Opportunity Title:
Mid-Career Advancement (MCA)
Opportunity Number:
NSF 22-603
Description:
The MCA program offers an opportunity for scientists and engineers at the mid-career stage (see restrictions under Additional Eligibility Information) to substantively enhance and advance their research program and career trajectory. Mid-career scientists are at a critical career transition 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. MCA support is expected to help lift these constraints to reduce workload inequities and enable a more diverse scientific workforce (more women, persons with disabilities, and individuals from groups that have been underrepresented) at high academic ranks.
The MCA program provides protected time, resources, and the means to gain new skills through synergistic and mutually beneficial partnerships, typically at an institution other than the candidate's home institution. Partners from outside the PI's own sub-discipline or discipline are encouraged, but not required, to enhance interdisciplinary networking and convergence across science and engineering fields. Research projects that envision new insights on existing problems or identify new problems made accessible with cutting-edge methodology or expertise from other fields are encouraged.
All MCA proposals must include letters from a) the partner(s) describing the nature of the collaboration and the benefits of doing so for both parties, as well as b) the departmental chairperson (or an equivalent organizational official). The 12-page Project Description of an MCA proposal must include the following three sections in addition to the other required elements as defined in the PAPPG (for example, Broader Impacts). These are described in more detail under Proposal Preparation Instructions and include:
Candidate's Past Research
Candidate's Proposed Research Advancement and Training Plan
Candidate's Long-Term Career Plans
Eligibility:
Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) - Two- and four-year IHEs (including community colleges) accredited in, and having a campus located in the US, acting on behalf of their faculty members. Special Instructions for International Branch Campuses of US IHEs: If the proposal includes funding to be provided to an international branch campus of a US institution of higher education (including through use of subawards and consultant arrangements), the proposer must explain the benefit(s) to the project of performance at the international branch campus, and justify why the project activities cannot be performed at the US campus.
Non-profit, non-academic organizations: Independent museums, observatories, research labs, professional societies and similar organizations in the U.S. associated with educational or research activities.
Maximum Award:
$18,000,000
Application Deadline:
February 01, 2023 - March 01, 2023
February 1 - March 1, Annually Thereafter
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