MBDH CDE SRC 2022: Midwest Big Data Innovation Hub—Community Development and Engagement Program—Call for Proposals for Building Data-Enabled Resilient Communities |
Website | https://midwestbigdatahub.org/get-involved/cde/ |
Submission link | https://easychair.org/conferences/?conf=mbdhcdesrc2022 |
Submission deadline | August 1, 2022 |
Overview
The NSF-funded regional Big Data Innovation Hubs were created in 2015 to facilitate data science opportunities around grand challenges. The Midwest Big Data Innovation Hub (MBDH) seeks to catalyze new activities in our stakeholder community by competitively allocating resources for “Community Development and Engagement” (CDE) opportunities in the 12-state Midwest region.
In this call, we invite proposals for collaborative activities (see Program Scope, below) that will further develop collaborative cross-sector partnerships through the Hub's “Smart & Resilient Communities” Priority Area. We particularly encourage activities that bring together partners from academia, not-for-profit community organizations, government agencies, and industry, and that introduce new partners to data science, including historically underrepresented groups and underredourced institutions. The focus of the activities should be on building capacity for projects that address community resilience.
Since this call is focused on community building, individual investigator research projects are outside the scope of this call.
Program Scope
Download the proposal template (.docx)
We encourage proposals that include partnerships with institutions of higher education [including minority-serving institutuions (MSIs), tribal colleges and universities (TCUs), and primarily undergraduate institutions (PUIs)], community groups, nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and industry participants that provide outcomes that can lead to subsequent funding for long-term sustainability and meaningful community impact. Examples of topics and themes that are in scope for this call include:
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Convening stakeholders to address data-related food-insecurity challenges.
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Building local partnerships among government agencies, civic organizations, and academia to understand community data needs for climate-change resilience.
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Bringing together academic and community-development stakeholders to understand workforce-development opportunities for data-related skill sets.
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Researchers and practitioners who seek to assist rural communities in identifying how data and technology can increase resilience and reflect community voices and perspectives.
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Developing the capacity of communities to use data storytelling and visualizations for community-engagement purposes.
Preference will be given to activities or events occurring within the 12-state Midwest region, and which are open to participants from outside the host institution. (See Eligibility requirements, below.)
Proposals should include a draft agenda or project plan for the activity, and describe how the results of the community engagement activity are anticipated to move the proposed area forward. Examples of engagement outcomes might include drafting proposals for funding, position papers, best practices documents, curricula, or learning outcomes for training events.
Project Support
Project activities are a partnership between the project teams and the MBDH. Support for proposals that are selected will primarily be made in the form of in-kind staff time to assist with project coordination support, administrative and logistical support, and event facilitation if those are not available from the proposer's institution. Participant support for attendees (especially students and qualifying speakers) may also be available. Proposers must follow NSF PAPPG rules, including developing codes of conduct for events (the MBDH can assist with this).
Support requested from the MBDH should be clearly described in the project plan as distinct from activities the proposing team intends to lead. More detailed guidance is provided in the proposal template. We encourage proposers from small institutions and MSIs to include salary support in their budgets if that is a deciding factor in their ability to participate. No direct funding will be awarded to proposers unless otherwise negotiated.
Activities should be completed within 18 months of award. Due to the ongoing pandemic as well as the goal of being as inclusive for participation as possible, virtual or hybrid events and activities are preferred. The MBDH Seed Fund Steering Committee may review its guidelines regarding award completion as the situation evolves.
We anticipate supporting 3–4 projects in this cycle.
Eligibility
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Lead proposer(s) (PI) must be primarily affiliated with an academic, governmental, or nonprofit organization within the 12-state Midwest Big Data Hub region (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin). Partnerships with for-profit organizations are possible, but they are not eligible for direct funding from this program.
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Lead PIs are limited to one proposal per funding cycle as lead proposer.
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To broaden participation, grow the MBDH community, and ensure a transparent and fair process, proposers who are current PIs or co-PIs of the MBDH must include collaborators who are not currently affiliated with the MBDH.
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MBDH Seed Fund Steering Committee members must recuse themselves from the review of any proposals from their home institutions, or that involve their own work, or that of their family members, current students or employees, or current collaborators.
Participation and review will follow standard NSF conflict-of-interest policies.
Deliverables
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A brief final written report of the project activities and outcomes is required, due within 90 days of the completion of the project. The scope of the report is dependent on the nature of the project activities.
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The MBDH is required by NSF to report data about the number and characteristics of participants in engagement activities, and information about outcomes and impacts.
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Successful applicants are required to collaborate with the Hub’s administration and external evaluators to develop and implement measures to gather the aforementioned required data.
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Awardees are strongly encouraged to make content, resources, tools, etc., developed during CDE activities available to the broader stakeholder community, as appropriate, using standard NSF practices, open source, FAIR, CARE, or other models as suggested guidelines.
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Awardees are also encouraged to work with the MBDH Communications team to make the project visible within the region through the Hub’s communications channels, as well as via webinars and events.
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In all presentations, papers, posters, and other public communications, awardees should acknowledge support from the Midwest Big Data Innovation Hub and the National Science Foundation under NSF award # 1916613.
Review Criteria
Reviewers are members of the MBDH Seed Fund Steering Committee. Steering Committee members are selected from the at-large MBDH stakeholder community, are not members of the Hub’s leadership team, and do not receive compensation. They operate independently, represent the diversity of Hub constituents and Hub areas of interest, and demonstrate independence of judgment and expertise in the area assigned to them.
Successful proposals will support community engagement via a well-defined activity that is intended to advance the “Smart & Resilient Communities” efforts in the Midwest, especially activities that highlight data use by communities to represent and address their needs in relation to community resilience.
The following criteria will be used by the MBDH Seed Fund Steering Committee to prioritize support:
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Does the activity help advance the “Smart & Resilient Communities” efforts in the Midwest, especially activities that highlight data use by communities to represent and address their needs in relation to community resilience?
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Does the activity engage new participants, especially underrepresented groups and smaller institutions, in the Hub community?
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Does the activity generate new partnerships with industry, government, and/or nonprofits?
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Is the proposed timeline and budget realistic for the stated goals?
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Does the project plan address sustainability where appropriate, such as identifying opportuinities for future external funding from government agencies, foundations, or industry, and include plans for continued collaboration?
Timeline
Activity | Date |
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Call for proposals released | 6/1/2022 |
Submissions open on EasyChair | 6/1/2022 |
Live informational webinar (recorded for future viewing) | 6/10/2022, 1:00 p.m. CT |
Q&A webinar for prospective proposers | 6/28/2022, 3:00 p.m. CT |
Q&A webinar for prospective proposers | 7/19/2022, 3:00 p.m. CT |
Deadline to submit proposals | 8/1/2022, 11:59 p.m. CT |
Target date for notification of award/decline Awardees may initiate planning process with MBDH staff immediately |
Within 45 days of proposal deadline |
Final reports due | Within 90 days of completion of the activity |
Outcomes assessment | Following completion of each project |
About the Community Development and Engagement Program
Under the terms of the Midwest Big Data Innovation Hub Cooperative Agreement with NSF, the MBDH must commit a portion of its budget to develop new initiatives via a competitive process. This process is administered by the MBDH Seed Fund Steering Committee, composed of members of the MBDH stakeholder community who are not members of the leadership team, and do not receive compensation.
Contact Information
Potential applicants may contact the Midwest Big Data Innovation Hub to learn more about the Community Development and Engagement Program and the Hub’s broader efforts to build a data science community in the region. Email: info@midwestbigdatahub.org