Funding Opportunities and
Proposal-Writing Strategies for
Social and Behavioral Science
Research at the National Science
Foundation
Thomas J. Baerwald
Senior Science Advisor
Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences
February 8, 2013
NSF Is an Independent Agency
of the Executive Branch of the
U.S. Government
The President
of the
United States
Office of
Management
and Budget
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Human Services
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Science Advisor
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Technology Policy
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Councils, Etc.
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Science
Foundation
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& Space
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Protection
Agency
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Commission
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Agencies
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The NSF Mission
• To promote the progress of science
• To advance the national health, prosperity,
and welfare
• To secure the national defense
The NSF Vision
NSF envisions a nation that capitalizes on
new concepts in science and engineering
and provides global leadership in advancing
research and education.
Strategic and Performance Goals - 1
• Transform the Frontiers emphasizes the
seamless integration of research and education
as well as the close coupling of research
infrastructure and discovery.
– Make investments that lead to emerging new fields of
science and engineering and shifts in existing fields.
– Prepare and engage a diverse STEM workforce
motivated to participate at the frontiers.
– Keep the United States globally competitive at the
frontiers of knowledge by increasing international
partnerships and collaborations.
– Enhance research infrastructure and promote data
access to support researchers' and educators'
capabilities and enable transformation at the frontiers.
Strategic and Performance Goals - 2
• Innovate for Society points to the tight linkage
between NSF programs and societal needs, and
it highlights the role that new knowledge and
creativity play in economic prosperity and
society's general welfare.
– Make investments that lead to results and resources
that are useful to society.
– Build the capacity of the nation's citizenry for
addressing societal challenges through science and
engineering.
– Support the development of innovative learning
systems.
Strategic and Performance Goals - 3
• Perform as a Model Organization emphasizes
the importance to NSF of attaining excellence
and inclusion in all operational aspects.
– Achieve management excellence through leadership,
accountability, and personal responsibility.
– Infuse learning as an essential element of the NSF
culture with emphasis on professional development
and personal growth.
– Encourage and sustain a culture of creativity and
innovation across the agency to ensure continuous
improvement and achieve high levels of customer
service.
NSF Is a Science Management Agency
Scientists and institutions
responding to broad civilian
scientific needs of the nation
50,000 Annual Competitive Proposals
7,000 people in
advisory groups
1,200
full-time
employees
250,000 reviews
(50,000 reviewers)
About 12,000 new competitive awards plus another
roughly 10,000 continuing award actions that obligate about $7.0 billion
annually for academic, industrial, non-profit, governmental recipients.
NSF Is Divided into Directorates
National Science
Board
Director
Deputy Director
Biological
Sciences
Computer and
Information
Science and
Engineering
Mathematical and
Physical Sciences
Education
and Human
Resources
Social, Behavioral,
and Economic
Sciences
Staff
Offices
Engineering
Budget, Finance,
and Award
Management
Geosciences
Information
and Resource
Management
Directorates Are Divided into Divisions,
and Divisions Are Divided into Programs
Social, Behavioral, and
Economic Sciences
Behavioral and
Cognitive Sciences
Geography
and Spatial
Sciences
Anthropology
programs
Psychology and
linguistics
programs
Social and
Economic Sciences
Economics
Decision, Risk, and
Management Sciences
Methodology,
Measurement, and
Statistics
Sociology
Political Science
Law and Social
Science
Science, Technology,
and Society
National Center
for Science and
Engineering Statistics
SBE Multidisciplinary
Activities
Much of NSF’s Funding Goes to
Support Basic Research
What is basic research?
“It’s like true love!”
You can’t really define it,
but you know it when it’s there.
Let’s Try to Describe
Basic Research Anyway...
• Basic scientific research is grounded in a
broader theoretical framework.
• It focuses on one or a few questions
grounded in that broader framework.
• It uses scientifically sound approaches to
assess the viability of answers to those
questions.
• Its focused results also contribute to
enhancement of broader theoretical
knowledge.
As a result...
• Basic scientific research contributes to
general understanding.
• It’s research that’s well grounded in a general
theoretical framework or that generates
development of new frameworks.
• It’s research that’s valuable even if we don’t
care about its specific findings or
applications.
• It’s research that often increases our
knowledge of how we expand our knowledge
Basic "vs." Applied Research
• It's not "either/or."
• Basic research results often have great
direct and indirect utility and applicability.
• But at its core, basic research is first and
foremost about broader theoretical
development, not the focused application
of specific research results.
• Analysis and synthesis are favored over
prescription.
What NSF Supports
NSF supports basic
research across all fields of
science, including:
– Behavioral and Cognitive
Sciences
– Social and Economic
Sciences
– Geographic and
Anthropological Sciences
– Chemical sciences
– Computer and information
science
– Engineering
– Geosciences
– Biological sciences
– Mathematical sciences
– Physics and astronomy
NSF does NOT support
applied research,
such as:
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Clinical research
Counseling
Business
Management
Social work
Planning
Legal training
Practice-oriented professional
degree programs
How Do You Gain Access
to Some of NSF’s Funds?
• Submit a proposal to compete in one of
the standing program competitions for
“unsolicited proposals.”
• Submit a proposal for a special
competition.
Social, Behavioral, and
Economic Science Programs
Disciplinary programs:
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Cultural Anthropology
Biological Anthropology
Archaeology
Linguistics
Documenting Endangered
Languages
Social Psychology
Economics
Sociology
Political Science
Interdisciplinary programs:
– Cognitive Neuroscience
– Developmental and Learning
Sciences
– Perception, Action, and Cognition
– Geography and Spatial Sciences
– Decision, Risk, and Management
Sciences
– Science of Science and Innovation
Policy
– Science of Organizations
– Methodology, Measurement, and
Statistics
– Science, Technology, and Society
– Law and Social Sciences
Division of Behavioral and
Cognitive Sciences
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Archaeology
Biological Anthropology
Cultural Anthropology
Geography and Spatial Sciences
Linguistics
Social Psychology
Perception, Action, and Cognition
Developmental and Learning Sciences
Cognitive Neuroscience
Division of Social and
Economic Sciences
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Economics
Decision, Risk, and Management Sciences
Science of Organizations
Sociology
Political Science
Law and Social Science
Methodology, Measurement, and Statistics
Science, Technology, and Society
Science of Science and Innovation Policy*
SBE Research in the Federal Context
A report from the National
Science and Technology
Council
Signed in January 2009
Distributed in April 2009
http://www.nsf.gov/sbe/prospectus_v10_3_17_09.pdf
SBE 2020 Is Providing Guidance
• Community-driven
visioning exercise
found interest in SBE
sciences to be high
• Argued that future SBE
research will be:
– Interdisciplinary
– Data-intensive
– Collaborative
http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2011/nsf11086/nsf11086.pdf
Other SBE 2020
Recommendations
• Four major topic areas were identified as
having special potential from among those
discussed:
– Population change
– Sources of disparities
– Communication, language, and linguistics
– Technology, new media, and social
networks
SBE Developmental Activities
• NSF/SBE will continue to explore new
ideas in the future, concentrating over the
next five years on more focused planning
activities to:
– Strengthen the ability of the NSF/SBE to
support interdisciplinary research, develop
human capacities, and build out the data
and organizational infrastructure
– Consider approaches required to shift
resources to relevant priorities
In Addition to Its Standing
Programs, NSF Has Many
Special Funding Opportunities
WSC
RAPID EAGER
EaSM
RUI/ROA
CDI
Check the NSF Web site for more information
or contact relevant program officers
Some Special Competitions in
Which SBE Actively Participates
Within SBE
• Interdisciplinary Behavioral and Social
Sciences (IBSS)
• Building Community and Capacity for DataIntensive Research in the SBE Sciences and
in Education and Human Resources
(BCC-SBE/EHR)
• SBE Postdoctoral Research Fellowships
• SBE Research Experiences for
Undergraduates Sites (SBE REU Sites)
Some Special Competitions in
Which SBE Actively Participates
Within SBE - Dear Colleague Letters
• Stimulating Research Related to the Science
of Broadening Participation
• Interdisciplinary Research Across the SBE
Sciences
• Workshop for Engaging SBE Scientists
Through Social and Policy Entrepreneurship
Some Special Competitions in
Which SBE Actively Participates
- Beyond SBE - 1
• Environmentally oriented competitions
– Dynamics of Coupled Natural and Human
Systems (CNH)
– Ecology and Evolution of Infectious Diseases
(EEID)
– Science, Engineering, and Education for
Sustainability competitions
•
•
•
•
Water Sustainability and Climate (WSC)
Research Coordination Networks (SEES-RCN)
Coastal SEES
• Arctic SEES
Hazard SEES
• SEES Fellows
•
Some Special Competitions in
Which SBE Actively Participates
- Beyond SBE - 2
• Cyberinfrastructure-oriented competitions
– Core Techniques and Technologies for Advancing
Big Data Science & Engineering (BIGDATA)
– Software Infrastructure for Sustained Innovation
(SI2)
– Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace (SaTC)
• Major Research Instrumentation (MRI)
• Integrative Graduate Education and
Research Traineeships (IGERT)
Funding Mechanisms That May
Be Used by SBE Programs
• Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement
(DDRI) awards
• Faculty Early-Career Development (CAREER)
awards
• Research Coordination Networks (RCNs)
• Rapid-Response Research (RAPID) awards
• Early-Concept Grants for Exploratory Research
(EAGER)
• Integrated NSF Support Promoting
Interdisciplinary Research and Education
(INSPIRE) awards
Learn About Program(s)
and/or Competitions(s)
• Look at the program/competition website
(accessible via www.nsf.gov).
• Read the program description,
announcement, or solicitation.
• Follow links or use the "Search Awards"
function to view past awards.
• Prepare a ~1-page prospectus to share
with program officers months before due
dates.
Identifying the Best Program(s) or
Competitions(s) for Your Research
• Focus on theory
– In which communities is your theoretical
framework drawn?
– To which communities will it contribute?
• Consider where you will publish results
– Which journals will disseminate your findings?
– Who are the researchers who read those
journals?
• "Map" communities and readers onto NSF
programs/competitions to identify the best fit.
• Many NSF programs co-review proposals.
Advance Warning of Special
Opportunities Often Comes in
Budget Requests
FY13 Request Major Emphases - 1
• Fostering the development of a clean
energy economy.
• Supporting future job creation through
advanced manufacturing and emerging
technologies.
• Protecting critical infrastructure.
• Promoting multidisciplinary research in
new materials, wireless communications,
cyberinfrastructure, and robotics.
FY13 Request Major Emphases - 2
• Developing the next generation of
scientific leaders through support for
graduate fellowships and early-career
faculty.
• Advancing evidence-based reforms in
science and mathematics education.
Strategies for Preparing
Proposals for NSF
• Remember that NSF focuses on support
for basic scientific research.
• Funding occurs through competitions with
proposals subject to merit evaluation
based on peer review.
• Allow plenty of time to learn about
competitions, draft and revised proposals,
and submit proposals before deadlines.
What Is the Crucial Ratio
for a Program Officer?
$
“Bang for the Buck!”
What Kind of “Bang” Is an NSF
Program Officer Looking For?
• Significant contributions to general scientific
understandings.
• Enhancements of theoretical understandings in
addition to any expansion of specific knowledge,
especially potentially transformative advances.
• Broader impacts, such as enhanced education,
greater diversity, improved infrastructure or
methods, and beneficial applications.
• Dissemination of results, especially in refereed,
widely disseminated publications.
So What Is the Crucial Ratio
for a Program Officer?
Likelihood of
Significant
Contributions to
General Scientific
Understanding and
Positive Broader
Impacts
$
“Potential Bang for the Buck!”
Decisions Will Be Based on
NSF Merit Review Criteria
NSF asks reviewers to comment on two
major criteria:
• Intellectual merit
• Broader impacts
Be aware that NSF merit review criteria
recently have been redefined.
http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/policydocs/pappguide/nsf13001/gpg_3.jsp#IIIA
New Merit Review Principles
• NSF projects should be of the highest
quality and have the potential to advance,
if not transform, the frontiers of knowledge.
• NSF projects… should contribute more
broadly to achieving societal goals.
• Meaningful assessment and evaluation of
NSF-funded projects should be based on
appropriate metrics.
The principles should be considered when
preparing and reviewing proposals.
Merit Review Criteria
• Intellectual Merit: The Intellectual Merit
criterion encompasses the potential to
advance knowledge.
• Broader Impacts. The Broader Impacts
criterion encompasses the potential to
benefit society and contribute to the
achievement of specific, desired societal
outcomes.
Examples of Broader Impacts
• Full participation of women, persons with disabilities, and
underrepresented minorities in science, technology, engineering,
and mathematics (STEM)
• Development of a diverse, globally competitive STEM workforce
• Improved STEM education and educator development at any
level
• Increased public scientific literacy and public engagement with
science and technology
• Improved well-being of individuals in society
• Increased partnerships among academia, industry, and others
• Improved national security
• Increased economic competitiveness of the United States
• Enhanced infrastructure for research and education
Caveats re: Broader Impacts
• Investigators should focus on identifying
broader impacts that relate to their
research and that can be completed and
evaluated successfully.
• NSF expects impacts in proportion to the
size of the project.
Elements for Consideration for
Both IM and BI Criteria - 1
Criteria related to capabilities to conduct
a project successfully:
• How well qualified is the individual, team,
or organization to conduct the proposed
activities?
• Are there adequate resources available to
the PI (either at the home organization or
through collaborations) to carry out the
proposed activities?
Elements for Consideration for
Both IM and BI Criteria - 2
Criterion related to how a project will be
conducted:
• Is the plan for carrying out the proposed
activities well-reasoned, well-organized,
and based on a sound rationale? Does the
plan incorporate a mechanism to assess
success?
Elements for Consideration for
Both IM and BI Criteria - 3
Criteria related to the potential benefits
of a project:
• What is the potential for the proposed activity to:
– Advance knowledge and understanding within
its own field or across different fields (IM)?
– Benefit society or advance desired societal
outcomes (BI)?
• To what extent do the proposed activities
suggest and explore creative, original, or
potentially transformative concepts?
Potentially Transformative Research
“Transformative research is defined as
research driven by ideas that have the
potential to radically change our
understanding of an important existing
scientific or engineering concept or leading
to the creation of a new paradigm or field of
science or engineering. Such research also
is characterized by its challenge to current
understanding or its pathway to new
frontiers.” (National Science Board)
Another Perspective on
Potentially Transformative Research
Cumulative
Knowledge
The Isserman Curve
D
E
C
A
B
Projects/Time
Program-Specific Review Criteria
• What is the expected larger-scale, longer-term
significance of the project (as described in the
proposal) if the project is conducted successfully?
• What is the likelihood that the project (as described in
the proposal) will be conducted successfully?
Significance
Extremely significant
Very significant
Significant
Moderately significant
Somewhat significant
Very mildly significant
Not significant
Score
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
Likelihood
Very, very likely to succeed
Very likely to succeed
Reasonably likely to succeed
Moderate chances of success
Minor chances of success
Minimal chances of success
Very unlikely to succeed
NSF Merit Review Criteria Summary
• Overarching principles
– Highest quality; Contribute to society;
Meaningful assessment and evaluation
• Merit review criteria:
– Intellectual merit; Broader impacts
• Elements considered for both criteria:
– Capabilities; Conduct;
Potential benefits
• Address program-/competition-specific
criteria (if applicable)
What’s Included in a Competitive
NSF Research Proposal?
• An explanation of the theoretical framework
within which the research question is set.
• Specification of the methods to be used to
answer the question.
• Elaboration of how expected results will
enhance the broader theoretical framework and
have positive broader impacts.
• Biographical information about investigators.
• A data-management plan and other required
materials.
• A budget with justification of expenses.
When You Prepare a Proposal, Think
Like Those Who Will Evaluate It
• External reviewers
– They tend to be specialists; relevant
theory and technical details matter.
• Advisory panel members
– They largely consist of generalists;
so broader significance matters.
• Program officers
– We’re the investors, seeking
“big bangs for our bucks.”
Additional Things to Consider
When Preparing a Proposal to NSF
• Keep the broader intellectual context clear
–
–
–
–
Explore broader theory and relevant literature
Ground focal questions in a theoretical framework
Specify scientifically sound research plan
Discuss how expected results will contribute to
enhanced theory and broader impacts
• Don't start with and maintain focus on the
specific case
What Expenses Should Be Listed
in a Budget?
• For every possible expenditure, ask yourself:
– Is this expenditure necessary at this level to
complete the project? -- or -– Would the research be diminished substantially if
this expenditure is not made or is significantly
reduced?
If you answer “Yes” to these questions,
include the expenditure in the budget.
If you answer “No,” leave the item out
or reduce it to reasonable levels.
• Be cognizant of overall funding limits for awards and
for a program.
Include a Data-Management Plan
– The types of data, samples, physical collections, software,
curriculum materials, and other materials to be produced in the
course of the project;
– The standards to be used for data and metadata format and
content (where existing standards are absent or deemed
inadequate, this should be documented along with any proposed
solutions or remedies);
– Policies for access and sharing including provisions for
appropriate protection of privacy, confidentiality, security,
intellectual property, or other rights or requirements;
– Policies and provisions for re-use, re-distribution, and the
production of derivatives; and
– Plans for archiving data, samples, and other research products,
and for preservation of access to them. (Look to provide longterm access from institutionally managed databases.)
Note that accessible data constitutes a broader impact!
What If Your Proposal
Is Funded?
• Work with the program officer(s) to ensure that
the "Bang for the Buck" is maintained during
pre-award negotiations.
• Check with your program officer regarding any
significant changes during conduct of the
project.
• Conduct the research properly and disseminate
the results promptly.
• Regularly report findings, products, and
contributions (even after the funding has ended).
What If Your
Proposal Is Declined?
• Pause a while to let the pain subside
somewhat.
• Evaluate the reviews.
– If criticisms focus on correctable points, revise
and resubmit the proposal.
– If criticisms are more general, consider other
funding sources or other lines of inquiry.
• If you have questions or want additional
information, contact the program officer.
Speaking of Time… A Suggested
Timeline for Developing Proposals
3 months
before the
deadline
Develop prospectus for proposal and share it with
colleagues as well as relevant agency program officers.
1 month
before the
deadline
Complete what you think is a very solid first draft of the
entire proposal. Share it with colleagues and ask for
honest, constructive advice.
2 weeks
before the
deadline
Use comments from colleagues to revise the proposal
one or two more times.
1 week before
the deadline
Forward the proposal to your sponsored projects office
so that they can complete their work and submit the
proposal a day or two before the deadline
5 months after
the deadline
Politely ask the managing program officer when a
decision might be made about your proposal (if you
haven’t heard about its status already).
Above All Else, Be Persistent!
Remember the words of Christopher Morley:
“Big shots are just little shots
who keep shooting!”
The NSF Staff Is at Your Service
It’s not quite
that easy, but we will
provide whatever info
we can to help you make
the strongest possible
case for your project.
Call or write!
Contact Information
Thomas Baerwald
tbaerwal@nsf.gov
703-292-7301
Geography and Spatial
Sciences Program
National Science Foundation
4201 Wilson Blvd.; Room 995
Arlington VA 22230 U.S.A.
Consult the NSF web site to identify program
officers for other programs or competitions.
STANDING SBE PROGRAM
INFORMATION
Division of Social and Economic
Sciences (SES)
• Supports research to develop and
advance scientific knowledge focusing on
economic, legal, political and social
systems, organizations, and institutions
• Supports research on the intellectual and
social contexts that govern the
development and use of science and
technology
Division Director: Jeryl Mumpower
Decision, Risk, and
Management Sciences
• Supports research that explores fundamental
issues in judgment and decision making, risk
analysis, management science, and
organizational behavior
• Research must be relevant to an operational or
applied context, grounded in theory, and based
on empirical observation or subject to empirical
validation
Program Officers: Robert O’Connor, Mary Rigdon
Economics
• Supports:
– Both empirical and theoretical economic analysis as
well as work on methods for rigorous research on
economic behavior
– Research designed to improve the understanding of
the processes and institutions of the U.S. economy
and of the world system of which it is a part
– Almost all subfields of economics including:
econometrics, economic history, finance, industrial
organization, international economics, labor
economics, public finance, macroeconomics, and
mathematical economics
Program Officers: Nancy Lutz, Michael Reksulak,
Niloy Bose
Science of Organizations
• SoO funds research that advances the
fundamental understanding of how organizations
develop, form and operate.
• Supports research which uses theory combined
with empirical validation.
• Looks to expand the concepts, models and
methodologies of change in organizations and
institutions
Program Officer: Quinetta Roberson
Law and Social Science
• Supports social scientific studies of law and law-like
systems of rules, institutions, processes, and
behaviors
• Topics can include, but are not limited to
– research designed to enhance the scientific
understanding of the impact of law
– human behavior and interactions as these relate
to law
– the dynamics of legal decision making
– the nature, sources, and consequences of
variations and changes in legal institutions
Program Officers: Susan Sterett, Marjorie Zatz
Methodology, Measurement,
and Statistics
• Seeks proposals that are interdisciplinary
in nature, methodologically innovative, and
grounded in theory, such as:
– Models and methodology for social and
behavioral research
– Statistical methodology/modeling directed
towards the social and behavioral sciences
– Methodological aspects of procedures for
data collection
Program Officer: Cheryl Eavey
Political Science
• Supports scientific research that advances knowledge and
understanding of citizenship, government, and politics
• Substantive areas include, but are not limited to:
– American government and politics
– comparative government and politics
– international relations
– political behavior
– political economy
– political institutions
• Supports Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grants
Program Officers: Brian Humes and Erik Herron
Science, Technology and Society
• STS considers proposals that examine
questions that arise in the interactions of
engineering, science, technology, and society.
• There are four components:
– Ethics and Values in Science, Engineering and Technology
– History and Philosophy of Science, Engineering and
Technology
– Social Studies of Science, Engineering and Technology
– Studies of Policy, Science, Engineering and Technology
• The components overlap, but are distinguished by
the different scientific and scholarly.
Program Officers: Fred Kronz, Linda Layne
Sociology
•
•
•
The Sociology program supports theoretically grounded research on
systematic patterns of social relationships that examine the causes and
consequences of human behavior, social structure and social change.
Studies range from micro to macro levels of interaction.
Topics include, but are not limited to:
– Stratification, labor markets, mobility, social change
– Organizations, networks, economic and workplace change
– Crime, delinquency, social organization and social control
– Race, ethnicity, social identity/interactions, culture, education
– Family, gender, population, migration, immigration
– Social movements, political processes, globalization and more
The Program supports research that uses the range of social science
methodologies — experimental, quantitative, qualitative and the
combinations of multiple methods—for original data collection and
secondary data analysis.
Program Officers: Pat White, Saylor Breckenridge
Division of Behavioral and
Cognitive Sciences
• Supports research to develop and
advance scientific knowledge focusing on
human cognition, language, evolution,
social behavior, and culture
• Supports research on the interactions
between human societies and the physical
environment
Division Director: Mark Weiss
Archaeology and Archaeometry
• Funds:
– Archaeological research that contributes
to an anthropological understanding of
the past
– Anthropologically significant
archaeometric research
Program Officer: John Yellen
Cultural Anthropology
• Promotes basic scientific research on the
causes and consequences of human
social and cultural variation
• Supports social scientific research of
theoretical importance in all theoretical
and empirical subfields
Program Officers: Jeff Mantz, Chris McCarty
Biological Anthropology
• Supports basic research in areas related to:
– Human Evolution
– Anthropological Genetics
– Human Adaptation
– Skeletal Biology
– Primate Biology
– Ecology and Behavior
• Grants are often characterized by:
– An underlying evolutionary framework
– A consideration of adaptation as a central theoretical theme
– Generalizable Results
• Serves as a bridge between the social and behavioral sciences and
the natural and physical sciences
Program Officer: Carolyn Ehardt
Linguistics
•
Supports scientific research of all types that focus on human
language as an object of investigation
– the syntactic, semantic, phonetic, and phonological
properties of individual languages and of language in
general
– the psychological processes involved in the use of
language
– the development of linguistic capacities in children
– social and cultural factors in language use, variation, and
change
– the acoustics of speech and the physiological and
psychological processes involved in the production and
perception of speech
– the biological bases of language in the brain
Program Officers: Joan Maling and Bill Badecker
Documenting Endangered
Languages
• Responds to loss of world’s languages
– Research grants
– Fellowships in partnership with NEH
• Data collection, preparation of grammars &
dictionaries
• Requires creation of archives
• Training & Workshops
• Cyber infrastructure and tools for linguistic analysis
Program Officer: Shobana Chelliah
Cognitive Neuroscience
• Program supports highly innovative and interdisciplinary
proposals
• Proposals should aim to advance a rigorous understanding of
how the human brain supports:
• thought
• perception
• affect
• action
• social processes
• and other aspects of cognition and behavior, including
how such processes develop and change in the brain
and through evolutionary time.
Program Officer: Akaysha Tang
Developmental and
Learning Sciences
• Supports studies that increase our understanding of cognitive,
social, and biological processes related to children and adolescents’
learning in formal and informal settings
• Supports research on learning and development that:
– incorporates multidisciplinary, multi-method, microgenetic, and
longitudinal approaches
– develops new methods and theories
– examines transfer of knowledge from one domain to another
– assesses peer relations, family interactions, social identities, and
motivation
– examines the impact of family, school, and community resources
– assesses adolescents’ preparation for entry into the workforce
– investigates the role of demographic and cultural characteristics in
children’s learning and development.
Program Officer: Peter Vishton
Perception Action and Cognition
• Supports basic research on human cognitive and perceptual
functions
• Topics include, but are not limited to:
– Attention
– Memory
– Spatial Cognition
– Language Processing
– Perceptual and Conceptual Development
– Visual, Auditory, and Tactile Perception
– Reasoning
• Research supported by the program encompasses a broad range of
theoretical perspectives such as Symbolic Computation,
Connectionism, and Dynamical Systems
Program Officers: Betty Tuller and Lawrence Gottlob
Social Psychology
• Supports research on human social
behavior, including cultural differences and
development over the life span
• Among the many research topics
supported are:
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attitude formation and change
social cognition
personality processes
interpersonal relations and group processes
the psychophysiological correlates of social behavior
Program Officers: Sally Dickerson, Rosanna Guadagno
Geography and Spatial Sciences
• Supports research on geographic distributions
and interactions of human, physical, and biotic
systems on the earth’s surface.
• Encourages investigations into the nature,
causes, and consequences of human activity
and natural environmental processes across a
range of scales.
• Funds international and domestic projects which
make contributions toward advancing
geographic and spatial scientific theory.
Program Officers: Antoinette WinklerPrins,
Kelley Crews, Tom Baerwald