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December 4th, 2020
DER Funding Database


Weekly In Progress Report




DER’s “Did You Know?” Spotlight

This week in DER’s “Did You Know?” Spotlight, we are focusing on a great resource that plays well into your NSF proposal. This tool is SciENcv (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sciencv/). With the 2020 National Science Foundation Proposal Guide update, new guidelines for the Biosketch and Current and Pending documents are now in effect. Both Fastlane and Research.gov portals are updated and no longer accept non-approved documents. SciENcv is already part of NCBI, NIH, and NSF, and you already have access with your eRA Commons, NSF, or NCBI login information. To assist with preparing your Biosketch and Current and Pending documents using SciENcv, feel free to utilize resources such as OSP, and SciENcv. Additional resources are available through DER, MSU Libraries, and the MSU Office of Research & Innovation.

Updated PDF Biosketch and Current and Pending templates are also available in fillable format and are approved by NSF for use in your NSF proposal. Limitations in using the templates include templates cannot be altered, the fillable boxes in the Biosketch do not scale, and space limits in Biosketch template may limit the number of products you can input. Additionally, the Current and Pending template is 15 pages long and the form cannot be shortened to exclude blank pages. This form length could impact the reviewer’s ability to scroll through the proposal package.

If you would like help learning more about these resources, please send an email to proposals@egr.msu.edu.

Engineering Research Reactivation SharePoint

The Engineering Research Reactivation all-inclusive SharePoint page has helpful reopening resources, important processes, and documents that need to be completed and approved to "return to research". Please request access if prompted. 

Important Announcement: 

Where is my "LABORATORY PLAN FOR A SAFE RETURN" in the approval process?

You can see what step of the approval process your plan is on by looking under the “Engineering Research Reactivation” folders on the SharePoint site. 

  • If the plan has been approved by the Department Chair, you can see if it has been sent to VPRI by clicking on “EGR ADR Review” > “At VPRI for Review”. If the plan is in the “At VPRI for Review” folder then it is currently being reviewed by VPRI.
  • To check to see if your plan has been completely approved by all required departments (DC, EGR Dean's Office, and VPRI), you can click on the “VPRI Final Approved Plans” folder. If your plan is in the “VPRI Final Approved Plans” folder then you approved to return to research. Monique Blackmer (monique@msu.edu) will reach out to you. 

SharePoint Page
American Association for Cancer Research

Multiple Funding Opportunities:


MSU Science Festival: Submit Your Proposal to Present

Proposals are accepted until December 1st.

The MSU Science Festival, now in its 9th year, is an amazing multi-day series of events for people of all ages to experience science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) through live presentations.

Because of the uncertainty due to the coronavirus, the 2021 Festival will be online with synchronous events and some asynchronous experiences.

Learn more HERE.

NSF Research Traineeship (NRT) Program

The NSF Research Traineeship (NRT) program seeks proposals that explore ways for graduate students in research-based master’s and doctoral degree programs to develop the skills, knowledge, and competencies needed to pursue a range of STEM careers. The program is dedicated to effective training of STEM graduate students in high priority interdisciplinary or convergent research areas, through a comprehensive traineeship model that is innovative, evidence-based, and aligned with changing workforce and research needs. Proposals are requested that address any interdisciplinary or convergent research theme of national priority, as noted above. Learn more HERE.


X Prize Foundation Pandemic Response Challenge

XPrize will award a total of $500,000 in prizes to teams who develop prediction models that estimate daily COVID-19 cases with greatest accuracy and create prescriptive models that minimize infection cases and economic costs. Winning teams will develop prediction models the estimate future numbers of daily COVID 19 cases with the greatest accuracy and will produce the best prescription models for Intervention Plans. Registration of teams closes on December 8, 2020. Winners will be announced on February 26, 2021. More information and links to X Prize’s website.

Learn more Here.

DER's Proposal Volume

The chart above shows DER's Proposal Volume from 2016 to 2021 as of (12/04/2020). 

Take a closer look
DER Seminars
Miss the Last Seminar? Watch it Here!

The Project Summary is one of the most important parts of every NSF grant proposal. A clear and concise Project Summary will make a positive first impression on reviewers and succinctly convey the key points of your project. However, writing a strong Project Summary can be deceptively hard. With only a single page to work with, it can be difficult to decide which information to include and how to best frame that information for impact. During this seminar, Dr. Sara Steenrod (Grant Consultant with OSVPRI) will walk you through best practices for writing a compelling Project Summary for your next NSF proposal.

Watch the Seminar Here

DER Seminar Website

Internal Funding Notifications & News
December 3rd, 2020 Newsletter

OIRC becomes Global IDEAS

Fall 2020 Newsletter

Issue 56: Friday Updates, 8/28/20

      Fall 2020 Newsletter
      The Engaged Scholar E-Newsletter
      November 30th, 2020
      Burgess E&I Weekly
      External Sponsor Notifications & News
      Ongoing Updates and Posts
      NSF News Releases



      December 4th, 2020
      NIH Weekly Funding Opportunities and Notices


      Ongoing Updates and Posts

      Press Releases and Funding Opportunities


      December 1st, 2020
      TRB Transportation Research E-Newsletter


      November 2020
      Grants.gov E-Newsletter


      Primary Funding Agencies
      U.S. Department of Defense


      National Aeronautics and Space Administration
      National Institutes of Health


      National Science Foundation


      Office of Naval Research


      Research in Germany - Land of Ideas


      U.S. Department of Energy


      United States Department of Agriculture


      Division of Engineering Research

      428 South Shaw Lane, East Lansing
      MI 48824-1226 United States

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