As a founding member of the Internet2 Consortium, Penn has always been at the forefront of participation in the research and education networking global community. Faculty, staff, and students at the University of Pennsylvania leverage the power of MAGPI and Internet2 in new and exciting ways in the lab and in the classroom.

National Leadership Grants

Funding agency: IMLS
Website: http://www.imls.gov/applicants/grants/nationalLeadership.shtm

IMLS National Leadership Grants support projects that have the potential to elevate museum and library practice. The Institute seeks to advance the ability of museums and libraries to preserve culture, heritage and knowledge while enhancing learning. IMLS welcomes proposals that promote the skills necessary to devlop 21st century communities, citizens, and workers.

Successful proposals will have national impact and generate results—new tools, research, models, services, practices, or alliances—that can be widely adapted or replicated to extend the benefit of federal investment. The Institute seeks to fund projects that have the following characteristics:

Strategic Impact—Proposals should address key needs and challenges that face libraries and museums. They should expand the boundaries within which libraries and museums operate, show the potential for far-reaching impact, and influence practice throughout the museum and/or library communities.

Innovation—Proposals should demonstrate a thorough understanding of current practice and knowledge about the project area, and show how the project will advance the state of the art of museum and library service.

Collaboration—While partners are not required in all National Leadership Grant categories, the Institute has found that involving carefully chosen partners with complementary competencies and resources can create powerful synergies that extend project impact. Proposals should show understanding of the challenges of collaboration and propose means for addressing them.

Applications may be submitted in the following categories: Advancing Digital Resources, Research, Demonstration, and Library and Museum Collaboration Grants.

Collaborative Planning Grants are also available in any of the four categories to enable project teams from more than one institution to work together to plan a project for a National Leadership Grant.

http://www.imls.gov/applicants/grants/nationalLeadership.shtm

Deadline: February 1, 2013

Amount: $50,000–$500,000; up to $50,000 for planning grants; up to $100,000 for Nat. Forum Grants

21st Century Museum Professionals

Funding agency: IMLS
Website: http://www.imls.gov/applicants/grants/21centuryMuseums.shtm

Museum professionals need high levels of knowledge and expertise as they help create public value for the communities they serve. The purpose of the 21st Century Museum Professionals program is to increase the capacity of museums by improving the knowledge and skills of museum professionals in multiple institutions. 21st Century Museum Professionals grants are intended to reach broad groups of museum professionals throughout a city, county, state, region, or the nation.

Grants fund a wide range of activities, including the development and implementation of classes, seminars, and workshops; resources to support leadership development; collection, assessment, development, and/or dissemination of information that leads to better museum operations; activities that strengthen the use of contemporary technology tools to deliver programs and services; support for the enhancement of pre-professional training programs; and organizational support for the development of internship and fellowship programs. IMLS also welcomes proposals that promote the skills necessary to develop 21st century communities, citizens, and workers.

Deadline: March 15, 2012

Funding Amount: $15,000-$500,000

National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance Sustainable Vision Grants

Funding Agency: National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance
Website: http://nciia.org/grants/sustainablevision

The National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance's Sustainable Vision Grants program promotes technology innovation and entrepreneurship in higher education to create experiential learning opportunities for students and support successful, socially beneficial businesses. Successful Sustainable Vision grant proposals apply breakthrough technologies to address basic human needs such as health, food security, clean water, and affordable energy. The program has both a domestic and global outlook. To date, twenty-four U.S. universities have received funding through the program to develop, commercialize, and disseminate technologies in twenty-three countries throughout Asia, Africa, and Latin America. To receive a grant, inventions and technologies must be commercially viable with an economically sustainable business model that can be replicated. The program may begin by addressing needs at the household or village level, but should have the potential for regional, national, or even global impact. Programs should further inform and expand curricula and in-the-field opportunities offered to students. Projects must be sustainable beyond the length of the grant and should provide a structure for ongoing collaboration and education. Faculty from NCIIA member institutions are eligible to apply.

Deadline: November 9, 2012

Awards will range from $10,000 to $50,000 each for programs of one to three years.

Guidelines and NCIIA membership information are available at Complete RFP on the NCIIA Web site.

Advanced Technological Education

Funding Agency: National Science Foundation
Website:http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5464&org=NSF

With an emphasis on two-year colleges, the Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program focuses on the education of technicians for the high-technology fields that drive our nation's economy. The program involves partnerships between academic institutions and employers to promote improvement in the education of science and engineering technicians at the undergraduate and secondary school levels. The ATE program supports curriculum development; professional development of college faculty and secondary school teachers; career pathways to two-year colleges from secondary schools and from two-year colleges to four-year institutions; and other activities. Another goal is articulation between two-year and four-year programs for K-12 prospective teachers that focus on technological education. The program also invites proposals focusing on research to advance the knowledge base related to technician education.

FY2011 Deadline: October 20, 2011
Grant Amount: Award amount varies by grant type. Please see website and solicitation for full details.