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A. Noam Chomsky Global Connections Awards celebrate the power of human connections. The awards recognize distinguished service to the global mission of the STAR Scholars Network. Several individuals with a deep impact on advancing global, social mobility are recognized every year. We live in a time when innovation and creativity in support of humanity are of great importance. The Star Scholars Network recognizes the commitment of concerned people able and willing to make a difference in the lives of others. Nominations for this award are solicited from around the world. The nominee can be from any field. Beginning in 2020, the Star Scholars Network is committed to promoting transnational research, or collaborative research between scholars of two or more countries (e.g., joint publications, research partnerships, etc.). The Global Connections Awards recognize STAR Scholars for their achievements and distinctive contributions to translational research that demonstrates the very best of scholarly collaboration among scholars around the world. In December 2020, the Star Scholars Network will provide awards in three categories: North Star Medal of Lifetime Achievement, Shining Star Achievement in Research Award, Rising Star Emerging Scholar Certificate

The Energy, Power, Control, and Networks (EPCN) Program supports innovative research in modeling, optimization, learning, adaptation, and control of networked multi-agent systems, higher-level decision making, and dynamic resource allocation, as well as risk management in the presence of uncertainty, sub-system failures, and stochastic disturbances. EPCN also invests in novel machine learning algorithms and analysis, adaptive dynamic programming, brain-like networked architectures performing real-time learning, and neuromorphic engineering. EPCN's goal is to encourage research on emerging technologies and applications including energy, transportation, robotics, and biomedical devices & systems. EPCN also emphasizes electric power systems, including generation, transmission, storage, and integration of renewable energy sources into the grid; power electronics and drives; battery management systems; hybrid and electric vehicles; and understanding of the interplay of power systems with associated regulatory & economic structures and with consumer behavior.

The Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE) seeks to develop user-friendly large-scale next-generation data resources and relevant analytic techniques to advance fundamental research in SBE areas of study. Successful proposals will, within the financial resources provided by the award, construct such databases and/or relevant analytic techniques and produce a finished product that will enable new types of data-intensive research. The databases or techniques should have significant impacts, either across multiple fields or within broad disciplinary areas, by enabling new types of data-intensive research in the SBE sciences. Human Networks and Data Science (HNDS) is a two-track program. It supports research and infrastructure that uses data science to advance understanding of a full range of human networks. HNDS research will identify ways in which dynamic, distributed, and heterogeneous data can provide novel answers to fundamental questions about individual and group behavior. HNDS is especially interested in proposals that leverage data-rich insights about human networks to support improved health, prosperity, and security.

The purpose of the program is to identify and support U.S.- and Japan-based professionals who demonstrate an interest in and potential for becoming Japan specialists and policy intellectuals. The resulting network includes Japan specialists from all regions of the United States and Japan with diverse expertise and perspectives. Participants should be able to constructively participate in the bilateral policymaking process and contribute to better understanding of U.S.-Japan relations. The program seeks to nurture a new generation of scholars and professionals working in the following policy areas: U.S.-Japan security relations; U.S.-Japan economic relations; regional cooperation; issues where the two countries confront common domestic challenges (such as aging societies and income inequality); and issues where the two countries have opportunities to work together to resolve global challenges (such as climate change and food security).

The Energy, Power, Control, andNetworks (EPCN) Program supports innovative research in modeling, optimization, learning, adaptation, and control of networked multi-agent systems, higher-level decision making, and dynamic resource allocation, as well as risk management in the presence of uncertainty, sub-system failures, and stochastic disturbances. EPCN also invests in novel machine learning algorithms and analysis, adaptive dynamic programming, brain-like networked architectures performing real-time learning, and neuromorphic engineering. EPCN’s goal is to encourage research on emerging technologies and applications including energy, transportation, robotics, and biomedical devices & systems. EPCN also emphasizes electric power systems, including generation, transmission, storage, and integration of renewable energy sources into the grid; power electronics and drives; battery management systems; hybrid and electric vehicles; and understanding of the interplay of power systems with associated regulatory & economic structures and with consumer behavior.

AGOA legislation, authorized to 2025, calls for the establishment of a United States-Sub-Saharan Africa Trade and Economic Cooperation Forum (AGOA Forum) to meet annually to discuss trade and investment between the United States and the countries of sub-Saharan Africa, and the implementation of AGOA. To ensure civil society participation in AGOA trade discussions and promote strong and inclusive sub-Saharan African economies, DRL requests proposals for a $950,000 cooperative agreement to support leadership and development of a transparent and comprehensive AGOA civil society network. In conjunction with the annual AGOA forum, projects should support the network to effectively provide observations and recommendations regarding country compliance with AGOA eligibility criteria - including the establishment of or progress toward political pluralism and the rule of law, a system to combat corruption and bribery, and protection of internationally recognized worker rights - as well as effective utilization of AGOA benefits. Programs should also support local civil society to provide input on country compliance with requirements to not engage in gross violations of human rights and to cooperate with international efforts to eliminate human rights violations. Activities may include, but are not limited to: outreach, support, and mentoring for human rights and labor rights civil society organizations (CSOs) in AGOA eligible countries; assistance for local CSOs to prioritize and monitor key issues; and support to strategize, prepare for and attend the Forum and follow-up on Forum recommendations throughout the year.

The Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs Office of Assistance Coordination (NEA/AC) announces a new Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) aimed at promoting social and private entrepreneurship in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region by partnering with its Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) alumni. Alumni networks can be effective social networks that generate both a higher level of interaction and longer-lived relationships, and ultimately improve social and private entrepreneurial performance by at least 8% more than other non-connected initiatives, according to a 2010 Harvard Business Review study. The corporate world is realizing that treating ex-employees as “alumni” increases referrals, client business, as well as advice and input on internal issues and job leads. MEPI aims to apply these lessons in its new initiative aimed at enhancing its alumni relations in order to sustain its social and business entrepreneurship efforts in the region. Problem Statement Since 2002,

Critical infrastructures are the mainstay of our nation's economy, security and health. These infrastructures are interdependent. They are linked to individual preferences and community needs. For example, the electrical power system depends on the delivery of fuels to power generating stations through transportation services, the production of those fuels depends in turn on the use of electrical power, and those fuels are needed by the transportation services. Social networks, interactions, and policies can enable or hinder the successful creation of resilient complex adaptive systems. The goals of the Critical Resilient Interdependent Infrastructure Systems and Processes (CRISP) solicitation are to: (1) foster an interdisciplinary research community of engineers, computer and computational scientists and social and behavioral scientists, that creates new approaches and engineering solutions for the design and operation of infrastructures as processes and services; (2) enhance the understanding and design of interdependent critical infrastructure systems (ICIs) and processes that provide essential goods and services despite disruptions and failures from any cause, natural, technological, or malicious; (3) create the knowledge for innovation in ICIs so that they safely, securely, and effectively expand the range of goods and services they enable; and (4) improve the effectiveness and efficiency with which they deliver existing goods and services.

Critical infrastructures are the mainstay of our nation's economy, security and health. These infrastructures are interdependent. They are linked to individual preferences and community needs. For example, the electrical power system depends on the delivery of fuels to power generating stations through transportation services, the production of those fuels depends in turn on the use of electrical power, and those fuels are needed by the transportation services. Social networks, interactions, and policies can enable or hinder the successful creation of resilient complex adaptive systems. The goals of the Critical Resilient Interdependent Infrastructure Systems and Processes (CRISP) solicitation are to: (1) foster an interdisciplinary research community of engineers, computer and computational scientists and social and behavioral scientists, that creates new approaches and engineering solutions for the design and operation of infrastructures as processes and services; (2) enhance the understanding and design of interdependent critical infrastructure systems (ICIs) and processes that provide essential goods and services despite disruptions and failures from any cause, natural, technological, or malicious; (3) create the knowledge for innovation in ICIs so that they safely, securely, and effectively expand the range of goods and services they enable; and (4) improve the effectiveness and efficiency with which they deliver existing goods and services.

Over the last decade, SBE has actively encouraged and supported communities to develop visions, teams, and capabilities dedicated to the creation of new, large-scale, next-generation data resources and relevant analytic techniques to advance fundamental research in the SBE sciences. This has been done both through the NSF 14-517 Building Community and Capacity for Data-Intensive Research in the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences and in Education and Human Resources (BCC-SBE/EHR) competition and other mechanisms, such as NSF 17-594 Research Coordination Networks (RCNs). In 2015 SBE began the Resource Implementations for Data Intensive Research in the Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (RIDIR) competition. The current solicitation seeks to build upon those earlier efforts and extends the data infrastructure focus of the former RIDIR competition for the coming year.

The Sociology Program supports basic research on all forms of human social organization -- societies, institutions, groups and demography -- and processes of individual and institutional change. The Program encourages theoretically focused empirical investigations aimed at improving the explanation of fundamental social processes. Included is research on organizations and organizational behavior, population dynamics, social movements, social groups, labor force participation, stratification and mobility, family, social networks, socialization, gender roles, and the sociology of science and technology. The Program supports both original data collections and secondary data analysis that use the full range of quantitative and qualitative methodological tools. Theoretically grounded projects that offer methodological innovations and improvements for data collection and analysis are also welcomed.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is intended to stimulate model-driven research to understand the ways that people make decisions about engaging in behaviors that impact the risk of acquiring or transmitting HIV, or to adhere to treatments for HIV. Decision making processes may contribute to both substance use/abuse and other HIV acquisition or transmission risks. A better understanding of decision making processes in the context of brain neural networks and their associated functions would lead to the development of better strategies to reduce the frequency of HIV-risk behaviors. Therefore, this FOA encourages applications to study 1) cognitive, motivational or emotional mechanisms and/or 2) brain neuroendocrine and reinforcement systems that related to HIV-risk behaviors or treatment non-compliance. Interdisciplinary studies that incorporate approaches from psychology, economics, anthropology, sociology, decision sciences, neuroscience and computational modeling are encouraged. This FOA for R21 applications is intended to encourage exploratory and developmental research projects by providing support for the early and conceptual stages of these projects. These studies may involve considerable risk but may lead to a breakthrough in a particular area, or to the development of novel techniques, agents, methodologies, models, or applications that could have a major impact.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is intended to stimulate model-driven research to understand the ways that people make decisions about engaging in behaviors that impact the risk of acquiring or transmitting HIV, or to adhere to treatments for HIV. Decision making processes may contribute to both substance use/abuse and other HIV acquisition or transmission risks. A better understanding of decision making processes in the context of brain neural networks and their associated functions would lead to the development of better strategies to reduce the frequency of HIV-risk behaviors. Therefore, this FOA encourages applications to study 1) cognitive, motivational or emotional mechanisms and/or 2) brain neuroendocrine and reinforcement systems that related to HIV-risk behaviors or treatment non-compliance. Interdisciplinary studies that incorporate approaches from psychology, economics, anthropology, sociology, decision sciences, neuroscience and computational modeling are encouraged. This FOA for R03 applications encourages small research projects that can be carried out in a short period of time with limited resources. The R03 activity code supports different types of projects including pilot and feasibility studies; secondary analysis of existing data; small, self-contained research projects; development of research methodology; and development of new research technology. In no cases, should research involving animals be proposed.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is intended to stimulate model-driven research to understand the ways that people make decisions about engaging in behaviors that impact the risk of acquiring or transmitting HIV, or to adhere to treatments for HIV. Decision making processes may contribute to both substance use/abuse and other HIV acquisition or transmission risks. A better understanding of decision making processes in the context of brain neural networks and their associated functions would lead to the development of better strategies to reduce the frequency of HIV-risk behaviors. Therefore, this FOA encourages applications to study 1) cognitive, motivational or emotional mechanisms and/or 2) brain neuroendocrine and reinforcement systems that related to HIV-risk behaviors or treatment non-compliance. Interdisciplinary studies that incorporate approaches from psychology, economics, anthropology, sociology, decision sciences, neuroscience and computational modeling are encouraged. This FOA for R01 applications solicits empirical, hypothesis-driven, confirmatory research and modeling approaches. Exploratory, descriptive or hypothesis-generating research are more appropriate for the complementary FOAs using the R21 or R03 mechanisms. In no cases, should research involving animals be proposed.

A landmark collaboration known as the International Technology Alliance (ITA) in Network and Information Sciences was initiated by the US Army Research Laboratory (ARL) and the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) in 2006. Awards were made to a Consortium of industrial and academic organizations from the United States and the United Kingdom that along with the US ARL and the UK Dstl formed an international research Alliance that is jointly conducting collaborative research focused on enhancing coalition operations. The key factors contributing to the success of this unique collaborative venture are: joint technical leadership and management by the Alliance (academia, industry, government in both countries); an arrangement fostering an open collaborative research environment to support deep collaboration among researchers; multi-disciplinary research approach applied to key coalition technical challenges; and an innovative transition model that is facilitating the rapid transition of research results to both commercial and military domains.The purpose of this US ARL and UK Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) ITA Program Announcement (PA) under W911NF-15-R-0003 is to solicit offers that will help to fulfill the research and development goals of the US Department of Army and UK Ministry of Defence. This PA announces a new and innovative opportunity for cooperation between the US and the UK in the area of Distributed Analytics and Information Science (DAIS). The DAIS ITA Program is comprised of two components: (1) the Basic Research Component and (2) the Technology Transition Component. The Basic Research Component will provide for fundamental research, the results of which will be in the public domain, while the Technology Transition Component will provide for the application of the fundamental research results to military, security and commercial applications to foster the best technologies for future defense and security needs. The Catalog of Federal Domestic As

Organizations -- private and public, established and entrepreneurial, designed and emergent, formal and informal, profit and nonprofit -- are critical to the well-being of nations and their citizens. They are of crucial importance for producing goods and services, creating value, providing jobs, and achieving social goals. The Science of Organizations (SoO) program funds basic research that yields a scientific evidence base for improving the design and emergence, development and deployment, and management and ultimate effectiveness of organizations of all kinds. SoO funds research that advances our fundamental understanding of how organizations develop, form and operate. Successful SoO research proposals use scientific methods to develop and refine theories, to empirically test theories and frameworks, and to develop new measures and methods. Funded research is aimed at yielding generalizable insights that are of value to the business practitioner, policy-maker and research communities. SoO welcomes any and all rigorous, scientific approaches that illuminate aspects of organizations as systems of coordination, management and governance. In considering whether a particular project might be a candidate for consideration by SoO, please note: Intellectual perspectives may involve (but are not limited to) organizational theory, behavior, sociology or economics, business policy and strategy, communication sciences, entrepreneurship, human resource management, information sciences, managerial and organizational cognition, operations management, public administration, social or industrial psychology, and technology and innovation management. Phenomena studied may include (but are not limited to) structures, routines, effectiveness, competitiveness, innovation, dynamics, change and evolution.Levels of analysis may include (but are not limited to) organizational, cross-organizational collaborations or relationships, and institutional and can address individuals, groups or tea

The Interdisciplinary Behavioral and Social Science Research (IBSS) competition promotes the conduct of interdisciplinary research by teams of investigators in the social and behavioral sciences. Emphasis is placed on support for research that involves researchers from multiple SBE disciplinary fields and that integrates scientific theoretical approaches and methodologies from multiple SBE disciplinary fields. Emphasis also is placed on the significance of expected intellectual contributions that are likely to yield generalizable insights and information that will enhance theoretical perspectives and advance basic knowledge and capabilities across multiple SBE disciplinary fields. Although the IBSS competition will consider any proposal that addresses a topic for which the proposal makes a compelling case that the research will enhance broader theoretical understanding across multiple social and behavioral science fields, social and behavioral science researchers are especially encouraged to submit proposals for research on one of the following three broadly defined topics: Population Change; Sources and Consequences of Disparities; and Technology, New Media, and Social Networks.

Nigeria has sought to tackle corruption through traditional legal, law enforcement, and governance-focused interventions. The United States seeks to support the Government of Nigeria (GON) to institutionalize a culture of accountability at the federal, state, and local levels of government through support for prevention and enforcement activities. The purpose of this program is to develop strategic national, state, and local level anti-corruption programming to complement traditional anti-corruption efforts led by the GON and donors. The project will work at the national, state, and local level, in each geopolitical zone, and in coordination with relevant civil society stakeholders thereby creating networks of change and collective action throughout Nigeria. Particular attention should be paid to anti-corruption efforts related to security and justice sectors.

This program seeks to prepare, nurture, and grow the national scientific research workforce for creating, utilizing, and supporting advanced cyberinfrastructure (CI) to enable and potentially transform fundamental science and engineering research and contribute to the Nation's overall economic competitiveness and security. The goals of this solicitation are to (i) ensure broad adoption of CI tools, methods, and resources by the research community in order to catalyze major research advances and to enhance researchers' abilities to lead the development of new CI; and (ii) integrate core literacy and discipline-appropriate advanced skills in advanced CI as well as computational and data-driven science and engineering into the Nation's educational curriculum/instructional material fabric spanning undergraduate and graduate courses for advancing fundamental research. Pilot and Implementation projects may target one or both of the solicitation goals, while Large-scale Project Conceptualization projects must address both goals. For the purpose of this solicitation, advanced CI is broadly defined as the set of resources, tools, methods, and services for advanced computation, large-scale data handling and analytics, and networking and security for large-scale systems that collectively enable potentially transformative fundamental research.

A proposal that applies anthropological methods to a social problem but does not propose how that problem provides an opportunity to make a theory-testing and/or theory expanding contribution to anthropology will be returned without review. Program research priorities include, but are not limited to, research that increases our understanding of: Socio-cultural drivers of critical anthropogenic processes such as deforestation, desertification, land cover change, urbanization, and poverty Resilience and robustness of socio-cultural systems Scientific principles underlying conflict, cooperation, and altruism Economy, culture, migration, and globalization Variability and change in kinship and family norms and practices General cultural and social principles underlining the drivers of specific health outcomes and disease transmission Social regulation, governmentality, and violence Origins of complexity in socio-cultural systems Language and culture: orality and literacy, sociolinguistics, and cognition Human variation through empirically grounded ethnographic descriptions Mathematical and computational models of sociocultural systems such as social network analysis, agent-based models, multi-level models, and modes that integrate agent-based simulations and geographic information systems (GIS)

The Partnership for the Development of Eastern Congo (P-DEC) Program seeks an integrated set of cross-sectoral interventions. Through a cohesive and holistic approach, P-DEC Program aims to amplify the impact of USAID investments and complement other planned interventions by the Government of the DRC and external actors in the public and private sectors. The purpose of the P-DEC Program is therefore to address the development emergency in eastern Congo through a multi-year, multi-sectoral initiative that will build community trust, strengthen the resilience of individuals and communities, fortify existing governance structures, and create opportunities for long-term development and self-reliance of local communities. These activities may also reach across a range of partner types - from public-private partnerships to capacity-building of local organizations. USAID envisions an approach centered around two geographically defined planning and implementation phases. While geographically defined, the phases are not sequential, nor are they strictly defined technical categories; they are fluid, and are conceptual in nature. The approach also focuses on urban and peri-urban areas with large populations, existing transportation networks, and a level of security and stability necessary for implementation.