Important Clarifications


January 11, 2011

Important Clarifications for Proposals Regarding Census Bureau Staff Members - January 10, 2011

(1) To avoid giving some proposals unfair advantage over others, the Census Bureau informed its employees in mid-December that no Census Bureau staff member may be listed as having committed their time to a proposal submitted to the NCRN solicitation.  NSF and the Census Bureau would like to make sure that the research community understands the implications of this decision for proposals submitted to the solicitation.

Because Census Bureau employees may not serve as active participants on proposals submitted to this competition, the successful completion of the proposed research should not depend on the collaboration of specific individual Census Bureau staff members.

Investigators may reference past activities with Census staff members and/or the Census Bureau in their proposals, and Census Bureau experts may be consulted in the preparation of proposals.  In addition, the Census Bureau expects to be able to provide targeted expertise to funded nodes as appropriate.  Please note that the Project Description has a section entitled Resources from the Census Bureau.  Requests for expertise should be included in that section.  For more information, see Section V. Proposal Preparation and Submission Instructions.

Over time, NSF and Census hope to foster more significant collaborations between funded nodes and Census staff members.

(2) Proposals submitted to this solicitation should not request funds for the establishment of a new Research Data Center (RDC). NSF and the Census Bureau have a separate and independent process for the establishment of new RDCs.  More information on RDCs is available at http://www.census.gov/ces/.

Proposals submitted to this solicitation are not required to use data at one of the existing RDCs.  However, if access to confidential data at an RDC is necessary for the project, then access costs should be included in the proposal.

The U.S. National Science Foundation propels the nation forward by advancing fundamental research in all fields of science and engineering. NSF supports research and people by providing facilities, instruments and funding to support their ingenuity and sustain the U.S. as a global leader in research and innovation. With a fiscal year 2023 budget of $9.5 billion, NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to nearly 2,000 colleges, universities and institutions. Each year, NSF receives more than 40,000 competitive proposals and makes about 11,000 new awards. Those awards include support for cooperative research with industry, Arctic and Antarctic research and operations, and U.S. participation in international scientific efforts.

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