The National Science Policy Network is excited to provide microgrants to groups of early career scientists and engineers to catalyze new science policy initiatives at the local, state, federal, and international levels. Proposals may include initiatives relevant to science policy, advocacy, communication, or diplomacy. Through this funding, NSPN aims to facilitate the growth and empowerment of organizations led by early career scientists and engineers nationwide. Applications are currently closed. The next round of applications will open in March 2020.
You can find a summary of the proposals that were awarded in the most recent funding round here. We expect to award 5-8 grants on each cycle based on the number and strength of proposals received. Most awards will be around $1,000, with the potential for a maximum of $3,000 for highly innovative and high-impact proposals.
Please email microgrants@scipolnetwork.org with any questions or concerns.
Eligibility
Chapters who are officially registered with NSPN are eligible to apply. To find out if your group is eligible and register your chapter check out our membership page. Only one submission per chapter will be accepted.
Review Process
Proposals will be reviewed by a committee consisting of both NSPN leadership and external reviewers. External reviewers on the committee are listed below. In order to ensure fairness of the review process, at least one external reviewer and one NSPN leader will score your proposal based on the rubric found here. After initial scoring, the entire committee will convene to discuss all of the proposals and select the ones to be funded.
Kate Stoll, PhD
Kate Stoll joined the MIT Washington Office in September of 2014 as Senior Policy Advisor. She focuses on health and space research including NIH, NASA, FDA, and their related Congressional committees. Kate also engages with the MIT student and alumni advocacy communities.
Mahlet Mesfin, PhD
Dr. Mahlet Mesfin is a visiting scholar at the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement. She has previously served as the director of the Center for Science Diplomacy at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Assistant Director for International S&T at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), and a S&T policy fellow at the Department of Defense and National Academy of Science, Engineering, and Medicine.
William Bonvillian
William B. Bonvillian is Lecturer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the Science Technology and Society and Political Science Departments, and Senior Director, Special Projects, at MIT’s Office of Digital Learning, directing a research project on workforce education. He began teaching science and technology policy MIT in 2007, and has also taught a course on innovation policy since 2017. Prior to this position, from 2006-17, he was Director of the MIT’s Washington, D.C. Office, reporting to MIT’s President. In this position he worked to support MIT’s strong and historic relations with federal R&D agencies, and its role on national science policy. He has assisted with major MIT technology policy initiatives, on energy technology, the “convergence” of life, engineering and physical sciences, advanced manufacturing, online higher education and its “innovation orchard” project on startup scale-up.. Prior to that position, he served for seventeen years as a senior policy advisor in the U.S. Senate. His legislative efforts included science and technology policy and innovation issues. He worked extensively on legislation creating the Department of Homeland Security, on Intelligence Reform, on climate change, on defense and life science R&D, and on national competitiveness and innovation legislation leading to the America Competes Act in 2007.
Criteria for evaluation
We are interested in supporting projects that would engage early career scientists in science policy and advocacy and provide professional development opportunities. The project can encompass a singular event or a series of events or activities. Some examples include workshops in science communication and public policy, a lecture series, career panel talks, networking events, and topical discussion sessions that involve various aspects of science policy. Projects that encourage hands-on experience in science policy as well as engagement with the community and policymakers in various capacities are highly encouraged.
Highly competitive proposals will address the following:
- Collaboration: Does the proposal help network and initiate collaborative projects with other science policy groups?
- Output: Does the proposal generate resources that can be made publicly available by NSPN? (described in more detail below)
- Innovation: Does the proposal explore a new idea or project that has not yet been attempted?
- Public Engagement: Does the proposal involve engagement with the community or policymakers in some capacity?
- Diversity and Inclusion: Do the proposed activities clearly demonstrate inclusion of diverse perspectives, experiences, or communities?
All proposals should include some form of output that can be shared with the broader community. These will be made available on the NSPN website at the conclusion of your grant period. Examples of appropriate outputs include:
- White paper report on a relevant science policy topic
- Memo on relevant science topic for legislative representative
- Course design/syllabus
- “How to” webinar/documentation
- Podcast
- Blog post
- Other creative ideas are encouraged!
Please note that grantees are encouraged to send event photographs, videos and other materials to NSPN. These might be posted on our website or social media platforms and/or shared with other grantees.
Funding
Applicants may apply for funding up to $3,000. Larger awards will only be granted for highly innovative and high-impact proposals to groups that have demonstrated previous success in organizing similar efforts. Please justify your budget request accordingly. The proposed budget should be itemized and may be approved on a line-by-line basis. All actions and events encompassed by the proposal should be completed within 6 months of receiving funding. Please keep this mind when suggesting the timeline of activities in your proposal. A written report and output of the proposal are expected at the end of the grant period.
Additional Points
Grantees will be paired with a mentor who has significant professional experience in an area of science policy relevant to their project. For example, if a group proposes a project related to the ethics of emerging neurotechnologies, that group might be paired with a mentor who helped launch the BRAIN Initiative from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. This mentor will be provided by NSPN.
The NSPN has additional AV resources that will be available to all grantees. You may consider the availability of these resources when developing your proposal. We can provide access to a Zoom account to live stream and record any of your events and can help equip you with a microphone for recording these events. Other resources can be discussed on a case by case basis to grantees.
Please email microgrants@scipolnetwork.org with any questions or concerns.