Higher Education Incentives Program

Application opens: September 1, 2022

Application closes: December 1, 2022

Click here to submit your proposal

Purpose

The Illinois Space Grant Consortium (ISGC) Higher Education Incentives Program Grants are designed to fund programs for enhanced, higher education teaching/training projects related to space or aerospace disciplines. This program supports innovative educational activities to educate and retain college students interested in aerospace-related careers.  Examples of activities include course and curriculum development/upgrade, design/build/fly projects, and student travel to conferences. Proposed programs are open to undergraduate and/or graduate students but focusing on the participation of freshmen and sophomores is encouraged. Emphasis will be placed on hands-on activities and projects in areas of interest to NASA.

Funds available

Funding requests up to $20,000 will be considered. Funding will be released incumbent upon authorization of funds by NASA.  We anticipate supporting four of these awards.

 PLEASE NOTE: Funds will be paid through your Space Grant affiliate’s subaward.

Period of Performance

Funding has been allocated to these grants for the period April 10, 2023 – April 9, 2024.

Eligibility

Participation in this program is limited to faculty or staff (professorial and research) at an ISGC affiliate:  University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Illinois Institute of Technology, Adler Planetarium, Discovery Center Museum, DePaul University, Northwestern University, The University of Chicago, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville,  University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago State University, Bradley University, Northern Illinois University, and City Colleges of Chicago. Member institutions (and individuals) are not limited to one proposal.

Proposal Guidelines

Proposals should describe the relevance of the proposed work to NASA’s currently funded research priorities and programs of the NASA Mission Directorate(s). Proposals are required to address one or more research priorities of the Mission Directorates and Centers. The current NASA mission directorates are as follows:

Aeronautics Research
NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate works to solve the challenges in our nation’s air transportation system: air traffic congestion, safety, and environmental impacts.

Space Operations Mission Directorate*

Space Operations Mission Directorate will oversee mature human spaceflight programs, such as the International Space Station and commercial crew and cargo missions. The operations directorate is also in charge of NASA’s efforts to commercialize low Earth orbit, an objective the agency hopes will lead to privately-owned space stations.

Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate*

Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate will manage NASA’s Artemis moon program, including the Space Launch System heavy-lift rocket, the Orion spacecraft, and the Human Landing System, the spacecraft that will carry astronauts to and from the lunar surface.

Science
NASA’s Science Mission Directorate and the nation’s science community use space observatories to conduct scientific studies of the Earth from space to visit and return samples from other bodies in the solar system and to peer out into our Galaxy and beyond.

Space Technology
The Space Technology Mission Directorate is responsible for developing the crosscutting, pioneering, new technologies and capabilities needed to achieve NASA’s current and future missions.

Please visit each NASA organization’s website to find detailed information about current projects and current areas of interest.

* NASA announced Sept. 21, 2021, that it reorganized the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate into two areas (Space Operations Mission Directorate and Exploration System Development Mission Directorate).

For more information detailing the four mission directorates, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/offices/education/missions/gen_overview.html

Requirements

  • Programs should emphasize aerospace, physics, astronomy, cosmology, Earth system science, and other interdisciplinary space-related science or engineering fields relevant to NASA.
  • Grants must be matched (at least one-to-one) with funds from non-federal sources. Before executing a subaward agreement, the source of matching funds must be identified and confirmed by a letter from the appropriate authority. Waived indirect costs and faculty effort can qualify as matching funds.
  • Proposals can include requests for salary, supplies, and travel support. ISGC funds cannot be used to purchase equipment (as defined by NASA guidelines.)
  • The project principal investigator will complete the Data Collection spreadsheet and encourage students to participate in the NASA longitudinal tracking program.
  • The project principal investigator will meet (virtually or in person) with the ISGC STEM Coordinator, Heidi Bjerke, hbjerke2@illinois.edu, at the midpoint of the grant to discuss progress.
  • The project principal investigator will submit the final Data Collection spreadsheet information to the ISGC STEM Coordinator, Heidi Bjerke, hbjerke2@illinois.edu.
  • All application materials must be submitted by December 1, 2022.

Selection Criteria

Proposals will be reviewed by ISGC Directors and selected based on adherence to the above criteria, scientific merit, and equitable distribution of resources across the Consortium. Programs targeted to women, underrepresented minorities, and persons with disabilities are strongly encouraged. Proposal submission for this program is limited to faculty/professional staff (research and professorial) at ISGC affiliates and the lead institutions.

Proposal Requirements and Format

Applications must be submitted online – Higher Education

  • Use 12-pt font, 1″ margins, and single spacing. Tables and references may utilize a smaller font.
  • Abstract not to exceed 150 words
  • Purpose – include the audience, educational objectives
  • Project goal(s). Indicate explicitly how these goals are specific, measurable, aligned with NASA and Space Grant interests, realistic, and within the funding time frame.
  • Relevance to one or more NASA Mission Directorates
  • Method – what activity(ies) will take place
  • Results – anticipated enhanced benefits
  • Evaluation plan – brief self-evaluation plan and how the program will be continued after ISGC funds are no longer available
  • Timeline for the project containing information about when the effort is expected to occur – summer, academic year, or both
  • Total Page limit: 5 pages max
  • Detailed budget, a sample template is found here, if needed.
    • Budget narrative and details that substantiates costs. The proposed budget shall be adequate, appropriate, reasonable, realistic, and demonstrate the effective use of funds (both NASA and cost-shared) to align with the proposed projects.
    • Direct Labor costs shall be separated by titles (e.g. professor, graduate research assistant, etc.) with estimated rates and total amounts of each. PIs should seek to leverage other sources of support for their direct labor costs (e.g., non-federal matching funds, other grants) so as to maximize funding provided to students.  However, support for the PI is possible with strong justification citing the absence of administrative support for the grant and is limited to $4,000.
    • Domestic travel shall include the purpose, the number of travelers, the number of trips and expected location, the duration of each trip, transportation costs, and per diem.
    • Other costs shall also be explained in reasonable detail and substantiated whenever possible. The certified negotiated indirect costs for the institution shall be included.
    • The amount and source of cost-shared funds are identified.
    • No page limit on budget.

Reporting Guidelines (updated August 2022)

  • You will receive a spreadsheet in the Fall, Spring and Summer during each year of your project. This data collection includes all the required information that NASA requires that we include with our midyear and final reports. See the example here. There is a tab for each section. Not all the tabs may be applicable to your project.
  • Student contact information. Students that receive significant awards that meet one or more of the following criteria: receive $3000 or more in financial support, 160 hours of participation or greater with direct contact, and/or some other support are considered significant. Students who are significantly funded on the project must be willing to provide their information and participate in the NASA longitudinal tracking program. Longitudinal tracking is required for all students until they take their next step. For example: if a student is a junior who receives significant funding from ISGC, we will ask for the student’s information yearly until they enter graduate school or take a position in their career field.
  • Publications and Presentations – please provide information on any publications or presentations associated with the project.
  • Additional proposals – are you applying for additional funding for this project? Identify this information.
  • Patents – Please indicate if the project produced any patents or potential patents.
  • Participants – Identify the direct and indirect participants.
  • Outreach – Events and number of participants
  • Student proposed design solutions and products – this is asked for specifically for in our final yearly report.
  • Accomplishments – please provide success stories or accomplishments of the grant as a narrative.
  • Faculty/ Research Participants – other partners in your program
  • If possible: any photographs relevant to the program, involving participants, with captions. Each person with a recognizable face must have signed a photo-release form found here. (Heidi will contact the students and get the signed form if you provide their names and contact information).

REGARDING PRESENTATIONS AND PUBLICATIONS

  • Researchers submitting NASA-funded articles in peer-reviewed journals or papers from conferences now shall make their work accessible to the public through NASA’s PubSpace at https://www.nasa.gov/open/researchaccess/pubspace . PubSpace provides free access to NASA funded and archived scientific publications. Research papers will be available within one year of publication to download and read.
  • Papers and presentations should acknowledge ISGC funding using this statement: “The material contained in this document is based upon work supported by a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) grant or cooperative agreement. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of NASA. This work was supported through a NASA grant awarded to the Illinois/NASA Space Grant Consortium.”

Timeline

September 1, 2022Application Opens
December 1, 2022Applications Due
January 17, 2023Awards announced
March 20, 2023Subaward paperwork due to Lead Institution
April 10, 2023New grants begin
August 1, 2023Summer data forms sent
September 15, 2023Summer data forms due
December 1, 2023Fall data forms sent
January 15, 2024Fall data forms due
April 9, 2024Grant year ends
May 1, 2024Spring data forms sent
June 15, 2024Spring data forms due
  • Heidi will contact you at the midpoint of your project for a brief check based on your timeline.

The final report, i.e., completion and submission of the final Excel data form, is due 30 days after the grant’s end based on the specific project timeline.

Inquiries:  Send questions to Heidi Bjerke at hbjerke2@illinois.edu