Monday, February 22, 2010

$20 Million in Grants for 2010 and 2011 Available from NSF for Climate Change Education Partnership

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is making $20 million available for grants to foster its Climate Change Education (CCE): Climate Change Education Partnership (CCEP) Program, Phase I  (CCEP-I).  The NSF is planning on making about 15 grants this year and next year.  Full details of the program can be found at here.  A letter of intent is due by April 23, 2010 and a full proposal is due by May 24, 2010  

NSF anticipates having up to $20 million ($10 million in both FY 2010 and FY 2011) to support CCEP Phase I activities, subject to the availability of funds. For Phase I Partnerships, awards are expected to be between $750,000 and $1,000,000 total for two years. Supplemental funding requests will be supported at up to $250,000 total for one year in FY 2011.

Synopsis of Program:
The Climate Change Education Partnership (CCEP) program seeks to establish a coordinated national network of regionally- or thematically-based partnerships devoted to increasing the adoption of effective, high quality educational programs and resources related to the science of climate change and its impacts.  Each CCEP is required to be of a large enough scale that they will have catalytic or transformative impact that cannot be achieved through other core NSF program awards. 

The CCEP program is one facet of a larger NSF collection of awards related to Climate Change Education (CCE) that has two goals: (1) preparing a new generation of climate scientists, engineers, and technicians equipped to provide innovative and creative approaches to understanding global climate change and to mitigate its impact; and, (2) preparing today's U.S. citizens to understand global climate change and its implications in ways that can lead to informed, evidence-based responses and solutions. 

 Each CCEP must include representation from at least each of the following communities: climate scientists, experts in the learning sciences, and practitioners from within formal or informal education venues.  This combined expertise will insure that educational programs and resources developed through the activities of each CCEP reflects current understanding about climate science, the best theoretical approaches for teaching such a complex topic, and the practical means necessary to reach the intended learner audience(s). 

 Each CCEP should be organized around either geographic regions that share similar climate change impacts, or major climate impact themes (e.g., sea-level rise).
The CCEP program is a two-phase program. 

This solicitation seeks proposals for development of Phase I Partnerships (CCEP-I):
CCEP-I grantees will receive up to 2 years of funding to support synthesis, network-building, and strategic planning activities leading toward potential Phase II Partnerships (CCEP-II).  Each

CCEP-I awardee is expected to: (1) conduct an inventory of existing climate change education resources and identify educational needs and opportunities relevant to their particular region or theme; (2) identify key players from relevant stakeholder communities and initiate network development; (3) convene community workshops and other community-building activities that lead toward development of a comprehensive climate change education strategic plan for that Partnership; and, (4) begin to serve as a test-bed for development, customization and scaling up of standards-based instructional materials, professional development and training models, and other appropriate activities tailored to the Partnership's goals. 

External evaluation activities (formative and summative) are required during Phase I efforts (and will be required during Phase II).  In FY 2011, CCEP-I awardees will be able to request supplemental funding in order to support: (1) early implementation of meritorious programs or activities identified during the planning effort; and/or (2) expansion of the initial Partnership through addition of other investigators seeking to collaborate with a specific CCEP-I awardee. 

A future program solicitation will invite proposals for Phase II Partnerships, which are expected to receive 5 years of support for full-scale implementation of mature strategic plans serving the goals of the CCE program.  Eligible institutions for the CCEP-II competition will include the CCEP-I awardees and equivalent partnerships established through other funding mechanisms that have met the CCEP-I strategic planning criteria and objectives described in this solicitation.  Phase II of the CCEP program is expected to begin in FY 2012, depending on the availability of funding. 

Cognizant Program Officer(s):
 Karen Oates, EHR/DUE, telephone: (703) 292-8670, email: koates@nsf.go
Jill L. Karsten, GEO/OAD, telephone: (703) 292-8500, email: jkarsten@nsf.gov

Applicable Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number(s):
  • 47.050 --- Geosciences
  • 47.074 --- Biological Sciences
  • 47.076 --- Education and Human Resources
  • 47.078 --- Office of Polar Programs
Anticipated Type of Award:  Standard Grant or Continuing Grant

Estimated Number of Awards:    10 to  15  
NSF anticipates making 10-15 awards to establish Phase I Partnerships in FY 2010. In FY 2011, NSF anticipates support for 15-18 supplemental funding requests.

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