Guide_New_Sponsors

This document provides information for a federal agency, research laboratory or center, or other federal research entity that may be interested in becoming a sponsor of a National Academies National Research Council Associateship Program.

The Associateship Programs have two objectives: (1) to provide postdoctoral scientists and engineers of unusual promise and ability opportunities for research on problems, largely of their own choice, that are compatible with the research interests of the sponsoring laboratories and (2) to contribute thereby to the overall research efforts of these laboratories and to the national scientific and technological welfare.

The development of a successful Research Associateship Program requires several years of continued commitment at a level of participation that is cost effective for the sponsor. A research laboratory or center that develops a reputation in the academic community for outstanding postdoctoral research opportunities and excellent support from the administrative and professional scientific and technical staff attracts high quality applicants. A prospective new sponsor research entity should examine carefully its expectations for the program and be prepared to make a sustained commitment to ensure success.

The NRC convenes review panels, recommends awardees, and handles the administrative affairs for the Resident Research Associates (RRA's). These administrative functions include stipend, travel, insurance, and relocation payments as well as preparation of visa documents for non-U.S. nationals and financial management reports for each sponsoring laboratory. The NRC provides quality oversight to each sponsored program with site visits, staff visits, and required reports from the RRA's.

Because of the special nature of the Congressional corporate charter for the establishment of the National Academy of Sciences (the NRC'S parent organization), funds for all of the activities of the NRC on behalf of the sponsor are provided by means of a sole source contract between the sponsor and the NRC.

A sponsor or prospective sponsor informs the NRC of the number of Research Associates it wishes to host, and the NRC develops a proposal to include monies paid to and on behalf of Associates and the indirect costs of the NRC in conducting the program. Currently, there are more than thirty programs and contracts in place.

A NRC Research Associate is expected to devote 100 percent effort to the research program approved by the laboratory and the NRC panels and not be involved in any other compensatory activity. The Associateship opportunity is expected to provide a stimulating intellectual experience, and activities that would detract from concentrating exclusively on the research program, such as part-time teaching or other work, are not permitted.

As a guest investigator, the Research Associate is expected to conform to all sponsor policies pertaining to his or her status. The term "senior Associate" does not infer any special laboratory privileges and is used solely for application review purposes and for stipend determination. Associates, not being employees of either the host laboratory or the NRC, are expected to conform to all established policies of the host laboratory for guest investigators. They should keep the regular laboratory hours as their research allows; however, in practice they often work at their projects into later hours if permissible. Associates normally take the posted holidays; however, they do not receive or earn "annual leave" as such. Recognizing that each Associate will of necessity need to be away from the laboratory (or center) from time to time, the NRC expects that each RRA will discuss such needs with his or her Research Adviser and take time away as agreed upon. Whenever, in the opinion of the Research Adviser, the RRA is not making reasonable progress because of absenteeism, the award may be terminated. Each Associate is required to make a six-month report to the NRC and to submit a research completion report at the end of the research tenure. All Associates are highly encouraged to publish research results in appropriate refereed journals giving proper credit to the host laboratory, to the NRC, and to other collaborating scientists or engineers involved.

A sponsor is expected to provide all programmatic and intellectual support necessary for the timely completion of the research project proposed by the awardee or appointee. It is expected that the Research Associate will not be assigned laboratory duties unrelated to his or her research proposal so that total effort can be devoted to the approved project. Minor modifications to the project made jointly by the Associate and the sponsor are permitted and should be reported to the NRC Program Administrator; however, major changes in the research objectives, as reviewed by the NRC panels, must have the formal approval of the NRC Program Administrator.

The intellectual support comes primarily from a Research Adviser who has been nominated by the laboratory (or center) to serve in that role for Associates who have applied to work on a particular published and approved research opportunity offered by the laboratory. Research Advisors are senior permanent staff who are currently engaged in research as their primary assignment, hold a research doctorate earned at least five years ago, and have actively published in refereed journals during the last five years. Each Research Adviser is individually approved by the NRC and reviewed periodically during formal site visits.

Since a major goal of the Associateship Programs is the professional scientific or technical development of the individual, an Associate should be encouraged to interact with others in a laboratory research group as an integral part of the "research family" and should not be treated as an "outside" contractor.

Programmatic support includes items such as: adequate research space; reasonable office arrangements and clerical support; supplies and equipment necessary for the conduct of the research program; reasonable technical support as may be needed; computer and library resources as may be required; assistance with arrangements and travel expenses or other costs associated with field research; use of other laboratory facilities, if required; page costs associated with publication of research results with appropriate credit to the sponsor.

Although the Associateship Programs office has the major responsibility for the production and dissemination of program promotional materials, the material to be printed in the various publications or posted in electronic format must originate with the sponsor. This includes: description of the laboratory and units that will participate; descriptions of special facilities or equipment; write-ups of the research opportunities to be offered.

It is very important that the laboratory participates in the promotion of its program and communicates extensively with professors and graduate students concerning its participation in the Associateship Programs and its interest in attracting postdoctoral scientists or engineers. As staff members of the sponsor participate in the appropriate national and international meetings or give university seminars, they should bring to the attention of their peers and others, particularly graduate students, the research opportunities available. Emphasis on how a research experience at the laboratory could assist in the development of their research careers is important.

Each sponsor is requested to designate an appropriate scientist or engineer, preferably at a high level in the research organization, to provide administrative coordination with the NRC Associateship Programs. This individual is called the Laboratory (or Center) Program Representative (LPR) and together with the NRC Program Administrator for the particular sponsor, forms the primary basis of communication between the sponsor and the NRC. An annual meeting of LPRs is held at the NRC in Washington to consider suggestions from the various sponsors and to acquaint all with program changes.

The role of a Research Adviser to a National Academies Research Council Associate is analogous to that of a major professor to a postdoctoral fellow in a major research university, although an Associate should not require the level of guidance and supervision a graduate student does.

An Adviser is expected to furnish scholarly stimulation, provide encouragement and scientific and technical advice, and offer any other types of support that will help an Associate develop into a mature researcher. Ideally, to fulfill this role, an Adviser should be a mature, experienced scholar/researcher with an ongoing research program and professional recognition attained through recent publication in open journals and literature appropriate to his or her field. For a Senior Research Associate, the relationship with an Adviser is that of a professional colleague.

A prospective Adviser should recognize that an Associate's later career will be profoundly affected by his or her publication record in the open literature and should also have a personal commitment to the development of the Associate who chooses to work with him or her. An Adviser should have enough experience and stature at the laboratory to be able to assist the Associate in acclimating to the laboratory environment, locating work space, purchasing and/or assembling equipment, securing technical shop support, and obtaining access to library and computer resources.

At times, an Adviser may be called on to help or advise with personal needs such as finding suitable housing, establishing bank accounts, choosing medical and dental services, establishing credit, registering automobiles, and dealing with other situations that non-U.S. nationals may encounter.

An Adviser nominee should hold a research doctorate in the appropriate field or be an experienced, mature individual with a Master of Science degree whose publication record in the open literature has demonstrated, without question, national recognition in the appropriate field.

A nominee should have a minimum of five years research experience beyond the doctoral degree. This experience may be in a government or industrial laboratory or at a university, providing research was integral to a faculty appointment. In lieu of five years postdoctoral research experience, a combination of a Master of Science Degree and 15 years of relevant work and research experience will be considered.

Approval to be a Research Adviser means that a nominee is likely to make a good Adviser for an Associate as discussed under "Background." Experience has shown that although administrators, such as section heads or branch chiefs, may have outstanding research records and play an important role in providing a good climate for Associates, the most effective Advisers are staff members who spend their major effort at research and have time available for interaction with Associates.

Nomination of an administrator is therefore not encouraged unless evidence can be provided that the nominee is an active investigator with time available to devote to an Associate.

A nominee should have a reasonable number of publications that are referenced in appropriate open journals and literature and should have been published within the past five years to reflect peer acceptance of his or her research productivity. In-house technical reports, while helpful, are not regarded as sufficient evidence of external peer acceptance of research output.

Copyrights and patents are not requisites but do indicate innovative productivity and enhance one's capability as a prospective Adviser. Copyrights and patents do not replace the publication requirement.

Invited presentations indicate general interest in one's current research activities. Invited presentations at professional meetings do not replace the publication requirement.

Awards, citations, and certificates demonstrate competence and outstanding performance. Although desirable, such recognition does not replace the publication requirement.

Professional registration or licensing indicates acceptance by a state or other legal board to practice a profession and is evidence of acceptability to assume legal responsibility for work performed. However, professional registration or licensing does not, in itself, qualify an individual as a prospective Adviser.

The following steps are recommended for laboratories interested in initiating an Associateship program:

1. Potential sponsors can indicate interest in the form of a letter addressed to: Associateship Programs, National Academies, 500 Fifth Street, NW [GR 322A] Washington, DC 20001. Potential sponsors can also contact the Director, sponsors can also contact the Director, Associateship Programs by telephone (202-334-2787), or email (rgamble@nas.edu).

2. The Director of Associateship Programs or one of the Associate Directors will communicate with the person or persons initiating the contact, will provide a number of documents for review, and will be available to answer initial questions. Arrangements will be made for an informal staff visit to the facility of the prospective sponsor to discuss the many details of program operation with the appropriate persons, tour the research facilities, and meet the professional research scientists or engineers who would serve as mentors or Research Advisers to postdoctoral scientists should a program be established. The staff members making the visit will be able to counsel with the staff of the laboratory relative to the next steps.

3. If a formal application for NRC approval for a new program is recommended, the staff will provide the appropriate forms and discuss with the laboratory personnel the various components of the application and give suggestions for the development of the documentation requested. In most cases, a senior professional in the top laboratory administration is designated the "Laboratory Program Representative" and assigned the task of developing the application for the laboratory/ies to be involved.

The Laboratory Program Representative will be asked to make decisions such as: the number of postdoctoral scientists to be supported; the laboratory scientists or engineers to be nominated to serve as Research Advisers; the units of the laboratory that are to participate; stipend levels to be offered; whether non-US nationals would be eligible; whether senior Associates would be accepted, etc.

4. Next, the NRC staff arranges with the laboratory contact a date for the site visit. For a site visit to a single site, a one-day visit is usually sufficient; where multiple geographic locations are involved, the visit may extend over two or three days with the team travelling overnight, or broken into multiple visits. The logistics and detailed agenda are worked out cooperatively between the laboratory and the NRC well in advance of the visit.

While the laboratory staff is preparing the formal application, the Associateship Program staff, assisted as appropriate by program consultants, will select, nominate, and invite approved nominees to serve as a site visit team to conduct a formal NRC site visit to the laboratory/ies. Prior to nomination of a possible site visitor, the NRC staff will check with the laboratory for possible bias concerns that could affect the visit outcome.

5. The formal application (Request for NRC Research Associateship Program) is completed by the laboratory and forwarded to the Director of Associateship Programs or to an Associate Director who may be assigned to the new program for development. A notebook is prepared containing the documents submitted by the prospective sponsor plus procedural information for the site visitors selected to make a formal site visit to the facility/ies. Each site visitor receives this notebook prior to the visit so that he or she may examine the research opportunities to be offered and become familiar with the research productivity of the persons nominated to become Research Advisers.

6. The purpose of the site visit is to assess as much as possible: a) the likelihood that a high-quality postdoctoral researcher would have a very productive career building research experience; b) that by the presence of the quality postdoctoral researcher, the laboratory would be assisted in its scientific or technical programs.

At the close of the visit, an executive session is held with the appropriate laboratory administrators to convey the initial impressions of the team; however, it is to be made clear that the final decision rests with the NRC Governing Board. In some cases, additional information may be requested by the team members.

After the visitors return home, a report is developed by the Chairperson with input and review by each member. The initial report is made to the Associateship Programs Advisory Committee (APAC). Subsequent to action by the NRC Governing Board, an executive summary of the final report is provided to the laboratory.

The team may recommend approval of the entire program as requested, parts of the program, individual research opportunities with deferment of others until strengthened, approval or deferment of individual adviser nominees, or deferment of the entire program with recommendations for strengthening prior to initiation of any postdoctoral activity. The team may recommend that a program be initiated with senior Associates only until such time that programs are strengthened and can be revisited for approval to host regular Associates also. Outright disapproval is now extremely rare since the preliminary staff visit serves to help defer formal applications until the organization is able to participate at some reasonable level of cost and quality effectiveness.

7. Following a favorable recommendation by the APAC, the proposed program is presented to the Executive Committee of the Governing Board of the Research Council for approval to enter into a contract with the new sponsor to provide funds for the program.

The formal site visit to a single geographic location is usually accomplished in one day. If the research units to be visited are at different locations, the visit may be conducted on different days, either in succession or with some delay between visits. In the case of a very large research complex, embodying several major units, the visit may possibly extend into a second day.

9:00 Overview of the total research activity of the laboratory with emphasis on the place of the Associateship Program, laboratory commitment to the program, and outlook for the future

9:20 - 10:30 Brief presentations by division or branch heads of the research programs of the units that participate in the Associateship Program, with emphasis on the NRC Associateship Program

10:30 - 12:00 Team meets with Research Advisers and Associates on tenure, if applicable

The team may split, with individual members visiting particular research areas or, depending upon the number of Research Advisers and Associates to be visited, the entire team may choose to remain together. At any point, the team chair may ask for a brief executive session.

12:00 - 1:00 Lunch break - The Chair will probably call for a brief executive session following lunch.

1:00 - 3:00 Continuation of meetings between the team, Research Advisers, and Associates, and Examination of the library and computer resources by at least one team member