The National Science Foundation

NSF RII Track 2 Focused EPSCoR Collaborations must be a joint effort between two or three EPSCoR jurisdictions to build inter-jurisdictional collaborative teams of EPSCoR investigators in scientific focus areas consistent with NSF priorities. Grant period is four years. Two jurisdictions are eligible for up to $1M per year, three jurisdictions are eligible for up to $1.5M per year.

Alabama is serving as the lead in one of the six NSF RII Track 2 awards and as a collaborator in five other NSF RII Track 2 awards.

NSF RII Track 3 awards were piloted in FY 2013 and provide up to $750K for up to five years to support the strategic goal of broadening participation to improve future R&D competitiveness in EPSCoR jurisdictions. These awards emphasize the participation of underrepresented groups in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields supported by NSF, these groups include underrepresented minorities, women, persons with disabilities, and those underserved in rural counties.

NSF RII Track 4, or EPSCoR Research Fellows, provides opportunities for non-tenured investigators to develop their research potential through extended collaborative visits to the nation’s premier private, governmental, or academic research centers to learn new techniques, benefit from access to unique equipment and facilities, in hopes of taking their research in new directions. It is hoped that the experience will provide a foundation for research collaborations that span the recipient’s entire career, and ultimately their institution and jurisdiction.

Alabama is eligible for NSF Co-funding. NSF Co-funding is an internal program within NSF that selects meritorious proposals to be funded through combined support between the EPSCoR office and the other seven NSF Directorates (Biological Sciences, Computer and Information Science and Engineering, Engineering, Geosciences, Mathematical and Physical Sciences, Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences, and Education and Human Resources).