2021 CAREER Overview Info for UM
2021 CAREER proposals are due to NSF on July 26. Early career STEM faculty interested in learning more about this program should register for one of the CAREER Webinars offered by NSF this week and next, and also sign up for ORSP’s NSF CAREER Information Session on May 15 —especially if this is your first CAREER attempt. (If this your first proposal to NSF, you are also encouraged to register for selected components of the NSF Virtual Grants Conference June 7-11). Then, notify ORSP by May 25 if you are aiming to submit a CAREER proposal, so that we can plan support for the development, review, and submission of your proposal. ORSP will provision and subsidize external peer reviews on a first-come, first-prioritized basis, for qualifying* requests and drafts received during the first three weeks of June.
About NSF CAREER
“The Faculty Early Career Development Program is a Foundation-wide activity that offers the National Science Foundation's most prestigious awards in support of early-career faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education and to lead advances in the mission of their department or organization. Activities pursued by early-career faculty should build a firm foundation for a lifetime of leadership in integrating education and research. NSF encourages submission of CAREER proposals from early-career faculty at all CAREER-eligible organizations and especially encourages women, members of underrepresented minority groups, and persons with disabilities to apply.”
Submit Transmittals by July 12; Complete Proposals by July 19
The volume of UM CAREER proposals submitted continues to grow (13 in 2020); thus, to ensure ORSP has sufficient time to review, route, approve, and submit all of this year’s CAREER proposals, submit transmittals to ORSP no later than July 12 (10 working days before the NSF due date) and proposal components should be complete and ready to submit no later than July 19 (one week ahead of the due date). Be sure to communicate early and often with your pre-award research administrator and adhere to posted due dates to ensure that your proposal can be reviewed, approved, and submitted to NSF.
ORSP Info Session
ORSP Research Development will host a virtual, brown-bag NSF CAREER Information Session beginning at 11:30 a.m. on May 24, to share a few tips, and outline a few of the UM resources and services to support UM CAREER proposals, including internal and external narrative reviews, among other topics. UM resource providers interested in giving a very short (3 minute) pitch for how you can support an NSF CAREER proposal or project (including education, outreach, and broader impacts plans) are also invited and encouraged to sign up—we will reach out to coordinate your pitch.
Dates and Times (all times Central)
Now Register for an NSF CAREER Webinar, and/or for Virtual Grants Conf.
May 14 12 – 2:00 p.m. First NSF webinar
May 20 12 – 2:00 p.m. Second NSF Webinar (repeat of first)
May 24 11:30 – 1:00 ORSP Information Session: NSF CAREER
May 25 5:00 p.m. Notify ORSP if you plan to submit a CAREER proposal in 2021
June 7 – 11 afternoons NSF Virtual Grants Conference
June 7 5:00 p.m. 1st Priority Date for Qualifying Enhanced Review Requests & Drafts
June 14 5:00 p.m. 2nd Priority Date for Qualifying Enhanced Review Requests & Drafts
June 21 5:00 p.m. Final Deadline for Qualifying Enhanced Review Requests & Drafts
July 12 5:00 p.m. Transmittals should be submitted to ORSP
July 19 5:00 p.m. Proposals should be complete and ready to submit to NSF
July 26 5:00 p.m. Proposals due to NSF
Internal Enhanced Reviews & External Peer Reviews Available
Note that in addition to providing a no-cost, in-house, non-technical Enhanced Review of timely, qualifying* proposal drafts, ORSP Research Development will cover 90% of the estimated $750 cost of provisioning a TIG External Disciplinary Review for those drafts received by the 1st Priority Day for Enhanced Reviews; 80% of the cost of those received by the 2nd Priority Date; and 60% of the cost of those received by the Final Deadline for Enhanced Review Requests. (The estimated cost to the investigator/department/school will be: $75 for qualifying requests/drafts received by the 1st Priority date; $150 for qualifying requests/drafts received by the 2nd Priority Date; or $300 for qualifying requests/drafts received by the Final Deadline for Enhanced Review requests.) Proposal requests/drafts not received by the Final Deadline for Enhanced Review Requests will not be eligible for Enhanced Reviews this year– in-house or external.
*Qualifying Requests:
To qualify for an ORSP-subsidized TIG external disciplinary expert review:
New CAREER Applicants:
- Must have attended one of the NSF Webinars and/or the NSF Information Session (or viewed the recording, or participated in a prior ORSP or NSF Career development workshop).
- Must have had a conversation with the program officer of the program within NSF that you expect to apply to, confirming the appropriateness of your proposed research topic for consideration by that program; OR, must otherwise demonstrate why you are sure that the topic is appropriate for the targeted program; AND
- Must adhere the deadlines posted in this announcement, including submitting your request and providing a complete first (or later) draft of your project description and project summary.
Repeat CAREER Applicants:
- Must have provided Jason Hale a copy of your NSF reviewer scores and comments from the previous (attempts)
- Must have had an encouraging conversation with the program officer of the program that reviewed your most recent application
- Must have drafted a new, or substantially modified, proposal narrative for this year’s attempt
- Must adhere to the deadlines posted in this announcement.
Questions and Updates
- Updates to this announcement will be made at https://research.olemiss.edu/nsfCAREER2021, communicated via UM Today, and/or communicated via e-mail to those who notify ORSP that they are planning to submit proposals in 2021.
- E-mail questions or corrections regarding this announcement to Jason Hale.
- To coordinate your transmittal, or request assistance related to your budget or navigating the sponsor’s submission portal, contact your Pre-Award Research Administrator.
NSF Links
CAREER Program Page: https://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=503214
Solicitation 20-525: https://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?WT.z_pims_id=503214&ods_key=nsf20525
CAREER Webinar Questions: E-mail to careerwebinarqs@nsf.gov (or, to ORSP: orspresdev@Olemiss.edu).
20-1 PAPPG: https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/policydocs/pappg20_1/index.jsp
CAREER FAQ: https://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=nsf20025