The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is exploring new opportunities to use science and technology to meet the world’s development challenges.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is exploring new opportunities to use science and technology to meet the world’s development challenges.As part of its science and technology strategy, USAID is developing mechanisms to leverage the investments that other U.S. government agencies make in scientific research and training.

USAID and the National Science Foundation (NSF) are now pleased to announce the launching of a new and broader program called Partnerships for Enhanced Engagement in Research(PEER). This competitive grants program will allow scientists in developing countries to apply for funds to support research and capacity-building activities in partnership with their NSF-funded collaborators on topics of importance to USAID. Areas in which both NSF and USAID have strong mutual interests include, but are not limited to, the following

• Food security topics such as agricultural development, fisheries, and plant genomics
• Global health issues such as ecology of infectious disease, biomedical engineering, and natural/human system interactions
• Climate change impacts such as water sustainability, hydrology, ocean acidification, climate process and modeling, and environmental engineering
• Other development topics including disaster mitigation, biodiversity, water, and renewable energy

Award Information
Budget requests should be developed commensurate with the support needed to achieve the project goals. Most projects are anticipated to run for one to three years, with release of each funding increment contingent on the project meeting annual financial and technical reporting requirements. The number of awards is subject to the availability of funds. The primary focus of PEER is to support research collaborations.

However, the program will consider a limited number of workshops on innovative or novel areas of research in which NSF-funded projects intersect with USAID’s development interests. These workshops must be designed to help create new research collaborations between U.S. and developing country researchers, so proposals requesting support for workshops must clearly explain how they would lead to sustained research partnerships.

Awards are anticipated to range in size from $30,000 to $50,000 per year for one to three years. A few larger and more complex projects may receive up to $100,000 per year for up to three years. Projects may involve more than one developing country institution, with one serving as the lead. Applicants whose funding requests do not fit within these parameters are encouraged to contact PEER staff at the National Academies (peer@nas.edu) before preparing their proposals.

Proposal Deadline: November 30, 2011.

See downloads for application form

Further Information and Program Contacts
The PEER proposal preparation instructions, and FAQs are available online at http://www.nationalacademies.org/peer . Applicants who have questions after reviewing these materials are encouraged to contact PEER staff by e-mail at peer@nas.edu or by telephone at +1-202-334-3656 or +1-202-334-1728.

Downloads

PEER Grants Application Form 2011: doc, pdf