NSF Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grants
(Special Message)

The deadline for the submission of dissertation improvement grant proposals to the Law & Social Sciences Program of the National Science Foundation is fast approaching (August 15, 2010). Given the increased interest in doctoral dissertation improvement grants, we thought it might be useful to share a few reminders with those dissertation students (and their advisors) who might be considering submitting a proposal:  

  1. For dissertation proposals, the principal investigator is the dissertation advisor, with the dissertation student listed as the co-principal investigator. Accordingly, students should include their dissertation advisors in all communications with program staff. To insure smooth handling of all proposals and timely communications from program staff, please insure that the e-mail address for both the principal investigator (dissertation supervisor) and co-principal investigator (doctoral student) are correct and up-to-date on the Cover Sheet.
  2. The maximum amount for a dissertation award is $15,000. Note that dissertation improvement grants are not fellowships and may not be used for stipends and/or tuition for  the student. The funds requested should be (1) tied directly to the research activities outlined in the proposal, (2) itemized, and (3) include the basis of the cost estimate. For domestic travel, information available from the General Services Administration may be helpful. For foreign travel, we encourage submitters to consult cost estimates provided by the Fulbright Program.
  3. To minimize the burden on reviewers, the Law & Social Sciences Program limits the supplementary documents that may accompany a proposal  to letters of access and/or cooperation relevant to the research being proposed (e.g., a letter from the administrator of an archive confirming access has been granted to the investigator). Students should be sure to include sufficient information in the Project Description (limited to 10 pages for dissertation proposals) about interview protocols, survey response items, etc. to permit reviewers to evaluate them without referencing outside documents or sites.
  4. Students should have a dissertation prospectus approved prior to submitting a dissertation improvement grant. This will prevent a situation in which a student receives an award for a project that no longer aligns with his or her dissertation.
  5. If the research for which support is requested involves human subjects, submitters are urged to begin the process of securing IRB approval when they submit their proposals to the NSF. We urge submitters to do so even if they believe that their research will be given expedited review and/or designated as exempt by their IRB.
  6. Students should work closely with their sponsored research offices and carefully follow the grant proposal guidelines (http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=gpg) to avoid having their proposals returned without review. Students are also encouraged to review the information specific to dissertation grants in the Law & Social Sciences Program available at:  http://www.nsf.gov/sbe/ses/law/lawguide1.jsp.
  7. Funds for any awards to be made for proposals submitted to the August 15, 2010 target date are unlikely to be available until February 2011 at the earliest.

With regard to technical questions about FASTLANE (the primary submission mechanism for proposals), there is a very useful on-line help function as well as FASTLANE User Support (1.800.673.6188).

For any substantive questions, please do not hesitate to contact the program officers:
Scott Barclay (sbarclay@nsf.gov) and
Wendy Martinek (wemartin@nsf.gov)

Please note that Scott Barclay will continue as an LSS Program Officer for at least the next 10-12 months. Wendy Martinek, however, will be completing her rotation at the National Science Foundation mid-August. The contact information for her replacement (Chris Meissner) will be made available on the Program’s website (http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5422&org=SES&from=home) after he joins Scott as an LSS Program Officer in early August.

With best regards,  
Scott Barclay and Wendy L. Martinek
Program Officers
Law & Social Science Program
Division of Social & Economic Sciences
National Science Foundation