Funding Briefs

The move to streamline the paperwork for federal grants is gaining steam. A new set of simplified rules has been in effect experimentally with Florida schools for three years, arid when designers of the streamlining project asked for volunteers to test the procedures nationwide, 50 institutions signed up. Meanwhile, the number of federal agencies participating has grown from five to eight, and NASA has been attending meetings on the system and may join soon. Currently taking part are: NIH, NSF, the Department of Agriculture, the Office of Naval Research, the Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency, Air Force Office of Scientific Research, and the Army Research Office. The streamlined system is designed to reduce paperwork, eliminate time-consuming steps, and give the investigator more flexibility. For example a scientist who wants to transfer funds from one line-item in a budget to another usually needs approval from the grant-making agency, a step that can take a month. Under the new system, an administrator on campus can okay the transfer. The new rules also allow a scientist to incur costs for a project 90 days before the grant officially starts and carry over unused funds for a year. Under the new system an agency depends on a detailed audit at the end of the project to create accountability. For details on the procedures, ask NSF about the Federal Demonstration Project. (National Science Foundation, 1800 G St., NW, Washington, D.C. 20550) NASA Expands Program NASA is planning to solicit proposals early next year for four more universities to conduct basic research in computer science for its new Center for Excellence for Space Data and Information Sciences. So says Milton Halem, chief of the Space Data and Computing Division at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., which created the center. The grants will range from $100,000 to $150,000 per year for five years, and the coming call for proposals is expected to focus on high-performance, parallel-processing systems. A solicitation earlier this year yielded 86 proposals, Halem notes, and four have been funded: Stanford University (G. Wiederhold, “Computer-assisted analysis of auroral images obtained from high-altitude polar satellites”); Duke University (J. Reif, “Parallel compression of space and Earth data”); University of North Carolina (F. Brooks, “Image pattern recognition supporting interactive analysis of graphical visualization’); and George Washington University (J. Foley, “Knowledge-based analysis for general scientific visualization”). Four other proposals, in the areas of information sciences and robotics, are expected to be funded soon, Halem says. For more information contact Ray Miller, former director of Georgia Tech’s School of Information and Computer Science, who is moving to Goddard to become director of the Center for Excellence. (301) 344-7000 NSF’s Minority School Program In an effort to boost the quantity and quality of computer science curricula at predominantly black and Hispanic schools, NSF has funded six universities to plan new computer science programs. The six, each of which will receive a $50,000, five-year planning grant, are: Atlanta University, Hampton University (Va.), Jackson State University (Miss.), Southern University (Baton Rouge, La.), the University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez, and the University of Texas, El Paso. At the end of the five-year planning period, some of these schools—NSF is not sure how many at this point—will be selected for $1 million, five-year grants to implement their computer research programs. Johnson Foundation Thinking Small The Princeton, N.J.-based Robert Wood Johnson Foundation hopes to expand the types of organizations that submit grant proposals to it, according to Leighton E. Cluff, president of the foundation. Johnson will de-emphasize large multisite national programs in favor of promising single-site projects at the community level. Although academic institutions will continue to receive foundation funds, Cluff explained, the focus will be “to bring in groups that don’t ordinarily think of coming to this large national foundation for support, such as community organizations working to fight AIDS or substance abuse.” Cluff summarized the foundation’s priorities for future-grants: "Population segments most vulnerable to illness, including infants, children, adolescents, and people with chronic illnesses. "Specific diseases of regional or national concern, such as AIDS, substance abuse, and mental illness. "Broad national health issues of equity, ethics, quality, financing, and organization of care.

Funding Briefs

The Scientist Staff

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