Be A Mentor
Mentor-Connect assists community and technical colleges so they may benefit from multiple grant funding opportunities provided by the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Advanced Technological Education (ATE) Program. Mentor-Connect provides grant-development mentoring for STEM faculty teams and stimulates individual leadership development. Mentor-Connect also provides technical assistance for all potential ATE grantees and a searchable resource library of resources specific to becoming NSF ATE grantees and implementing funded projects. Mentors are selected from among those who have been successful grantees in the NSF ATE Program. Participation by prospective grantees and Mentors is encouraged. New Mentors are prepared for service by completing a Mentor Fellows internship which includes shadowing a current Mentor through a grant development and submission cycle.
Mentor Expectations
1. Proposal Development Support
Provide approximately 36 hours of individualized proposal development support, offering guidance, feedback, and resources to help address challenges and strengthen proposal components as they are developed.
2. Proposal Resource Referrals
Provide links and referrals to Mentor-Connect resources, the NSF ATE proposal solicitation, and components of the Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG).
3. Mentor-Connect Training Participation
Attend Mentor-Connect Workshops (Winter and Summer) and live or recorded technical assistance webinars produced by Mentor-Connect.
Mentor Process
The mentoring process begins in December of each year (the beginning of each new ATE grant cycle).
The simple answer is upon submission of the ATE grant, usually October of each year. However, supportive technical assistance is usually ongoing, including Moving-Up and Second-Chance mentoring opportunities.
Mentors are assigned one or two college mentee teams to mentor through the grant cycle.
- Most college teams to be mentored consist of two STEM faculty members who will serve as Principal Investigator (PI) and Co-PI for the proposed project.
- Each college is encouraged to have a grant professional and supportive administrator participate in Mentor-Connect mentoring and other activities as members of the grant development team.
- Serve as advisors to the Mentor-Connect project
- Have knowledge of Mentor-Connect resources, the NSF ATE proposal solicitation, and components of the PAPPG
- Develop grant-writing skills among community college faculty who lack sufficient grant development staff (or sponsored research officers) at their institutions
- Insure communication with mentee teams; initiate communications throughout the grant cycle
- Review grant proposal drafts and provide feedback to mentee teams
- Engage in periodic evaluation activities, which typically consist of several very short feedback forms during the grant cycle and one telephone interview with the project evaluator that lasts less than one hour
- Provide linkages and referrals to ATE resources
Travel support will be provided, as needed, for project-related activities, including participation in the Winter and Summer Workshops. Mentors will also receive a stipend, which will be paid at the conclusion of the NSF ATE proposal submission cycle following the grant submission deadline.