National Science Foundation/Europe Office

1. National Science Foundation/Europe Office U.S. Embassy, Room A-211 2, avenue Gabriel, 75382 Paris cedex 08 +33 (0)1 43.12.21.08; Fax: +33 (0)1 43.12.29.04 E-mail: dschindel@compuserve.com Website for NSF’s Europe Office: www.nsf.gov/home/int/europe/index.htm National Science Foundation Europe Office, U.S. Embassy, Paris

2. THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION • Is a FEDERAL agency • Is a FUNDING agency with a ~$4.8B budget • Works primarily through grants to US UNIVERSITIES and COLLEGES • Does not own or operate institutes • Seeks to promote the health of US science/engineering by supporting BASIC research and education National Science Foundation Europe Office, U.S. Embassy, Paris

3. NSF International Objectives • Promoting global access to sites, facilities, people, ideas • Building U.S. capability for research on topics of global/regional scale • Sharing research resources and major facilities • Promoting international research experiences in early careers stages National Science Foundation Europe Office, U.S. Embassy, Paris

4. National Science Board Inspector General Director Deputy Director Staff Offices Computer & Info.Science & Engineering Mathematical & Physical Sciences Biological Sciences Engineering Geosciences Social, Behav. & Economic Sciences Budget, Finance & Award Management Information Resource Management Education & Human Resources National Science Foundation Europe Office, U.S. Embassy, Paris

5. National Science Foundation Europe Office, U.S. Embassy, Paris

6. International Activity in NSF’s Portfolio of Support • ~ 10% of NSF budget ($350 million), but • International projects distributed across all modes of support, all directorates • Less than 1% of NSF budget is allocated a priori to strictly international activities • Division of International Activities has yearly budget of $25 million • Results from BOTTOM-UP proposals National Science Foundation Europe Office, U.S. Embassy, Paris

7. Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences Directorate • One of NSF’s 7 Disciplinary Directorates • Contains 4 Divisions: • Division of Social and Economic Sciences • Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences • Division of Science Resources Statistics • Office of International Science and Engineering • Tokyo Office • Europe Office, Paris National Science Foundation Europe Office, U.S. Embassy, Paris

8. Office of International Science and Engineering (INT) • 5 Programs covering geographic regions • 18 Program Managers assigned to countries • Office of Trans-Regional Activities (OTRA) - some multilateral organizations- policy analysis, planning and evaluation • Overseas offices in Paris and Tokyo • Provides ~10% of NSF’s support for international activities National Science Foundation Europe Office, U.S. Embassy, Paris

9. INT Cooperative Research Project Support • Proposals must come from U.S. institutions • NSF supports the activities of the U.S. partner • Proposals are typically managed in close consultation with disciplinary programs • Proposals are usually reviewed in parallel with an NSF partner in another country National Science Foundation Europe Office, U.S. Embassy, Paris

10. INT Programs Seek to • Initiate International Activities by Supporting “Glue” Activities -Workshops • - Scientific visits • Promote Longer-Term Support from NSF’s Disciplinary Divisions • Stimulate Center-to-Center Partnerships • Link NSF-supported projects with international networks National Science Foundation Europe Office, U.S. Embassy, Paris

11. NSF International Support for Undergraduate Students • Allowable as part of normal research projects • Part of NSF’s DUAL MISSION to Integrate Research and Education • Primary focus is on research experiences, Secondarily on student exchanges for courses • Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU Sites)- Multi-University Consortia- Faculty-led Group Research Projects National Science Foundation Europe Office, U.S. Embassy, Paris

12. NSF International Support for Graduate Students • Allowable as part of normal research projects • Group travel to international meetings • Dissertation enhancement awards • Integrative Graduate Education and Research Training (IGERT)- Interdisciplinary, multi-institution projects- Five-year $2.5M awards- Potential Partner for EC’s IHP Research Training Networks and Curie Fellowship Sites National Science Foundation Europe Office, U.S. Embassy, Paris

13. NSF International Support for Post-Doctoral Fellows • Allowable as part of normal research projects • INT Postdoctoral Fellows Program- One- or Two-year Fellowship in any host lab- Open to U.S. citizens, permanent residents- Flexibility for re-entry to U.S. job market • Math/Physical Sci’s International Fellowships • Other NSF Postdoctoral Fellowships such as:- BIO Program in Bioinformatics, Microbiology - NATO Postdoctoral Program National Science Foundation Europe Office, U.S. Embassy, Paris

14. NSF Proposals, Reviews, Awards • NSF receives over 30,000 proposals each year • Requests about 300,000 reviews by mail and in panels • Maintains an international database of nearly 60,000 reviewers • Makes about 10,000 new awards each year • Overall proposal success rate of about 30% • Approximately 10% have international component National Science Foundation Europe Office, U.S. Embassy, Paris

15. Review Criteria: What is the intellectual merit of the proposed activity? • Importance of the proposed activity to advancing knowledge and understanding • Qualifications of the individual proposer or team • Creativity and Originality of the Concept • How well conceived and organized is the proposed activity? • Availability of sufficient resources National Science Foundation Europe Office, U.S. Embassy, Paris

16. Review Criteria: What are the broader impacts of the proposed activity? • Advances discovery and understanding while promoting teaching, training and learning? • Broadens the participation of underrepresented groups (e.g., gender, ethnicity, disability, etc.)? • Enhances the research/education infrastructure (facilities, networks and partnerships)? • Broad dissemination? • Benefits of the proposed activity to society? National Science Foundation Europe Office, U.S. Embassy, Paris