Seeking Peer Reviewers for NASA Office of Education
NOTE: This email is for information gathering purposes. Willingness to participate in the MUREP Small Projects review does not guarantee a proposal will be assigned. The number of available qualified reviewers may exceed the number of reviewers needed.
NASA Research and Education Support Services (NRESS) has an immediate need for persons to evaluate proposals submitted in response to the announcement entitled, “MUREP (Minority University Research and Education Program) Small Projects – Transformational Performance in STEM Using Innovative Solutions”. This program element (Appendix C) was announced under the NASA Office of Education Announcement Number NNH11ZHA002C, “Education Opportunities in NASA STEM 2011 (EONS 2011)” released January 17, 2011. Specifically, NASA is seeking persons with expertise and experience in one or more of the following areas: innovative and scalable program design, partnerships, grant management and/or federal education proposal review and persons with various backgrounds and professional affiliation including college and university educators, administrators, researchers and evaluators, social entrepreneurs, strategy consultants, grant makers and managers, and other with education expertise.
The Transformational Performance in STEM Using Innovative Solutions project seeks proposals to support Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) that demonstrate the potential to increase the number of minority undergraduates in STEM education areas relevant to NASA and/or the development of highly skilled teachers of mathematics and science.
In the evaluation, emphasis will be on collaborations with MSIs that have a history of producing graduates in the fields that NASA and the aerospace community need to achieve their missions, as well as institutions with a proven track record of producing highly qualified mathematics and science teachers. Selected proposals shall implement innovative teaching, learning, recruitment and retention strategies based on educational research and best practices to expand their effectiveness in recruiting, retaining, and graduating an increased number of minorities at the baccalaureate level in fields of study needed by NASA. Institutions are encouraged to include sub-awards in their proposals for partnering institutions that will be implementing these best practices. Proposed work must be grounded in education research and/or best practices, and incorporate formative, summative, and other evaluations, as appropriate. The outcomes of the proposal shall support NASA education reporting metrics for higher education. These target students shall be enrolled at an accredited college or university, with a declared major in STEM, or pre-service teachers.
Detailed information regarding proposal requirements and evaluation criteria are contained in the solicitation that can be viewed in NASA’s master proposal data base system, NASA’s Solicitation and Proposal Integrated Review and Evaluation System (NSPIRES). NSPIRES can be accessed at http://nspires.nasaprs.com, click on Solicitations to view the announcement under Education Opportunities in NASA STEM (EONS) to determine your interest in serving as an MUREP Small Projects (MSP) peer reviewer. The online review period is scheduled for April 20 – May 4, 2011. It is anticipated that reviewers will be asked to review up to three proposals approximately 30 pages in length. Reviews must be submitted electronically via NSPIRES. Non-civil servants will receive an honorarium of $100 per proposal fully reviewed and submitted online by the close of the review period.
If you determine that you would like to be a reviewer, please respond by email to EONSMSP2011@nasaprs.com by COB April 11, 2011. Be sure to include contact information, resume/vita and a summary of your experience. For consideration as a reviewer, you must have an account in NSPIRES. If you do not have an account, please follow the instructions on the NSPIRES website ( http://nspires.nasaprs.com).
If you have questions about this process, goals of the solicitation or NASA requirements, please contact Theresa Martinez, MUREP Small Projects Project Manager, Kennedy Space Center, theresa.c.martinez@nasa.gov.
For questions regarding NSPIRES such as viewing the announcement or registering as a potential reviewer, please contact Carolyn Paxton, NRESS Peer Review Coordinator, cpaxton@nasaprs.com, (202) 479-9030, ext. 214.
