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FY24 EPSCoR Rapid Response Research (R3)

 

The NASA EPSCoR Program has announced the release of a new solicitation titled “Rapid Response Research (R3)” for FY2024. It will go live on November 13th, but we thought we would get a head start on the selection process. The goal of this effort is to foster close collaborations among NASA, industry, and university faculty to solve specific current NASA research challenges. The funding for each award is $100,000 for a one-year period of performance to address a subset of NASA topic areas. 

There is no requirement that Science/Co-PIs be U.S. citizens, however, foreign nationals (e.g., non-U.S. citizens who do not have a green card) will likely not be permitted access to NASA Centers. This may or may not be relevant to the research being proposed.  All submissions must be submitted through our office, per the solicitation requirements, with the Director (Dr. Dale Thomas) as the PI and the lead investigator as the Science-I and any other co-investigators. The PI, Dr. Thomas, requires a budget to cover management costs/F&A of $20K.  The Science-I/Co-I's should propose $80K (which will be sent to your university as a sub-contract).
 
We will accept proposals for technical/scientific areas listed in the solicitation. This year, we are allowed to submit up to six proposals in one or multiple NASA offices. (i.e., six proposals for the same topic or office, or one proposal from each of six offices, or any combination). Renewals are allowed but must include their own external funding and will not be included in the total proposal count. Please remember to include the Research Identifier in your title (and be sure to include “renewal” if the proposal is a renewal). Note that renewals will require a letter of commitment from the funding office.  

Each university may submit up to six proposals – Campus Directors, please prioritize (e.g. rank order) your researchers’ proposals.  If we receive more than six proposals in total, we will conduct an overall down-selection process based on the ranking orders of the respective universities and the Director’s assessment of overall proposal strength.

Please refer to the attached solicitation for the technical areas NASA is interested in.


Timeline for R3 proposals:  

  • Scientific/Technical proposals with supporting documents are due to the NASA EPSCoR Program Office byDecember 15, 2023.
  • If a Program Office “down select” is required, selections will be made and proposers notified by December 20, 2023.
  • The final 6 proposals/renewals are due back to our office by February 9, 2024.
  • All proposals will be submitted by the UAH Office of Sponsored Programs on behalf of the Alabama NASA EPSCoR Office to NASA via NSPIRES byFebruary 23, 2024.


If you are interested in proposing one of the posted technical areas available, please work with your Campus Director regarding your university selection to submit the following to Brooke Graham at brooke.graham@uah.edu by COB December 15, 2023. (This initial round is a shortened format to assist with an easier selection process - a full requirement list is available on page 9 of the solicitation.):
 
 - Proposal Summary/abstract (limited to 4,000 characters)
 - Data Management Plan (limited to 4,000 characters)
 - Scientific/Technical proposal (3 page limit). You must identify the technical area you are addressing/which Office you are proposing.
 - Biographical Sketch for the Science Investigator (limited to 2 pages)
 - Biographical Sketches for the Co-Investigators (limited to 1 page)

 - 1-year budget, $80,000 maximum (cost share is NOT required but is allowed).  The Alabama EPSCoR Program Office will provide the $20,000 management budget and budget justification.

Note: Funding shall not be used to purchase "general purpose" equipment or support NASA civil service participation and funds shall be expended at NASA EPSCoR institutions/cannot be transferred to non-EPSCoR institutions.  Also, researchers who submit NASA-funded articles in peer-reviewed journals or conference papers shall now make their work accessible to the public.
 
Let us know if you have any questions and please share with any interested faculty and research staff.