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NASA Releases EPSCoR RRR Research Topics Appendix

Posted on: August 27th, 2022 in: NASA EPSCoR

In preparation for the release of the 2023 National NASA EPSCoR Rapid Research Response solicitation, the National NASA EPSCoR Project Manager has provided an advance copy of the appendix listing all research topics for which proposals may be submitted.  We anticipate that the solicitation will be very similar to last year’s solicitation with a few critical exceptions.  Each jurisdiction will only be allowed to submit six proposals, but they may address the same or different topics.  Additionally, renewal proposals may only be submitted if a NASA Center, Mission Directorate or other group agrees to provide the funds for the renewal.  The National NASA EPSCoR Office will not financially support renewals going forward.  Here is the language that has been provided by the National NASA EPSCoR Office about the RRR solicitation thus far:

  • Jurisdictions may submit up to a total of six proposals.  The proposals may come from one or multiple offices (i.e., 6 proposals for the same topic or office, or 1 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 count. Please remember to include the Research Identifier in your title (include Renewal if it is a renewal). Note that renewals will require a letter of commitment from the funding office.

Below is a brief summary of the requirements/guidance for this solicitation:

Funding: Awards are $100K Federal with no match requirement for a one-year period of performance.  Most proposals are limited to 2-3 pages.  There may be some exceptions for a particular topic that will allow up to 5 pages, which will be stated in the topic appendix.

Eligibility:  Faculty at NSHE institutions, particularly junior faculty, women, and members of other underrepresented populations are encouraged to apply.  Faculty who have a current National NASA EPSCoR Research CAN or RRR project are not eligible to apply while their project is on-going. There is no requirement that Science PIs be U.S. citizens, however, foreign nationals (i.e., 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 important to the research being proposed.

A Letter of Interest (LOI) will be required by October 3rd.  If there are more than 6 letters of interest, we will first determine if there is any possibility of collaboration.  The LOIs will be reviewed by the NV NASA EPSCoR Technical Advisory Committee to determine which will proceed to full proposal development.  Therefore, it will be very important that you make a strong case for why your idea on how to respond to one of the RRR topics should be selected for proposal development.  Evaluation criteria will include:

  • Detailed explanation of project relevance to one of the RRR topics
  • A letter of support or collaboration from a NASA scientist
  • A brief, but clear, explanation of your project goals/objectives, the methods you will employ to address your goals and most importantly expected outcomes and how those outcomes will advance the science and meet NASA needs.

Note:  the LOI will be limited to one page with title, topic appendix/number and Science PI listed at the top.  The NASA letter of support/collaboration (can be a copy of an email) does not count toward the one page.

Interested faculty must communicate with the NASA point-of-contact (POC) for the topic area before submitting a LOI.  Note: the POC may be able to provide the names of some NASA scientists who might be interested in collaborating with you on your project.

Approximate anticipated due dates:

  • Solicitation release from NASA: September 16, 2022
  • Solicitation release from NV NASA EPSCoR:  September 19, 2022
  • Solicitation Webinar (Q&A): September 22, 2022 (Link will be provided in the NV NASA EPSCoR RRR Solicitation)
  • LOI’s due to NSHE: October 3, 2022
  • Decisions on LOIs to proceed to full proposal:  ~October 18, 2022
  • Full proposals to NV NASA EPSCoR for review:  December 1, 2022
  • Full proposals to NASA: December 15, 2022
  • Awards Announced: ~April 3, 2023