Update on Research Funding via Federal Agencies August 24, 2022
Research Development's Strategic Intelligence team monitors the federal budget and funding landscape and produces this memo on a bi-weekly basis to share information that may impact ASU research.
Science Policy Legislation
Congress Urged to Meet Budget Targets in CHIPS and Science Act
https://www.aip.org/fyi/2022/congress-urged-meet-budget-targets-chips-and-science-act
While the CHIPS and Science Act makes extensive revisions to policy across NSF, DOE, and NIST, the ultimate impact of the law will hinge on how much funding its initiatives receive in the years ahead. Legislative authorizations set funding targets for actual appropriations, but they are not binding. Advocates’ first goal will be to convince Congress to meet the CHIPS and Science Act’s spending targets for fiscal year 2023, which begins on Oct. 1 but will probably not receive a final appropriation until late this year or even early next year. Proposals already advanced by the Biden administration, the House, and Senate all undershoot those targets by billions of dollars.
CHIPS and Science Act Will Provide Billions for STEM Programs
The CHIPS and Science Act includes provisions to increase diversity in STEM education and the workforce and to promote socioeconomic development for underserved communities. Some of the specific provisions that address these goals include the following: Government agencies will be required to collect comprehensive demographic data on the merit review process and on STEM faculty at U.S. colleges and universities; Government agencies are to increase their efforts to ensure all researchers have equitable access to funding for their work; Colleges and universities are to be supported in conducting research on participation and career trajectories and the implementation of best practices for increasing the recruitment and retention of underrepresented students and faculty. The act also boosts funding for NSF by $81 billion and requires the agency to create a chief diversity officer position.
The CHIPS and Science Act: Impact on the US R&D Ecosphere
https://uidp.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/CHIPSScience-Briefing.pdf?_zs=NLU9c&_zl=NijD3
On August 16th, the UIDP (University – Industry Demonstration Partnership) hosted a presentation by Michael Ledford of Lewis-Burke Associates which detailed the research funding in the CHIPS act. As ASU is a member of UIDP, ASU faculty and staff may access the slides from this presentation via the link above.
STEM Earmarks in 2023 - Senate
https://www.aaas.org/news/stem-earmarks-2023-senate
Alongside R&D appropriations, the 2023 budget also includes earmarks, renamed Community Funding Projects (CFP). The number of earmarks increased this year, with over 4,700 earmarks submitted by the House and 3,100 by the Senate. All earmarks combined added up to more than $8 billion in the House and $7.8 billion in the Senate. It's also important to note that few requests proposed direct funding of basic research projects. Instead, lawmakers generally requested funding for equipment, facilities expansions, or programmatic support of activities that would support research capacity.
Nominations for Scientists to Serve on the Particle Physics Project Prioritization Panel
https://www.aip.org/fyi/opportunities/nominees-sought-particle-physics-project-prioritization-panel
The High Energy Physics Advisory Panel is soliciting nominations of scientists to serve on the next Particle Physics Project Prioritization Panel. The panel is tasked with recommending a long-term strategic roadmap for the Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation under different budget scenarios for particle physics. Nominations are due by August 31st.
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
DARPA Seeks Proposals to Forge the Future of U.S. Microelectronics Manufacturing
https://www.darpa.mil/news-events/2022-08-16b
DARPA’s Next-Generation Microelectronics Manufacturing (NGMM) aims to create a novel, U.S.-based center for R&D and manufacturing 3DHI microsystems. DARPA is looking for proposals to inform planning for the 3DHI manufacturing center by defining exemplar 3DHI microsystems and identifying the equipment, process, and facility requirements for manufacturing these microsystems. Responses are due September 21st. The broad agency announcement can be found here: https://sam.gov/opp/970df9fbaa8548668566af4a2481ddff/view
Department of Energy (DoE)
Biden-Harris Administration Launches $675 Million Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Program to Expand Domestic Critical Materials Supply Chains
https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/USEERE/bulletins/327575a
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) issued a Request for Information (RFI) on the development and implementation of a $675 million Critical Materials Research, Development, Demonstration, and Commercialization Program. The program will advance domestic sourcing and production, strengthening America’s position as a global manufacturing leader. The Critical Materials Research Program RFI solicits feedback from industry, academia, research laboratories, government agencies, state and local coalitions, labor unions, tribes, community-based organizations, and others, on the structure of these programs, timing and distribution of funds, and selection criteria. Comments must be received by 5:00 p.m. ET on September 9th, 2022 and can be submitted to CriticalMaterialsProgramRFI@ee.doe.gov.
U.S. Department of Energy research gets a surprise boost in inflation-reduction bill | Science | AAAS
An ambitious climate, health care, and tax reform bill passed by the U.S. Congress also contains a 5-year, $2 billion windfall for the national laboratories run by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Most of the money—$1.5 billion—will go to DOE’s science office for new facilities and upgrades at the 10 national labs it oversees, which carry out basic research in an array of fields.
Request for Information: Integration of Onsite Clean Energy Technologies in the Industrial Sector | Department of Energy
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) issued a Request for Information (RFI) that seeks input on the Barriers and Pathways to Integrating Onsite Clean Energy Technologies in the Industrial Sector. DOE’s Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO) is very interested in understanding how DOE can support the deployment of these critical decarbonization technologies. Feedback is welcome from end-users of onsite systems for details on the challenges they face, as well as from academia, research laboratories, state and local policymakers, utilities, regulators, government agencies, community-based organizations, and more. Read the RFI and learn how to submit your feedback. Responses to this RFI must be submitted electronically to onsiteenergy@ee.doe.gov no later than 5:00PM (ET) on September 23, 2022.
EERE Hiring: Management Positions
Directors of Industrial Efficiency and Decarbonization Program and the Director of the Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technology Program (link)
Advanced Manufacturing Program Managers (link)
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
NASA cautions planetary science funding falls short of decadal projections
https://spacenews.com/nasa-cautions-planetary-science-funding-falls-short-of-decadal-projections/
As NASA takes the first steps to implement recommendations of the planetary science decadal survey, the agency is warning that projected funding for at least the near term will fall short of that’s report’s projections. The decadal included two funding profiles. A “recommended program” projected spending $41.1 billion on planetary science from fiscal years 2023 through 2032... and a “level program” projected spending $35 billion in the same period. Lori Glaze, director of NASA’s planetary science division, said the agency’s budget projections fall short of even the level program. She noted that the fiscal year 2023 request was still in the hands of Congress, although both a bill passed by the House Appropriations Committee in June and a draft Senate version would provide NASA’s planetary science programs with about $3.2 billion in 2023, very close to the agency’s request.
NASA Identifies Candidate Regions for Landing Next Americans on Moon
As NASA prepares to send astronauts back to the Moon under Artemis, the agency has identified 13 candidate landing regions near the lunar South Pole. Each region contains multiple potential landing sites for Artemis III, which will be the first of the Artemis missions to bring crew to the lunar surface, including the first woman to set foot on the Moon. All regions considered are scientifically significant because of their proximity to the lunar South Pole, which is an area that contains permanently shadowed regions rich in resources and in terrain unexplored by humans. NASA will discuss the 13 regions with broader science and engineering communities through conferences and workshops to solicit input about the merits of each region.
Department of Transportation (DOT)
Mobility, Access & Transportation Insecurity: Creating Links to Opportunity Research and Demonstration Program
The Federal Transport Administration (FTA) announced a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) to solicit proposals for an organization to lead the Mobility, Access & Transportation Insecurity: Creating Links to Opportunity Demonstration Research program. The NOFO makes $6 million available in Fiscal Year 2021 funds. Project proposals are due October 11, 2022.