The National Science Foundation (NSF) has successfully migrated important research functions from FastLane to Research.gov and is now taking proactive steps to incrementally move the preparation and submission of all proposals from FastLane to Research.gov with a tentative target date for completion by 2022.

In the coming weeks and months, NSF will begin making changes to specific funding opportunities to require the use of Research.gov for the preparation and submission of proposals to NSF. NSF funding opportunities will clearly specify whether submission via Research.gov is available or required. Please keep an eye on the UF Research NSF Updates webpage to stay informed on current changes.

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The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is offering a webinar on How to Develop a Competitive Grant Application.
October 22, 2020
2:00 pm EST
To receive information on how to access the webinar contact GPOtraining@samhsa.hhs.gov.

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The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) are offering free professional development opportunities. These programs will provide in-depth information on proposals and awards direct from the agencies.

NIH is offering the 2020 NIH Virtual Seminar on Program Funding and Grants Administration October 27–30, 2020.
Registration: https://nihvirtualseminar2020.vfairs.com/
See https://grants.nih.gov/news/contact-in-person/seminars.htm for more information.

NSF has announced that registration opens October 29, 2020 at 12 pm EST for the Fall 2020 NSF Virtual Grants Conference. Each conference session will have its own Zoom registration page. In the meantime, please feel free to check nsfpolicyoutreach.com/ for the most up-to-date information.

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When revising consent forms, assent forms, and information sheets, click on the link to the document (listed under Attachment ICF, circled in red) to revise or update an existing consent form so that changes can be tracked. Only use the Add button to add an additional type of consent form. Be sure to attach MS Word docs only.

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In recognition of the time demands facing nominators putting together strong Fellow submission materials, AERA is extending the nominations deadline from September 30 to October 30. AERA members are encouraged to submit nominations for education researchers who have made significant scientific or scholarly contributions to the field to be honored as an AERA Fellow.

The Call for Nominations includes the requirements for submitting a nomination and the information that the Fellows Committee seeks in reviewing nominations. Nominations should be submitted through the nomination form on the AERA website.

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Excerpted from Seed Funding for the Next Generation of Education Technologies
Presented by SBIR Program Manager Dr. Edward Metz, September 3, 2020

#1    What is SBIR?
• The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program is America’s Seed Fund operated by the U.S. Department of Education Institute of Education Sciences (ED IES). Purpose: (1) Stimulate technology innovation to address critical national needs, and (2) Invest in and build the small business sector

#2    Overview of ED/IES SBIR
• Awards to for-profit firms for R&D and evaluation of commercially viable ed tech products
• ~$10M annual budget, awards made in phases:
° Phase I for $200K for 8-months for prototype R&D and pilot testing
° Phase II for $900K for 2-years for full-scale R&D and pilot testing
• Three key program elements: (1) Rapid R&D of cutting-edge solutions for education, (2) Research, and (3) Commercialization
• 2021 Timeline (anticipated): RFP release late 2020; proposals due early 2021; awards in Spring

#3    Awardees Usually Follow One of Two Tracks
• Track 1: To Industry Entrepreneurs
• Track 2: To Current or Former Academics: Awards to current or former academic researchers who start or partner with a small business to transfer research to practice
° Researchers often partner with technology developers.
° See this blog for examples.

#4    Provides a Wide Array of Technologies for Students, Teachers, & Administrators in Education and Special Education
• Some examples include: Games and simulations to personalize learning; Assessments (diagnostic, formative); Technologies to facilitate collaborative learning; Special Ed tools; Virtual and augmented reality delivered interventions

#5    A Research-Centric R&D Program
ED/IES SBIR is a “research-centric” funding program as follows:
• Every awardee has a well-qualified education researcher on the team.
• Projects have 2.5 years from start to finish, allowing the resources and time to do the research.
• All products are developed and iteratively refined with user-feedback, and tested through pilot studies in real-world implementations.
• All projects generate “Research Briefs” at the project’s end, and some publish findings.
• More research is needed after ED/IES SBIR projects. Several SBIR products are being evaluated for efficacy through IES Research Grants.
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UF Faculty Insights is an online portal into the research portfolio of UF. This new collaboration tool is available to provide information on the research expertise of UF faculty. The tool is set up with two views: one for faculty, staff, and students and one for the public.

You can select a research topic, an individual scholar, a department, or a doctoral program. You can also “Browse UF Academic Units” to help you locate potential collaborators across campus. With proxy edit access, tool developers can work with departments on research summaries for faculty. Faculty can also edit their profile and add additional scholarly content.

Access the tool on the UF Institutional Planning and Research website:
https://ir.aa.ufl.edu/data-applications/faculty-research-exp/

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