------ begin of nsf94152 -- ascii -- complete ------ Title : NSF 94-152 - GLOBAL LEARNING AND OBSERVATIONS TO BENEFIT THE ENVIRONMENT (GLOBE) Type : Program Guideline NSF Org: GEO Date : October 25, 1994 File : nsf94152 GLOBAL LEARNING AND OBSERVATIONS TO BENEFIT THE ENVIRONMENT (GLOBE) Announcement of Opportunity for Science/Education Teams CLOSING DATE: December 15, 1994 NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION - ANNOUNCEMENT NSF 94-152 Introduction The National Science Foundation (NSF), in cooperation with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), invites the submission of proposals for participation in the Science and Education com-ponent of the Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program. These agencies are conducting this announcement on behalf of the GLOBE Program, a federal interagency program in which the three agencies are participants. Funding provided through this announce-ment will support a developing international program with an ambitious goal: to create a global network linking the international environmental science community with the pre-college age school children of the world and their teachers. Through partnerships among scientists, educators (from both formal classrooms and informal education programs), and students, the students would be trained to make and transmit to participating scientists a wide range of measure-ments of key environmental parameters which will be of genuine value in advancing the scientific understanding of global environmental change. Through an enriched science curriculum, students throughout the world would attain a higher degree of science and mathematics literacy, an improved understanding of the nature of the environment in the part of the world where they live, and a shared sense of the global environment as a complex, dynamic system of which they are a part. A description of the planned investigations is given in Section I. The proposals will provide an outline describing involvement in one or more of the following propram elements: 1) formation of scientist-educator teams which will assist in providing schools with data collection, data analysis, and visualization capabilities in one or more of three key science areas, 2) development of coordinated educational materials in support of the science measurements, 3) involvement of the team in teacher training, and 4) documentation and evaluation of the program as it evolves. Applications for support of activities under each element described in Section I are invited. Through the review process, priority will be given to applicants who can demonstrate 1) a willingness to incorporate student-derived data into the scientists' own environmental and global change research activities, 2) substantial institu-tional cost-sharing, and 3) likelihood of demon-strable results within the first year of effort. The Government intends to support activities under each of these elements; however the Government reserves the option of finding the most cost- effective approach to meeting these objectives. Proposals in response to this announcement must be submitted to the GLOBE Program by December 15, 1994. Proposal review will then be administrated by NSF on behalf of the GLOBE organization and the three participating agencies; thus, proposal format should follow NSF guide-lines, as detailed in Section II of this announcement. It is anticipated that a peer review panel will meet in January 1995, with funding of successful awards anticipated within two months of the receipt of proposals. Note that the proposal deadline for this special announcement is separate and distinct from any other normal NSF deadline. Under this announcement, the three participating agencies collectively plan to award up to $2.5 M in Fiscal Year 1995 for 12-15 awards. However, com-mitments for funding up to three years at approximately the same annual level, contingent on satisfactory progress, are anticipated. A separate Announcement of Opportunity will be released for selection of participating U.S. schools in the GLOBE Program. Further information can be obtained from the GLOBE staff (202-395-7600): Barrett Rock, Assistant Director for Science (b_rock@globe. gov); Tommie Blackwell, Assistant Director for Education (tblackwell@globe.gov). Agency contacts are: Michael Mayhew, NSF (703-306-1556, mmayhew@nsf.gov); Lisa Ostendorf, NASA (202-358-0718, lostendo@mtpe.hq.nasa.gov); and Sam Contorno, NOAA (301-713-2474, scontorno @rdc.noaa.gov) Section I. Program Description Overview GLOBE is a developing international pro-gram which will link scientists and schoolchildren in a global information network, with the shared goal of better understanding the Earth's environ-ment and changes that take place within it. A central objective of the program is to provide school children with the means of measuring key environmental parameters which would be both meaningful to them and of genuine scientific value. Students would share their data with one another and with the scientific community. An international group of participating scientists would act as mentors for the students, helping them to collect, analyze, and distribute their data, while at the same time making substantive scientific use of that data. It is envisioned that the program would enrich existing science curricula at all grade levels, through both formal and informal educational settings, contributing to an under-standing of the nature of science, and raising the level of scientific literacy generally. Students would gain a better appreciation of the environ-ment where they live and its place in the global environment. Ideally, generations of students throughout the world would grow up with a shared sense of Earth as a complex dynamic system which the human population affects and is affected by. At the same time the program would contribute to a better scientific understanding of Earth systems. A large number of countries throughout the world, in response to a letter from the U.S. Government, have expressed interest in par-ticipating in GLOBE. An interagency GLOBE team has been created to manage the GLOBE Program. GLOBE is pursuing international cooperation, while at the same time working with organizations within the U.S. and in other coun-tries to develop a vital "grass roots" programmatic network of scientists and educators. It is expected that each nation will support the activities of its own schools. The purpose of this announcement of opportunity is to make a strong start on what is inherently a long-term program. An early em-phasis of the program, and this announcement in particular, is on establishing an initial tech-nological infrastructure, based on scientific and educational needs, which can be expanded upon in future years. Funding via this announcement will support the formation of scientist-educator collaborative teams which will define a set of GLOBE measurements to be made by students in the K-12 grade range. Instruments and protocols will be identified which can measure key environmental parameters in three priority categories (described below and listed in Table l), as defined in a number of recent science/education workshops. The instruments will be carefully selected so as to provide reliable data at appro-priate accuracy, while being usable and under-standable to children at a specified grade level and their teachers. Supporting educational materials will be developed around these measurements. Data collected will be shared with other schools and with scientists via the Internet and in some cases via satellite communication. These data will be processed at a central location and synthesized, and global visualization imagery and data products derived from student measurements will be returned to the schools, so that students can see how their own measurements relate to those of students in other schools and to the larger picture generally. Satellite data sets and other locally relevant graphic materials of their own area, at an appropriate scale, will be provided to participating schools, and will form an important element of their programs. Such pictures of Earth provide dynamic and exciting ways for students to visualize their place within their own regional setting and ultimately, within the global setting. At the same time, the student's measurements for their area will furnish ground truth information to scientists to assist in verifying thematic products derived from remotely-sensed satellite data. In addition, these interconnected measurements will lead to in-depth scientific analyses and valuable insight into environmental concerns of the students at local and global scales. The GLOBE Program Science and Education component will advance the objectives of the NSF's Statewide Systemic Initiatives, Goals 2000, and existing science and mathematics standards and curriculum frameworks in the United States. The early emphasis of that part of the program involving the relatively advanced technology described above will be directed at schools which already have, or can readily be provided, such technology. It is also recognized that there is a broad spectrum of technological capabilities across and within the different nations of the world, including the United States. Ideally, all schools which wish to participate in GLOBE should have the opportunity to do so in educa-tionally meaningful and scientifically useful ways. The GLOBE Program will seek to accommodate other schools and projects in participating coun-tries which have not yet achieved the technical level needed to participate in the growing GLOBE network. Through this process it is expected that hundreds of schools worldwide will begin partici-pation in GLOBE over the next few years, and some thousands of schools by the turn of the century. Since the initial involvement of GLOBE students will begin on April 22, 1995, the 25th Earth Day, an initial Phase I ("jump start") GLOBE Program is currently under way. Phase I science/educator participants will utilize existing environmental education materials from each of the three Experiment areas (Atmosphere/Climate, Hydrology/Water Chemistry, and Biology/ Geology). The present announcement is to identify Phase II participants, who will help to assess Phase I activities and facilitate the integration of Phase I and Phase II components of GLOBE. Phase II participants are expected to become an active part of GLOBE no later than March 1995, approximately two months after receipt of proposals. Areas to be Supported Funding will support projects in each of four program elements: 1) establishment of data collection, analysis, and communications capa-bility in initial clusters of schools within the U.S. and abroad in the key science areas; 2) development of curricula in support of the science measurements; 3) teacher training; and 4) pro-gram evaluation. A diagrammatic representation of the four program elements is provided in Figure 1. Individual proposers can be involved in any or all of the elements, and, as noted below, up to Eight or more Principal Investigator (PI) science and education teams may be involved in science measurement activities (Element 1). Education PIs may propose to participate in one or more of the education activities (Elements 2, 3, and 4). Science PIs are encouraged to propose for participation in Element 1 by seeking collaborative partnerships with noted science educators. Membership on project teams by non-U.S. scientists and educators is encouraged; their participation would be supported by other sources of funding, provided through their countries. TABLE 1. ASPEN SCIENCE WORKSHOP MEASUREMENT RECOMMENDATIONS (Arranged in clusters to reflect likely Pl interest) Atmosphere/Climate Experiment Principal Investigator 1 Air Temperature* Dew Point* Precipitation* Barometric Pressure* Wind Speed/Direction* Solar Radiation (PAR Intensity And Duration)* Cloud Observations Satellite Observations (GOES, MeteoSat, etc.) Principal Investigator 2 Trace Gases (GrabSamples) Hydrology/Water Chemistry Experiment Principal Investigator 3 Water Temperature* Water pH* (Ground Water and Precipitation) Water Chemistry* Principal Investigator 4 Water Storage (Standing Volume and Soil Moisture)* Coastal Assessment Satellite Observations (CZCS, Landsat/SPOT, etc.) Biology/Geology Experiment Principal Investigator 5 Satellite Assessment - Land Use/Land Cover Assessment, and the Following Ground Truth Activities** Phenology Species Type/Abundance Vegetation Biometry State-of-Health Principal Investigator 6 Biomass, Productivity Principal Investigator 7 Soil Characterization (Temperature, Types, etc.)* Soil Degradation Soil Remediation Principal Investigator 8 Global Positioning System (GPS)* * * Measurements Required as Input to at Least One Other Experiment **Measurements Required by All Experiments Element 1. Science Measurements: There are three key GLOBE Experiment areas: 1) At-mosphere/Climate, 2) Hydrology/Water Chemis-try, and 3) Biology/Geology. The list of science measurements presented in Table 1 is a product of the GLOBE Science Workshop held in Aspen, CO, September 12-14, 1994. These measurements represent a consensus among the scientists and educators in attendance regarding the minimum set of student measurements required to improve our understanding of the dynamic Earth systems: the Atmosphere, the Hydrosphere, and the Bio-sphere. Certain groups of measurements naturally fit into sets or clusters, based on focus or common use of equipment, and it is intended that a single Principal Investigator and associated science/ education team would develop and coordinate educational activities for a single set of meas-urements. For this reason, a minimum of 8 PIs are needed to accomplish the total set of GLOBE measurements. One of the important lessons to be learned in GLOBE is how the Earth Systems are interconnected. The measurements listed will emphasize this concept by illustrating how a set of measurements from one experiment impact parameters being measured in the other experiments. The science PIs should present in their proposals some level of detail on how they will provide quality control guidance and assessment for both the equipment to be used by the students and the data collected by the students. It is important that the quality of student-derived data is evaluated by the scientist in charge of specific measurements. In addition, the PI will need to define in the proposal the data collection re-quirements in regard to the geographic distribu-tion and density of the specific measurements. The following descriptions of the sets of measurements to be made in each experiment area are based on illustrative scenarios developed at the Aspen Science Workshop, which included broad participation by leading Earth scientists and educators. These scenarios may be used as an out-line of possible activities to be proposed but PIs are encouraged to suggest others, if feasible and appropriate. The Atmosphere/Climate Experiment: At least two PIs are sought: one to develop the set of measurements associated with monitoring the weather, and the other to consider student-based monitoring of trace gases. In the first case, individual manual measurements or an automated "weather station" connected to a datalogger, could be used to monitor air temperature, dew point, barometric pressure, wind speed/direction, and solar radiation. It is important that students be actively involved in making supporting manual measurements of the same parameters for the purpose of comparison with and calibration of the automated data. In addition, cloud observations would be compared with and connected to changes in parameters monitored by the weather station (wind speed/direction, barometric pressure, temperature, etc.). All of these activities would be compared to satellite (GOES, MeteoSat, etc.) measurements and images which monitor similar parameters (rainfall, clouds, temperature, etc.). Trace gases could be monitored by students using stainless steel evacuated containers which would be opened at specified times (monthly or seasonally), closed, and sent to a central lab-oratory currently involved in trace gas analysis. Trace gas concentrations and temporal fluxes could be compared with land cover/land use patterns, seasonal vegetation changes, precipita-tion/water chemistry, and soil characteristics, developed as part of student participation in the other two experiments. The Hydrology/Water Chemistry Experi-ment: At least two PIs will be sought: one to develop activities to monitor key components of the hydrologic cycle (e.g. origin, transport, storage, and loss of water), while the other will assess the condition of the water on or near the surface (e.g. water temperature, pH, and chemistry). Standard water chemistry kits may be used for conducting analyses of precipitation, surface water, and tap water, and students would monitor pH using different, grade-appropriate methods (e.g. litmus paper for K-4, pH pens for 5-8, and pH meters for 9-12). Hydrologic measurements such as water volume would be determined using remote sensing data (e.g. aerial photography, satellite data such as SPOT and Landsat Thematic Mapper or TM) of the student's own region to measure the surface area of lakes and rivers, to be combined with depth information to compute approximate volume of each body of water. The hydrologic/ water chemistry measurements would then be compared with atmospheric/climate and biology/ geology measurements to identify and monitor the interactions among these systems. Figure 1. GLOBE Program Elements Program Elements Element (1) Measurement Measurement Measurement Measurement Measurement Atm./Climate Trace Gases Water Chemistry Hydrology Land Cover Sci/Ed PI Sci/Ed PI Sci/Ed PI Sci/Ed PI Sci/Ed PI Team Team Team Team Team Element (2) (Development Team) Development Coordinated Unified Support Materials Material (Primary, Middle, Secondary) Element (3) Training (Education Training Team) Plan & Evaluation Implementation Distribution To Multinational Schools Element (4) Evaluation (Evaluation Team) Evaluation The Biology/Geology Experiment: At least four PIs will be needed to develop appropriate measurement activities to monitor the terrestrial components of the Earth system. One investigator will develop an integrated effort to incorporate student-generated ground truth data into the interpretation of Landsat TM and NOAA Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) data. This effort will allow the students to assess land cover/land use patterns of their own areas at a range of scales, from local to global, generating Anderson Level 2/3 land cover classification maps, as well as assessing their landscapes for biologically-important parameters such as vegetation patterns and gap distribution, vegetation state-of-health, biodiversity, and sea-sonal patterns of change (phenology). As noted above, comparison of trace gas measurements with various vegetation parameters will allow the students to identify and monitor important interactions between the biosphere and atmos-phere. The pixel-based approach described below could be utilized in this activity to select sample plots for monitoring these ground truth parameters. A second investigator would develop student-based activities designed to measure and monitor variables in biomass and productivity, using satellite-derived surface spectral measure-ments (Greenness Index, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index or NDVI, etc.), supported by ground truth assessment of parameters such as vegetation biometry (e.g., tree height, trunk diameter, etc.), percent canopy closures and leaf area index (LAI). Student assessment plots for both land cover/land use and biomass/productivity could be developed and patterned after satellite pixels (1 km2, 30 m2, 10 m2, etc.) and their ground measurements provided as ground truth data available to the PI, and would represent a significant contribution to science from the standpoint of both increased geographic density and access to data from data-sparse areas. Smaller plots (1 m2) could be destructively sampled each year by students to provide annual aboveground biomass assessment values once a year. Other plots could be cleared, followed by yearly species assessments to identify successional patterns associated with species colonization at selected sites. A third investigator will develop soil measurements which include characterizing soil types, temperature, and moisture, along with an assessment of potential soil degradation and/or soil remediation processes. In arid land areas, soil types could be mapped using Landsat TM data and soil moisture could be monitored using satellitederived radar data. Finally, the fourth Investigator will develop a student-friendly Global Positioning System (GPS) data collection system, to be used to identify accurately the latitude/ longitude/elevation position of the students' school and ground assessment plots (pixels) for location on geocoded satellite images of the student's own area. Expected activities of PIs in each of the science areas are as follows: 1. Experimental design. The PI is to be an authority in the field addressed by the specific GLOBE Experiment, and as such, he/she will develop an experimental design that allows K-12 students to acquire meaningful measurements which will provide valuable input to the PI's research data base. The PI will work closely with educators from their science/education team to identify measurements appropriate to specific grade levels, and with GLOBE systems personnel in the selection of appropriate measurement tools to be used. 2. Defining equipment needs. The PI will specify the equipment to be used by the participating schools in conducting specific experiments. The PI will define the levels of accuracy and precision required for making specific measurements, and recommend the best equipment to be used, based on accuracy and precision, as well as cost. Where necessary, the PI will determine calibration requirements for equipment. 3. Development of protocols. The PI will develop a detailed protocol for each gradelevel-specific component of the GLOBE experiment, so that all participating students make the measurements in the same way, follow-ing the prescribed protocols. Some components of the experiment may be qualitative (especially in the lower grade levels), while others will be quantitative, but all of the measurements will follow a common protocol. 4. Review existing Phase I GLOBE Activities and/or Existing Programs. The science and educa-tion team will evaluate the GLOBE activities initiated as part of Phase I (April 22, 1995, GLOBE measurement activities) and/or existing programs in order to determine if existing activi-ties and support materials may be used in their proposed GLOBE Experiment, as is or with modification. The team will evaluate both the scientific products (data) and the educational benefits of the Phase I activities in their own Experiment area and determine if modifications are needed for Phase II implementation. 5. Design appropriate support materials. The science/education team will assist in the design and development of various support materials, including student and teacher work-books, training videos, software, background reading materials, and CD-ROM digital materials. The PI's chief role in this activity will be to review the materials in the design and development stages for scientific accuracy and completeness, as well as passing final approval on the finished products. 6. Teacher training. The science/education team will play a direct role in the development of workshops designed to train teachers to train their students in conducting the specific measurements, analyses, and learning goals associated with the GLOBE experiments. The science PI will be encouraged to participate as an instructor in the GLOBE training workshops, since an important part of the GLOBE approach is to assist in the development of a true partnership between participating GLOBE schools and GLOBE scientists. 7. Analysis of data. The science/education team will develop support materials which will allow students to analyze their own data and compare their results with the results from other participating GLOBE Schools. Where appropriate, the science PI will provide input to the development of analysis software materials. More sophisticated analyses of all GLOBE data sets will be conducted by the science PI, likely in conjunction with one or more university centers participating in the GLOBE Program. These results will be incorporated into the PI's ongoing research activities. 8. Communication of the results. The science/education team will assist teachers and systems personnel in communicating the results of GLOBE measurements and analyses to par-ticipating students. This may be in electronic form (Internet/e-mail), in hardcopy form (reports, graphs, maps, etc.), or in a processed visualization product. The science and education team will assist systems personnel in the development of appropriate visualization materials designed to present GLOBE data sets and results in graphic form. The science PI's primary input to this activity will be in assuring scientificaccuracy and interpretation while the educator co-PI will be concerned with the educational value of such materials. 9. Publication of results. The science PI will be expected to utilize student-derived data in the generation of peer-review articles, as well as presentations (oral or in poster sessions) at symposia and scientific conferences (both national and international). Educator Co-PIs from the team would also be expected to use GLOBE student data in their own publications and presentations. Element 2. Education Program Coordina-tion, Development, Assembly, and Dissemina-tion: Under this element, appropriate educational materials will be developed which support and integrate the full range of science measurements and education goals. It is envisioned that an educator PI will develop an Education Program team which will coordinate with educators and scientists from each of the science measurement activities (Element 1). The goals of Element 2 are: 1. To build an overall framework for a 12-month GLOBE education program (involving both formal and informal educational activities) into which the individual measurements, pro-tocols, and data analysis fit. 2. To interact with the science/education teams from Element 1 to coordinate and format the support materials and measurement protocol segments of each Experiment and measurement set into consistent language, at the appropriate grade level. 3. To assemble and/or develop, in cooperation with each Experiment science/ education team, appropriate background materials on each of the following general areas: global change research, environmental studies, remote sensing, and Earth systems science. Existing materials will be used wherever possible. 4. To develop remote sensing modules that will show GLOBE schools how to utilize satellite data, aerial photography, and ground truth activities, to evaluate local and global environ-mental conditions. 5. To adopt protocols and support materials supplied by Element 1 teams and integrate them into unified, age-appropriate GLOBE materials. 6. To identify enrichment software needed for GLOBE Program. 7. To interface with designated points of contact in each of the participating countries to ensure effective and accurate translation of the GLOBE support materials. 8. To coordinate with the training and evaluation teams (Elements 3 and 4) to build training and evaluation into the educational materials. 9. Ancillary activities will be identified that provide incentives and rewards for participation, program enrichment, and leadership and network-ing opportunities for teachers and students. Element 3. Training Workshops: An im-portant part of the program will be to assist teachers in understanding the measurements and associated support materials, as well as how the teacher may be able to integrate them into existing curricula. Training activities will also be needed to assist participating scientists in the development of effective technical materials of use in the classroom. It is envisioned that an educator PI and their Training team will work with both measurement teams and other educators and trainers to accomplish the following: 1. To develop and implement a plan for training the teachers in the United States and, in cooperation with foreign Country Coordinators (to be identified by host Countries), all other nations involved in GLOBE, utilizing a train-the-trainers or multiplier effect. The Training team will work with teams from the Experiments (Elements l) and Education Program Development (Element 2) to ensure that the design is "student-friendly." 2. To coordinate activities with the Evaluation team (Element 4) to assure that the program documentation and evaluation is carried out effectively. 3. To examine and build in options for incorporating existing staff development infrastructures. 4. To participate in the implementation of teacher-training activities. Element 4. Program Documentation and Evaluation: It is envisioned that an educator/ evaluator PI will develop a team of educators and evaluators (two separate fields) to document the progress of the program and evaluate its effectiveness. The evaluation component proposed for this Element should provide both quantitative and qualitative data for review and assessment. Innovative evaluation measures are encouraged which will address and evaluate the unique aspects of the GLOBE Program (hands-on approach to science, the collection of "real" data, by students, to be contributed to on-going research projects, providing students with relevant activities in support of existing curriculum, etc.). The goals of this Element are: 1. To identify measurable outcomes for short and long-term GLOBE educational goals. 2. To develop a documentation and evalua-tion plan which will carried out by all partici-pating GLOBE schools. 3. To develop an evaluation plan in which collected data will serve all levels of program participants, e.g. the scientific and educational communities, GLOBE schools, and any other interested parties. All GLOBE stakeholders should be able to show measurable change in participating teacher's and student's attitudes and knowledge related to global environmental issues. Additional Considerations Recent GLOBE workshops have identified a number of elements which may be of importance to the developing program. Proposers may wish to take account of them to some degree as they prepare their proposals. 1. Satellite images of local areas of the Earth provide students with a very important sense of how their own area relates to the Earth as a whole, and how the various Earth systems are interconnected at a range of scales, from local to planetary. 2. A goal of the GLOBE Program should be to highlight the interconnected nature of the various measurements to be made by the students in the three experiment areas, as a means of introducing students to the interconnected nature of Earth's systems. 3. Multiple measurements of a single parameter (e.g. pH of rainwater) can provide students and scientists with a better understanding of the accuracy of each measurement; involving different techniques (litmus paper, pH pen, pH meters) at different grade levels from K-12 will support this integration of results from different measurement techniques. 4. There are specific, science-based reasons for encouraging students from developing countries or from technology-poor areas as participants in GLOBE, beyond the issue of inclusion of all interested schools. Achieving widely-distributed global data coverage is a necessity relating to sparseness of data, and developing countries and rural regions are typically located in those areas where data coverage for existing models and research activities is sparse. 5. There is also value placed on a high density of measurements. Multiple measurement of parameters such as precipitation, dew point, temperature, soil temperature, soil moisture, wind velocity, and barometric pressure, for example by several schools in the same area could provide students (and scientists as well) with important insight into local variability, as well as lessons in the relation of statistics to sample size in characterizing environmental parameters. 6. Use of the Global Positioning System (GPS) for precise position determination is fast becoming affordable and very easy to use, and could be applied to GLOBE activities. An educationally-sound understanding of how GPS works should be provided to students, and the appearance of a "black box" system avoided. 7. Emphasis is needed on quality control at the measurement sites, ensuring that all procedures and data comparisons and checks are performed correctly. All equipment (manual or automated) will need to be calibrated, but not necessarily standardized (allowing for foreign participation in providing equipment as well as scientific input). 8. Site descriptions of the locations of the school measurements must follow some degree of rigor. Likewise, students need to learn to follow standard procedures in documenting the condi-tions of their measurements. Data sets will be of limited value without such metadata attached to them. These metadata/observations will require the maintenance of student logs or journals. 9. In many cases, continuity of data will be scientifically essential, and special provision needs to be made for times when students are not at school (weekends, holidays, summer vacations). Such needs may be met by utilizing automatic data loggers for acquiring some routine measure-ments (temperature, relative humidity, wind speed/direction, etc.). 10. Scientists need to actively participate in schools as mentors, advisors, etc. It will be important to have networks of "local" PIs to provide practical technical support to ongoing school programs in each country. 11. Older students should be encouraged to serve as mentors and advisors to younger students. Section II. Instructions for Proposal Submission The National Science Foundation invites proposals for participation in The Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment (GLOBE) Program as described in Section I. Applications to NSF should be prepared and submitted in accordance with the following instructions. Program Elements Grant proposals for support of activities under each of the four elements described in Section I are invited. However, there is no commitment by the GLOBE Program to support work under any particular element through this announcement. Applicants should identify the research element(s) addressed by their proposal. Preparation and Submission of Proposals Grant proposals submitted in response to this program announcement should be prepared and submitted in accordance with the guidelines provided in the NSF brochure, Grant Proposal Guide (GPG), NSF94-2. Single copies of this brochure are available at no cost from: NSF Publications and Supplies Unit 4201 Wilson Boulevard Room P-15 Arlington, VA 22230 Telephone (703) 306-1130, or via e-mail from Internet: pubs@nsf.gov. The GPG is available in most university offices of sponsored research. It contains the forms you will need to prepare your proposal and instructions for filling them out. Fifteen (15) copies of each proposal, including one copy bearing original signatures, should be mailed to: The GLOBE Program Attention: Barrett N. Rock, Senior Scientist 744 Jackson Place, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20503 Proposal Submission Date The closing date for proposal submission for consideration under this announcement is December 15, 1994. Proposals submitted in response to this announcement must be received by the GLOBE Office no later than that date. Proposals received after that date will not be accepted. Project Period The project period for awards will be up to three years, with funding provided in annual increments subject to satisfactory progress. Proposal Review Proposals will be reviewed by a peer-review panel in accordance with established Foundation procedures and the four general criteria described in GPG. Additional criteria which will be part of the competitive review are the following: 1. Proposers are requested to seek in-kind contributions toward the cost of their projects from their institutions in the form of cost matching. While no fixed match is stipulated, the extent to which proposer institution are able to provide such matching will be a factor in the competitive review. 2. Development of the GLOBE program will be a complex task, and initially will be to a large degree experimental. GLOBE wishes to be able to learn rapidly from experience, so that to the extent to which proposers can make a case that they will be able to produce rapid substantive results they are likely to increase their competitive position. It is expected that the review of proposals will be completed by January 1995, with awards anticipated within two months of the receipt of proposals. Grant Administration Grants awarded as a result of this announcement are administered in accordance with the terms and conditions of NSFGC-l, "Grant General Conditions," or FDP-II, "Federal Demonstration Project General Terms and Con-ditions," depending on the grantee organization. Copies of these documents are available at no cost from the NSF Publications and Supplies Unit, phone (703) 306-1130, or via e-mail pubs@ nsf.gov (Internet). More comprehensive informa-tion is contained in the NSF Grant Policy Manual (NSF 88-47, July 1989), for sale through the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office (GPO), Washington, D.C. 20402. The telephone number at GPO is (202) 783-3238 for subscription information. If the submitted institution has never received an NSF award, it is recommended that appropriate administrative officials become familiar with the policies and procedures in the NSF Grant Policy Manual which are applicable to most NSF awards. If a proposal is recommended for an award, the NSF Division of Grants and Agreements will request certain organizational, management, and financial information, including a certification of civil rights compliance. These requirements are described in Chapter III of the NSF Grant Policy Manual. One copy of the Grant Policy Manual will be provided free of charge to any new grantees. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Upon completion of the project a Final Project Report (NSF Form 98A), including the Part IV Summary, will be required. Applicants should review this form prior to proposal submission so that appropriate tracking mech-anisms are included in the proposal plan to ensure that complete information will be available at the conclusion of the project. The National Science Foundation (NSF) provides awards for research in the sciences and engineering. The awardee is wholly responsible for the conduct of such research and preparation of the results for publication. The Foundation, therefore, does not assume responsibility for such findings or their interpretation. The Foundation welcomes proposals on behalf of all qualified scientists and engineers, and strongly encourages women, minorities, and persons with disabilities to compete fully in any of the research and research-related programs described in this document. In accordance with Federal statutes and regulations and NSF policies, no person on grounds of race, color, age, sex, national origin, or disability shall be excluded from participation in, denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving financial assistance from the National Science Foundation. Facilitation Awards for Scientists and Engineers with disabilities provide funding for special assistance or equipment to enable persons with disabilities (investigators and other staff, including student research assistants) to work on NSF-supported projects. For more information see GPG. The Foundation has TDD (Telephone Device for the Deaf) capability, which enables individuals with hearing impairment to communicate with the NSF Information Center about NSF programs, employment, or general information. The tele-phone number is (703) 306-0090. Activities described in this publication are in categories 47.076, Education and Human Resources, and 47.050, Geosciences, in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA). Privacy Act and Public Burden: Information requested on NSF application materials is solicited under the authority of the National Science foundation Act of 1950, as amended. It will be used in connection with selection of qualified proposals and may be used and disclosed to qualified reviewers and staff assistants as part of the review process and to other government agencies. See Systems of Records, NSF-50, "Principal Investigator/Proposal File and Associated Records," NSF-51, "Reviewer/ Proposals File and Associated Records," 56 Federal Register 54907 (Oct 23, 1991). Submission of the information is voluntary. Failure to provide full and completed information, however, may reduce the possibility of your receiving an award. The public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 120 hours per response, including the time for reviewing instructions. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to: Herman G. Fleming, Reports Clearance Officer, Division of CPO, NSF, Arlington, VA 22230, and to the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project (3145-0058), Washington, D.C. 20503. OMB 3145-0058 P.T. : 25, 34 K.W. : 1007000, 0504000, 0502015, 0502031, 0502023, 0502043, 1005000, 1001000, 1002000, 1008000 NSF 94-152 (New) ------ end of nsf94152 -- ascii -- complete ------