research proposal samples in kenya

RESEARCH PROPOSAL EXAMPLES

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Research Proposal Writing

Proposal writing support, 1. introduction: background to the study.

We at KENPRO take our clients through the following introductory parts of chapter one of most of research projects undertaken by college and university students:

1.1 Background of the Study

1.2 Statement of the Problem

1.3 Objectives/ Questions/Hypothesis

1.4 Significance of the Study

1.5 Scope of the Study

1.6 Limitation of the Study

1.7 Conceptual OR Theoretical Framework

1.8 Operational Definition of Key Terms

It should be noted that there are a little variations on this outline depending on the individual requirements of various colleges and universities. However, this outline constitutes the key parts of the introduction in essence.

We assist our clients in developing background to the study. We have nuemrous authoritative and scholarly online resources to build the most comprehensive up-to-date background to any education and social sciences research.

There are other critical parts of this introduction that students of research find difficulties. These include  research problem analysis  in order to up with good research questions or objectives to guide the study. Other parts include drawing up a good conceptual framework while taking into account both dependent and independent variables or constructs.  

Research Problem Analysis

The identification of research problem is the first and foremost step that every researcher has to undertake. At times, it becomes rather difficult for an inexperienced researcher or a novice/beginner in research to conceptualize a research problem. In general, a research problem should be understood as some difficulty, unclear situation which a researcher experiences in practical or theoretical context and wants to obtain a tangible explanation, clarification or offer solution to it. For students, this problem may be as a result of theoretical encounter in the area of specialization. As such, before embarking on any research, you should identify the major research area of your interest, mostly the area of your specialization. For instance from: Education, Social sciences, Humanities, Business administration among others.

Once you have the broad area, you narrow down the area by selecting a particular topic. This should be done after going through most of the literature related to the area. The topic should further be narrowed down to a specific researchable problem.

Components of a Research Problem. For a research problem to exist, there are a number of core elements that have to be inherent. There must be:

1. An individual or community or an organization/institution to whom the problem could be attributed.

These occupy a certain geographical area. For instance, teacher/parental factors affecting students performance in private secondary schools in Embu Municipality. In this study, there are individuals (parents, teachers, students), there are institutions (private secondary schools), and there is the area of study (Embu Municipality).

2. Some Objectives for pursuing the problem

There must be some objectives pursuing the problem, otherwise, it would be repugnant to reason and common understanding to undertake the research. For example: To find out teacher/parental factors affecting the students academic performance in private secondary schools in Embu Municipality.

3. Some lines of action to be taken

There must be at least two lines of action to be taken to attain the objective. For example, poor academic performance may be attributed to negative teacher and parental factors. Thus altering negative teacher factors and parental factors become the lines of action to be pursued. Here, the underlying question is “what is the cause of this problem – poor academic performance?” It is in answering this question that you must pursue some lines of action through stating some variables (teacher factors and parental factors).

We at KENPRO help our customers in identifying research topic(s). Once identified, the client is supposed to agree with the supervisor to be allowed to proceed.

2. Literature Review

We support our customers by providing literature resources that may be required for both theoretical and empirical review. We have access to hundreds of online international journals and digital libraries.

A literature review is an evaluative report of information found in the literature related to your selected area of study. The review should describe, summarize, evaluate and clarify this literature. It should give a theoretical base for the research and help you (the researcher) determine the nature of your research. Works, which are irrelevant, should be discarded and those, which are peripheral, should be looked at critically.

In general, the literature review should:

• Provide a context for the research
• Justify the research
• Ensure the research hasn’t been done before
• Show where the research fits into the existing body of knowledge
• Enable the researcher to learn from previous theory on the subject
• Illustrate how the subject has been studied previously
• Highlight flaws in previous research
• Outline gaps in previous research
• Show that the work is adding to the understanding and knowledge of the field of study
• Help refine, refocus or even change the topic

This chapter is generally divided according to the specific research objectives guiding the study. Each research objective / question should be reviewed. Such review helps in identifying knowledge gaps in the previous related studies and in the discussion of the findings.

Literature resources retrieval depends on the topic and the number of resources required. They may vary depending on the clients program of study and educational level. Roughly, we charge as low as Ksh. 250 /- to 1000/- per page.

3. Research Design and Methodology

We assist our clients in coming up with Research Design and methodology.

The most common sections of the methodology include the following:

3.1 Research Design

3.2 Target Population

3.3 Sample and Sampling procedure

3.4 Description of instruments

3.5 Validity of the Research Instruments

3.6 Reliability of the Research Instrument

3.7 Data collection procedure

3.8 Data analysis procedure

3.9 Ethical Considerations

Research Design: The most commonly used research designs in education and social sciences research include survey research design, the case study and naturalistic research designs. As a student of research, be ware of confusion between research designs and research approaches (qualitative and quantitative research approaches or paradigms).

Sample and sampling procedure: This is another tricky part of methodology which can pose a great challenge to a student of research or even a practitioner. There are a number of approaches that are used to arrive at the sample size. Some maintain that at least 10% (Gay, 1996) of the total population is representative; Others 30% (Gall, Borg and Gall, 2003). However, this is disputed. As such, use of Krejcie, and Morgan, table of determining sample size which is formula based is encouraged. One may also opt to use the formula to determine the sample size.

Reliability: Determining reliability of data collection instruments is also tricky. We encourage students to validate and determine the reliability of the instruments. To determine the reliability of research instruments, one must conduct a pilot test using related target population which does not form part of the final sample. Correlations (spearman’s rank correlation, Pearson’s correlation or Cronbach’s apha may be used to determine reliability). IBM SPSS is a valuable tool in computing reliability.

We offer support in drawing up research design and methodology.

Developing Data Collection Instruments

We assist our customers in developing research instruments. This MAINLY include Questionnaires and Interview guides. However, there are other instruments that we assist our clients to develop like observations guides among others depending on varied research designs:

Questionnaire Method

One method which can be used to ask questions is to use a questionnaire. This is a set of written questions on a sheet with spaces provided for respondents to reply to the questions. Questionnaires are frequently self-administered or they may be used during an interview. A questionnaire is most useful when you want to collect a small amount of clearly defined facts from a large number of people. Although very useful, there are two important disadvantages of self-administered questionnaires: Only people who can read and write can answer them (many street children are not literate); Less opportunity exists for street children to explain confusing answers.

Interviewing is one of the commonest method of collecting information from individuals. It is not surprising, then, that interviewing takes several forms:

Structured interviews, in which the wording of the questions and their sequence is the same from one interview to another; the respondents must choose from a limited number of answers that have been written in advance.

Semi-structured interviews, in which the interviewer asks important questions in the same way each time but is free to alter the sequence of the questions and to probe for more information; respondents can answer the questions in any way they choose.

Unstructured interviews, in which interviewers have a list of topics they want respondents to talk about but are free to phrase the questions as they wish; the respondents are free to answer in any way they choose.

Focus Group Discussion

Some important points to remember about the focus group as a means of collecting information:

a) This method is frequently used to explore a new issue in monitoring and evaluation studies and to discover what a group of people or project workers might think or feel about a question or problem.

b) The goal is to provide an opportunity for participants to talk to one another about a specific topic.

c) The facilitator is there to guide the discussion but should avoid intervening in the discussion.

Observation Method

It is, perhaps, the technique most closely related to everyday life. It involves watching and recording the behaviour of individuals or groups, or the events that occur in a particular place. One of the advantages of using this approach is that you may choose when and where to carry out the observation procedure and so ensure that you will have a good chance of seeing the people or the behaviour you wish to observe.

The charges range between Kshs.1,500 to Kshs. 3,500.

The charges depend on the level of the study (Diploma, Degree, Undergraduate and Postgraduate) and on the types and the number of instruments (Questionnaires, Interview guides, Observation schedules, etc).

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RESEARCH PROPOSAL

A   research proposal   is a document written by a researcher that provides a detailed description of the proposed study.  It is an outline of the research process that gives a reader a summary of the researchers’   intention to carry out a study.

It is therefore a detailed work plan on how a research activity will be conducted. The research proposal   is ones way of showing that one has an idea that is of value and can contribute important knowledge to the specific field.  A research proposal is intended to convince the readers that one has a worthwhile research study and that one has the competence and the work-plan to complete it.

The proposal should have sufficient information to convince readers that one has an important research idea, that one has a good grasp of the relevant literature and the major issues, and that methodology is sound. A research proposal should address the following questions:

• What one plan to accomplish,
• why one want to do it and
• How you are going to do

To propose means to state an intention, suggestion. It indicates a researcher’s intention to carry out a study. A Research proposal is written in future tense since the study has not yet been carried out. A research study starts with a brief introductory section that narrows down to the specific problem to be studies.

FORMAT OF A RESEARCH PROPOSAL

A proposal is divided into the following sections

PRELIMINARIES

This is the first section of the proposal. However it is the last to be written. It includes  the following:

It is often times referred to as the cover page, this section is where one indicates the title of the  research, name, institutional information . This section includes

• The research title
• Name and student number
• Statement- A research proposal submitted in partial fulfillment for the degree of (insert the name of the Degree) of kenya Methodist University
• Month and year of submission

Declaration Page

This includes the declaration by the student and supervisor:

c) Dedication

This is not compulsory and may apply to an individual who has had a major impact on the researcher. It should not exceed 25 words

d)Acknowledgement

This refers to individuals who in one way or the other have contributed to the success of the study. It should not exceed 150 words

This summarizes the major areas in the proposal. It should not exceed 500 words. It should be comprehensive with no paragraph.

f) Table of contents

This indicates all the section in the proposal. The page numbers should be included

• g) List of tables
• h) List of figures
• g) Abbreviations and acronyms

The Research Process

The research begins with a selection of identification of a subject/problem to be studied. Once the subject has been identified, the researcher takes the following steps:

• Formulating the research problem.
• Defining the hypothesis.
• Research design.
• Determination of the type of data to be collected.
• Data collection procedures and data analysis and generalizations

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Samuel Gichimu Muchai Project proposal Draft BBIT Mount Kenya Student.pdf

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• How to Write a Literature Review | Guide, Examples, & Templates

How to Write a Literature Review | Guide, Examples, & Templates

Published on January 2, 2023 by Shona McCombes . Revised on September 11, 2023.

What is a literature review? A literature review is a survey of scholarly sources on a specific topic. It provides an overview of current knowledge, allowing you to identify relevant theories, methods, and gaps in the existing research that you can later apply to your paper, thesis, or dissertation topic .

There are five key steps to writing a literature review:

• Search for relevant literature
• Evaluate sources
• Identify themes, debates, and gaps
• Outline the structure
• Write your literature review

A good literature review doesn’t just summarize sources—it analyzes, synthesizes , and critically evaluates to give a clear picture of the state of knowledge on the subject.

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Table of contents

What is the purpose of a literature review, examples of literature reviews, step 1 – search for relevant literature, step 2 – evaluate and select sources, step 3 – identify themes, debates, and gaps, step 4 – outline your literature review’s structure, step 5 – write your literature review, free lecture slides, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions, introduction.

• Quick Run-through
• Step 1 & 2

When you write a thesis , dissertation , or research paper , you will likely have to conduct a literature review to situate your research within existing knowledge. The literature review gives you a chance to:

• Demonstrate your familiarity with the topic and its scholarly context
• Develop a theoretical framework and methodology for your research
• Position your work in relation to other researchers and theorists
• Show how your research addresses a gap or contributes to a debate
• Evaluate the current state of research and demonstrate your knowledge of the scholarly debates around your topic.

Writing literature reviews is a particularly important skill if you want to apply for graduate school or pursue a career in research. We’ve written a step-by-step guide that you can follow below.

Prevent plagiarism. Run a free check.

Writing literature reviews can be quite challenging! A good starting point could be to look at some examples, depending on what kind of literature review you’d like to write.

• Example literature review #1: “Why Do People Migrate? A Review of the Theoretical Literature” ( Theoretical literature review about the development of economic migration theory from the 1950s to today.)
• Example literature review #2: “Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines” ( Methodological literature review about interdisciplinary knowledge acquisition and production.)
• Example literature review #3: “The Use of Technology in English Language Learning: A Literature Review” ( Thematic literature review about the effects of technology on language acquisition.)
• Example literature review #4: “Learners’ Listening Comprehension Difficulties in English Language Learning: A Literature Review” ( Chronological literature review about how the concept of listening skills has changed over time.)

You can also check out our templates with literature review examples and sample outlines at the links below.

Download Word doc Download Google doc

Before you begin searching for literature, you need a clearly defined topic .

If you are writing the literature review section of a dissertation or research paper, you will search for literature related to your research problem and questions .

Make a list of keywords

Start by creating a list of keywords related to your research question. Include each of the key concepts or variables you’re interested in, and list any synonyms and related terms. You can add to this list as you discover new keywords in the process of your literature search.

• Social media, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, TikTok
• Body image, self-perception, self-esteem, mental health
• Generation Z, teenagers, adolescents, youth

Search for relevant sources

Use your keywords to begin searching for sources. Some useful databases to search for journals and articles include:

• Your university’s library catalogue
• Google Scholar
• Project Muse (humanities and social sciences)
• Medline (life sciences and biomedicine)
• EconLit (economics)
• Inspec (physics, engineering and computer science)

You can also use boolean operators to help narrow down your search.

Make sure to read the abstract to find out whether an article is relevant to your question. When you find a useful book or article, you can check the bibliography to find other relevant sources.

You likely won’t be able to read absolutely everything that has been written on your topic, so it will be necessary to evaluate which sources are most relevant to your research question.

For each publication, ask yourself:

• What question or problem is the author addressing?
• What are the key concepts and how are they defined?
• What are the key theories, models, and methods?
• Does the research use established frameworks or take an innovative approach?
• What are the results and conclusions of the study?
• How does the publication relate to other literature in the field? Does it confirm, add to, or challenge established knowledge?
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of the research?

Make sure the sources you use are credible , and make sure you read any landmark studies and major theories in your field of research.

You can use our template to summarize and evaluate sources you’re thinking about using. Click on either button below to download.

Take notes and cite your sources

As you read, you should also begin the writing process. Take notes that you can later incorporate into the text of your literature review.

It is important to keep track of your sources with citations to avoid plagiarism . It can be helpful to make an annotated bibliography , where you compile full citation information and write a paragraph of summary and analysis for each source. This helps you remember what you read and saves time later in the process.

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To begin organizing your literature review’s argument and structure, be sure you understand the connections and relationships between the sources you’ve read. Based on your reading and notes, you can look for:

• Trends and patterns (in theory, method or results): do certain approaches become more or less popular over time?
• Themes: what questions or concepts recur across the literature?
• Debates, conflicts and contradictions: where do sources disagree?
• Pivotal publications: are there any influential theories or studies that changed the direction of the field?
• Gaps: what is missing from the literature? Are there weaknesses that need to be addressed?

This step will help you work out the structure of your literature review and (if applicable) show how your own research will contribute to existing knowledge.

• Most research has focused on young women.
• There is an increasing interest in the visual aspects of social media.
• But there is still a lack of robust research on highly visual platforms like Instagram and Snapchat—this is a gap that you could address in your own research.

There are various approaches to organizing the body of a literature review. Depending on the length of your literature review, you can combine several of these strategies (for example, your overall structure might be thematic, but each theme is discussed chronologically).

Chronological

The simplest approach is to trace the development of the topic over time. However, if you choose this strategy, be careful to avoid simply listing and summarizing sources in order.

Try to analyze patterns, turning points and key debates that have shaped the direction of the field. Give your interpretation of how and why certain developments occurred.

If you have found some recurring central themes, you can organize your literature review into subsections that address different aspects of the topic.

For example, if you are reviewing literature about inequalities in migrant health outcomes, key themes might include healthcare policy, language barriers, cultural attitudes, legal status, and economic access.

Methodological

If you draw your sources from different disciplines or fields that use a variety of research methods , you might want to compare the results and conclusions that emerge from different approaches. For example:

• Look at what results have emerged in qualitative versus quantitative research
• Discuss how the topic has been approached by empirical versus theoretical scholarship
• Divide the literature into sociological, historical, and cultural sources

Theoretical

A literature review is often the foundation for a theoretical framework . You can use it to discuss various theories, models, and definitions of key concepts.

You might argue for the relevance of a specific theoretical approach, or combine various theoretical concepts to create a framework for your research.

Like any other academic text , your literature review should have an introduction , a main body, and a conclusion . What you include in each depends on the objective of your literature review.

The introduction should clearly establish the focus and purpose of the literature review.

Depending on the length of your literature review, you might want to divide the body into subsections. You can use a subheading for each theme, time period, or methodological approach.

As you write, you can follow these tips:

• Summarize and synthesize: give an overview of the main points of each source and combine them into a coherent whole
• Analyze and interpret: don’t just paraphrase other researchers — add your own interpretations where possible, discussing the significance of findings in relation to the literature as a whole
• Critically evaluate: mention the strengths and weaknesses of your sources
• Write in well-structured paragraphs: use transition words and topic sentences to draw connections, comparisons and contrasts

In the conclusion, you should summarize the key findings you have taken from the literature and emphasize their significance.

When you’ve finished writing and revising your literature review, don’t forget to proofread thoroughly before submitting. Not a language expert? Check out Scribbr’s professional proofreading services !

This article has been adapted into lecture slides that you can use to teach your students about writing a literature review.

Scribbr slides are free to use, customize, and distribute for educational purposes.

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If you want to know more about the research process , methodology , research bias , or statistics , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

• Sampling methods
• Simple random sampling
• Stratified sampling
• Cluster sampling
• Likert scales
• Reproducibility

 Statistics

• Null hypothesis
• Statistical power
• Probability distribution
• Effect size
• Poisson distribution

Research bias

• Optimism bias
• Cognitive bias
• Implicit bias
• Hawthorne effect
• Anchoring bias
• Explicit bias

A literature review is a survey of scholarly sources (such as books, journal articles, and theses) related to a specific topic or research question .

It is often written as part of a thesis, dissertation , or research paper , in order to situate your work in relation to existing knowledge.

There are several reasons to conduct a literature review at the beginning of a research project:

• To familiarize yourself with the current state of knowledge on your topic
• To ensure that you’re not just repeating what others have already done
• To identify gaps in knowledge and unresolved problems that your research can address
• To develop your theoretical framework and methodology
• To provide an overview of the key findings and debates on the topic

Writing the literature review shows your reader how your work relates to existing research and what new insights it will contribute.

The literature review usually comes near the beginning of your thesis or dissertation . After the introduction , it grounds your research in a scholarly field and leads directly to your theoretical framework or methodology .

A literature review is a survey of credible sources on a topic, often used in dissertations , theses, and research papers . Literature reviews give an overview of knowledge on a subject, helping you identify relevant theories and methods, as well as gaps in existing research. Literature reviews are set up similarly to other  academic texts , with an introduction , a main body, and a conclusion .

An  annotated bibliography is a list of  source references that has a short description (called an annotation ) for each of the sources. It is often assigned as part of the research process for a  paper .  

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

McCombes, S. (2023, September 11). How to Write a Literature Review | Guide, Examples, & Templates. Scribbr. Retrieved June 7, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/dissertation/literature-review/

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Dear Colleague Letter: Planning Proposals for the NSF Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) Research Incubators for STEM Excellence (E-RISE) and Collaborations for Optimizing Research Ecosystems (E-CORE) Research Infrastructure Improvement (RII) Programs

June 7, 2024

Dear Colleagues:

With this Dear Colleague Letter (DCL), NSF EPSCoR announces its intent to accept planning proposals to support planning of future submissions to the  E-RISE RII or E-CORE RII programs. E-RISE RII focuses on the development and sustainability of an EPSCoR-eligible jurisdiction’s research capacity and competitiveness in a scientific topic area by supporting the incubation of research teams and products in a scientific topical area. E-CORE RII supports jurisdictions in building capacity in one or more targeted research infrastructure cores that underlie the jurisdiction’s research ecosystem. Both E-RISE RII and E-CORE RII projects are expected to align with research priorities identified in the approved Science and Technology (S&T) plan of the jurisdiction.

PLANNING PROPOSAL PURPOSE

NSF EPSCoR is utilizing the planning type of proposal to engage institutions and organizations that may be interested in submitting proposals to future E-RISE RII or E-CORE RII competitions. NSF EPSCoR is especially interested in planning activities that would catalyze new collaborations and partnerships in EPSCoR-eligible jurisdictions and that broaden the participation of individuals or organizations underrepresented in the NSF EPSCoR award portfolio.

The planning proposal will allow up to one year of support to provide, as applicable, the PI, collaborating institutions(s), and planning team with the time and resources needed for submission of a meritorious project to E-RISE RII or E-CORE RII programs.

EPSCoR RII planning proposals are not intended to provide seed funding for research activities. Planning proposals for the collection of research data will be returned without review. Rather, for EPSCoR RII, the planning type of proposal is appropriate for the development of a complex, jurisdiction-wide, four-year, capacity-building research infrastructure or research and education proposal that is aligned with the Science & Technology (S&T) plan of the jurisdiction.

In preparation for a future submission to the E-RISE RII program, the planning proposal should include:

• a review of the selected research focus area, including the rationale and justification for enhancing research capacity in that topic area within the jurisdiction;
• an assessment of the jurisdiction's existing research capacity and infrastructure (including cyberinfrastructure and research personnel) for enabling research in the chosen topic area;
• the initial coordination and planning of future jurisdiction-wide research and capacity-building efforts; and
• an analysis of the workforce development efforts needed to support the jurisdiction's future expertise in the research topic area(s).

In preparation for a future submission to the E-CORE RII program, the planning proposal should include:

• the integration of multi-disciplinary approaches, expertise, and organizations within the jurisdiction in order to develop a management plan for a future E-CORE project that optimizes research and capacity-building efforts while acknowledging and minimizing risks;
• identification of additional infrastructure that may be needed to support research efforts of relevance to the jurisdictional S&T plan;
• an analysis of the workforce development efforts needed to support the jurisdiction's S&T plan.

For examples of possible EPSCoR RII planning activities, see the Examples of Appropriate Planning Activities section below.

ELIGIBILITY

To be eligible for submission of a planning proposal or receipt of a planning award, the submitting institution or organization must be in an EPSCoR-eligible jurisdiction and must not be a funded collaborator on a pending or active E-RISE RII or E-CORE RII award.

Institutions or collaborators with a lead or collaborating role in a current EPSCoR RII Track-1 award are also eligible to submit a planning proposal.

IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS

Before preparing and submitting a planning proposal, the PI must contact an NSF EPSCoR RII Program Director  to provide a one-page concept outline of the project and to discuss the types of activities for which funding would be requested in the proposal. If approved, the NSF Program Director will invite submission of the planning proposal by email. The email confirming approval to submit a planning proposal must be uploaded as a document entitled "EPSCoR RII Planning - Program Director Concurrence Email" in the Program Officer Concurrence Email(s) section of  Research.gov .

PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS

Planning proposals must be prepared and submitted in Research.gov in accordance with the guidance for Planning Proposals specified in Chapter II.F.1 of the  NSF Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG) and the additional guidance below.

• Select the Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide as the Funding Opportunity;
• In the "Where to Apply" section, select "Office of the Director" as the Directorate, "Office of Integrative Activities" as the Division and either "EPSCoR CORE RII" or “EPSCoR RISE RII” as the Program;
• On the Select Proposal Type screen, select "Planning" as the proposal type.

The Project Description must not exceed eight pages in length and must include the following:

• A brief paragraph on the purpose of the planning proposal, specifying whether the proposal is in preparation for submission to the E-RISE RII program or to the E-CORE RII program.
• A description of goals and activities for the project, including the basis for their inclusion and their relevance for a future E-RISE RII or E-CORE RII proposal submission. The narrative should include activities that would be expected to culminate in one or more jurisdiction-wide, in-person, hybrid, or virtual gathering(s) of key participants. Preliminary consultation with an EPSCoR RII Program Director may help identify the optimal activities for a particular project and at what points would best help the jurisdiction in the planning process.

When preparing the budget and budget justification, some considerations are:

• The budget may not exceed $100,000 for a period of up to one year.
• The budget should allow for at least one meeting for key participants to work together toward envisioning a future E-CORE or E-RISE RII project. This meeting may engage an external facilitator to direct participants toward a product that can be developed into an E-CORE or E-RISE RII proposal. If included, the facilitator must be listed in Section G (Consultant Services).
• The budget justification should explain how the budget allocation supports the overall goal of the planning proposal. Note that the funds are not intended to be used for research activities, such as preliminary data collection, or for proposal writing.

EXAMPLES OF APPROPRIATE PLANNING ACTIVITIES

Examples of activities appropriate during an EPSCoR RII planning award are provided below. Proposals may include activities like those described below or different activities more suitable for the submitting jurisdiction’s specific needs.

• Developing a plan for structuring the administrative core of a planned E-CORE RII project to allow for the transitioning of an EPSCoR State Office to the administrative core.
• Reviewing the existing research infrastructure in the jurisdiction that is needed to address the chosen focus area of the planning proposal, including an analysis of the personnel and equipment already available in the jurisdiction, or what personnel and equipment would need to be acquired to do the future work.
• Determining the future work's critical path and the timeline for when the needed infrastructure would be in place to ensure the overall success of the future project.
• Developing a detailed schematic illustrating how the future project would involve a coordinated, collaborative approach to the proposed problem, including using multiple investigators and organizations.
• Creating a logic model to describe the shared relationships among the resources, activities, outputs, outcomes, and impacts of the future project.
• Analyzing the potential sustainability of efforts, particularly in terms of commitments from the jurisdiction to sustain infrastructure after completion of the E-RISE RII or E-CORE RII award.
• Developing a management plan for the future project that includes human resource management, particularly in showing how potential new faculty hires would be included in the project plan, and a risk analysis of how the project would succeed if the required new faculty could not be hired for any reason.
• Ascertaining resources available at institutions across the jurisdiction, including research-intensive universities, primarily undergraduate institutions, community colleges, minority-serving institutions, and tribal colleges and universities, indicating how the chosen institutions could best fit into a four-year project as full-time, part-time, or seasonal research partners and/or sites of workforce development in the topic area of the project.
• Determining the baseline demographics of science, technology, education, and mathematics (STEM) participation in the jurisdiction and planning for increasing the participation from the full spectrum of diverse talent that society has to offer, which includes underrepresented and underserved communities, in the future project.

POINTS OF CONTACT

Questions about this DCL may be directed to:

• Casonya M. Johnson ( [email protected] ), Program Director
• Jeanne Small ( [email protected] ), Program Director
• Chinonye Nnakwe Whitley ( [email protected] ), Program Director

Sandra Richardson Section Head, Research Capacity and Competitiveness U.S. National Science Foundation

Alicia Knoedler Office Head, Office of Integrative Activities U.S. National Science Foundation

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Breaking news, inside the smithsonian’s tropical research island in panama.

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In a world that often feels like it has no more mysteries to discover (at least on land), scientists from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) have recently proven otherwise.

It happened on Barro Colorado Island in Panama, home to a one-of-a-kind rainforest laboratory that’s celebrating its 100th anniversary this year.

During a geological expedition, visiting scientists uncovered hundreds of fossilized mangrove wood specimens, perfectly preserved in lava and estimated to be over 22 million years old.

In their findings published in March , researchers revealed almost unimaginable details about this long-lost prehistoric forest, where trees grew 130 feet tall and long-extinct animals once thrived. 

Carlos Jaramillo, a Colombian geologist who was involved in the study—and has worked as a staff scientist for the STRI for 19 years — is amazed that a petrified forest had gone unnoticed for so long.

“It just tells you how little we know about the tropics,” he told The Post, “even in the most-studied tropical rainforest in the world.”

Discoveries like this are what continue to attract thousands of anthropologists, ecologists, ethologists, evolutionary biologists, paleontologists and physiologists from across the globe to the BCI, as the island is known.

They come to live and study in this rainforest haven, home to some1,400 plant species, 500 tree species, and more than 100 types of mammals.

The STRI is the only bureau of the Smithsonian Institution based outside the US, and its work in Panama isn’t confined to the island.

They have laboratories near Panama City in the Gamboa Rainforest Reserve —with an amphibian rescue center, insectaries, and an experimental greenhouse that tests tropical plant response to elevated carbon dioxide — and several facilities near the entrance to the Panama Canal.

In Panama City’s Natural Metropolitan Park, the STRI uses towering cranes to study forest ecology literally among the treetops.

Recent research has also demonstrated that two out of every five of the world’s amphibians are threatened with extinction — and just last year, the Institute lobbied the Panama government to expand the country’s protected marine area by 557% . 

But the BCI remains its biggest draw for scientists.

“You eat, breathe, drink science,” ecologist Erin Spear says of her experiences on BCI, where she’s conducted research for almost two decades. “Everyone around you is a scientist and everything you’re doing is science.”

Biologist Sharon Martinson, who spends three months every year at the institute, says visiting the island for the first time “is like stepping into Conrad’s ‘Heart of Darkness,’ ” she tells The Post. “It was sensory overload to fly here from Wyoming and realize this is on the same planet.”

Despite being a wonder of nature, the island itself is man-made.

It was formed in 1914, when the Chagres River valley was flooded to create Gatun Lake, the main channel of the Panama Canal.

Now surrounded by water, BCI was one of the hilltops that remained, and in April of 1923 it was declared a tropical forest reserve for scientific study.

The research station officially opened to scientists on March 29, 1924, with the only cost being the $50 ticket ($913 in 2024 dollars) for the six-day voyage from New York City.

The Smithsonian took the reins in 1946, and renamed it the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in 1966, making it the institute’s first federally-funded bureau located outside the United States.

The accommodations haven’t changed much since the research station first opened as a sort of “little America” amid the heat and humidity Central America.

The only transportation to the island is by boat, and then there’s the 200-plus-step climb from the base of the island to the dormitories and laboratories above.

Visitors and residents have access to a cafeteria and research facilities overlooking the lake and Panama Canal, and modest housing units — there’s room for around 50 researchers and staff — that feel like a youth hostel. 

But what the island lacks in luxury it more than makes up for with freedom.

Getting access to the island lab involves submitting a research proposal and permit application.

If accepted, what a researcher does with his or her time there is pretty much up to them. 

“The staff’s scientists are free to pursue what they want,” says Nancy Knowlton, a coral reef biologist who worked at the STRI for much of the ’80s and ’90s. “Without the need for really large research grants.”

This freedom has resulted in a staggering array of research, with over 13,000 studies published on the Island’s biology ranging from primate behavior to the effects of climate change on tropical ecosystems. 

“There are very few other locations worldwide . . . where we have 100 years of data to help us understand how forests change, how nutrient cycles work, and how populations of animals change through time,” Joshua Tewksbury, the institute’s current director, tells The Post.

While the intent has always been noble, the STRI’s history hasn’t always been a welcoming scientific melting pot.

David Fairchild, an American botanist and one of the first scientists to call the island home in the 1920s, fought to keep women away from Barro Colorado.

“Let us keep a place where real research men can find quiet, keen intellectual stimulation, freedom from any outside distraction,” he wrote.

It wasn’t until after World War II that female scientists and administrators were finally invited to the island.

Despite being located in Panama, English was also the STRI’s predominant language well into the 21st century — only changing in the years following the Canal’s shift to Panamanian rule back in 1999.

More recently, 16 female scientists shared stories of sexual misconduct from their male colleagues at the STRI, according to a 2021 BuzzFeed report .

Within a year, the institute launched a full investigation, with director Tewksbury posting a detailed summary of the STRI’s commitment to institutional reform.

The STRI has persevered, likely because it offers a unique scientific experience.

Here, it isn’t necessary to bring samples back to a laboratory.

Because the island, six square miles (Manhattan is 22 square miles by comparison), is the laboratory.

Martinson, the director of the Listening Lab at Colorado State University, travels to the STRI to track the mating songs of male katydids.

“It’s really, really hard to find a katydid,” says Martinson, who would venture through the thick tropical forest at 11 p.m. and 4 a.m., when katydids are most active. “They’ve had millions of years to get really good at hiding. But on a good night on BCI, we’d find hundreds of them.”

Martinson also plays banjo professionally — she’s recorded several albums with her band the Littlest Birds — and she sometimes brings her banjo to the island, playing along with the sounds of the rainforest.

“I think it’s important to keep both the science side of the brain and the creative arts side of the brain equally in tune,” she says.

It’s a sentiment shared by anthropologist Clarence Carpenter, who did groundbreaking studies of howler monkey behavior on the Barro Colorado Island in the 1960s, and described the BCI as a place “mixed with both poetry and science.”

Martinson and Carpenter weren’t the only eccentrics drawn to the institute.

Rodolfo Flores, a Panamanian botanist and STRI intern, discovered 10 new species of plants on the island over the last decade, four of which he’s had tattooed for prosperity on his body.

It’s a quirk that’s landed him in a Panama jail at least once, when authorities confused him for a gang member.

“Tattoos in Panama are still a taboo and the police can easily arrest you under that pretext,” he explains.

The rich biodiversity on Barro Colorado Island may be what attracts researchers, but it’s people like Flores and Martinson that make it such a fascinating place to live and work.

And not just because of their idiosyncrasies. 

“You go to dinner and all you talk about is science,” says Spear, whose research focuses on tree disease and mortality.

Once, while dining with fellow scientists at the BCI cafeteria, she mentioned that she had no idea how to grow fungi in petri dishes. “Can you teach me how to do it?” she asked the group.

Several of them volunteered.

The focus on collaboration is one of the main things that keeps Martinson coming back.

“It’s rare in science to have people from disparate areas coming together, living together, working together,” she says. “And with that comes the higher likelihood that something really creative and different is going to be figured out.”

The relationships formed on Barro Colorado Island — including a handful of marriages — have often been as significant as (and beneficial to) the research itself, so much that one of the biggest events of the STRI centennial is the upcoming alumni reunion , scheduled for this June. 

In the end, the secret to why the STRI hasn’t just survived but thrived over the last century goes beyond its bountiful biodiversity and reputation as the greatest rainforest laboratory in the world.

Although regular folks can visit the island with a bit of advanced planning , it’s the scientists who’ve fostered a community on this island.

“I think everybody here is super passionate about science,” says Spear. “They’re all curiosity-driven, which sounds kind of simplistic but it’s true. All of us want to make a positive change in the world.”

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Call For Proposals (CFP) Template for Research and Documentation on Care Ecosystem and Scalable Care Delivery Models

The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) India Country Office plans to contract an organization (Civil Society Organizations, registered in India) or to support implementation of the project on Research and Documentation On Care Ecosystem and Scalable Care delivery models. The total budget available for this call for proposal is of up to INR 25 lakhs only.

• UNW-AP-IND-CFP-2024-001-Research and Documentation on Care Ecosystem and Scalable Care Delivery Models (Word, 276kb)

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NASA Announces List Of Finalists With Proposals For Mars Sample Return Mission

This is not investment advice. The author has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Wccftech.com has a disclosure and ethics policy.

After it decided to seek alternatives to an $11 billion plan that would have seen a rocket fire off of the Martian surface to return samples collected by the Perseverance rover, NASA shared the list of firms that submitted approved proposals for a new initiative earlier today.

The space agency announced that it will offer a " contract for up to $1.5 million " to seven proposers out of a list of ten finalists selected after a request released in April. Some firms on this list are SpaceX and Lockheed Martin, two key players in NASA's multi billion dollar initiative to kick start lunar exploration after the Apollo program.

Related Story NASA Astronaut That Took First Colored Photo Of Earth From The Moon Dies In Plane Crash

Nasa selects seven firms to conduct research on recovering samples from mars.

NASA's latest announcement follows a strong fourth test flight for SpaceX's Starship program. Starship, which is also the backbone of NASA's efforts to land the first humans on the Moon since the Apollo program, survived atmospheric reentry despite losing heat shield tiles during its descent and experiencing problems with its flaps yesterday.

SpaceX's overarching goal with Starship is to conduct crewed flights to Mars when possible, and along with Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, the firm is one of seven whose proposals NASA approved to evaluate for the contract award. This list also includes Blue Origin, Amazon founder and retail billionaire Jeff Bezos' aerospace and launch transportation systems provider.

Blue Origin's proposal seeks to leverage the Artemis program to return samples from Mars. Like SpaceX, its rocket and lander designs are also targeted to land crew on the Moon. Blue Origin is developing its New Glenn rocket along with the Blue Moon lunar lander, which is slated to fly to the Moon after the initial landings by Starship.

Another ambitious participant in NASA's Artemis program is defense contractor Lockheed Martin. Lockheed plans to develop a fully functioning base on the Moon, complete with a nuclear reactor and 5G internet connectivity . The firm is having a busy June on the space front, as it announced earlier this week that it will buy as many as 25 rocket launches from small lift rocket operator Firefly Aerospace.

The award seeks to leverage Firefly's low launch costs, according to Lockheed, and it expands Firefly's industry partnerships since it is also a key partner for NASA's low Earth orbit (LEO) contractor Northrop Grumman.

As for SpaceX, its proposal seeks to leverage Starship for NASA's Mars sample return. Starship's HLS variant is designed to lift off from the lunar surface, and early tests focused on its landing legs as part of vertical land landings. These legs are also important for Starship's Mars flights, and SpaceX's latest renders of the lander released in April saw an upgraded leg design. Instead of earlier variants that had housed the legs inside the ship, the latest images show them placed against its body.

NASA's engine contractor for the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, Aerojet Rocketdyne, is another major industry player selected for the Mars sample return mission proposals. Rocketdyne's engines have powered the Space Shuttle and are also being used on the SLS. Along with the engine manufacturer, startups Quantum Space and Whittinghill Aerospace also made the cut.

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