Funding Opportunities

EPSCoR Co-Funding

To accelerate the movement of EPSCoR researchers and institutions into the mainstream of NSF support, EPSCoR co-funding is available to provide joint support for certain meritorious proposals submitted to NSF’s research, education, and cross-cutting competitions. The objectives of the EPSCoR co-funding mechanism are:

Co-funding is not a program to which proposals can be submitted. Instead, it is a funding mechanism that operates internally within NSF and does not involve any action on the part of the proposer. The EPSCoR co-funding mechanism focuses on those “Fund-if-Possible” proposals, which the NSF merit review process finds to lie at or near the cutoff for funding by the programs to which they were submitted. EPSCoR co-funds meritorious proposals that would otherwise not be supported due to availability of funds or other overriding program priorities.

For such proposals, the managing program officer first decides whether to make an award recommendation and the amount and duration to be recommended for the award. The decision to recommend an award or declination rests with the managing program. Once these decisions are made, a request for partial support via EPSCoR co-funding can be forwarded to the EPSCoR for consideration. NSF EPSCoR’s co-funding mechanism is dependent on the number and quality of proposals submitted from EPSCoR jurisdictions and the availability of EPSCoR funds for co-funding.

Proposal characteristics that will enhance the likelihood of EPSCoR co-funding are (a) researchers who have not previously or recently (e.g., during the last three years) received NSF awards; (b) requests reflecting collaborative efforts within and across participating jurisdictions and at regional, national, and/or international levels; (c) projects submitted to cross-discipline or cross-directorate programs; (d) projects that are synergistic with other NSF investments and funding priorities; (e) projects that increase participation of members of underrepresented groups and/or institutions; (f) requests for instrumentation; (g) student programs that will significantly enhance institutional research capability and competitiveness or provide training opportunities for K-12 students and professional development for K-12 teachers; and (h) programs that exemplify NSF’s commitment to the integration of research and education. Proposals that do not match one or more of these characteristics directly may also be considered for their suitability for co-funding.

Note on award transfer: EPSCoR funds need to be expended in EPSCoR institutions. If a principal investigator (PI) with an EPSCoR co-funded award transfers to a non-EPSCoR institution, the EPSCoR co-funding amount (or a part of it that remains unobligated at the time of PI transfer) cannot be transferred to the non-EPSCoR institution.

Grant Opportunities

EPSCoR also works to keep Delaware researchers informed of federal grant and fellowship opportunities that are relevant to our mission. Here are some upcoming opportunities of interest: 

Federal programs that sponsor environmental research:

National Science Foundation

U.S. Department of Energy

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

U.S. Department of Agriculture

National Aeronautics and Space Administration