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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Research and Development
National Center for Environmental Research
Greater Research Opportunities (GRO) Program
CLOSED - FOR REFERENCES PURPOSES ONLY
Fall 2008 EPA Greater Research Opportunities (GRO) Fellowships For Graduate Environmental Study
This is the initial announcement of this funding opportunity.
Special Announcements
- Note for all GRO Graduate and Undergraduate Fellowship Applicants: As indicated in the RFA, EPA considers eligible institutions as those receiving less than $35 million in federal research and development funds as listed in "the National Science Foundation’s publication, "Federal Science and Engineering Support to Universities, Colleges, and Nonprofit Institutions: FY 2004," Table 11." Institutions identified as receiving $35 million or less in annual federal research and development funding, as designated in column 2 of Table 11, are eligible. These data can be found at: http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/nsf07316/pdf/tab11.pdf (28 pp, 106 K, about PDF). Our FAQs had incorrectly referenced an earlier version of this table. This has been corrected and we apologize for any confusion this may have caused. The 2004 tabulation as cited in the RFA is the correct table to determine eligibility.
Special Announcements
- Note for Fellowship Applicants: As part of the registration process with Grants.GOV, applicants need to enter an Funding Opportunity Number (FON) on the "Registration with Credential Provider" page. There is a problem with some FONs that results in an error message. If you encounter this problem, please use the work around FON: 0716-INDV-REGISTRATION.
Funding Opportunity Number: (See Section IV for descriptions)
EPA-F2008-GRO-A6
EPA-F2008-GRO-A7
EPA-F2008-GRO-B6
EPA-F2008-GRO-B7
EPA-F2008-GRO-B8
EPA-F2008-GRO-C6
EPA-F2008-GRO-C7
EPA-F2008-GRO-C8
EPA-F2008-GRO-D6
EPA-F2008-GRO-D7
EPA-F2008-GRO-D8
EPA-F2008-GRO-D9
EPA-F2008-GRO-E6
EPA-F2008-GRO-E7
EPA-F2008-GRO-F6
EPA-F2008-GRO-F7
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 66.513
Solicitation Opening Date: August 21, 2007
Solicitation Closing Date: October 23, 2007, 4:00 pm Eastern Time
Guidance & FAQs: http://www.epa.gov/ncer/guidance/faqs.html
Contact Person: Stephanie Willett (2008FellowshipsRFP@epa.gov); phone: 202-343-9656; Toll Free Number: 1-800-490-9194
Web-based query form: http://es.epa.gov/cgi-bin/ncerqamail.pl
Electronic Submissions Contact: Thomas O'Farrell (o'farrell.thomas@epa.gov); phone: 202-343-9639
E-mail Address for Letters of Recommendation Submission Only: 2008NCERFellowLetters@epa.gov.
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SUMMARY OF PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS
Synopsis of Program:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as part of its Greater Research Opportunities (GRO) program, is offering Greater Research Opportunities (GRO) Graduate Fellowships for masters and doctoral level students in environmental fields of study. The deadline for receipt of pre-applications is October 23, 2007 at 4:00 PM EST. Subject to availability of funding, the Agency plans to award approximately 15 new fellowships by July 31, 2008. Master's level students may receive support for a maximum of two years. Doctoral students may be supported for a maximum of three years, usable over a period of four years. The fellowship program provides up to $37,000 per year of support per fellowship.
Award Information:
Anticipated Type of Award: Fellowship
Estimated Number of Awards: approximately 15 awards
Anticipated Funding Amount: Approximately $1 million for all awards
Potential Funding per Fellowship: $37,000 per year per fellowship. Master's level students may receive support for a maximum of two years. Doctoral students may be supported for a maximum of three years, usable over a period of four years. Cost sharing is not required.
If selected to receive a fellowship, you will be contacted no later than May 30, 2008 and should subsequently receive your official notification of award by July 31, 2008, for the fall term. Please note that this schedule may be changed without notification due to factors that were not anticipated at the time of announcement. The earliest anticipated start date for these awards is September 1, 2008.
Eligibility Information:
Students must attend a fully accredited U.S. college or university (located in the U.S. or its territories). Applicants must also be citizens of the U.S. or its territories or possessions, or be lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence. Resident aliens must include their green card number in their pre‑application (you must have your green card at the time of application to be eligible for this Fellowship opportunity). EPA may verify this number with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service of the Department of Homeland Security.
Pre-Application Materials:
You may submit either a paper pre-application or an electronic pre-application but not both for this announcement. The necessary forms for submitting a GRO paper pre-application can be found on the NCER web site, http://www.epa.gov/ncer/rfa/forms/. To apply electronically, you must use the pre-application package available at Grants.gov (see "Submission Instructions for Electronic Pre-Applications"). See Section IV for further information on pre-application submission procedures.
Agency Contacts:
Further information, if needed, may be obtained from the EPA/NCER resources listed below. To obtain information most quickly, consult the "Guidance & FAQs." If your question is not covered, then call the toll-free telephone or send a query to the 2008FellowshipsRFP@epa.gov. You will receive a personal response through a return telephone call or e-mail. Information regarding this RFA obtained from sources other than those indicated below may not be accurate.
Guidance & FAQs: http://www.epa.gov/ncer/guidance/faqs.html
Contact Person: Stephanie Willett (2008FellowshipsRFP@epa.gov); phone: 202-343-9656; Toll Free Number: 1-800-490-9194
Web-based query form: http://es.epa.gov/cgi-bin/ncerqamail.pl
Electronic Submissions Contact: Thomas O'Farrell (o'farrell.thomas@epa.gov); phone: 202-343-9639
E-mail Address for Letters of Recommendation Submission Only: 2008NCERFellowLetters@epa.gov.
I. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION
A. Introduction
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), National Center for Environmental Research (NCER), invites pre‑applications for the Greater Research Opportunities (GRO) Fellowships for graduate environmental study for masters and doctoral level students. The deadline for receipt of pre‑applications is October 23, 2007, 4:00 PM, EST. Subject to availability of funding, the Agency plans to award approximately 15 new fellowships by July 31, 2008. Master's level students may receive support for a maximum of two years. Doctoral students may be supported for a maximum of three years, usable over a period of four years. The fellowship program provides up to $37,000 per year of support per fellowship. This amount covers a monthly stipend of $1,667 for up to 12 months totaling $20,000 for the year, $5,000 for authorized expenses, and up to $12,000 for tuition and fees. The actual amount awarded per year will vary depending on the amount of tuition and fees and the number of months the stipend is required. These fellowships are intended to help defray costs associated with advanced, environmentally oriented study leading to a master's or doctoral degree.
B. Background
The GRO Graduate Fellowship Program is part of the national effort to help to
increase the amount (output) of environmentally-related research being performed
at institutions of higher education that otherwise receive limited funding
from EPA., including institutions with substantial minority enrollment. This
goal is consistent with the mission of EPA, which is to support the development
of leadership in the nation's environmental science, research, education, assessment,
restoration, and preservation efforts. The GRO fellowship program has benefited
both the public and private sectors by consistently providing the nation with
well‑trained environmental specialists to meet environmental challenges
in our society. GRO-supported fellows have provided new environmental research
in physical, biological, health sciences, and social sciences and engineering.
The specific Strategic Goal and Objective from EPA's Strategic Plan that relate to this solicitation are: Goal 4: Healthy Communities and Ecosystems, Objective 4.4: Enhance Science and Research. The EPA’s Strategic Plan can be found at http://www.epa.gov/ocfo/plan/2006/entire_report.pdf (PDF) (184 pp, 11.56 MB).
C. Authority and Regulations
The authority for this RFA and resulting awards is contained in the Safe Drinking Water Act, Section 1442, 42 U.S.C. 300j-1; Toxic Substances Control Act, Section 10, 15 U.S.C. 2609; Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, Section 20, 7 U.S.C. 136r; Clean Air Act, Section 103, 42 U.S.C. 7403; Clean Water Act, Section 104, 33 U.S.C.; and Solid Waste Disposal Act, Section 8001, 42 U.S.C. 6981.
For research with an international aspect, the above statutes are supplemented, as appropriate, by the National Environmental Policy Act, Section 102 (2)(F).
Applicable Regulation: 40 CFR Part 46
D. Specific Research Areas of Interest
This RFA solicits pre-applications from students performing research in a variety of environmentally-related research areas, (see Section IV.B. Item 1 for areas of interest). By providing financial support across disciplines, EPA expects to continue to assist in increasing the nation’s ability to produce leading-edge research, and advancing the nation's research enterprise.
E. References
Environmental Protection Agency. EPA Strategic Plan, 2006-2011. Available at http://www.epa.gov/ocfo/plan/2006/entire_report.pdf (PDF) (184 pp, 11.56 MB)
Jackson, Shirley Ann. The Quiet Crisis: Falling Short in Producing American Scientific and Technical Talent, Building Engineering and Science Talent (2002).
National Science Foundation. Science and Engineering Indicators. National Science Foundation. Available at http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind06/ (2006).
The National Science and Technology Council, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Science for the 21st Century. Available at http://www.ostp.gov/nstc/21stCentury (2004).
F. Special Requirements
Agency policy prevents EPA technical staff and managers from providing individual applicants information that may create an unfair competitive advantage. Consequently, EPA employees will not review, comment, advise, provide technical assistance to applicants preparing pre-applications in response to EPA RFAs, endorse a pre-application or discuss in any manner how the Agency will apply the published evaluation criteria for this competition.
It is anticipated that a total of approximately $1 million will be awarded under this RFA, depending on the availability of funds and the quality of pre-applications received. The EPA anticipates funding approximately 15 fellowships under this RFA. The projected award per fellowship is $37,000 per year total costs. Requests for amounts in excess of a total of $111,000 will not be considered. Master's level students may receive support for a maximum of two years. Doctoral students may be supported for a maximum of three years, usable over a period of four years.
The EPA reserves the right to reject all pre-applications and make no awards, or make fewer awards than anticipated, under this RFA. The EPA reserves the right, consistent with Agency policy and without further competition, to make additional awards under this RFA if additional funding becomes available. Any additional selections for awards will be made no later than 4 months after the original selection decisions.
The fellowship provides up to $37,000 per year of support per fellowship. A maximum of $74,000 will be provided for master's fellows (two years) and up to $111,000 (three years) for doctoral fellows. The $37,000 annual support covers stipend, tuition, and expenses as follows:
Stipends: For the 2008‑2009 academic year, stipends will be $20,000 for 12‑month tenure, prorated monthly at a maximum of $1,667 for shorter periods. Funds for unused months are forfeited. Stipends are paid directly to the fellow. At its discretion, the institution may supplement a fellow's stipend from institutional funds in accordance with the supplementation policy of the institution.
Tuition and Academic Fees: Up to $12,000 per year will be paid directly to the institution. For the purposes of this fellowship, health insurance is an expense, not an academic fee.
Expense Allowance: Up to $5,000 will be provided to pay for items and activities for the direct benefit of the student's education and research, such as health insurance, books, supplies, computers, data analysis, publication costs, equipment, travel to technical and scientific meetings, and domestic and international travel required to conduct the proposed research. Specific instructions regarding the disbursement and management of the expense allowance will be provided during the award process.
EPA Fellowship Conference: Fellows are expected to attend the EPA Graduate Fellows Conference as long as they are in the program. Resources to support this travel are to be taken from the expense allowance.
International Activities: The Fellow's proposed research may be conducted outside the United States. However, EPA allows only $5,000 for all expenses, including travel. See "Expense Allowance" for details. If it becomes necessary to travel outside the United States or its territories, you must notify your Project Officer in advance. Your Project Officer will obtain the necessary EPA and State Department approvals before the fellowship funds can be used to conduct these activities. Fellows who travel overseas will be required to comply with all provisions of the Fly America Act.
Diversity: EPA recognizes the need for scientists from diverse cultural backgrounds. Broadening opportunities for, and enabling participation of, all individuals, including women, men, minorities and persons with disabilities, are essential to the health and vitality of science. For this reason, EPA strongly encourages women, minorities, and persons with disabilities to apply.
A. Eligible Applicants
Applicants must attend a fully accredited U.S. college or university (located in the U.S. or its territories). Individuals must be citizens of the United States or its territories or possessions, or be lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence. Resident aliens must include their green card number in their pre‑application. You must have your green card at the time of application to be eligible for this Fellowship opportunity. EPA may verify this number with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service of the Department of Homeland Security.
Applicants attending fully accredited four year U.S. institutions of higher education are eligible to apply. These schools must be among those that are not highly funded for development of environmental research capacity. For the purposes of this solicitation, EPA considers such institutions to be those listed in the National Science Foundation’s publication, “Federal Science and Engineering Support to Universities, Colleges, and Nonprofit Institutions: FY 2004,” Table 11. Institutions identified as receiving $35 million or less in annual federal research and development funding, as designated in column 2 of Table 11, are eligible. These data can be found at: http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/nsf07316/pdf/tab11.pdf (28 pp, 106 K, about PDF). Table 11 is a broad representation of institutions, and includes schools that also receive more than $35 million annually in Federal research assistance.
Applicants attending eligible institutions with substantial minority enrollment are particularly encouraged to apply. Examples of such schools are those that the U.S. Department of Education lists as “Accredited Postsecondary Minority Institutions” consistent with Executive Orders 13125 (Increasing Participation of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders), 13230 (Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans), 13256 (Historically Black Colleges and Universities), and 13270 (Tribal Colleges and Universities), which encourage building of the capacity of minority serving institutions to provide high quality education. Note however, that not all of these schools receive less then $35 million annually in Federal Research and Development expenditures. For specific information regarding Federal funding to minority-serving institutions, see The Extent of Federal S&E Funding to Minority-Serving Institutions, at http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/infbrief/nsf04325/nsf04325.pdf (6 pp, 438 K).
Applicants who are in a graduate program at the time of application and meet either of the following two criteria as of October 23, 2007 ARE NOT eligible to receive a fellowship: 1) have completed more than one year in your current master's program; or 2) have completed more than four years in your current doctoral program. However, applicants enrolled in a master's program who intend to pursue a doctoral degree beginning in the fall of 2008 may apply for a doctoral fellowship.
Acceptance of this fellowship does not necessarily preclude acceptance of another scholarship, fellowship, traineeship, or grant aid. However, this fellowship does preclude receiving other federal fellowships.
Employees of the U.S. government may apply, but must be able to prove separation from Federal service before accepting this fellowship.
B. Cost-Sharing
Cost sharing is not required.
C. Other
Pre-applications must substantially comply with the pre-application submission instructions and requirements set forth in Section IV of this announcement or they will be rejected. In addition, where a page limit is expressed in Section IV with respect to parts of the pre-application, pages in excess of the page limitation will not be reviewed. Pre-applications must be received by the EPA or Grants.gov on or before the solicitation closing date and time as identified in Section IV of this announcement or they will be returned to the sender without further consideration.
Applications exceeding the funding limits of $111,000 or project period term described herein will be returned without review. All applicants must also follow the instructions for verifying that their pre-application was received by NCER or their pre-application may be rejected without review. Also, pre-applications that fail to demonstrate a public purpose of support or stimulation (e.g., by proposing research which primarily benefits a Federal program or provides a service for a Federal Agency) will not be funded.
In addition, to be eligible for funding consideration, a project’s focus must consist of activities within the statutory terms of EPA’s financial assistance authorities; specifically, the statute(s) listed in I.C. above. Generally, a project must address the causes, effects, extent, prevention, reduction, and elimination of air pollution, water pollution, solid/hazardous waste pollution, toxic substances control, or pesticide control depending on which statute(s) is listed in I.C. above. These activities should relate to the gathering or transferring of information or advancing the state of knowledge. Proposals should emphasize this “learning” concept, as opposed to “fixing” an environmental problem via a well-established method. Proposals relating to other topics which are sometimes included within the term “environment” such as recreation, conservation, restoration, protection of wildlife habitats, etc., must describe the relationship of these topics to the statutorily required purpose of pollution prevention and/or control. To be considered eligible under this RFA, the fellows’ planned course of study must focus on one or more of the areas of environmental significance referenced in section IV.B, item 1.
Students who have completed more than one year in their current master's program or more than four years in their current Ph.D. program at the time of the pre-application are not eligible to apply for GRO Fellowships.
Applications deemed ineligible for funding consideration will be notified within fifteen calendar days of the ineligibility determination.
IV. PRE-APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION
You may submit either a paper pre-application or an electronic pre-application but not both for this announcement. If not otherwise marked, the following instructions apply to both types of submissions as follows.
A. Internet Address to Request Pre-Application Package
For paper pre-applications, fellowship forms can be found on the NCER web site: http://www.epa.gov/ncer/rfa/forms/. Instructions for completing these forms follow.
For electronic pre-applications, use the pre-application package available at Grants.gov (see "Submission Instructions for Electronic Pre-Applications"). Instructions for completing these forms follow.
For both paper and electronic pre-applications, an e-mail will be sent by NCER to the applicant to acknowledge receipt of the pre-application and transmit other important information. The e-mail will be sent from receipt.application@epa.gov; e-mail to this address will not be accepted. Due to the volume of pre-applications received, the e-mailed acknowledgement from receipt.application@epa.gov may take several weeks. Thus, our staff will not respond to queries regarding pre-applications until November 26, 2007. Please make a notation on your calendar to call the toll-free number 1-800-490-9194 from Monday, November 26, to no later than 5:00 PM EST Friday, November 30, for information if you have not received the notification from receipt.application@epa.gov by that time. Failure to follow these instructions may result in your pre-application being rejected without review.See "Submission Instructions for Electronic Pre-Applications" for additional information regarding acknowledgment of receipt of electronically submitted pre-applications. Due to often lengthy delays in delivery, it is especially important that you monitor NCER's confirmation of receipt of your pre-application when using US Postal Service mail.
B. Content and Form of Pre-Application Submission
The pre-application is made by submitting the materials described below. The pre-application consists of two forms and additional information that you must provide on 8-1/2 x11 inch paper with one inch margins. Use a font size of 12 points or larger. It is essential that the pre-application contain all information requested and be submitted in the formats described. It is also essential that all contact information be that of the applicant unless specifically requested otherwise.
Item 1. Standard Form 424 and 424i
The student, that is the individual applying for funding, must complete Standard Form 424 (for electronic submissions) or 424i (for paper submissions). This form will be the first page of the pre-application. For paper submissions, use the 424i form identified for Fellowships available at: http://www.epa.gov/ncer/rfa/forms/. For electronic submissions, use the Standard Form 424 in the electronic pre-application package (see "Submission Instructions for Electronic Pre-Applications").
For help finding the appropriate Congressional District, see http://www.house.gov/. If you cannot locate a Congressional District (e.g., Puerto Rico), please enter "00". For Start Date and End Date, enter a Start Date of 09/01/2008 and an End Date up to 2 years later for master's degree support or up to 3 years later for Ph.D. degree support. If necessary, these dates can be modified if you receive a fellowship.
Funding Opportunity Numbers (FON)
Select a single Funding Opportunity Number (FON) for your pre-application. Failure to select a proper FON could result in an inappropriate reviewer assignment. If your pre-application seems to fit under more than one FON, choose the most appropriate one. Each pre-application can be submitted to one, and only one, FON. For electronic submissions, you must use the appropriate electronic pre-application package (see "Submission Instructions for Electronic Pre-Applications") for the chosen FON. Note: Your planned course of study MUST focus on one or more of the following areas of environmental significance. Also see Section III.C “Other” for additional requirements.
Item 2. Key Contacts
The applicant must complete the "Key Contacts" form as the second page of the pre-application as directed below. Ignore all other instructions for completing this form that may be found else where. Please make certain that all contact information is accurate.
Key Contacts Form Instructions:
Authorized Representative: Enter the applicant's current address information.
Payee: Enter the applicant's permanent address information. This is the address NCER will use for any U.S. Postal Service correspondence.
Administrative Contact: Enter the business information for the applicant's advisor. Leave blank if the applicant has not identified an advisor.
Principle Investigator: Leave blank or, if the applicant has a second advisor, please enter the second advisor's information here.
Item 3. Citizenship Status, Degree Sought, Educational Level (1 page)
The third page of the pre-application must contain the following information. Please begin each item on a separate line using the appropriate numbered heading.
- Your name: Last name, first name, middle initial/name.
- Citizenship Status: State whether you are a U.S. citizen or permanent resident. If you are a U.S. citizen, give the city and state of your birth. If you are a resident alien, provide your green card number.
- College/University School or Department: Name and location of college school or department from which your degree will be obtained. NOTE: If you are undecided about the school you will attend, leave blank. If you considering multiple institutions, list your top two choices. If you are ultimately selected to receive a GRO fellowship the institution you attend must be GRO eligible or the offer will be withdrawn. See iv. Below.
- Institution GRO Eligibility Certification: You must certify that your school or intended school is GRO eligible. These data can be accessed at http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/nsf07316/pdf/tab11.pdf (28 pp, 106 K, about PDF). The full NSF report is available at http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/nsf07316/. Multiply the figure in the second column by 1000. Then complete the following statement: "According to the National Science Foundation's report "Federal Science and Engineering Support to Universities, Colleges, and Nonprofit Institutions: Fiscal Year 2004," Table 11, column two, received less than $ million in Federal Research and Development expenditures in fiscal year 2004. Since this is less than $35 Million, my university is GRO eligible." EPA will verify student eligibility before awards are made. Only students who attend GRO eligible institutions will be awarded these fellowships.
- Provide a descriptive title for your environmental research project. The title must be brief yet represent the major thrust of the project. Because the title will be used by those not familiar with the project, strike a balance between highly technical words and phrases and more commonly understood terminology. Do not use general phrases such as “research on”. If the specific topic has not been selected, enter your research area of interest.
- Degree Sought: State if you are seeking funding to support either a master's or doctoral degree, e.g., M.S., M.A., Ph.D., M.P.H. List the environmental discipline in which the degree will be earned. Include the month and year you expect the degree to be awarded.
- Educational Level (at the time of pre-application): Enter one of the following choices.
- Entering Master's Student (EM) if you are seeking funding for a master’s program, and have completed less than one year* toward this degree.
- Entering Doctoral Student (ED) if you are seeking funding for a doctoral program, have completed less than one year toward this degree, and will have no other graduate or professional degree as of October 23, 2007 (e.g., MS, MA, MPH).
- Doctoral Student (DS) if you are seeking funding for a doctoral program, have completed less than one year toward this degree, and will have completed another graduate or professional degree as of October 23, 2007 (e.g., MS, MA, MPH).
- Continuing Doctoral Student (CD) if you are enrolled in a doctoral program and have completed more than one year, but less than four years*, toward this degree.
* Students who have completed more than one year in their current master's program or more than four years in their current Ph.D. program at the time of the pre-application are not eligible to apply for GRO Fellowships.
Item 4. Statement of Objectives and Narrative Statement
These items must be single‑spaced and completed using a 12‑point or equivalent typeface on 8‑1/2 x 11‑inch paper with one‑inch margins all around. Page limitations for individual components are specified below. You may use figures and tables, but do not deviate from the format requirements and page limits.
Statement of Objectives (1 Page)
Explain your academic and environmental career goals and how your proposed course of study or research will help you achieve these goals. Include any background information you believe is pertinent and provides insight into why you have chosen the goals you are pursuing. You will be evaluated on your dedication to your studies in an environmentally oriented career. This statement will also provide insight into your organizational, analytical, and written communication skills.
Narrative Statement [Six (6) pages for Continuing Doctoral (CD) students, plus additional pages as needed for cited references. Five (5) pages plus additional pages as needed for cited references for entering masters (EM), entering doctoral (ED), and doctoral (DS) students].
The narrative statement should reflect your educational level. All applicants must 1) include a description of the scientific and societal importance of their chosen environmental field of study; and 2) identify at least one applicable EPA regulatory authority (see section I.C). A detailed environmental research plan including a discussion on methodology is required for applicants at the continuing doctoral level and is desirable, to the extent possible, for all other educational levels. At a minimum, include answers to the questions below for the appropriate educational level. See Section V, “Pre-Application Review Information” for additional details. Citation/reference pages are in addition to the page limit for the narrative statement.
Entering Master's Student: What are the degree requirements for your program? What is your planned course of study during the period of the fellowship? Do you know if you will be undertaking a thesis/special project? If so, describe it. If you do not know, what environmental project would you like to propose? Why is it important? How is it relevant to the protection of human health and the environment?
Entering Doctoral Student: What are the degree requirements for your program? What is your planned course of study during the period of the fellowship? If you could select your dissertation topic this year, what would it be? Why is it important? How is it relevant to the protection of human health and the environment? Which environmental area would be best served by your selected topic?
Doctoral Student: What are the degree requirements for your program? What is your planned course of study during the period of the fellowship? If you could select your dissertation topic this year, what would it be? Why is it important? How is it relevant to the protection of human health and the environment? Which environmental area would be best served by your selected topic? What are some of the most influential publications currently available in this area?
Continuing Doctoral Student: What is your dissertation topic? How is it relevant to the protection of human health and the environment? Describe your dissertation research project by addressing the following points:
- Goal of research: What environmental problem are you focusing on? What is your hypothesis(es)?
- Rationale: What is the environmental need for this research? What significant research has been published on this topic? How do the results of that research relate to your project?
- Approach: How will you test your hypothesis(es)?
- Expected results: What environmental benefits are expected to result from this work?
- Cited literature: Provide a list of cited literature.
Item 5. Education and Experience, Publications, and Transcript Information
Education and Experience (1 Page)
List the academic degrees you have received or expect to receive in the near future, including the date, discipline, and the institution. Also list relevant experience, including paid employment, military service, internships, residencies, special studies, volunteer work, etc. Give dates and a short description of your duties in each position, listing most recent first. Give names and addresses of employers. List only relevant experience.
Publications (1 Page)
If you have published in the technical/scientific literature, provide a bibliography here. If you have not yet published, write "NA." Also include information on presentations you have given at professional meetings.
Course Work Information (use as many pages as are necessary)
Provide, in tabular form, the following information about your course work (this information should be obtained from your transcripts): the institutions at which the credits were earned, dates, names and catalog numbers of courses taken, credit hours, grades received, and cumulative GPA for all courses taken at each degree level. Be sure to list any degree(s) received. If possible, course titles should not exceed the space available. Abbreviations are allowed. Note if courses were audited or not completed. If any institution you attended had a grading system different from the traditional "A, B, C" system, explain the system in a succinct footnote. Include data from your entire college career. Do not include your transcripts at this time. Top‑ranked applicants will be required to submit official copies of transcripts for validation prior to award of the fellowship.
Item 6. Voluntary Information (1 page)
Voluntary Information: For EPA Office of Research and Development (ORD) programmatic assessment purposes only, include your gender and race, ethnicity, or national origin (e.g., Black or African-American, White, Hispanic or Latino, American Indian or Alaskan Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander), and whether you are a person with a disability. This information is requested pursuant to Executive Orders 13125, as amended, (Increasing Opportunity and Improving Quality of Life of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders), 13230 (President’s Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans), 13256 (President’s Board of Advisors on Historically Black Colleges and Universities), and 13270 (Tribal Colleges and Universities), and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, as amended, 29 U.S.C. 794; and in compliance with the Office of Management and Budget’s 1997 Revision to the Standards for the Classification of Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity. Providing this information is voluntary and has no impact on the Agency’s evaluation of your pre-application. If provided according to the submission instructions (see Section IV.E.), this information will be kept completely separate from your pre-application. It will be used only in aggregate statistical form (without individual identification) to assess the effectiveness of ORD’s diversity efforts. Maintenance of the information, and access to individual information, will be governed by the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. §552a, and the information will be handled in accordance with EPA Privacy Act System EPA-36.
Item 7. Letters of Recommendation
Each applicant MUST arrange for the submittal of three (3) current letters of recommendation on official letterhead from individuals who have knowledge of your academic record. Letters of recommendation are critical components of the pre‑application. These letters must be submitted directly to EPA either in paper copy or electronically (via e-mail) per the instructions below. All letters of recommendation regardless of how transmitted must be received by EPA no later than 4:00 PM EST on the solicitation closing date, October 23, 2007. Letters of recommendation cannot be submitted through grants.gov.
If the applicant has a sponsor or advisor for their graduate program, one of these letters of recommendation should come from that individual. The applicant should select referees carefully and urge the referee to write letters specifically about them. Letters should not be written by the applicant. Letters of recommendation that appear to be mass produced are generally not ranked highly by the reviewers. At a minimum, the letters of recommendation should address the applicant’s performance and potential, enthusiasm, thoughtfulness, and motivation in his/her chosen field. It is always useful if the writer also conveys a sense of who the applicant is as an individual.
Paper-copy submitted letters of recommendation must be submitted directly to EPA, and must have the name of the applicant and the appropriate Funding Opportunity Number (FON) clearly marked on both the letter and on the outside of the envelope prior to sending it to EPA (see Section E "Submission Instructions and Other Submission Requirements" below for the mailing address).
Electronically submitted letters of recommendation must be submitted directly to EPA and must have the name of the applicant and the appropriate FON in the “subject” line as well as in the letter of recommendation itself. In addition, the letter must be submitted as a PDF attachment with a filename containing the FON and the applicant’s last name. E-mail letters to 2008NCERFellowLetters@epa.gov. This e-mail address is for letters of recommendation submission only; e-mails or other parts of the pre-application package sent to this address will not receive a response. Any pre-applications e-mailed to this address will be rejected without review. Letters of recommendation cannot be submitted through Grants.gov.
NCER cannot guarantee that letters of recommendation that do not denote the applicant’s name and FON will be matched with the appropriate pre-application. Due to the potentially large number of applicants, NCER cannot acknowledge nor verify receipt of letters of recommendation. It is the applicant's responsibility to see that letters of recommendation are submitted in a timely manner.
C. Submission Dates and Times
For paper copy submissions, the original and two (2) copies of the pre-application (3 in all) must be received by EPA no later than 4:00 PM EST on the solicitation closing date, October 23, 2007. Electronic pre-applications must be transferred to Grants.gov no later than 4:00 PM EST on the solicitation closing date. All Letters of Recommendation (see IV.B. Item 7. above), regardless of how transmitted, must also be received by EPA no later than 4:00 PM EST on the solicitation closing date, October 23, 2007.
It should be noted that this schedule may be changed without prior notification because of factors that were not anticipated at the time of announcement. In the case of a change in the required pre-application closing date, a new date will be posted on the NCER web site (http://www.epa.gov/ncer/) and a modification posted on Grants.gov. Pre-applications received after the closing date will be returned to the sender without further consideration.
D. Funding Restrictions
The funding mechanism for all awards issued under GRO solicitations will consist of assistance agreements from the EPA. All award decisions are subject to the availability of funds. In accordance with the Federal Grant and Cooperative Agreement Act, 31 U.S.C. 6301 et seq., the primary purpose of a grant is to accomplish a public purpose of support or stimulation authorized by federal statute, rather than acquisition for the direct benefit or use of the Agency. In issuing a fellowship agreement, the EPA anticipates that there will be no substantial EPA involvement in the design, implementation, or conduct of the research. However, the EPA will monitor research progress through annual reports provided by Fellows and other contacts with the Fellow.
E. Submission Instructions and Other Submission Requirements
You may submit either a paper pre-application or an electronic pre-application but not both for this announcement.
Submission Instructions for Paper Pre-Applications
Three (3) copies of the pre-application must be submitted: 1) an original, signed copy that includes the Voluntary Information described in Section IV.B. Item 6. above (this is the only copy that needs to include the Voluntary Information); 2) a single‑sided copy on plain white paper without the voluntary information for scanning (please label this copy as ”FOR SCANNING AND REVIEW USE”); and 3) another photocopy of version 2 for administrative purposes. Do not permanently bind or staple any of these copies; please use either binder or paper clips to secure them. Submit three copies of each letter of recommendation.
Because of security concerns, paper pre-applications cannot be personally delivered. They must be sent through regular mail, express mail, or a major courier.
The following address must be used for regular mail only:
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Peer Review Division (8725F)
Funding Opportunity Number: (applicant: place the appropriate FON here)
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20460
The following address must be used for express mail and couriers only:
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Peer Review Division (8725F)
Funding Opportunity Number: (applicant: place the appropriate FON here)
1025 F Street, NW (Room 3500)
Washington, DC 20004
Phone: (202) 233-0686
Pre‑applications and letters of recommendation MUST be received by EPA no later than 4:00 pm, EST, on October 23, 2007. NOTE: Letters of Recommendation may be sent directly to EPA but all of them MUST arrive no later than 4:00 pm EST, on October 23, 2007 (see Section IV.B. Item 7. above for further instructions). Allow sufficient time to assure delivery by 4:00 pm EST on October 23, 2007. Because of security concerns, pre-applications cannot be personally delivered. They must be sent through regular mail, express mail, or a major courier. Due to uncertainties associated with timely delivery of regular mail, it is especially important to provide an e‑mail address to which an acknowledgment of receipt notification can be sent (see Section IV.A. above).
Submission Instructions for Electronic Pre-Applications
Please read this entire section before attempting an electronic submission through Grants.gov. It is the responsibility of the applicant to see that these instructions are followed. Failure to follow these instructions may result in your pre-application being rejected without review.
START EARLY! Do not delay submission of your pre-application past 10:00 AM EST on the deadline day. Due to the potentially high volume of pre-applications submitted as the deadline time approaches, it is possible that the Grants.gov electronic submission and telephone assistance systems may become overwhelmed. To assure successful transmission, do not delay submission of your pre-application past 10:00 AM EST on the deadline day. The complete pre-application must be transferred to Grants.gov no later than 4:00 PM EST on October 23, 2007.
Grants.gov requires a new individual registration to submit a pre-application for this solicitation; however, registration is not required to view the pre-application package. To register, go to http://www.Grants.gov/, click on "Get Registered," click on "Individual Registration." Allow at least one day for the registration to be activated. Safeguard your username and password, as this information can take a great deal of time to retrieve should it be misplaced. Note that the use of an organizational registration (e.g., an academic institution registration) will result in a Grants.gov rejection.
Note for Fellowship Applicants
- As part of the registration process with Grants.GOV, applicants need to enter an Funding Opportunity Number (FON) on the "Registration with Credential Provider" page. There is a problem with some FONs that results in an error message. If you encounter this problem, please use the work around FON: 0716-INDV-REGISTRATION.
The electronic pre-application package available through the http://www.Grants.gov/ web site must be used for electronic submissions. In order to view the pre-application package, download the PureEdge viewer (hyperlink available under "Apply for Grants"). Registration is not required to view the pre-application package. (Note: The PureEdge viewer is a computer program. Many institutions will not allow it to be downloaded into the institutional system.) The pre-application package may be quickly accessed from https://apply.Grants.gov/forms_apps_idx.html using the appropriate Funding Opportunity Number. Please register for announcement change notification e-mails. The Grants.gov training demonstration, "How to Complete a Grant Application Package," is available at: http://www.Grants.gov/images/Application_Package.swf. The Grants.gov "Applicant's User Guide" is available at http://www.Grants.gov/help/user_guides.jsp.
Note: Grants.gov is not compatible with all internet browsers nor is it readily compatible with all computers. To avoid fatal submission problems, please check the compatibility of the browser and computer system you intend to use prior to attempting to submit an electronic pre-application. The Grants.gov system requirements are: Windows 98, ME, NT 4.0, 2000, XP; 500 MHz processor; 128 MB of RAM; 40 MB disk space; Web browser: Internet Explorer 5.01 or higher, Netscape Communicator 4.5 - 4.8, Netscape 6.1, 6.2 or 7. If your default internet browser is not specifically listed, contact Grants.gov (1-800-518-4726) for assistance. If your computer system is not listed, please consider submitting a paper pre-application to avoid fatal submission problems. Also, while submitting a pre-application to Grants.gov via dial-up service is possible, the transfer can take one hour or longer and is prone to connection interruptions. Please consider submitting a paper pre-application if you do not have a high-speed internet connection available.
Pre-Application Package Preparation. The pre-application package consists of 1 though 5 below.
- On the initial electronic Grant Application Package page, complete the "Application Filing Name" field by entering the Applicant's name, starting with the last name. Note: Applicants do not need to complete the "Competition ID" field.
- Application for Federal Assistance (SF 424): See also Item 1 of Section IV.B. above. Do not follow the instructions provided with the form. Instead, follow the instructions in Section IV.B. above and instructions below for items that may cause difficulty. Only the yellow highlighted fields of the form need to be completed.
8.a. The applicant is the student submitting the pre-application (not an Institution).
8.b. Enter the applicant's social security number.
8.f. The contact person is the applicant(see 8.a.).
9. Enter "P: individual"
15. Provide a descriptive title for your environmental research project. The title must be brief yet represent the major thrust of the project. Because the title will be used by those not familiar with the project, strike a balance between highly technical words and phrases and more commonly understood terminology. Do not use general phrases such as “research on”. If the specific topic has not been selected, enter your research area of interest.
16.a. For help finding the appropriate Congressional District, see http://www.house.gov/. If you cannot locate a Congressional District (e.g., Puerto Rico), please enter "00."
16.b. Enter "00".
17.a. Enter a Start Date of 09/01/2008.
17.b. Enter an End Date up to 2 years later for master's degree support or up to 3 years later for Ph.D. degree support. If necessary, these dates can be modified if you receive a fellowship.
18.a. Enter the amount of funding you are requesting ($74,000 for Master's degree, $111,000 for Ph.D.)
18.b.-f. Enter "0".
19. Enter "c" Program is not covered.
The Authorized Representative is the applicant (see 8.a.). You may enter "student" as the title.
“Close Form” will save and close the form. - EPA Key Contacts Form 5700‑54: Complete the form as described in Section IV.B. Item 2. above. Ignore all other instructions for completing this form that may be found elsewhere.
- Project Narrative Attachment Form (click on "Add Mandatory Project Narrative"): Attach a single electronic file labeled "MandatoryApplicationInfo" that contains the items described in Section IV.B. Items 3, 4 and 5 above. This file must be submitted in Adobe Acrobat PDF format. Please review the PDF file for conversion errors prior to including it in the electronic pre-application package. Requests to rectify conversion errors will not be accepted if made after the solicitation closing date and time.
- Voluntary Information (click on “Add Optional Project Narrative File”): Attach an electronic file labeled “Confidential” that contains the item described in Section IV.B. Item 6. above. Submit this file in Adobe Acrobat PDF.
Letters of Recommendation cannot be submitted electronically through Grants.gov; see Section IV.B. Item 7. above for submission instructions. All Letters of Recommendation MUST be received by EPA no later than 4:00 PM. EST on October 23, 2007.
Once the pre-application package has been completed, the "Submit" button should be enabled (you may need to "Check Package for Errors" as well as save the file before this occurs). If the "Submit" button is not active, please contact Grants.gov for assistance (Telephone: 1‑800‑518‑4726). Applicants should save the completed pre-application package with two different file names to avoid having to re‑key the forms should submission problems be experienced.
Submitting the pre-application to Grants.gov:
Minor problems are not uncommon with transfers to Grants.gov. In addition, slow connection and transfer rates are generally experienced as the deadline time approaches due to high demand. To assure successful transmission, do not delay submission of your pre-application past 10:00 AM EST on the deadline day.
Close all other software before attempting to submit the electronic pre-application package. Click the "submit" button of the pre-application package. Your internet browser will launch and a sign‑in page will appear within a few minutes. Enter your individual registration user name and password.
A successful transfer should take no longer than 10-15 minutes and will end with an on‑screen acknowledgement. "Print Screen" or “screen capture” this acknowledgement for documentation purposes. (Note: Subsequent E-mail acknowledgements from Grants.gov regarding your submission may take as long as 48 hours to arrive.) If you experience submission problems, reboot the computer -- turning the power off may be necessary -- and re‑attempt the submission. If submission problems continue, contact Grants.gov for assistance (Telephone: 1‑800‑518‑4726).
Transmission Difficulties. If transmission difficulties continue after following the above instructions, follow the guidance below. NCER may decide to review the pre-application if it is clearly demonstrated that the transmission difficulties were due solely as a result of unavoidable and irresolvable problems associated with the transfer to Grants.gov. The decision regarding acceptance of the pre-application for review will be made by NCER management and provided to the applicant within ten working days of the request. All e-mails, as described below, are to be sent to o'farrell.thomas@EPA.gov with the FON in the subject line. Note: Grants.gov will issue a “case number” upon being contacted for assistance.
- Unsuccessful transfer of the pre-application package: If a successful transfer of the pre-application cannot be accomplished due to electronic submission issues, send an e-mail before 4:00 PM EST on the solicitation closing date. In that e-mail, document the problem, include the Grants.gov “case number,” and attach the entire pre-application.
- Grants.gov rejection of the pre-application: If a notification is received from Grants.gov stating that the pre-application has been rejected for reasons other than late submittal or use of an institutional rather than an individual registration, immediately send an e-mail. In that e-mail, document the problem, include all materials provided by Grants.gov, and attach the entire pre-application.
Grants.gov will send several e-mails during their processing of the pre-application. Their last e-mail will state that the pre-application has been transferred to the Agency and is undergoing review. Save these e-mails for documentation purposes; however, the critical e-mail is the one acknowledging receipt by the Fellowship Program. This e-mail will be sent from receipt.application@epa.gov.
Due to the volume of applications received, the e-mailed acknowledgement from receipt.application@epa.gov may take several weeks. Thus, EPA staff will not respond to queries regarding pre-applications prior to November 26, 2007. Please make a notation on your calendar to call the toll-free number 1-800-490-9194 from Monday, November 26, to no later than 5:00 PM EST Friday, November 30, for information if you have not received the notification from receipt.application@epa.gov by that time. Failure to follow these instructions may result in your pre-application being rejected without review.
V. PRE-APPLICATION REVIEW INFORMATION
A. External Review
All eligible fellowship pre-applications are reviewed by an appropriate external technical peer review panel comprised of individual experts using the criteria below. This review is designed to evaluate each applicant on his or her potential for success in an environmental graduate study program based on the information provided in the pre-application. Each external review panel includes non-EPA scientists, engineers, social scientists, and/or economists who are accomplished in their respective disciplines and proficient in the technical subjects they are reviewing. Reviewers are asked to individually assign a score of excellent, very good, good, fair, or poor to each pre-application. EPA translates the average of these individual scores into the final panel review score.
Criteria 1-4 are listed in descending order of importance:
- Narrative Statement
- Entering Master's Applicant: Comment on the strength of the applicant's planned course of study and probability of success of the proposed project.
- Entering Doctoral Applicant: Comment on the strength of the applicant's planned course of study and probability of success of the proposed project.
- Doctoral Applicant: Comment on how the applicant's proposed doctoral program builds on his/her previous education or research projects. Why and how will the proposed research project advance the applicant's academic or career goals?
- Continuing Doctoral Applicant: Comment on the applicant's research project as to its technical and social application, potential for success, and the benefits expected. Why and how will the proposed research project advance the applicant’s career goals?
- Goals and Objectives
- Comment on the seriousness of the applicant's dedication to the stated career goals and objectives.
- Comment on the applicant's organizational, analytical, and written skills.
- Reference Letters
- Course work information
B. Programmatic Review
Pre-applications receiving scores of excellent or very good as a result of the external review process will then undergo an internal programmatic review conducted by technical experts from the EPA, including individuals from the Office of Research and Development (ORD) and program and regional offices involved with the science or engineering proposed. All other pre-applications are automatically declined.
The GRO fellowship solicitation typically results in more applicants receiving an excellent or very good rating from the external review process than there are funds. Therefore, those pre-applications which receive an excellent or very good from the external review are further subjected to an internal programmatic review. The purpose of the programmatic review is to assure an integrated, balanced research portfolio for the Agency and to help determine which pre-applications to recommend for award. EPA scientists/engineers conducting the programmatic review assess the excellent and very good pre-applications against the following criteria, all of which are of equal weight:
- The relevance of the proposed science to EPA research priorities.
- Does the proposed research area and study have the potential to either: 1) strengthen the scientific basis for environmental management decisions and practices; 2) produce data, methods, practices, etc., to help the scientific or regulated community to better understand and/or manage complex environmental problems; or 3) provide a focus for future research and technology development in science, engineering, or modeling approaches for assessing and managing environmental risks?
- Is the research area being proposed supported by EPA or some other source (i.e. will funding this student/project result in a duplication of government effort)?
C. Funding Decisions
Final funding decisions are made by the NCER Director based on the results of the external review and internal programmatic review. In addition, in making the final funding decisions, the NCER Director may also consider the Congressionally-mandated Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCOR) (see http://www.epa.gov/ncer/other/), the availability of funds, program goals, such as distribution of awards across disciplines, institutions and geography, and degree level being sought. Applicants selected for funding will be required to provide the additional information listed below under “Award Notices.” The application will then be forwarded to EPA’s Grants and Interagency Agreement Management Division for award in accordance with the EPA’s procedures.
VI. AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION
A. Award Notices
Either a summary statement or multiple individual reviews provided by the external merit review panel will be provided to each applicant with an award or declination letter. If selected to receive a fellowship, you will be contacted no later than May 30, 2008 and should subsequently receive your official notification of award by July 31, 2008, for the fall term. Please note that this schedule may be changed without notification due to factors that were not anticipated at the time of announcement. The earliest anticipated start date for these awards is September 1, 2008.
You are advised to retain this announcement for future reference.
The official notification of an award will be made by the EPA's Grants and Interagency Agreement Management Division. Selected applicants will be required to provide the following information to complete the application process:
- EPA Form 5770‑2, "Fellowship Application". This form is available on the NCER web page (www.epa.gov/ncer/fellow/).
- Additional information and documentation about your educational status and tuition/other costs.
- Sealed official transcripts from all graduate institutions.
- Fellowship Recipient Abstract, not to exceed one page, which should include: Project Title, Name of Fellow, Institution, EPA Project Officer, Project Period, Research Category, Description of Research Project (including Objective, Approach, Results or Expected Results and Keywords).
- A project synopsis not to exceed 595 characters (approximately seven typed lines) for our EPA database.
B. Disputes
Disputes related to this assistance agreement competition will be resolved in accordance with the dispute resolution procedures set forth in 70 FR 3629, 3630 (January 26, 2005) which can be found at http://www.epa.gov/ogd/competition/resolution.htm. Questions regarding disputes may be referred to the Eligibility Contact. Also see http://www.epa.gov/ncer/guidance/faqs.html.
C. Administrative and National Policy Requirements
Terms and conditions associated with this award can be found at http://www.epa.gov/ncer/guidance.
- Meetings: Fellows are expected to attend the EPA Graduate Fellows Conference as long as they are in the program. Resources to support this travel are to be taken from the expense allowance. If selected, fellowship recipients will be expected to attend the 2008 Fellows Conference.
- Human Subjects: A grant applicant must agree to meet all EPA requirements for studies using human subjects prior to implementing any work with these subjects. These requirements are given in 40 C.F.R. § 26. For observational studies involving children or pregnant women or nursing mothers please refer to Subparts B & D of 40 C.F.R. § 26. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services regulations at 45 CFR § 46.101(e) have long required "... compliance with pertinent Federal laws or regulations which provide additional protection for human subjects." EPA’s regulation 40 C.F.R Part 26 is such a pertinent Federal regulation. Therefore, the applicant's Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval must state that the applicant's study meets the EPA's regulations at 40 CFR § 26. No work involving human subjects, including recruiting, may be initiated before the EPA has received a copy of the applicant’s IRB approval of the project and the EPA has also provided approval. Where human subjects are involved in the research, the recipient must provide evidence of subsequent IRB reviews, including amendments or minor changes of protocol, as part of annual reports.
- Animal Welfare: A fellowship recipient must agree to comply with the Animal Welfare Act of 1966 (P.L. 89-544), as amended, 7 U.S.C. 2131-2156. The recipient must also agree to abide by the "U.S. Government Principles for the Utilization and Care of Vertebrate Animals used in Testing, Research, and Training" (50 Federal Register 20864-20865. May 20, 1985).
- Reporting: Fellowship recipients must provide annual progress reports in order to retain their funding, and must provide a final report upon termination of the award. Fellows are strongly encouraged to maintain contact with the Agency for at least five years after graduation.
- Acknowledgement of EPA Support: EPA's full or partial support must be acknowledged in journal articles, oral or poster presentations, news releases, interviews with reporters and other communications. Any documents developed under the agreement for distribution to the public or inclusion in a scientific, technical, or other journal shall include the following statement:
This publication [article] was developed under a STAR Research Assistance Agreement No. __________ awarded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. It has not been formally reviewed by the EPA. The views expressed in this document are solely those of [name of recipient] and the EPA does not endorse any products or commercial services mentioned in this publication.
A graphic that can be converted to a slide or used in other ways, such as on a poster, is located at http://www.epa.gov/ncer/guidance/star_images.html. EPA expects recipients to use this graphic in oral and poster presentations.
Further information, if needed, may be obtained from the EPA/NCER resources listed below. To obtain information most quickly, consult the "Guidance & FAQs." If your question is not covered, then call the toll-free telephone number or send a query to the 2008FellowshipsRFP@epa.gov e-mail address. You will receive a personal response through a return telephone call or e-mail. Information regarding this RFA obtained from sources other than those indicated may not be accurate.
Guidance & FAQs: http://www.epa.gov/ncer/guidance/faqs.html
Contact Person: Stephanie Willett (2008FellowshipsRFP@epa.gov); phone: 202-343-9656; Toll Free Number: 1-800-490-9194
Web-based query form: http://es.epa.gov/cgi-bin/ncerqamail.pl
Electronic Submissions Contact: Thomas O'Farrell (o'farrell.thomas@epa.gov); phone: 202-343-9639
E-mail Address for Letters of Recommendation Submission Only: 2008NCERFellowLetters@epa.gov.