ERC Class of 2011 Final Reporting

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION

DIRECTORATE FOR ENGINEERING

ENGINEERING RESEARCH CENTERS PROGRAM

FY 2021

GUIDELINES FOR PREPARING

FINAL SUMMARY REPORTS

for the

CLASS OF 2011

ENGINEERING RESEARCH CENTERS

April 2021

ERC Class of 2011 No Cost Extension

Given the disruption in the ERC activities due to COVID-19, the NSF ERC program has decided to make an exception in the "no No-Cost-Extension (NCE) policy" for the ERC's that are scheduled to graduate next year, i.e. the Class of 2011. Those Centers will be granted a one-time, 12-month NCE. Please note that you have to wait until 6-months before the end of the 10th year of the ERC award to request the NCE. Please make certain to coordinate your request with your managing NSF program director prior to submitting the formal request in Fastlane.

Year 10 Reporting

Please communicate with your center’s assigned NSF Program Director to verify required Year 10 Reporting requirements. Each center should plan to submit ERCWeb data according to the FY 2021 Guidelines for ERCWeb Data Entry and complete all required Research.gov submission requirements (See Formatting and Submission Requirements on page 4 of this document).

Year 10 Site Visit

Each Class of 2011 ERC should coordinate with their managing program officer to plan for a virtual Year 10 site visit.

Year 11 Reporting

Due within 90 days after the end of the No Cost Extension period, but may be submitted earlier, each Class of 2011 ERC is required to complete a Final Data Submission and submit a Final Summary Report. The goal of the Final Summary Report is to provide an integrated and high-level overview of the impact, outcomes, and accomplishments of the Center over the decade of NSF Funding. During a center’s No Cost Extension period, only data entry pertaining to Support and Annual Expenditures for the prior award year are collected by ERCWeb. (See Final Summary Report Guidelines below).

Project Outcomes Report

A Project Outcomes Report for the General Public must be submitted to Research.gov within 90 days following award expiration. This report briefly summarizes the outcomes of the award (200–800 words) and is written for the general public. NSF input/approval is not required.

ERC Graduation: Spring 2022

The ERC program intends to hold a joint ERC Graduation celebration for the ERC Classes of 2011 and 2012 in the Spring of 2022. Additional funding will be made available for attendees, and additional information regarding logistics and participant expectations will be shared as it is available.

1. Final Summary Report Guidelines

The goal of the Final Report is to give an integrated overview, supported by specific examples, of the impact, outcomes and accomplishments of the Center over the decade of NSF funding.

The Final Summary Report should have the following structure:

• Cover Page

• Table of Contents

• Participant Tables (Use the format from the prior annual reports)

  • Section 1. Executive Summary of Achievements and Impact

  • Section 2. Lessons Learned

  • Section 3. Beyond Graduation

• Appendix: ERC Web Summary Tables

Section 1: Executive Summary of Achievements and Impact

The Final Summary Report narrative should begin with an “Executive Summary” level discussion summarizing the vision and the strategic plan of the Center and the historical evolution of the Center’s vision over the 10 years of NSF support. It should discuss the focus, core objectives, and key principles of the Center, how they evolved, and where they stand now.

The Center should also present achievements that reflect advances in fundamental engineering knowledge, enabling technology, engineered systems, education of a broadly diverse workforce, university and pre-college education, advances in developing a culture of inclusion and technology advances in partnership with industry or through translational research carried out by non-member firms when member firms fail to license ERC-generated IP. The Final Report should highlight the impact of having an integrated, cross-disciplinary, multi-university research team on achieving results and important outcomes.

In addition, there should be a discussion of the broader impacts of the Center on the academic community at large, and on the lead and partner institutions in particular. This would include a discussion and examples of any changes(s) in university culture that could be attributed to, at least in part, the presence of the ERC such as any increase in cross-disciplinary courses or majors, new strategic cross-disciplinary initiatives, culture changes that might include increased support for cross-disciplinary partnerships, partnerships with industry, and a new emphasis on the university role in innovation. In addition, examples of the impact of the ERC on increasing diversity of faculty and students at both lead and partner institutions should be given and discussed.

Section 2: Lessons Learned

This section should be a discussion of Lessons Learned by the Center leadership team in managing an ERC. This is an opportunity for the Center leadership team to offer advice to the next generation of Centers as well as to NSF for program improvements.

Section 3: Beyond Graduation

This section should discuss the Center plans after NSF support ceases: shutting down or self-sufficiency. If the ERC chooses self-sufficiency, the Center should provide a brief summary of the business plan to include any changes in the Center configuration or strategic direction, new potential funding sources and/or partnerships, projected expenditures by type (e.g. research, REU, education, outreach, etc.) and funds already in place or pledged to support the next five years of effort by type (e.g., university, industry, or government).

Appendix: ERCWeb Summary Tables

This section should contain the set of ERCWeb Tables based on the final data submission. These tables (FR 3.1 – FR 5.17) should be formatted and attached as an appendix to the Final Summary Report.

1. Formatting and Submission Requirements

The ERC should comply with all formatting requirements included in the FY 2020 Guidelines for Preparing Annual Reports and Renewal Proposals.

The Class of 2011 Final Summary Reports must be submitted directly to the ERC Program Office. The submitted report is then uploaded into the NSF eJacket system by the NSF ERC Program staff. The Center does not use Research.gov to submit the contents of its Final Report, but it does use Research.gov to indicate that the Report has been submitted, as described below.

Submit notification as follows:

Cover Tab:

Review all the information displayed in the Cover tab within the Final Project Report section of Research.gov. Please verify the information in the Cover Tab within the Final Project Report section of Research.gov. If any corrections are required, contact the Research.gov Help Desk 7 AM - 9 PM Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (except federal holidays) at [email protected] or 1-800-381-1532.

Accomplishments Tab:

Under the Accomplishments tab, insert the following statement into the first box that asks, “What are the major goals of the project?”

• “In accordance with the instructions provided to the Engineering Research Centers (ERC) in the ERC Final Reporting Guidelines document, the Final Project Report has been submitted separately directly to the ERC Program Office and includes the content specified in the Guidelines. The report is uploaded into the NSF eJacket system by the ERC Program Staff. The cognizant ERC Program Director will approve the report within the NSF eJacket system.”

• Next, there are four boxes under the question, “What was accomplished under these goals (you must provide information for at least one of the 4 categories below)?” In the first box, Major Activities, insert the same statement identified above: “In accordance with the instructions provided to the Engineering Research Centers (ERC) in the ERC Final Reporting Guidelines document, the Final Project Report has been submitted separately directly to the ERC Program Office and includes the content specified in the Guidelines. The report is uploaded into the NSF eJacket system by the ERC Program Staff. The cognizant ERC Program Director will approve the report within the NSF eJacket system.”

• Leave the next three boxes blank.

• The last three boxes have a “nothing to report” or “no change” checkbox. Do not enter any text, just mark the “nothing to report” or “no change” checkbox for each question.

Products tab:

Under the products tab, do not enter any information. Mark the “nothing to report” checkbox for each question.  

Participants tab:

The section “What individuals have worked on the project?” will be pre-populated with the names of the PIs for the ERC. Review and edit as appropriate. Note: The Center may have to enter the names of some of the leadership team. There should be information on the Center Director, Deputy Director, Thrust Leader(s), Campus Leader(s), Industrial Liaison Officer, Administrative Director, and Executive Director or other center leadership position. The title (e.g. Center Director, ILO, etc.) should be entered in the “contribution to the Project” box.

• For the “What other organizations have been involved as partners?” question, mark the “nothing to report” checkbox.

• For the “Have other collaborators or contacts been involved?” mark No.

• For the REU required field, check “nothing to report” and type “N\A” in the comments field.

Impact tab:

Mark the “nothing to report” checkbox for all of the questions.

Changes/Problems tab:

Mark the “nothing to report” checkbox for all of the questions.

Special Requirements:

Mark the “nothing to report” checkbox.

Certify and submit:

Check the Certification checkbox and click on the “Submit Report” Button.

 

Note: All of the information regarding the center’s accomplishments, contributions, publications, products, etc. must be contained within the Final Report that is submitted directly to NSF/ERC program office. Entering “nothing to report” in the Final Report submission in Research.gov does not imply that the center did not make progress or contributions during the reporting period.

ERCWeb Document Depot

Upload the Final Summary Report pdf file to the ERCWeb Document Depot, https://www.erc-reports.org/centers/document-depot.