NASA’s Office of Education Minority University Research and Education Project (MUREP) solicits proposals

I just wanted to make you all aware of a call that went out for MUREP Minority Serving Community Colleges. This program was previously referred to as the CIPAIR program, in which AETD participated (Virginia State University/Elizabeth City State University and NY City College of Techology). The purpose of the program is to help strengthen the curriculum at these schools in STEM areas.  It’s a 3 year program with funding up to $300K each year and often times the students will be required to complete a NASA internship. The community colleges are encouraged to partner with 4 year university and colleges and K-12 institutions to create a STEM pipeline. Proposals are due June 11, 2015. Please forward this on to any Minority Serving institutions you may work with and may have a link with a local Community College who would benefit from this program. There is a good chance that we will have university and colleges contacting us directly to partner with them so I wanted to make you all aware that should expect to receive solicitations. On the flipside I think it’s also a good idea to be proactive and reach out to institutions we may be interested in working with and come up with a proposal together to ensure it’s of mutual benefit to both parties. Please let me know if you have any institutions in mind and I would be happy to reach out to them.

SOLICITATION:

NASA’s Office of Education Minority University Research and Education Project (MUREP) solicits proposals from Minority Serving Community Colleges (MSCCs), as identified by the US Department of Education and that align with the four White House Executive Orders for Minority Institutions, to strengthen curriculum and curricular pathways in STEM, and attract, retain, and support the success of underrepresented students in STEM degree programs. The MC3I proposals will contain plans for and be guided by curriculum improvements, and address one of the following as a primary focus: (1) improving curriculum in STEM vocational certificate programs, Associate of Arts/Science degree programs, and/or transfer programs; (2) strengthening and diversifying the STEM pipeline through high school partnerships; or (3) expanding opportunities in engineering.   Proposers are required to partner with a NASA center or facility, and are highly encouraged to partner with other institutions, such as K-12 school districts and 4-year colleges/universities.  Successful proposals will be funded as multi-year cooperative agreements.

           

In an effort by the NASA Office of Education to create efficiencies, a former activity, Curriculum Improvement Partnership Award for the Integration of Research (CIPAIR), was consolidated into MUREP.

Awardees of this FY 2015 solicitation will be designated as NASA MC3I Group 1.  Successful proposals from Group 1 will be funded as multi-year cooperative agreements.  The award period will begin approximately two to three months after the selection announcement.  Funding for each MC3I may not exceed $300,000/per year for three (3) years. 

All information needed to respond to this announcement is contained in this Appendix, the EONS announcement, NASA Grant and Cooperative Agreement Manual,and the Guidebook for ProposersResponding to a NASA Research Announcement (NRA) or Cooperative Agreement Notice (CAN) January 2015 Edition (hereafter referred to as the Guidebook for Proposers or NASA Guidebook for Proposers).  Note: If the information contained in this appendix conflicts with the Grant and Cooperative Agreement Manual or the Guidebook for Proposers, the information in this appendix takes precedence.

Institutions planning to prepare a proposal package for NASA MC3I are required to submit a Notice of Intent (NOI) to propose.  NOIs assist NASA in assessing the response to this CAN and to determine the expertise required for the proposal review panel.  NOIs should be submitted by the Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) in the NASA Solicitation and Proposal Integrated Review and Evaluation System (NSPIRES) by April 14, 2015, at 11:59 pm Eastern  Time.  Interested proposers must register with NSPIRES before it can be accessed for use.

Since NOIs submitted after the deadline may still be useful to NASA, late NOIs may be submitted and will be accepted.

Proposals are due on June 11, 2015 by 11:59 pm in NSPIRES.