International Opportunities

1. International Opportunities Miriam Deutsch Program Director, EPM New PI Workshop, Arlington, VA, June 8, 2017

2. World Scientific Collaborations 2008-2012 http://viz.olihb.com/scicollab/index.html

3. Core Values for International Research Collaborations • Better science through collaboration • Leveraging complementary resources • Student/Young researcher involvement – diverse training and education opportunities, additional broader impacts • Must remain true to the basic research mission of the NSF - provide global leadership in advancing research and education

4. In a Nutshell • NSF supports international collaboration when it enhances proposed research and education • NSF funds U.S. side of collaboration • Research directorates provide most support for international • OISE: seed funds, student programs (GROW), PIRE • NSF has growing number of strategic partnerships to facilitate international collaboration, e.g. BSF (Israel) and Ireland • Challenges, opportunities abound

5. NSF Funding for International Activities Mostinternational research activities are funded by NSF disciplinary programs: • As part of regular awards (including CAREER) • As supplements to regular awards SSMC MMN BMAT CMMT EPM CMP CER POL

6. Proposal Review Criteria Pay attention to context Intellectual Merit • Potential to advance knowledge within and across fields • Qualifications of investigators • Creativity and originality • Conceptualization and organization • Access to resources • Need and added value of international collaboration Broader Impacts • Promoting teaching, training and learning • Participation of underrepresented groups • Enhancement of infrastructure for research and education • Dissemination of results • Benefits to society • International collaborations

7. Budgeting

8. Example Budget Justification: Foreign Travel Funds are requested for Ms. Bright to travel abroad to Utopia and work closely with Prof. Smart’s research group, where giant bananas will be fabricated based on materials Ms. Bright designs, synthesizes, and characterizes here at Paradise University. This educational, research, and professional opportunity for Ms. Bright is viewed as an essential component of this NSF proposal; it is expected that Ms. Bright will spend 2 weeks each year of this program in Prof. Smart’s laboratory. The PI anticipates that he will engage in one short visit each year to Utopia to facilitate the exchange of ideas, the planning and prioritization of experiments, and writing papers and reports.

9. READ ME! READ ME! https://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=nsf17001

10. NSF-BSF Cooperation • In 2012, the Israel Binational Science Foundation (BSF) signed an umbrella Memorandum of Understanding with the NSF for cooperation in joint funding of collaborative U.S.-Israeli scientific research. Following the signing, the BSF signed a series of specific MOUs and LOIs with a number of NSF units, for the joint funding of collaborative research programs. • DMR-BSF MOU signed in 2015, laying the guidelines for the submission of collaborative proposals. • Financial support for the U.S. scientists in the joint NSF-BSF funding programs comes from the NSF. • Financial support for the Israeli side in NSF-BSF joint funding programs comes from annual allocations from the Israeli Ministry of Finance, and the Israeli Council of Higher Education. http://www.bsf.org.il

11. DMR-BSF Guiding Principles • The U.S. and Israeli PI write a research a proposal together • The proposal must include a section that describes the role of the Israeli partner and the requested BSF budget in Israel • The need for collaboration must be articulated in the proposal • The application is submitted by the U.S. PI to the NSF as a standard proposal; a copy is later submitted by the Israeli PI to the BSF • The proposal undergoes standard NSF review, possibly with some Israeli input, such as ad hoc reviewers. Standard COI rules apply. The BSF conducts a brief administrative review of the participating Israeli PIs, but does not evaluate the scientific merit of the proposals. The BSF follows recommendations by the NSF – award or decline. • If the application is selected for funding, the NSF will fund the U.S. PI(s), while the BSF will fund the Israeli PI(s) https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2015/nsf15097/nsf15097.jsp

12. DMR-BSF Guiding Principles • The U.S. and Israeli PI write a research a proposal together • The proposal must include a section that describes the role of the Israeli partner and the requested BSF budget in Israel • The need for collaboration must be articulated in the proposal • The application is submitted by the U.S. PI to the NSF as a standard proposal; a copy is later submitted by the Israeli PI to the BSF • The proposal undergoes standard NSF review, possibly with some Israeli input, such as ad hoc reviewers. Standard COI rules apply. The BSF conducts a brief administrative review of the participating Israeli PIs, but does not evaluate the scientific merit of the proposals. The BSF follows recommendations by the NSF – award or decline. • If the application is selected for funding, the NSF will fund the U.S. PI(s), while the BSF will fund the Israeli PI(s) https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2015/nsf15097/nsf15097.jsp Questions? Email me: mdeutsch@nsf.gov

13. Other International Opportunities • U.S. – Ireland R&D Partnership – since 2010; similar to BSF in submission and review process. https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2011/nsf11070/nsf11070.jsp • PIRE – Partnership for International Research and Education. Supports high quality projects in which advances in research and education could not occur without international collaboration. https://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=505038 • GROW – Graduate Research Opportunities Worldwide - expands opportunities for U.S. graduate students to engage in international research collaboration, open only to active awardees of the Graduate Research Fellowship Program. https://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=504876 • IRES – International Research Experiences for Students – supports small group of students for focused research experience overseas https://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=12831 Managed by OISE – NSF Office of International Science and Engineering

14. Partnerships for International Research and Education • OISE-managed flagship research program • Frontier research that leverages complementary expertise of all partners • Extensive overseas research opportunities for U.S. students/early career researchers • 5 year awards; average award $4 million • ~50 active awards across all NSF disciplines

15. Keys to Success • Read the program announcement • Strong Intellectual Merit, Broader Impacts • How does the international collaboration enhance the work? • Synergies in expertise • Resources leveraged • Access to expertise, facilities, data, etc. • Involve U.S. students, junior researchers • Prepare, mentor, and assess • Pay them: travel, living costs, stipends • Include biosketch and letter(s) of support from key collaborator(s) • …unless solicitation prohibits it (CAREER) • Other senior project personnel (not co-PI) • Know and observe special rules, e.g. • Fly America Act • Host country visa, permit requirements • Ask early, ask often

16. Please acknowledge NSF support Support from the NSF must be appropriately acknowledged in all presentations and publications as well as web sites. In publications PIs must use NSF award number: DMR-7 digit number Reporting work supported by multiple international agencies, such as BSF or SFI, should acknowledge separately the contribution from each funding agency, including the NSF. We need your support to ensure all NSF DMR activities receive appropriate recognition

17. Thank You! mdeutsch@nsf.gov