2015 NSF CAREER Preparation Program
The NSF CAREER Preparation Program at UA was initiated in 2015 by Research Development Services. The 2015 Program was a seven-month program comprised of two Phases:
- Phase I: Introductory Sessions from January through early April 2015, which were open to all potential applicants and interested parties. Topics included budget development, broader impacts, and general proposal planning. In addition, participants engaged with panels composed of previous Career recipients and NSF program officers.
- Phase II: “Commit to Submit” Proposal Development Program from April through July 2015, which was open to researchers committed to the submission of an NSF Career application in late July 2015. Sessions during this phase included a full-day grant writing workshop, proposal development and coaching, and external proposal review. Applicants received iterative editorial assistance throughout this process.
Activities: Presentations & Notes
Phase I: Introductory Sessions
January 22, 2015
NSF Career Program: An Overview
This session provided a synopsis, including how the Career program is different from other NSF programs. It included strategic advice on how to decide whether this program is a fit; when in their career applicants should apply; and, what is required to submit a proposal.
Presenter: Kim Patten, Associate, Research Development
Presentation Information: The presentation slides and a video of the presentation are available via the UA Enterprise Box system. To access this file you will need to login with your University of Arizona Box Account. If you do not have a Box account, you can register for free at https://account.arizona.edu. If you already have a free Box account, you can upgrade to the UA Enterprise system by contacting the 24/7 IT Support Center at 520-626-TECH (8324).
February 5, 2015
NSF Career Recipients Panel
The panel members discussed how they decided to apply for an NSF Career grant and how they prepared to submit their proposal. They also discussed their individual career development and educational plans.
Presenters: Valerie Trouet, Dendrochronology, Watershed Management (2014 Career Recipient); Jonathan Sprinkle, Electrical and Computer Engineering (2013 Career Recipient); Goggy Davidowitz, Entomology (2011 Career Recipient)
Presentation Information: Facilitator Notes are available for this session via the UA Enterprise Box system. To access this file you will need to login with your University of Arizona Box Account. If you do not have a Box account, you can register for free at https://account.arizona.edu. If you already have a free Box account, you can upgrade to the UA Enterprise system by contacting the 24/7 IT Support Center at 520-626-TECH (8324).
February 19, 2015
NSF Budget Development: An Overview
This session covered what is typically included in an NSF Career Award budget. It also included an overview of UA’s F&A rates and allowable costs.
Presenter: Lori Schultz, Director for Research Advancement
Presentation Information: The presentation slides, a video, and the Budget Template are available via the UA Enterprise Box system. To access this file you will need to login with your University of Arizona Box Account. If you do not have a Box account, you can register for free at https://account.arizona.edu. If you already have a free Box account, you can upgrade to the UA Enterprise system by contacting the 24/7 IT Support Center at 520-626-TECH (8324).
March 5, 2015
NSF Broader Impacts: Writing Strong Statements
This session provided an overview of both the NSF Broader Impact requirements and the resources available at the UA. Participants learned how to develop strong broader impact statements that reflected their areas of interest and expertise, and that built on and incorporated institutional resources.
Presenter: Beth Mitchneck, Professor, School of Geography & Development; Michelle Higgins, Assistant Director, Research & Evaluation, STEM Learning Center; Ingrid Novodvorsky, Director of Teaching, Learning, and Assessment in the Office of Instruction and Assessment
Presentation Information: The presentation slides and video for Beth Mitchneck and Ingrid Novodvorsky are now available via the UA Enterprise Box system. To access this file you will need to login with your University of Arizona Box Account. If you do not have a Box account, you can register for free at https://account.arizona.edu. If you already have a free Box account, you can upgrade to the UA Enterprise system by contacting the 24/7 IT Support Center at 520-626-TECH (8324).
March 10, 2015
NSF Career Program Officer Panel
Recently returned program officers (rotators) from NSF presented to UA Faculty.
Presenters: Recently returning NSF Program Officers, Beth Mitchneck, Professor, School of Geography & Development and Suzanne Westbrook, Senior Lecturer and Associate Director, School of Information: Science, Technology, and the Arts.
Presentation Information: This presentation was primarily a Q&A session. For more information contact Research Development Services.
April 2, 2015
NSF Proposal Development Planning
This session was an interactive session to discuss developing a proposal development plan and timeline.
Coordinator: Research Development Services
Presentation Information: This session was conducted in a series of small group exercises. Contact Research Development Services for additional information on planning your proposal.
Phase II: “Commit to Submit” (CTS) Proposal Development Program
Phase II of the Program provided participants the opportunity to work directly with RDS staff and faculty mentors to prepare their proposals.
April 9, 2015
Grant Writing Workshop
An all-day grant writing workshop provided by Grant Writers' Seminars & Workshops staff. Participants received The Grant Application Writer’s Workbook a publication developed by Grant Writers' Seminars & Workshops. T
April – June 2015
Proposal Development and “Career” Coaching
Participants to the CTS part of the program were assigned to peer working groups of four or five people. Each group was also assigned a Career coach and an RDS Associate to work with them. The Career coaches were experienced PIs.
Session 1 (May 7) - Participants presented a 10 minute presentation on their research and education plans for discussion among the group and identify potential external reviewers.
Session 2 (May 21) - Draft proposals were shared with the coach and RDS Associate. Draft proposals should include a budget.
Session 3 (June 4) - Participants revised their proposals and submitted them to the coach and RDS Associate for review.
June 2015
External Proposal Review
Participants sent their proposals to their reviewers. While waiting for reviewers comments, they worked on completing the additional proposal material e.g. budget justification, etc. required by NSF. Once they incorporated recommendations from their reviews they worked on finalizing their proposals.
Late June – early July 2015
Participants completed their proposal, with support from RDS Associates who reviewed final drafts.
July 15, 2015
Proposals submitted to SPCS.
July 21-23, 2015
Proposals submitted to NSF.
July 31, 2015
Program evaluations sent to participants.