5588  Joyce McAlexander
 Sponsored Programs Department
 Ext. 5730 / Fax Ext. 5052

Regarding the NSF small grants programs, you may be referring to the Small
Grants for Exploratory Research (SGER) where NSF funds small-scale exploratory
work in all fields of science, engineering, and education without the usual
external review.  They cap this funding to $50k.  They are normally for one
year.  Refer to NSF publication 95-138 Guide to Programs for a brief summary.
Further info can be found in the NSF Grant Proposal Guide 95-27.

These SGER grants were briefly brought up at one of the sessions put on at
the NSF conference in Albequerque.  They indicated the program was designed
for novel, untested ideas, mainly in new research areas with a need for
urgency.  The proposals are an abbreviated format with an expedited review
process.  They are intended for high risk/high impact type projects.  NSF
encourages the institution/PI to talk to the Program Officer (in the most
appropriate directorate) ahead of time.

Hope this information is of some help.  We've had experience with only one
successful SGER grant.  Good luck!

California Polytechnic State University Foundation
San Luis Obispo, CA  93407
Telephone (805) 756-5730 / Fax (805) 756-5588
e-mail: xxxxxx@calpoly.edu