Greetings Colleagues, 

        Here are some recent funding opportunity postings for your consideration (to review with the hour we gain with the time change this weekend). I’ve also included a list of the upcoming AERA award competitions. Please feel free to set up a meeting with me if you wish to discuss these or any other opportunities and whatever I can do to assist you.

Grant Funding Opportunities 

USDE OPE Fulbright-Hays Seminars Abroad--Bilateral Projects due December 18, 2020 (note: However, as a result of applications needing to be filed through the G5 system, applicants should prepare their submissions with December 11 as the deadline).  

https://www2.ed.gov/programs/iegpssap/applicant.html?utm_content=&utm_medium=email&utm_name=&utm_source=govdelivery&utm_term= 

        The Seminars Abroad Program provides opportunities for qualified U.S. educators to participate in short-term seminars abroad mainly on topics in the humanities, social sciences, and arts. The purpose of the program is to provide short-term study opportunities for U.S. educators and administrators (generally those in the humanities and social sciences) for the purpose of improving their understanding and knowledge of the peoples and cultures of other countries.  Educators with limited or no study abroad experience are encouraged to apply.  Upon their return, participants are expected to develop and disseminate a curriculum project and to share their broadened knowledge and understanding of the host country with students, colleagues, civic and professional organizations, and the public in their respective home communities. 

        All seminars are composed of a pre-arranged, structured academic phase and a group travel phase.  Due to the group nature of the seminar and the requirement that participants attend all scheduled activities, participants will not have time to engage in extensive individual research.  The seminars’ schedules provide only a limited amount of free time for participants to gather information related to their individual curriculum projects or other projects related to their current teaching responsibilities.  Participants should plan accordingly. 

Note: See the application for Seminars Abroad opportunities for K-12 school teachers to visit Iceland and Morocco.  

NSF Mid-Career Advancement due February 1, 2021 

https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2021/nsf21516/nsf21516.htm 

        An academic career often does not provide the uninterrupted stretches of time necessary for acquiring and building new skills to enhance and advance one’s research program. Mid-career scientists in particular are at a critical career stage where they need to advance their research programs to ensure long-term productivity and creativity but are often constrained by service, teaching, or other activities that limit the amount of time devoted to research. 

        The MCA offers an opportunity for scientists and engineers at the Associate Professor rank (or equivalent) to substantively enhance and advance their research program through synergistic and mutually beneficial partnerships, typically at an institution other than their home institution. Projects that envision new insights on existing problems or identify new but related problems previously inaccessible without new methodology or expertise from other fields are encouraged. Partners from outside the PI's own subdiscipline or discipline are encouraged, but not required, to enhance interdisciplinary networking and convergence across science and engineering fields. By (re)-investing in mid-career investigators, NSF aims to enable and grow a more diverse scientific workforce (more women, persons with disabilities, and underrepresented minorities) at high academic ranks, who remain engaged and active in cutting-edge research. 

        The MCA is the only cross-directorate NSF program specifically aimed at providing protected time and resources to established scientists and engineers targeted at the mid-career (Associate Professor rank or equivalent) stage. Participating programs in the Directorates for Biological Sciences (BIO), Geosciences (GEO), Engineering (ENG), Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE), and Education and Human Resources (EHR) will accept MCA proposals. PIs are encouraged to discuss the suitability of their MCA proposal with a program officer from the appropriate directorate (see https://www.nsf.gov/bio/MCA_contacts.jsp). 

2021-2022 Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers, Cycle 11, Year 1 Grant Program due January 7, 2021 Review eligibility requirements whether or not we are able to apply as a public institution or in partnership with an eligible entity 

https://tea.texas.gov/about-tea/news-and-multimedia/correspondence/taa-letters/application-now-available-2021-2022-nita-m-lowey-21st-century-community-learning-centers-cycle-11-year-1-grant-program 

        The 21st CCLC Program, in accordance with the Every Student Succeeds Act, Title IV, Part B, supports the creation of community learning centers that provide academic enrichment opportunities during non-school hours for students, particularly those attending high-poverty or low-performing schools. Eligible entities can apply to establish or expand community learning centers that:  

• provide opportunities for academic enrichment, including tutoring services to help students, particularly those with an identified need for support;  
• offer students a broad array of non-academic services designed to reinforce and complement the regular school day; and  
• offer families of students served by community learning centers additional opportunities for engagement in their children’s education.  

During the application process, applicants will participate in a series of professional development webinars aligned with the Texas Ace Blueprint, the framework which outlines quality components of the 21st CCLC program. Applicants will provide evidence of alignment with Blueprint components in their submitted application. 

US Economic Development Administration SPRINT Challenge due December 3, 2020 

https://www.eda.gov/oie/sprint/ 

https://www.eda.gov/files/oie/sprint/FY20-Scaling-Pandemic-Resilience-through-Innovation-and-Technology.pdf 

        The FY 2020 Scaling Pandemic Resilience Through Innovation and Technology (SPRINT) Challenge seeks applications from eligible organizations working to rapidly address the economic, health, and safety risks caused by the coronavirus pandemic through entrepreneurship and innovation. 

        This $25 million national competition is designed to support the development, creation, or expansion of programs that accelerate technology-based economic development in pursuit of vibrant, innovative economies and economic growth, and respond to the challenges caused by the coronavirus pandemic.  Applicant organizations should articulate a clearly defined strategy to leverage grant funds to support one or more of the following activities to help address the needs of and unique operating environment necessitated by the coronavirus pandemic: 

• Scaling biotechnology, health security, and supply chain technologies to market 
• Increasing regional, national, and government connectivity to support commercialization and entrepreneurship 
• Developing new and unique investment capital models to address the financial needs of entrepreneurs 
• Developing and scaling entrepreneurship support models to address the virtual and remote work environment of the pandemic 

NEH National Digital Newspaper Program due January 14, 2021 (Optional draft due December 1, 2020) 

https://www.neh.gov/grants/preservation/national-digital-newspaper-program 

        The National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP) is a partnership between the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Library of Congress to create a national digital resource of historically significant newspapers published between 1690 and 1963, from all the states and U.S. territories. This searchable database will be permanently maintained at the Library of Congress (LC) and will be freely accessible online (see the Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers website).  An accompanying national newspaper directory of bibliographic and holdings information on the website directs users to newspaper titles available in all types of formats.  During the course of its partnership with NEH, LC will also digitize and contribute to the NDNP database a significant number of newspaper pages drawn from its own collections. 

NEH Institutes for Advanced Topics in the Digital Humanities due March 2, 2021 (note: application window is not open until January 4, 2021) 

https://www.neh.gov/grants/odh/institutes-advanced-topics-in-the-digital-humanities 

        The Institutes for Advanced Topics in the Digital Humanities (IATDH) program supports national or regional (multistate) training programs for scholars, humanities professionals, and advanced graduate students to broaden and extend their knowledge of digital humanities.  Through this program NEH seeks to increase the number of humanities scholars and practitioners using digital technology in their research and to broadly disseminate knowledge about advanced technology tools and methodologies relevant to the humanities. 

        Applicants may apply to create institutes that are a single opportunity or are offered multiple times to different audiences.  Institutes may be as short as a few days or as long as six weeks and held at a single site or at multiples sites; virtual institutes are also permissible.  Training opportunities could be offered before or after regularly occurring scholarly meetings, during the summer months, or during appropriate times of the academic year.  The duration of a program should allow for full and thorough treatment of the topic; it should also be appropriate for the intended audience. 

Scholarly Awards 

In addition to the aforementioned grant opportunities, the following award opportunities are available for faculty to apply from the American Educational Research Association. We have many distinguished and highly accomplished faculty within our ranks, and I hope that many of our colleagues will take the steps to apply or become nominated so that they gain their well-deserved recognition. 

AERA 2021 Call for Award Nominations 

The American Educational Research Association seeks nominations for the 2021 AERA Awards. The submission deadline for the 2021 AERA-sponsored awards has been extended to December 1, 2020. To be eligible for consideration, unless otherwise noted, all nominations must be submitted electronically, using the AERA award nomination e-form, on or before the deadline. The award nominations portal can be accessed on the AERA website at https://www.aera.net/About-AERA/Awards. Listings of past awardees can be found at the same location. 

All AERA awards will be conferred at the Awards Ceremony and Celebration during the 2021 Annual Meeting. The awards are listed below with the direct link to the actual application form. Here is the link to the full “Call for Awards” page with descriptions of each award: https://www.aera.net/Portals/38/2021%20Call%20for%20Award%20Nominations_FinalDraft_7-23-2020%20REV_1.pdf  

Distinguished Contributions to Research in Education Award http://forms.logiforms.com/formdata/user_forms/7993_9562493/353703/page1.html?cachebust=1812  

Outstanding Book Award 

http://forms.logiforms.com/formdata/user_forms/7993_9562493/353713/page1.html?cachebust=2544 

E. F. Lindquist Award 

http://forms.logiforms.com/formdata/user_forms/7993_9562493/353717/page1.html?cachebust=2311 

Early Career Award 

http://forms.logiforms.com/formdata/user_forms/7993_9562493/353777/page1.html?cachebust=2144 

Distinguished Public Service Award 

http://forms.logiforms.com/formdata/user_forms/7993_9562493/353778/page1.html?cachebust=218 

Social Justice in Education Award 

http://forms.logiforms.com/formdata/user_forms/7993_9562493/353790/page1.html?cachebust=2747 

Scholars of Color in Education Awards 

http://forms.logiforms.com/formdata/user_forms/7993_9562493/353793/page1.html?cachebust=276 

Distinguished Contributions to Gender Equity in Education Research Award 

http://forms.logiforms.com/formdata/user_forms/7993_9562493/353794/page1.html?cachebust=1617 

Exemplary Contributions to Practice-Engaged Research Award 

http://forms.logiforms.com/formdata/user_forms/7993_9562493/353801/page1.html?cachebust=2435 

Outstanding Public Communication of Education Research Award 

http://forms.logiforms.com/formdata/user_forms/7993_9562493/353804/page1.html?cachebust=2628 

Excellence in Media Reporting on Education Research Award 

http://forms.logiforms.com/formdata/user_forms/7993_9562493/353805/page1.html?cachebust=240 

Finally, I am also working on a follow-up to discuss highly prestigious, prestigious, and noteworthy fellowships and awards and their role in the faculty development lifecycle. For an advanced look at the University’s approach to targeted scholarly awards please see http://research.utsa.edu/scholarlyawards/.  

Best regards, 

Iwan