Mid Career Advancement (MCA)

Overview

The MCA program offers an opportunity for scientists and engineers at the mid-career stage (see restrictions under Additional Eligibility Information) to substantively enhance and advance their research program and career trajectory. Mid-career scientists are at a critical career transition stage where they need to advance their research programs to ensure long-term productivity and creativity but are often constrained by service, teaching, or other activities that limit the amount of time devoted to research. MCA support is expected to help lift these constraints to reduce workload inequities and enable a more diverse scientific workforce (more women, persons with disabilities, and individuals from groups that have been underrepresented) at high academic ranks. 

The MCA program provides protected time, resources, and the means to gain new skills through synergistic and mutually beneficial partnerships, typically at an institution other than the candidate's home institution. Partners from outside the PI's own sub-discipline or discipline are encouraged, but not required, to enhance interdisciplinary networking and convergence across science and engineering fields. Research projects that envision new insights on existing problems or identify new problems made accessible with cutting-edge methodology or expertise from other fields are encouraged.

 All MCA proposals must include letters from a) the partner(s) describing the nature of the collaboration and the benefits of doing so for both parties, as well as b) the departmental chairperson (or an equivalent organizational official).

A key component of a successful MCA will be the demonstration that the PI's current research program could substantively benefit from the protected time, mentored partnership(s), and resources provided through this special program, such that there is a substantial enhancement to the PI's research and career trajectory, enabling scientific and academic advancement not likely without this support.

Alignment with NSF priorities and values

i. Broadening Participation - The MCA enables a more diverse STEM workforce by facilitating research productivity and creativity from mid-career scientists and engineers. The mid-career stage is one where researchers may have fewer institutional resources, increased service and teaching responsibilities, and a need for retooling. Data show that women, persons with disabilities, and individuals from groups that have been underrepresented spend more time on service and teaching at the expense of research, creating an imbalance in workload. Such inequity can lower the likelihood of promotion to the highest academic and leadership ranks. The MCA offers a mechanism for broadening participation at all institutions, and will thus contribute to fostering a more inclusive, equitable, and diverse, world-class science and engineering workforce.

ii. Enables Convergence Research - Scientific specialization, often accompanied by unique jargon, can impose challenges to integrative and innovative research. Effective communication across disciplines takes time and dedicated effort. The MCA provides that protected time for PIs to work with a partner(s) to learn new scientific and technical skills. By doing so, the MCA advances convergence research that integrates knowledge, theories, methods, data, and approaches across fields. Thus, the MCA enables creative and transformative research.

iii. Strategic Workforce Development - The volume and variety of data and analytical tools available for scientific research continue to expand, creating unprecedented opportunity for discovery yet also challenging scientists to keep pace. Mid-career researchers, already possessing deep disciplinary expertise and broad professional networks, are a critical node in the scientific workforce necessary to propagate new perspectives and techniques. Thus, the MCA will help build workforce capacity to fulfill federal initiatives that will be key to the scientific and economic leadership of the United States.

iv. Fosters Risk Taking - The MCA supports researchers who have demonstrated success in their professional career and are primed to pursue bold and innovative ideas. The MCA reflects the importance placed by the NSF on encouraging transformative ideas that a) challenge conventional wisdom, b) lead to unexpected insights that enable novel techniques or methodologies, and/or c) redefine the boundaries of science.

Proposals must include:

1. Candidate's Past Research 
2. Candidate's Proposed Research Advancement and Training Plan 
3. Candidate's Long-Term Career Plans

PIs must be a) at the Associate Professor rank (or equivalent; see Additional Eligibility Information) and b) at that rank for at least 3 years by the proposal submission date. PIs must have current or proposed research that falls within the purview of a participating disciplinary program.

Estimated Number of Awards: 35 to 45 
The actual number of awards varies across disciplinary research programs. 

Anticipated Funding Amount: $14,000,000 to $18,000,000 
Varies across disciplinary research programs.

 Funds for the PI may include a) up to a total of 6.5 months of salary (plus fringe benefits) over the course of the award, and b) up to $100,000 for other direct costs in support of the research advancement and training plan. The aforementioned funds (salary and direct costs) are not yearly allocations, but rather total amounts that can be expended over the course of the grant. The $100,000 direct cost allotment should include funds to cover the cost of attendance of one in-person 2-day awardee networking meeting held at NSF headquarters in Alexandria, VA.