Dear
Colleague Letter: Planning for Midscale Infrastructure for the Biological
Sciences
Agency
National
Science Foundation
Description
The
Mid-scale Research Infrastructure (MSRI) initiative is a National Science
Foundation (NSF)-wide Big Idea designed to
address the research community's growing needs for visionary and unique research
infrastructure for the advancement of contemporary science and engineering
research. NSF's MSRI program is designed to support the implementation of
research capabilities and infrastructure with total project costs between $6M
and $70M. In FY 2019, the NSF released two associated solicitations: Mid-scale
RI-1 (NSF
19-537) for design and implementation projects requesting up
to $20 million and Mid-scale
RI-2 (NSF
19-542) for implementation projects between $20 million and
$70 million. MSRI projects directly enable advances in fundamental science,
technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in one or more of the research
and education domains supported by the NSF. The MSRI Program emphasizes strong
scientific merit and response to identified needs of the research community,
technical and managerial readiness for implementation, and a well-developed plan
for student training and involvement of a diverse workforce in mid-scale
facility development, and/or associated data management.
NSF's
Biological Sciences Directorate (NSF/BIO) recognizes that infrastructure needs
of the biology community span a wide spectrum ranging from discrete
instrumentation, cyberinfrastructure, collections resources, or broadly used
data sets to major facilities and associated expertise to enable generation or
processing of data through monitoring, experimental, or computational means.
Accordingly, the state of readiness and preparation of the community likely
varies widely, wherein some mid-scale infrastructure projects for biological
research are in the earliest stages of conceptualization or planning while
others are ready for implementation having already matured through previous
developmental investments. This Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) is intended to
address the current need for pre-implementation activities in the biology
research community including early-stage design or development that lead
projects through conceptual, preliminary and final design stages and places them
on a path to implementation of mid-scale research infrastructure projects.
Moreover, even projects that are in an advanced stage of readiness may lack the
full complement of skills needed for effective management and technical
activities that are required to prepare, initiate, execute and conclude
implementation of projects at these larger scales in an accountable and flexible
manner.
With
this DCL, NSF/BIO announces its intent to support workshops and planning awards.
Such workshops are typically identified as conferences in the NSF Proposal & Award Policies &
Procedures Guide (PAPPG)
and will hereafter be referred to as conferences. These activities will help
increase capacity across the biological sciences research community to develop
ideas, facilitate team formation and develop effective, milestone-based project
management practices that will enable teams to be better equipped to implement
mid-scale infrastructure projects.
Conference
proposals: NSF/BIO
expects to support up to 10 conferences to bring the community together to
conceptualize potential projects that address national research infrastructure
gaps. Each proposal should identify clearly the potential for addressing one or
more identified high-priority science goals within the relevant research
community, its potential for advancing scientific discovery, and the project's
potential benefit to the broader U.S. research community. The conferences
should support a diverse set of 20 to 50 attendees, which may, in addition to
academic researchers, include relevant scientists, engineers, data/computer
scientists or educators at federal agencies, industry, and international
organizations. Conferences are encouraged to include individuals with
experience in the management of research infrastructure at this scale for the
purpose of training and mentoring investigators in the development of Project
Management and Project Execution Plans. Proposals should include the
deliverable of a report to the community with recommendations that address the
identified gap in research infrastructure that also outlines the strategy for
access and utilization of the infrastructure by the target research
communities, and planned metrics and evaluation of the success and impact. The
report should position the relevant community to respond to future
opportunities for research infrastructure projects at the appropriate scale
(mid-scale or above), by defining either design or implementation projects. For
information about preparing and submitting conference proposals, please see
Chapter II.E.7 of the Proposal
and Award Policies and Procedures
Guide (PAPPG).
Planning
proposals: NSF/BIO
expects to support up to 10 planning proposals that help teams to carry out
limited preliminary activities that prepare identified infrastructure projects
that have strong scientific merit. For such projects in early stages of
conceptualization, these planning proposals should be aimed at the
identification of the primary scientific, technical and system performance
requirements, and associated designs and specifications. For those in advanced
stages of readiness, these proposals should seek to develop a mature plan to
execute and manage the project including a project schedule with identified
risks and plans to mitigate them, a governance plan and effective project
management methods for tracking progress, costs and performance (including
Earned Value Management) that are appropriate to the scope of the project. As
part of the planning process, investigators should generate sound baseline cost
estimates as well as of the anticipated operations and maintenance costs. All
proposals should also develop plans for effective student training and the
involvement of a diverse workforce in instrumentation, facility development, or
data management/analysis.
As
an important reminder, proposed infrastructure ideas in conference and planning
grants should not:
Finally,
conference or planning proposals do not constitute any commitment on behalf of
the submitters or their institutions to submit a proposal or carry out a
research infrastructure project, nor do they imply an intent on the part of NSF
to support the proposed project.
Prior
to submitting a conference or planning proposal, the PI must send an email to
the address listed below to ensure that the proposal fits the goals of this DCL.
PIs will then be directed to appropriate Program Officers(s) with subject matter
expertise most appropriate for the project for further consideration and also to
ascertain whether a conference or planning proposal would be best matched for
the desired goals and outcomes. Proposing organizations should refer to Section
5.0 of the Major
Facilities Guide.
Conference
proposals should be submitted through the normal submission processes outlined
in Chapter II.E.7 of the NSF PAPPG.
Planning proposals should be submitted to the Infrastructure
Capacity for Biological Research solicitation. Proposals
or requests where PIs have not contacted the Program Officer to which they have
been directed will be returned without consideration.
Announcement
Number:
NSF
20-116
Link
to Full Announcement
https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2020/nsf20116/nsf20116.jsp?WT.mc_id=USNSF_25&WT.mc_ev=click
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