The overall aim of this research is to develop and apply a mathematically-based model to allocate scarce budgets from the national level to the regions and from the regions to the parks. This research advances the science of national-scale budget and resource allocation methodologies for fire management planning. Advancing the science of national-scale budgeting will have direct implications across each of the federal agencies/bureaus as well as states, NGOs, and the public. The process will be presented in a form that is operationally viable and pragmatic. This aim has the following objectives: â¿¢ Internal Consistency. Budget formulation will be consistent with budget allocation. This means that formation (park-region-national) is performed in a way that is consistent with budget allocation (national-region-park) â¿¢ Proportionate Performance: Budget formation and allocation are performed in a way that is consistent with proportional performance. Allocations by park respond to the parkâ¿¿s proportionate contribution to that parkâ¿¿s performance as measured by its return on investment (ROI) across its preparedness and fuels programs. The same principle is applied to regions. Ultimately the same principle could be applied to DOI bureaus, but this may not be addressed in the proposed research. Budgeting across the national parks administrative strata in a way that is tractable, mathematically sound, socially stable and promotes performance has been elusive for the preparedness and fuels programs. The proposed research will address this in a way that is pragmatic, defensible, repeatable and defensible. The results of the research will have the potential to serve as an informative guideline for allocations at all budget levels whether federally or non-federally managed.

This program worked with the Tunisian Chambers of Commerce to develop demand- and revenue- driven services for Tunisian businesses. In the first phase of the project, the program strengthened the chambers’ human and institutional capacity through the development of customized strategic plans. In phases two and three, the program focused on the integration of chambers, the development of value-added services, and the implementation of public policy advocacy pilot projects, which have enabled the chambers to take on a stronger role as proactive actors and catalysts of local economic development.

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,

The Horowitz Foundation for Social Policy was established in 1997 to support the advancement of research and understanding in the major fields of the social sciences, which include psychology, anthropology, sociology, economics, urban affairs, area studies, political science, and other disciplines.

To develop a curriculum on social entrepreneurship and then implement a series of workshops for 600 women college students to introduce them to social entrepreneurship and provide them with the tools and skills to initiate their own social entrepreneurial endeavors.

The Administration for Children and Families, Office of Refugee Resettlement invites the submission of applications for funding under the Ethnic Community Self-Help (ECSH) Program. The goal of this program is to support Ethnic Community-Based Organizations (ECBOs) in providing refugee populations with critical services to assist them in becoming integrated members of American society. Under the ECSH Program, the following three main objectives must be implemented: 1) to strengthen ECBOs’ provision of culturally and linguistically appropriate services to refugees within five years after their initial resettlement; 2) to support ECBOs' organizational development and engagement in capacity building by encouraging their collaboration with established refugee service providers and mainstream organizations; and 3) to support ECBOs in promoting community building and civic participation by refugee individuals and refugee community members.

The Spencer Foundation was established in 1962 to investigate ways in which education, broadly conceived, can be improved around the world. From the first, the foundation has been dedicated to the belief that research is necessary to improvement in education. To that end, the foundation is committed to supporting high-quality investigation through its research programs and to strengthening and renewing the educational research community through its fellowship and training programs and related activities.

Historically, grants through the program have supported research projects on a range of topics and disciplines, including education, psychology, sociology, economics, history, and anthropology; they also employ a wide range of research methods. Examples of recently funded projects include an experimental study of how college students use visual representations in solving math problems; a study exploring the process of racial and rural identity formation among African American high-school students who attend de facto segregated schools in the rural South; and a mixed-methods study focusing on the different types of knowledge novice and experienced teachers draw on in teaching for reading comprehension.

This initiative will assist communities in attracting more foreign direct investment (FDI) to strengthen their local economies by helping them identify and adopt economic development and workforce best practices related to attracting FDI, and fostering a supportive environment for local exporting communities. Through this funding opportunity, EDA seeks to continue to build on its strong foundation of connecting communities to best practices.

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.

The International Research Experiences for Students (IRES) program supports development of globally-engaged U.S. science and engineering students capable of performing in an international research environment at the forefront of science and engineering. The IRES program supports active research participation by students enrolled as undergraduates or graduate students in any of the areas of research funded by the National Science Foundation. IRES projects involve students in meaningful ways in ongoing research programs or in research projects specifically designed for the IRES program.

There are no limitations on the disciplinary background of the principal investigator, and the proposed research may address any topic in behavioral economics. However, projects must contribute to the Foundation's mission to improve the social and living conditions in the U.S. Appropriate projects will demonstrate explicit use of psychological concepts in the motivation of the research design and the preparation of the results.

The Data Incubator is a Cornell-funded data science training organization. We run a free advanced 8-week fellowship (think data science bootcamp) for PhDs looking to enter industry. A variety of innovative companies partner with The Data Incubator for their hiring and training needs, including LinkedIn, Genentech, Capital One, Pfizer, and many others. The program is free for admitted Fellows. Fellows have the option to participate in the program either in person in New York, San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, Boston, Washington DC, or online.

As part of broader university-wide diversity and inclusion efforts, the Office of the President and the Office for the Advancement of Research and Scholarship (OARS) have issued a special call for proposals to conduct research, scholarship, or creative activities in the areas of social justice, human rights, diversity, and inclusion. Proposals may be submitted in any of these areas, but must address a scholarly question that will lead to testable objectives or measurable outcomes.

The goal of the Energy for Sustainability program is to support fundamental engineering research that will enable innovative processes for the sustainable production of electricity and fuels, and for energy storage. Processes for sustainable energy production must be environmentally benign, reduce greenhouse gas production, and utilize renewable resources. Research projects that stress molecular level understanding of phenomena that directly impacts key barriers to improved system level performance (e.g. energy efficiency, product yield, process intensification) are encouraged. Proposed research should be inspired by the need for economic and impactful conversion processes. All proposals should include in the project description, how the proposed work, if successful, will improve process realization and economic feasibility and compare the proposed work against current state-of-the-art. Highly integrated multidisciplinary projects are encouraged.

The Fellowships for Advanced Social Science Research on Japan program is a joint activity of the Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission (JUSFC) and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Awards support research on modern Japanese society and political economy, Japan's international relations, and U.S.-Japan relations. The program encourages innovative research that puts these subjects in wider regional and global contexts and is comparative and contemporary in nature. Research should contribute to scholarly knowledge or to the general public's understanding of issues of concern to Japan and the United States.

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.

To study the challenges targeted in this call, both inter- and transdisciplinary approaches that enable researchers to address the interconnections and interdependencies between natural and human systems, as well as between science and society, are needed. This programme has two major objectives: - To develop understanding of and promote research on transformations to sustainability which are of significant social, economic and policy concern throughout the world and of great relevance to both academics and stakeholders. - To build capacity, overcome fragmentation and have a lasting impact on both society and the research landscape by cultivating durable research collaboration across multiple borders, disciplinary boundaries, and with practitioners and societal partners. This includes facilitating the development of new research collaborations with parts of the world which are not often involved in large-scale international research efforts, notably low- and middle-income countries.

PECASE: Each year NSF selects nominees for the Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) from among the most meritorious recent CAREER awardees. Selection for this award is based on two important criteria: 1) innovative research at the frontiers of science and technology that is relevant to the mission of NSF, and 2) community service demonstrated through scientific leadership, education, or community outreach. These awards foster innovative developments in science and technology, increase awareness of careers in science and engineering, give recognition to the scientific missions of the participating agencies, enhance connections between fundamental research and national goals, and highlight the importance of science and technology for the Nation's future. Individuals cannot apply for PECASE.

The solicitation invites two categories of proposals: -Foundations (F): those developing or studying fundamental theories, techniques, methodologies, and technologies of broad applicability to big data problems, motivated by specific data challenges and requirements; and -Innovative Applications (IA): those engaged in translational activities that employ new big data techniques, methodologies, and technologies to address and solve problems in specific application domains. Projects in this category must be collaborative, involving researchers from domain disciplines and one or more methodological disciplines, e.g., computer science, statistics, mathematics, simulation and modeling, etc.