51 U.S.C. § 40903 — Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research—merit grant competition requirements
submitted 16 years ago by Pub. L. 111-314 to r/title-51-NATIONAL-AND-COMMERCIAL-SPACE-PROGRAMS · 261 words · no verdicts yet
NASA runs a competitive grant program for states with less research funding, called EPSCoR. The Administrator judges applications on merit, future competitiveness, and educational impact. NASA also tries to spread grants fairly and reports yearly on including these states in its research.
(a) Definition of Eligible State
An "eligible State" is a state the Administrator* names as eligible to compete in the National Science Foundation's Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).
(b) Competition
Using the infrastructure the National Science Foundation already built in eligible states, the Administrator must run a merit-based grant competition among those states in research areas important to NASA's mission. When judging an eligible state's grant application, the Administrator must weigh: (1) how strong the application is and how relevant it is to NASA's mission; (2) whether the grant could help the state's researchers become more competitive for regular NASA funding; (3) whether the grant could improve science, math, and engineering education in the state; and (4) the need to spread grants as widely as possible among eligible states, while still rewarding merit.
(c) Supplemental Grants
Where it makes sense, the Administrator should try to add fellowship, traineeship, equipment, or instrumentation grants on top of the grants described in (b).
(d) Information in Annual Budget Submission
To make sure research talent across the country gets developed and used, NASA must include in its annual budget request a description of further steps it can take to bring these eligible states more fully into its existing and new research programs and centers.
In this section, the term “eligible State” means a State designated by the Administrator* as eligible to compete in the National Science Foundation’s Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research.
Making use of the existing infrastructure established in eligible States by the National Science Foundation, the Administrator shall conduct a merit grant competition among the eligible States in areas of research important to the mission of the Administration*. With respect to a grant application by an eligible State, the Administrator shall consider—
the application’s merit and relevance to the mission of the Administration;
the potential for the grant to serve as a catalyst to enhance the ability of researchers in the State to become more competitive for regular Administration funding;
the potential for the grant to improve the environment for science, mathematics, and engineering education in the State; and
the need to ensure the maximum distribution of grants among eligible States, consistent with merit.
The Administrator shall endeavor, where appropriate, to supplement grants made under subsection (b) with such grants for fellowships, traineeships, equipment, or instrumentation as are available.
In order to ensure that research expertise and talent throughout the Nation is developed and engaged in Administration research and education activities, the Administration shall, as part of its annual budget submission, detail additional steps that can be taken to further integrate the participating eligible States in both existing and new or emerging Administration research programs and center activities.
Source credit: (Pub. L. 111–314, § 3, Dec. 18, 2010, 124 Stat. 3392; Pub. L. 117–167, div. B, title VII, § 10851(e), Aug. 9, 2022, 136 Stat. 1754.)
- 2010Enacted · Pub. L. 111-314 · 124 Stat. 3392
- 2022Amended · Pub. L. 117-167 · 136 Stat. 1754
A history note hasn’t been published yet. The record shows enactment by Pub. L. 111-314 on 2010-12-18.
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