EPSCoR Centers Development Initiative CDI

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EPSCoRCenters Development Initiative (CDI)

• Rand Haley
• CDI Project Manager
• Melvyn Ciment, PhD
• Senior Science Advisor, CDI
• mel_at_ciment.com
• 301-622-5984
• PI, Pending ASCEND Proposal,
• Successor to CDI
• www.epscorfoundation.org/cdi
• ASCEND (Assistance Strategies for Centers
  Development)

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EPSCoR Centers Development Initiative (CDI)

• CDI is an NSF-funded initiative of the
  EPSCoR/IDeA Foundation aimed at increasing the
  participation (by awards to ) of EPSCoR
  researchers in NSF centers and other complex,
  large-scale programs.
• CDI provides direct technical assistance to
  university research teams competing for NSF
  centers and large-scale science, engineering, and
  education projects.
• In addition, CDI organizes Outreach, including
  centers development workshops, hosts an
  informative website, and conducts targeted
  outreach activities.

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Selected NSF Centers and Large-Scale Programs

• Science and Technology Centers (STC)
• Engineering Research Centers (ERC)
• Materials Research Science Engineering Centers
  (MRSEC)
• Nanoscale Science and Engineering Centers (NSEC)
• Nanoscale Interdisciplinary Research Teams (NIRT)
• Integrated Graduate Education Research
  Traineeships (IGERT)
• Industry/University Cooperative Research Centers
  (I/UCRC)
• Centers of Research Excellence in Science and
  Technology (CREST)
• Partnerships for Innovation (PFI)
• Information Technology Research (ITR)
• Cyber Trust
• Research in Networking Technology Systems
  (NeTS)
• Computer Systems Research (CSR)
• Major Research Instrumentation MRI

• Plant Genome Research (PGR)
• Biological Databases Informatics (BDI)
• Frontiers in Integrative Biology (FIBR)
• Assembling the Tree of Life (ATOL)
• Biocomplexity in the Environment (BE)
• 2010 Project Arabidopsis thaliana
• Microbial Genome Sequencing Program
• Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER)
• Collaborative Large-Scale Engineering Analysis
  Network for Environmental Research (CLEANER)
• Center for Synthesis in Biological Evolution
  (CSBE)
• Centers for Ocean Science Education Excellence
  (COSEE)
• Math Science Partnership (MSP)
• Science of Learning Centers (SLC)
• Centers for Learning Teaching (CLT)
• ADVANCE
• Graduate Teaching Fellows in K-12 Education
  (GK-12)

CDIs website maintains a calendar of NSF
large-scale program deadlines.
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CDI Results

• Provided direct technical assistance to over 100
  research teams from over 50 EPSCoR universities
  across all EPSCoR jurisdictions.
• CDI has aided EPSCoR teams to compete
  successfully for 20 NSF centers or large-scale
  projects, representing over 140 million in NSF
  funding.
• Highlights
• STC (Science and Technology Center)
• ERC (Engineering Research Center)
• 4 MRSECs (Materials Research SE Centers)
• 4 IGERTs (Integrative Graduate Educ. Res.
  Traineships)
• 2 CRESTs (Centers for Research Excellence in ST)
• Hosted (to date) 13 Centers Development Workshops
  that attracted over 500 EPSCoR participants from
  over 60 universities across all EPSCoR
  jurisdictions and included participation from
  approximately 50 NSF program managers and 60
  outside experts.
• Utilized the assistance of over 100 nationally
  recognized science and engineering experts,
  including Directors or PIs from numerous
  successful, ongoing NSF centers.

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NSF Awards Assisted by CDI, in Chronological Order
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Technical Assistance

• CDI provides a range of technical assistance
  services to EPSCoR university researchers,
  including
• Providing guidance to strengthen centers
  proposals
• Pre-reviewing proposal drafts and materials
• white papers, pre-proposals, prior proposals,
  reviewers comments, full proposals and offering
  constructive reviews along with suggestions to
  improve competitiveness
• Helping to identify, recruit, and support
  appropriate consultation from outside experts
  (with scientific discipline and/or specific NSF
  center program expertise)
• Serving as an information resource and providing
  guidance about existing and emerging centers
  programs
• Working with PIs to arrange productive dress
  rehearsals for upcoming NSF site visits

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CDI Workshops, in Chronological Order
Information about each CDI workshop available on
website
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Centers Development WorkshopsStructure

• Workshop components
• Presentations by NSF program officers on centers
  programs
• Best Practice presentations by Directors of
  successful NSF centers explaining how they
  organized, competed for, and manage their centers
• Opportunities for participants to network with
  other interested EPSCoR researchers, CDI staff,
  nationally recognized SE experts, NSF center
  Directors, and NSF program officers
• CDI website provides information about each past
  and upcoming workshop including agendas,
  presentations, and attendee lists.

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Centers Development Knowledge and Experience

• CDIs team and network of over 100 experts has a
  history of working productively with the EPSCoR
  community, extensive centers development
  knowledge, and first-hand consulting experience.
• Senior Associates (Ed Abbott, Mel Ciment, Phil
  Harriman)
• Familiar with the EPSCoR community
• Knowledgeable about NSFs centers programs
• Experienced with managing complex technical
  assistance projects
• Skilled in specific science and engineering
  disciplines
• Numerous contacts and access to experts
• Network of disciplinary experts
• Experience and wisdom about what is necessary to
  organize strong (often multi-disciplinary) teams
  integrate required education, outreach, and other
  components with research successfully compete
  for NSF centers and manage and coordinate funded
  centers

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Summary

• CDI has been a novel NSF technical assistance
  program
• that has pioneered an
• innovative interaction and consulting paradigm
• to the EPSCoR research community
• that has yielded
• improved understanding of how to compete for
  complex,
• large-scale NSF projects
• and
• a substantial number of funded NSF centers
• at EPSCoR institutions.

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Forming Multi-disciplinaryCyber-Infrastructure/Sc
ience Partnerships
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Components

• Applications
• Sciences
• Technologies
• Cyber-Infrastructure
• Hardware, software tools and systems
• People
• Organization and Structure
• Viable Funding Model
• Choose some reasonable targets and Sell It

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Teragrid for EPSCoR Science Education
Example

• Applications
• Bioinformatics, HEP, grid computing,
  nano-materials, hydrology/agriculture, etc
• Sciences
• Grid computing, networking
• Technologies
• Next Slide
• CyberInfrastructure
• Hardware, software tools and systems
• People
• Apps scientists to networking researchers and
  systems maintenance
• Organization and Structure
• Regional alliance, consortium,
• Funding Targets - Selling It
• NSF, NIH, DOE, DARPA

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Getting Started

• Need Leadership for all components
• Develop White Papers, in addition to RD
• Establish a periodic reporting/conference
  schedule
• Establish Target Dates for draft proposals
• Involve consultants up front
• Centers Development Initiative
• ASCEND (Assistance Strategies for Centers
  Development)
• Others