Research Messenger
Volume III, Issue 5
March 10, 2009
Stimulus Package Redux
A troubled time has offered us a moment of opportunity, one that will be defined by our actions over the next three to seven weeks. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (stimulus package) is offering $21.5 billion for research and development, to be expended by Sept. 30, 2010.
On March 10, we met with 80 SDSU faculty and staff to review the allocations to each of the 16 agencies whose administrators will distribute these funds. We reached a common understanding of the criteria they will use, to the degree those criteria are now defined.
I commiserate with those in the humanities (and have had several gallows-humor exchanges with CAL folks) since the chosen vehicles for stimulation are in the STEM fields. Note, however, that the NEH budget is due to rise more than 10% in the next regular federal budget.
I will not reconstruct the details of the March 10 meeting here, but only emphasize the two points that are common to all the agencies:
- The work must be done in two years.
- People must be hired to do the work. This is, after all, a plan to put the unemployed and underemployed to work in a capacity that will benefit research.
Much of the funding will be awarded as supplements to existing grants, or by liberalizing the miserly pay lines for reviewed proposals. If you had a proposal rejected in the past nine months, or if you have an active grant, please call your program officer and discuss how you might move a rejected proposal into the funded range, or arrange for a supplement to your existing award. Always emphasize the two points above: it can be done in two years, and people will be hired.
Many of our researchers are clear as to how they will proceed and knowledgeable about the submission processes. We will ensure that the Sponsored Research Development (SRD) office of the Research Foundation is adequately staffed to meet your needs.
Other researchers may need guidance to determine which programs can serve them best. To that end, the foundation staff and I will be available in the GRA conference room (SSE 1410) for individual or group discussions from 3-4 p.m. (or later) on the following Mondays:
March 23
April 6
April 13
April 20
April 27
May 4
If possible, please e-mail Nicole Crawford at ncrawfor@mail.sdsu.edu prior to meeting with us, but feel free to come unannounced as well.
Carpe Mensis
Thomas R. Scott
Vice President for Research
San Diego State University