The National Science Foundation has announced the release of a new funding opportunity, the Mid-Career Advancement (MCA) NSF-21-516.
The MCA offers an opportunity for scientists and engineers at the Associate Professor rank (or equivalent) to substantively enhance and advance their research program through synergistic and mutually beneficial partnerships, typically at an institution other than their home institution. Projects that envision new insights on existing problems or identify new but related problems previously inaccessible without new methodology or expertise from other fields are encouraged. The MCA is the only cross-directorate NSF program specifically aimed at providing protected time and resources to established scientists and engineers targeted at the mid-career (Associate Professor rank or equivalent) stage. Participating programs in the Directorates for Biological Sciences (BIO), Geosciences (GEO), Engineering (ENG), Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE), and Education and Human Resources (EHR) will accept MCA proposals and EPSCoR is committed to co-funding a portion of the awards. PIs are encouraged to discuss the suitability of their MCA proposal with a program officer from the appropriate directorate.
Target Proposal Deadline: February 7, 2022