Internet Info 1997 December/Internet_Info_CD-ROM_Walnut_Creek_December_1997.iso/infoguide/faq/nie

Text File | 1997-12-01 | 36KB | 780 lines

Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering
and Directorate for Education and Human Resources

Program Solicitation

Networking Infrastructure for Education
New Projects and Planning Grants


Summary of Target dates
               NIE           NIE policy         DODDS
               --------------------------------------------
Preliminary    Feb. 15       December 15        December 15
proposals

Full           April 15      Feb. 15            Feb. 15
proposals


The National Science Foundation (NSF) provides awards for research in
the sciences and engineering.  The awardee is wholly responsible for
the conduct of such research and preparation of the results for
publication.  The Foundation, therefore, does not assume responsibility
for such findings or their interpretation.

The Foundation welcomes proposals on behalf of all qualified scientists
and engineers, and strongly encourages women, minorities, and persons
with disabilities to compete fully in any of the research and
research-related programs described in this document.

In accordance with Federal statutes and regulations and NSF policies,
no person on grounds of race, color, age, sex, national origin, or
disability shall be excluded from participation in, denied the benefits
of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity
receiving financial assistance from the National Science Foundation.

Facilitation Awards for Scientists and Engineers with Disabilities
provides funding for special assistance or  equipment to enable persons
with disabilities (investigators and other staff, including student
research assistants) to work on an  NSF project.  Contact the program
coordinator in the Directorate for Education and Human Resources.  The
telephone number  is [phone].

NSF has TDD (Telephonic Device for the Deaf) capability, which enables
individuals with hearing impairment to communicate with the NSF
Information Center about NSF programs, employment, or general
information.  The telephone number is [phone].

Privacy Act and Public Burden. Information requested on NSF application
materials is solicited under the authority of the National Science
Foundation Act of 1950, as amended. It will be used in connection with
the selection of qualified proposals and may be used and disclosed to
qualified reviewers and staff assistants as part of the review process
and to other government agencies. See Systems of Records NSF-50,
Principal Investigator/Proposal File and Associated Records, and NSF-
51, Reviewer/Proposal. File and Associated Records, 56 Federal Register
54907 (Oct. 23, 1991). Submission of the information is voluntary.
Failure to provide full and complete information, however, may reduce
the possibility of your receiving an award.

The public reporting burden for this collection of information is
estimated to average 120 hours per response, including the time for
reviewing instructions. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or
any other aspect of this collection of information, including
suggestions for reducing this burden, to Herman G. Fleming, Reports
Clearance Officer, Division of CPO, NSF, Ballston, VA 22230, and to the
Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project
(3145-0058) Washington, DC 20503.

************************************************************************

This program is described in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance
categories 47.070 and 47.076.

Current catalog numbers and titles for NSF:

     47.041    Engineering
     47.049    Mathematical and Physical Sciences
     47.050    Geosciences
     47.050    Office of Polar Programs
     47.070    Computer and Information Science and Engineering
     47.073    Office of Science and Technology Infrastructure
     47.074    Biological Sciences
     47.075    Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences
     47.076    Education and Human Resources
     47.077    Academic Research Infrastructure

These CFDA numbers may also be found in Grant Proposal Guide, NSF
94-02.


T A B L E  O F  C O N T E N T S

Networking Infrastructure for Education program   1
     Examples of possible NIE projects            2
     Areas of special interest                    2
          Policy Studies                          2
          Native American Telecommunications      2
          Electronic Libraries                    2
     Brief description of projects funded
     by the NIE program                           2
     Brief description of planning and
     startup projects funded by the
     NIE program                                  3
     Preparation and Submission of Proposals      4
          A. Contact Information                  4
          B. Preliminary Proposals                4
          C. Formal Proposals                     4
     Size and Duration of Awards                  4
Network and Interactive Technology Prototype
System for the Department of Defense
Dependent Schools                                 4
     Goals and Objectives                         5
     Funding                                      5
     Proposal Processing                          5
          A. Contact Information                  5
          B. Preliminary Proposals                6
          C. Formal Proposals                     6
     Awards                                       6
Who May Submit (NIE and DoDDS targeted
solicitation)                                     6
Summary of Target dates                           6
Proposal Format                                   7
Proposal Submission                               7
Proposal Review                                   7
Grant Administration                              8
Additional Information                            8
OTHER PROGRAMS OF INTEREST                        9

As part of an expanding effort to encourage innovation and leverage
the power of computer and networking technology to support science
and mathematics education reform, the Directorates for Computer and
Information Science and Engineering (CISE) and for Education and
Human Resources (EHR) issue the second solicitation of a joint
Program on Networking Infrastructure for Education (NIE). In
addition, information on three related areas of networking
appplications are included: electronic libraries, Native American
Telecommunications and programs with the Department of Defense
Dependent Schools.

The NIE Program aims to hasten the development of a widespread high
performance electronic communications infrastructure in support of
science, mathematics, engineering and technology (SMET) education
reform, and to help lay a foundation on which strategies for the
appropriate use of technology in support of increased student
achievement can be developed.  NIE's goal is to build synergy
between technology and education researchers, developers and
implementers so they can explore networking costs and benefits,
test self-sustaining strategies, and develop a flexible educational
networking infrastructure that will be instrumental in the
dissemination, integration and application of technologies to speed
the pace of educational innovation and reform.


NIE seeks proposals in the areas of (a) policy studies, (b)
research and development in support of NIE goals, (c)
demonstrations and model sites, and (d) infrastructure and
testbeds. These are not formal categories, but guides to types of
projects and associated funding levels.

Policy studies should consider topics such as the barriers to
networked community creation and development; the articulation of
distance education's contribution to lifelong learning and school
to work transition, especially for underrepresented minorities and
rural populations; leveraging the universal open access aspect of
networks to promote educational equity among students and
institutions. R&D refers to projects where fundamental questions
remain unanswered and the audience for project outcomes is other
researchers or implementers and key users.  Demonstration and model
sites are focused on making the system robust, addressing a larger
cross-section of user requirements, implementing some of the
resulting new ideas, learning how to scale-up  existing models, and
learning what level of user support is required.  Infrastructure
and testbeds are projects whose outcomes inform the whole community
and decision-makers about system and infrastructure investment
options. Testbeds, by their nature, are expected to work with
diverse communities of users and with innovative ideas, testing
high-risk, high-gain conjectures about new ways of
working--organizational, pedagogical, educational, and
technological.

The following guidelines describe the types of eligible activities,
criteria to be used for their evaluation, and the process for
submitting proposals.  The NIE Program seeks to:

* establish testbeds, implementation models and prototypes that
explore the role of electronic networks (the Internet and others)
in support of SMET education reform, and demonstrate sustainable
approaches to educational networking.

* support the R&D needed for large-scale, cost-effective
implementation of educational networking, including infrastructure,
policy, training, curriculum, reform, school organization,
interactive teaching/learning tools, materials, and mechanisms for
technology transfer.


Examples of possible NIE projects

* Awards to: broaden existing networks to strengthen collaborations
with educational communities and groups to deliver innovative
services to students and teachers at all levels, including adults
involved in lifelong learning, add educational networking
infrastructure to existing systemic reform efforts such as NSF's
Rural and Urban Systemic Initiatives; strengthen collaborations and
encourage consortia to ensure broad-scale, systemic support for
education reform; and develop services, technical assistance and
connectivity in conjunction with the larger educational communities
such as states and school districts. These collaborations would
support the creation of research testbeds for innovative projects
in K-14 education, informal education, and/or continuing education.
Such collaborations should be based on a prior record of
accomplishment and make available unique resources such as remote
databases, professional expertise, supercomputers, and other
resources, to the community of users.

* Research and development to explore issues of scaling-up existing
networking models. Examples of such projects include, but are not
limited to, research on accessing information from distributed data
repositories; research on the use of the network for access to
remote resources for experimentation, training, and collaborative
studies; research on student and teacher human-computer interaction
interfaces; research on the educational and equity impact of the
use of networked resources including remotely accessible high
performance computing capabilities; development of support and
funding models for large-scale and long-term educational networking
and technology support; and research and development for extending
tools and organizational systems to accommodate collaborations
among large numbers of participants with diverse viewpoints.

* Awards to develop and evaluate innovative networked communities
in support of SMET education reform goals (for example, communities
defined by a shared interest, and/or networking of geographical
communities). Examples include policy studies on funding the
creation of self-sustaining networked communities that link
information sources such as electronic libraries, public libraries
and museums to users, or access to self-paced training resources.


Areas of special interest

Policy Studies. The NIE program is interested in funding three to
five projects designed to (a) support electronically a proposer
community based on the work of existing grantees and (b) develop an
NIE and networking infrastructure evaluation strategy.

Native American Telecommunications. The nation's schools serving
Native American students have special networking infrastructure
needs. The NIE program seeks proposals to develop policies, pilot
projects and infrastructure models that can serve the unique needs
of Native American tribal colleges and their students.

Electronic Libraries. The Foundation, as part of an interagency
program, has initiated a program of R&D for digital libraries.
There is special interest at the Foundation for exploring the role
of digital libraries in education reform and in providing equity of
educational opportunities. The NIE program seeks proposals to
develop policies, testbeds and prototypes that explore state-wide
implementation issues of electronic libraries, access to
information located in remote sites, and the organizational and
support structures that make it possible.

Brief description of projects funded by the NIE program.  A few
examples of recently funded projects are provided to indicate the
breadth of interest of the program:

* Policy study on the role of public libraries in the National
Information Infrastructure (NII).

* Comprehensive metropolitan network that has since become part of
an Urban Systemic Initiative in support of math and science
education reform. Partners include a medical school, senior
citizens, a housing project, K-12 schools, universities, libraries
and city government.

* Use of telecommunications to support learning-on-demand in a
workplace setting.

* Use and evaluation of ISDN networks for distance collaborations
in which teachers and students combine desktop video conferencing
with exchange of complex images and large datasets.

* Statewide Systemic Initiative effort will fully integrate
educational networking into its reform efforts and to collaborate
with science research centers in creating effective innovative
science resources for K-12 education.

* Development and implementation of a distributed multi-server
system based on an architecture that dynamically adapts to rapidly
changing load patterns in high levels of network traffic.

* Network-based collaboration among science museums, industry and
schools to provide unique resources for teaching and learning
science, mathematics and technology in grades K-8, with special
emphasis on the needs of schools in urban centers.

* A testbed of hundreds of networked schools and school districts
in more than a dozen states that can be used to test new teaching
methods and to provide empirical evidence to taxpayers, governments
and private industry about what types of broad-based active
participation are required to successfully scale-up reform and
education telecommunications efforts.

* A Digital Learning Center that networks  scientists, educators
and multimedia designers to develop compelling on-line,
interactive, content-rich resources for learners of all age groups.


Brief description of planning and startup projects funded by the
NIE program. A few examples of recently funded projects are
provided to indicate the breadth of interest of the program:. NIE
also encourages planning or startup grants for proposers who are in
the process of developing the appropriate consortia, partnerships,
or community of users, and need modest resources to complete the
process successfully. Potential proposers in this category are
advised to discuss their project's compliance with NIE goals and
objectives with the NIE Program Directors.

* Support for Native American communities to plan  for the use of
telecommunications and to provide technical, educational and
personnel assistance in the development of education activities
that incorporate and rely on telecommunications.

* Support to leverage a cable industry experiment that is providing
interactive cable television to schools and homes and to do a
systematic analysis of impact on educational practice.

* Supplement to a Statewide Systemic Initiative to develop a model
of technology integration that will also be leveraged by a
three-state Rural Systemic Initiavive planning grant.

* Leverage Statewide Systemic Initiative activities in planning for
a sustainable telecommunications network in a rural area by a
statewide alliance of technology-related education and business
groups.

* Lay the groundwork for developing a virtual school where virtual,
i.e. network-linked collaborative classrooms encompass the entire
community throughout the state.

* Plan an interdisciplinary high school 'school-to-work', career
path curriculum supported by multimedia technology, with strong
involvement of the private sector.

Preparation and Submission of Proposals

A. Contact Information

For general information, contact the Networking Infrastructure for
Education program, EHR and CISE, at:

     [phone] [e-mail]

B. Preliminary Proposals.

While there are no formal guidelines beyond those just stated, an
informal preliminary proposal for review by NSF is required. The
preliminary proposal should be in the form of a six to eight page
(double spaced ) document describing the goals of the activity, a
detailed work plan and budget, a discussion of the educational
needs and opportunities to be addressed, a discussion of the
technologies and telecommunication to be used, the science and
mathematics to be covered for the various grade levels, and an
evaluation plan discussing the performance measures, tests and data
analysis. We encourage the submission of preliminary proposals via
electronic mail.

Preliminary proposals for NIE are due by February 15, 1995. Note
the separate preliminary and full proposal deadlines for policy
proposals. Proposers contemplating policy studies are encouraged to
contact the program at least six weeks prior to the December 15
target date.

C. Formal Proposals

Formal Proposals are due on April 15, 1995.  Special review
criteria beyond the standard NSF criteria are listed under Proposal
Review.

Size and Duration of Awards

NIE plans to fund 3-5 awards yearly for each of the following
categories (These are not formal categories, but guides to types of
projects and associated funding levels, as described in the
Introduction.

* Policy studies - $25,000 to $100,000 per year
* Research and development - $250,000 to $750,000 per year for 1
  to 3 years
* Demonstration and model sites - $250,000 to $750,000 per year for
  1 to 3 years
* Infrastructure and testbeds - $500,000 to $1,000,000 per year for
  1 to 3 years

Planning/startup Grants should not exceed one year and are expected
to range from $25,000 to $100,000.

(Cost-sharing requirements are discussed in detail in the Section
on Proposal Review.)

Network and Interactive Technology Prototype System for the
Department of Defense Dependent Schools.

In response to the national educational challenge to create new
networking infrastructures for education, the Department of Defense
Dependents Schools (DoDDS) and the National Science Foundation
(NSF) have initiated a joint, competitive program to support
applied research and evaluation on the use of telecommunication
networks and interactive computer-based, instructional technologies
in pursuit of educational excellence. The program seeks to combine
educational technology and educational reform strategies, by using
the DoDDS to demonstrate and evaluate their potential for improving
mathematics and science education.

Goals and Objectives.

Various interactive technologies and network applications have
proven educationally beneficial in research studies and in certain
classroom courses. The purpose of this program is to develop a
large-scale prototype system that includes a telecommunication
network and interactive instructional technologies, capable of
significantly increasing excellence in a K-12 mathematics and
science program, and to demonstrate and evaluate the cost and
benefits associated with operating the system.

The intent of the program is to aggregate, integrate and articulate
a critical amount of educational resources and materials,
consistent with recommended national standards for mathematics and
science education, and achieve significant, measurable gains in
student and teacher performance.

The use of the installed base of equipment and off-the-shelf
materials, where appropriate, is encouraged. However, the
development of new materials and interfaces may also be
contemplated if needed to develop a cohesive, comprehensive system.

Proposed projects should organize resources to support a broad
range of pedagogical learning strategies such as learning circles,
classroom instruction, group and individual lessons, dry and wet
laboratories, library research, mentoring and tutoring by
professional scientists, professors and teachers, and
project-oriented science. Students should be permitted to have as
much access as possible to all network resources for self-directed
learning.

Proposed systems should support a wide variety of pedagogical
strategies and tools such as teleconferencing, access to multimedia
presentations, video, e-mail, bulletin boards, digital data bases
and libraries. Materials should be pilot tested and of sufficient
scope, depth and duration to provide the basis for a rigorous test
of the system. Data should be gathered to measure student
performance and achievement for a wide range of students.

The proposed systems should involve the active and significant
participation of all stakeholders such as students, teachers,
librarians, parents, administrators, scientists and technologists
in planning and designing the system and its services.

The proposed system-wide prototypes should use Internet and include
representative sites in Europe, Asia, and the United States. The
sites should, where possible, be joined with existing mathematics
and science networks and testbeds in the domestic United States,
other NIE network projects and/or other appropriate international
networks.

The cost/benefits studies should include an analysis of system
performance, student achievement and motivation, teacher
preparation and workshops, and costs necessary to develop and
operate such a system. Based upon these results, a cost/benefits
projection should be prepared for scaling up the program for all
DoDDS schools.

Funding

NSF budget for the funded project(s) is not expected to exceed
$4,500,000 dollars over three years (1995-1998). Depending on the
number and quality of proposals, it is anticipated that one or more
multiyear grants or cooperative agreements will be awarded.

Proposal Processing

A. Contact Information

For general information, contact the NIE/DODDS program at:

     [phone] [e-mail]

B. Preliminary Proposals

The submission of an informal, preliminary proposal for review by
NSF is required. The preliminary proposal should be in the form of
a six to eight page (double-spaced) document describing the goals
of the activity, a short one paragraph description of the principal
investigators, a discussion of the technologies and
telecommunication to be used, the science and mathematics courses
and materials to be covered for the various grade levels, and an
evaluation plan discussing the performance measures, tests and
cost/benefits analysis. Preliminary proposals are due no later than
December 15, 1994. We encourage the submission of preliminary
proposals via electronic mail, to [e-mail].

Additional information about DoDDS may be obtained by contacting
the National Science Foundation, NIE/DoDDS Program, Education and
Human Resources, 4201 Wilson Blvd., Arlington VA 22230 (TEL:
703-306-1651) or email: [e-mail].

C. Formal Proposals

Formal Proposals are due on February 15, 1995, and will be reviewed
in accordance with NSF policies and procedures. Additional review
criteria are listed under Proposal Review.

Awards

Grant or Cooperative Agreement Award(s) will be made by June, 1995.


Who May Submit (NIE and DoDDS targeted solicitation)

Proposals for both the NIE and DoDDS programs will be accepted from
individual institutions or groups of institutions within the United
States. Proposals which involve the formation of new alliances are
encouraged. These alliances could include two- and four-year
degree-granting academic institutions, school districts,
professional societies, state agencies, public libraries, museums,
and others concerned with educational reform. Business and industry
participation, with cost-sharing consistent with their role, is
required for demonstration, model site, testbed and infrastructure
projects, and encouraged for policy studies and R&D projects.

Proposals for planning or startup grants aimed at developing a plan
of action, a more encompassing collaboration or a competitive NIE
project, will be accepted from qualified proposers on behalf of
coalitions and consortia.

The Foundation welcomes proposals on behalf of all qualified
scientists, engineers, and educators, and strongly encourages
women, minorities, and persons with disabilities to compete fully
in its research and educational programs.

Proposal Format

Proposals developed in response to this program solicitation should
be prepared and submitted in accordance with the guidelines
provided in the NSF brochure, Grant Proposal Guide, NSF 94-2,
January, 1994. Copies of the most current edition of this
publication are available at no cost from:

National Science Foundation
Forms and Publications, Room P15
4201 Wilson Blvd.
Arlington, VA 22230
[phone]
[e-mail] (Internet)
pubs@nsf (Bitnet)


Proposal Submission

Fifteen (15) copies of each proposal, including one copy bearing
original signatures, should be mailed to:

Announcement No. 94-5
Proposal Processing Unit P60
National Science Foundation
4201 Wilson Blvd.
Arlington, VA 22230

One additional copy should be sent to:

Program Director
Networking Infrastructure for Education
Suite 855
National Science Foundation
4201 Wilson Blvd.
Arlington, VA 22230

Only one (1) copy of NSF Form 1225, Information about Principal
Investigator/Project Director, should be sent, attached to the
original signed proposal.

Proposal Review

Proposals will be evaluated in accordance with established
Foundation procedures, and the four general criteria described in
Grant Proposal Guide, NSF 94-2, will be used. Evaluation will be
done by a panel of experts and by ad-hoc mail reviews and site
visits as needed. Proposal evaluation will also take into account
NIE's overarching goal of building collaborations among technology
and education researchers, developers and implementers.  Thus the
following criteria will be used:

(1)  Overall Plan: How well does the proposal integrate the many
stakeholders so they can explore networking costs and benefits,
test self-sustaining strategies, and develop a flexible
infrastructure for network-leveraged education reform.  The NIE
program encourages collaborations and consortia at all levels from
the community to the state or region to ensure broad-scale,
systemic support for education reform that integrates technological
resources as fully as possible into reform activities.  Governance
and management of projects should reflect contributions of all
groups involved, as appropriate for the type of award sought
(policy study, R&D, DoDDS prototype, etc.).

(2)  Potential for Significant Impact: For evaluating NIE and DoDDS
proposals, the potential of the project for achieving significant
impact on student performance, educational networking, and the
project's contributions to our base of knowledge about the role of
technology in education reform

(3)  Sustainability:  What is the potential of the project for
long-term sustainability?  How will the project leverage and
contribute to the ability of the education community to carry out
full-scale, self-sustaining and scalable implementations of
educational networking?

(4)  Evaluation, Assessment and Dissemination: All NIE and DoDDS
projects must have well defined evaluation, dissemination and
assessment plans. Proposals will be evaluated on how well their
plans for evaluation, assessment and dissemination integrate with
and further the goals reflected in evaluation criteria (1) - (3).

DoDDS proposals are expected to provide a clear definition of the
educational problems and opportunities to be addressed, plans for
the design and implementation of a model that has sufficient scope,
depth and duration to rigorously test the educational benefits,
innovativeness, and plans for the  components of a successful
implementation strategy, such as teacher training, on-going
support, etc.

(5)  Cost-Sharing: Business and industry participation and
cost-sharing are important indicators of the sustainability and
flexibility of any networking infrastructure. Consequently,
business and industry participation in NIE projects, and level of
cost-sharing, including cost-sharing by consortia members, will be
used as criteria in the evaluation of proposals, as appropriate.

All research proposals are required to comply with NSF rules for
cost-sharing. Proposals for model sites, testbeds, and
infrastructure development are expected to document the commitment
of members of the consortia and the projected cost-sharing they
will provide to assure the long term sustainability of the project.
Cost-sharing can take the form of equipment, personnel, release
time for teachers, communication costs, as well as funds.

Reviewers will be interested in how the project leverages efforts
of consortium members and of state and local government, such as
existing connectivity,  technical support, local bond issues,
statewide education reform programs, state use of training funds,
etc.

Grant Administration

Grants and cooperative agreements awarded as a result of this
solicitation are administered in accordance with the terms and
conditions of NSF GC-1, "Grant General Conditions," or FDP-II,
"Federal Demonstration Project General Terms and Conditions,"
depending on the grantee organization.  Copies of these documents
are available at no cost from the NSF Forms and Publications Unit,
phone [phone], or [e-mail] (Internet).  More
comprehensive information is contained in the NSF Grant Policy
Manual (NSF 88-47, July 1989), for sale through the Superintendent
of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, DC  20402.
The telephone number at GPO is [phone] for subscription
information.

If the submitting institution has never received an NSF award, it
is recommended that appropriate administrative officials become
familiar with the policies and procedures in the NSF Grant Policy
Manual which are applicable to most NSF awards.  If a proposal is
recommended for an award, the NSF Division of Grants and Agreements
will request certain organizational, management, and financial
information.  These requirements are described in Chapter III of
the NSF Grant Policy Manual.

Additional Information

Upon completion of the project a Final Project Report (NSF Form
98A), including the Part IV Summary, will be required.  NSF will
send the form with Part I information preprinted to the Project
Director approximately one month prior to the grant's expiration
date.  Applicants should review the sample form in the Grant
Proposal Guide prior to proposal submission so that appropriate
tracking mechanisms are included in the proposal plan to ensure
that complete information will be available at the conclusion of
the project.

OTHER PROGRAMS OF INTEREST

NSF Guide to Programs, available from the NSF Forms and
Publications Unit, briefly describes Foundation activities.
Proposers may consult the Grant Proposal Guide, NSF 94-2, for
additional guidance. The following brochures, which are available
from the NSF Forms and Publications Unit, describe Foundation-wide
programs:

* Research in Undergraduate Institutions (RUI) provides support for
faculty research at predominantly undergraduate institutions.
Contact the relevant program office or the RUI Coordinator, Room
805, NSF, phone [phone].  (NSF Publication  94-79)

* Research Opportunity Awards (ROA) allows science and engineering
faculty in predominantly undergraduate institutions to participate
in NSF-supported research at research institutions.  Contact
relevant program office or the ROA Coordinator, Room 805, NSF,
phone [phone].

* Visiting Professorships for Women (VPW) provides support for
experienced women scientists or engineers to undertake advanced
research and teaching at a host institution.  Contact VPW Program
Director, Room 907, NSF, phone [phone].  (NSF Publication
94-68)

* Research Planning Grants (RPG) provide opportunities for women
scientists and engineers who have not had prior independent Federal
research support to develop competitive research proposals.
Contact the relevant program office or the Coordinator for Women's
Programs, Room 805, NSF, phone [phone].  (NSF Publication
93-130)

* Career Advancement Awards (CAA) provide opportunities for women
scientists and engineers to expand research capability and
productivity.  Contact the relevant program office or the
Coordinator for Women's Programs, Room 805, NSF, phone (703)
306-1604. (NSF Publication 93-130)

* Research Improvement in Minority Institutions (RIMI) provides
grants to predominantly minority institutions and those with
substantial minority enrollments that have graduate programs in
science or programs in engineering.  Contact RIMI Program Director,
Room 805, NSF, phone [phone].  (NSF Publication 91-117)

* Research Assistantships for Minority High School Students
(RAMHSS) encourages principal investigators supported by NSF to
provide opportunities for minority high school students to
participate in their research projects.  Contact the relevant
program office or the RAMHSS Coordinator, Room 815, NSF, phone
[phone].  (NSF Publication 89-39)

* Minority Research Initiation (MRI):  Awards and Planning Grants
provides one-time grants for minority scientists and engineers to
become actively engaged in research as independent investigators.
Research Planning Grants facilitate the  development of more
competitive research proposals.  Contact the relevant program
office or the  MRI Coordinator, Room 805, NSF, phone (703)
306-1604.  (NSF Publication 90-143)

* Research Careers for Minority Scholars (RCMS) permits all
institutions to encourage undergraduate or graduate minority
science or engineering students to participate in research. Contact
RCMS Program Director, Room 815, NSF, phone [phone].

* Undergraduate Faculty Enhancement (UFE) offers opportunities for
groups of faculty who teach undergraduates to learn about new
techniques and developments in their fields.  Contact UFE, Room
835, NSF, phone [phone].  (NSF Publication 93-164)

* Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) provides
opportunities for undergraduate students to participate in research
or related activities.  Contact the relevant NSF disciplinary
program office.  (NSF Publication 93-112)

* Instrumentation and Laboratory Improvement (ILI) Program provides
matching grants for the purchase of undergraduate instructional
apparatus.  Contact ILI, Room 835, NSF, phone [phone].  (NSF
Publication 93-164)

* Alliances for Minority Participation (AMP) supports the
establishment of multidisciplinary or disciplinary approaches at
the undergraduate level to increase the quality and quantity of
underrepresented minority students in science and engineering
fields.  Contact AMP, Room 815, NSF, phone [phone].  (NSF
Publication 94-122)

* Career Access Opportunities in Science and Technology for Women,
Minorities, and the Disabled (ACCESS) awards attempt to increase
the participation of underrepresented communities in science and
technology.  Contact CAO, Room 815, NSF, phone [phone].
(NSF Publication NSF 90-126)