Robert Menzer This award transfers funds to the Environmental Protection Agency to cover half of the administrative costs of an interagency joint competition in FY97 for which EPA is handling the proposals and managing the review process. NSF and EPA signed a Memorandum of Understanding in December 1994, and developed a joint extramural grants research program in areas of mutual programmatic interest. Three competitive awards programs began in FY95 and have continued through FY97. Water And Watersheds - emphasizing interdisciplinary research that takes a system approach to issues of water and watersheds. Technology for Sustainable Environment - concentrating on pollution prevention research. Decision-Making and Valuation for Environmental Policy - emphasizing research on measurement of values where prices are absent. In the previous two years, NSF had primary responsibility for the process, and received funds transferred from EPA; this year, the roles are reversed. The administrative expenses include the cost of a contractor to manage proposal handling, postage and mailing, and the travel, per diem, and fees for peer review panels. The NSF funding for the administrative costs of the Partnership is contributed by several divisions: DEB, CTS, CHE, and SBER. The NSF-EPA Partnership has stimulated valuable interdisciplinary research that advances the fundamental knowledge relevant to environmental protection. The cooperation with NSF and exposure to NSF's peer review procedures has spurred EPA to make changes in its procedures to strengthen competitive peer review in its extramural research program.
