NCSA Center-Directed Discretionary Research (CDDR)

NCSA is committed to enabling new, innovative research by providing seed funding for NCSA staff through a competitive proposal process.

Program Objectives

1. Maintain the scientific and technical vitality of NCSA.
2. Enhance NCSA’s ability to address future University of Illinois and funding agencies missions.
3. Foster creativity and stimulate exploration of forefront science and technology.
4. Serve as a proving ground for new concepts in research and development.
5. Support high-risk, potentially high-value research and development.
6. Support mission driven projects at NCSA.

How are Objectives Achieved?

CDDR expenditures can help maintain NCSA’s scientific and technical vitality by:

• Supporting all aspects of NCSA’s strategic plans
• Advancing the technical fields relevant to NCSA
• Uncovering and vetting specific new research and development (R&D) directions for the programs
• Exploring creative and innovative high-risk, high-reward research ideas
• Attracting the best and brightest scientific and engineering staff
• Providing early support for development of new R&D instruments
• Providing the flexibility to respond quickly to new R&D opportunities
• Offering a mechanism for collaboration with counterparts in both the public and private sectors
• Developing concept work often required by agency funding Request for Proposals (RFPs)
• Build on current Faculty Fellows program
• Reduce number of ad hoc projects

Policies and Procedures

• Project duration is a maximum of 36 months
• Projects requiring funding beyond one fiscal year may be considered for funding in out-years. A review of progress will take place in year one.
• No commitment for out-year funding is made when a project requests multi-year funding.
• Each project must submit quarterly reports and a year-end summary to the NCSA Director’s Office.
• Travel will be supported if it is necessary to conduct the work. Conferences and other discretionary travel will not be supported.
• Subcontracts
  • Subcontracts may be used to obtain materials, supplies, services and testing to obtain expertise not available at the laboratory.
  • These should be used to support rather than dominate the building of capabilities and may not comingle with other subcontract projects or task numbers.
  • “CDDR-funded subcontract” must be included on purchased requisition.
  • Subcontract end dates shall not exceed the CDDR project end date.

Proposal Process

• Participants may submit the pre-proposal form in Savannah at any time; pre-proposals will be approved/denied by the NCSA Director’s Office on a rolling basis.
• Once the pre-proposal form is approved, teams may begin developing a full proposal. A committee will complete a technical and management review of full proposals quarterly. The next deadline is September 1, 2018.

Pre-Proposal (form located on Savannah as NCSA Pre-proposal )

Fill out the contact information with the correct information:

• Organization Unit (NCSA Dept): State what unit/department 
• Principal Investigator/NCSA Lead: Who is the appointed person in charge of this project?
• Date
• Principal Investigator's Email

Prerequisite Checklist: 

Read through and understand what is required of the submitted before submitting the pre-proposal.

1. Read through the pre-proposal guidelines and have an understanding of what is being requested.

2. The primary purpose of this project is to benefit the NCSA, please do not submit project proposals that will not directly impact the NCSA and the University of Illinois.

3. The proposal approval period may take a sufficient amount of time to complete due to workload at the time of submission. Also, your proposal may be required to travel to a different department if it impacts them as well. 

4. The principal investigator must be the person to submit this project pre-proposal.

5. Please do not submit old/used project ideas, if an idea needs to be revisited please schedule a meeting. 

Project Information:

1. Proposed Project Title: State the project title at this stage of the process. 

• Project thesis statement: Focus ideas into one or two sentences, this should present the topic of the project and should briefly explain what the project is about.

(30 word Maximum)

2. Project Duration: What is the proposed start date of this project – what is the proposed end date of this project?

• There is a 36-month maximum on all projects. 

3. Project Description: Describe the project and how the research will be conducted

(300 Word Maximum)

4. Funding

• Dollar amount requested from NCSA: How much money are you requesting from the NCSA for your research?
• Other intended funding sources for project funds: please list all other projected sources of funding other than NCSA.

(50 word maximum)

5. Primary Impacted Beneficiaries

• How will this project benefit NCSA? Describe the impact this project will have at the NCSA.
• How will this project benefit the University of Illinois? Describe the impact this project will have on campus.
• Will there be any international engagements? If so, list them in this section.
  • Will the project benefit them?
• Training Opportunities: What are the potential opportunities to learn with this project?
  • Listed below are examples that the project could provide opportunities for:
    • NCSA Staff
    • UIUC Post-Docs
    • Students

(150 word maximum)

6. Criteria for Success: What defines a successful project; in numbers, findings, methods, etc.

7. Buyout Time for Proposal Development

• A Maximum of 5% of your time may be requested
• If extra time is needed, please schedule a meeting with Amanda Lombardo 

Full Proposal

The full CDDR proposal is limited to 5 pages (not including bios) and should consist of:

1. Proposal Title

2. Abstract (1/2 page)

3. Project Description

1. 1. Scientific and Technical Opportunity
   2. Context

                                                  i.    Description of similar previous work (who, what, when and relationship to this project)

                                                 ii.    How the proposed work is unique and innovative

                                                iii.    Clear understanding of any competition or partnership opportunities4

4. Benefits, Beneficiaries, and Customers as related to the Center as a whole

• Approach

                                                  i.    Nature of work

                                                 ii.    Deliverables

                                                iii.    Milestones and Timeline

                                                iv.    Leveraging of external activities

                                                 v.    Expected results

• Investigator(s) (Bios may be included at end of proposal)
• Resources Required

                                                  i.    Key Skills

                                                 ii.    New Hires

                                                iii.    Equipment

• Future Funding Opportunities

                                                  i.    Identify specific funding sources and outline a future funding plan/path to sustainability

• Budget and Budget Justification

Review Process

Competitive proposals will present a well-defined research plan that leverages Center resources and external activities, benefits NCSA and the University of Illinois strategic plans, and provide a clear path to sustainability. Awards are made subject to the availability of funds and review committee’s recommendations.

Review Criteria

1. Novelty, innovativeness or originality of proposed research; clear understanding of competition and how it differs from related work
2. Scientific, Technical, and Marketing merit
3. Clear and compelling relation to NCSA mission(s), strategic initiatives, and goals
4. Feasibility of proposed research
5. Likelihood of success in proposed duration and requested funds
6. Qualifications of investigators in the field of proposed research
7. Potential for follow-on funding, if successful
8. Clarity and completeness of the written proposal, including graphics

Acceptance of Funding Conditions

PI Funding Responsibilities

• Management and oversight of project costs
• Notifying the CDDR program administrator (Amanda Lombardo) of any significant problems or concerns
• Provide project leadership and share results/findings including as part of publications
• Appropriate consideration, protection and disposition of intellectual property
• All CDDR projects must work with the line management structure for the individual employee researcher
• Submit quarterly reports to the NCSA Director’s Office
• Submit year-end annual Summary Report

Accruals

Project funds will be monitored on encumbrances, including commitments to pay for goods and/or services that have been received/supplied but not paid for or invoiced.

FAQs

Who may participate?

The PI of a CDDR proposal must be a full-time NCSA staff member. Faculty with zero percent affiliate positions can participate as a team member.

Can I request time to work on the development of the proposal?

The PI may request up to 5% time for proposal development.