Writing a Successful Engineering Education Proposal for the National Science Foundation: An Interactive Workshop

Abstract This workshop is based on our popular 2018 workshop, and includes improvements suggested by past participants. The goal of this workshop is to increase the participants' knowledge of successful proposal development strategies and the proposal review process. Participants will leave with answers to their questions and new or improved strategies for effective proposal writing. New and experienced principal investigators will have the opportunity to interact with each other and two NSF program directors from the Division of Engineering Education & Centers (EEC) in the Directorate of Engineering. The format will be highly interactive format. The program officer facilitators will use individual and small group activities to elicit effective proposal writing strategies from participants, supplementing participant-generated strategies with ones observed during their tenure at NSF. Some specific topics to be discussed include: contacting and interacting with program officers, timeline for proposal development, demystifying merit review criteria, pitfalls and mistakes in writing and submitting proposals to NSF, and thinking like a reviewer. The facilitators request the use of a projector, screen, and roaming mic(s) for the session.