7. Provide a letter of commitment to document non‐federal matching funds. This can be an
email from the grants office that you attach to your application or a forwarded letter.
2. Research Grants
The goal of the Research Grant program is to encourage, support, and facilitate the development and
enhancement of NASA relevant science and engineering research within the State of Iowa. Proposed
research projects must be in an area that is aligned with a new or continuing NASA research priority or
technology need, and the proposal narrative must make an explicit connection with NASA. This will
build a cadre of NASA-literate and connected researchers who should be able to develop competitive
proposals for the INE competition. The awards will allow the PI to spend a longer term at a host facility
conducting work important to the Agency, or support graduate or undergraduate students to develop
preliminary data for research. This grant will promote junior faculty from academia and researchers from
industry and government agencies in Iowa. The proposal should include detailed plans for establishing or
strengthening links with NASA researchers. A communication from a NASA researcher that the
proposed work is of interest to NASA is required. The Research Grant program encourages participation
of PI’s who are women, underrepresented minorities, or persons with disabilities.
Budget, Eligibility and Restrictions: The INE anticipates making at least five Research Grants of up
to $15,000. The research grant must be matched at 100% from non-federal funds as cash or in-kind,
which may or may not include the waiver of indirect costs. Unallowable expenses include: generalpurpose equipment, foreign organizations, foreign travel, or facility modifications. Indirect costs may not
be charged to the grant.
Application Procedure: Brief proposals are requested from any PI in Iowa. Proposals will include at
least:
a. PI name, full contact information including email address, and affiliation(s),
b. project title,
c. project description - goal and objectives, a detailed plan (three pages maximum) explaining
how the research building capacity will be developed and managed. It is also important to
highlight how the proposed activities will strengthen the research community’s connections
with NASA (please address the additional items mentioned in the selection criteria below),
literature references may be provided – these do not count toward the page limitation, and;
d. preliminary budget (not included in page count). Limit to one page describing how the award
and cost-share funds will be used to support students, faculty, travel, and supplies and
services. Describe cash or in-kind contributions and plans to address the required 100% costshare. Proposals containing insufficient detail will not be considered.
e. Provide a letter of commitment to document non‐federal matching funds. This can be an
email from the grants office that you attach to your application or a forwarded letter.
Selection Criteria - Components of a successful proposal:
a. builds connections to NASA Centers and NASA research activities (or other prospective
future funding sources),
b. aligns with documented NASA and State needs and priorities,
c. involves collaborators from multiple disciplines,
d. involves multiple organizations (where appropriate),
e. provides adequate matching funds, and
f. has a high potential for additional competitive funding.
In addition to the proposal, PIs must also submit the data summary form, available for download at:
http://www.iaspacegrant.org/sites/default/files/ine-rid_2013-2014_dataform.xls.
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3. Partnership Development Grants (Networking)
Development of sustainable research capabilities and programs of NASA relevance should improve the
funding opportunities and the number of researchers in Iowa working on NASA-related areas. The goal
of the Partnership Development Grant is to provide funds to bring together intra-state partners to better
exchange ideas, explore emerging research areas, and to work more effectively with NASA Centers,
industry, other research organizations, and the Iowa jurisdiction. The proposed program should utilize
NASA relevant themes or emerging NASA developed technology. Examples of activities that will be
supported through this program include, but are not limited to, organizing a NASA-relevant meeting,
conference, or workshop in Iowa.
Budget, Eligibility and Restrictions: The INE anticipates making at least six Partnership Development
Grants of up to $2,500. The partnership development grant must be matched at 100% from nonfederal funds as cash or in-kind. The match can be from cash or in-kind, which may or may not include
the waiver of indirect costs. Foreign travel is not allowable. Indirect costs may not be charged to the
grant.
Application Procedure: Submit a short two-page request, including budget, by answering the following
questions:
a. PI name, full contact information including email address, and affiliation(s),
b. project title,
c. what is the purpose of this grant (conference, workshop, etc.)? A detailed plan
explaining how the partnership will be developed within Iowa and also with NASA.
d. Budget and Justification: Budget must include detailed costs for all categories. For
example, travel costs must include airfare and per diem. Each line item must have a
budget narrative to fully explain the cost request. Describe cash or in-kind contributions
and plans to address the required 100% cost-share. Proposals containing insufficient
detail will not be considered.
e. Provide a letter of commitment to document non-federal matching funds. This can be an
email from the grants office that you attach to your application or a forwarded letter.
In addition to the proposal, PIs must also submit the data summary form, available for download at:
http://www.iaspacegrant.org/sites/default/files/ine-rid_2013-2014_dataform.xls.
Prospective applicants are encouraged to discuss their ideas with Dr. Charisse Buising, INE and ISGC
Interim Director: charisse.buising@drake.edu to see if their ideas fall within the scope of this opportunity.
Deadline and Submissions: Proposals will be accepted on an ongoing basis and reviewed every quarter
beginning October 21, 2013, until funds are exhausted, on a first-come, first-serve basis. Submit
proposals via email as PDFs to the ISGC Office at: isgc@iastate.edu. We will stop accepting proposals
as of May 31, 2014 or as soon as funds are exhausted.
For information on the NASA Mission Directorates or the NASA Centers, please see Appendix A or visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/about/sites/index.html.
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Appendix A. NASA Directorates and Centers (Source: NASA - http://www.nasa.gov/)
1. Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD)
ARMD Programs: http://www.aeronautics.nasa.gov/programs.htm
Research Opportunities in Aeronautics (ROA) http://nspires.nasaprs.com
2. Human Exploration & Operations Mission Directorate (HEOMD)
Human Research Areas:
• Visual Acuity and Ocular Structure and Function;
• Team Social, Technical, and Task Roles; and
• Host-Microbe Interactions
More details and background information can be found by referring to a research
solicitation in this area:
https://nspires.nasaprs.com/external/viewrepositorydocument/cmdocumentid=287093/NNJ11
ZSA002NA%20NRA-FINAL.pdf
3. Science Mission Directorate (SMD)
Detailed information on SMD research priorities is available at the following URLs:
NASA Science Plan 2010: http://science.hq.nasa.gov/strategy/ and
http://science.nasa.gov/media/medialibrary/2010/08/10/2010SciencePlan.pdf.
NASA's Plan for a Climate-Centric Architecture for Earth Observations and Applications
from Space:
http://science.nasa.gov/media/medialibrary/2010/07/01/Climate_Architecture_Final.pdf.
Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Science (ROSES):
http://nspires.nasaprs.com/external/.
In addition, proposers can visit the following URLs:
http://nasascience.nasa.gov/big-questions summarizes research questions across SMD
divisions.
http://science.nasa.gov/researchers/sara/advisory-committees/ provides information on a new
planetary decadal survey.
4. Office of the Chief Technologist (OCT)
Information about OCT’s Programs may be found at:
http://www.nasa.gov/offices/oct/home/index.html.
II. NASA Centers:
* NASA Headquarters - Washington, D.C.
* Ames Research Center - Moffett Field, California
* Dryden Flight Research Center - Edwards, California
* Glenn Research Center - Lewis Field, Ohio
* Goddard Space Flight Center - Greenbelt, Maryland
* Jet Propulsion Laboratory - Pasadena, California
* Johnson Space Center - Houston, Texas
* Kennedy Space Center - Cape Canaveral, Florida
* Langley Research Center - Hampton, Virginia
* Marshall Space Flight Center - Huntsville, Alabama
* Stennis Space Center - Mississippi
* Wallops Flight Facility - Wallops Island, Virginia
http://www.hq.nasa.gov/
http://www.arc.nasa.gov/
http://http://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/home/
http://www.grc.nasa.gov/
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/
http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/home/
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/langley/home/
http://www.msfc.nasa.gov/
http://www.ssc.nasa.gov/
http://www.wff.nasa.gov/
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