Science Task Groups (STG)

Goals

Strategic Task Groups (STGs) are focused groups formed on a yearly basis with the goal to tackle tough, fundamental physical problems that help build capability across the Sun-Earth disciplines. The primary aim of the STGs is to foster closer collaboration among HAO members. These focused groups will work on short-term (1 year) projects that align with HAO’s strategic priorities, and will be funded through an internal competitive process. Every year, the STG Committee will solicit and review short proposals, and provide the HAO director with selection recommendations.

STG Committee

The STG Committee is composed of 5 or 6 people, with at least two members from each of HAO’s sections (Geo and Solar), as well as the Lead Administrator. The STG Committee is in charge of announcing proposal solicitations, reviewing all proposals against a common rubric, and then making a recommendation to the HAO director. The Committee will call for additional reviewers when deemed necessary (e.g. if there is an instrumentation proposal, then a member of the HAO/IG that is unrelated to the proposal will be recruited for the purpose of fair evaluation).

Committee members cannot apply for STG funding. If a committee member wants to submit an application, then this member must rotate off the committee before submitting their application. Committee members’ term commitments will be of two years with an option to renew once (for up to two more years). Note that after the first two years of the existence of the STG, members should stagger their rotation off the committee so that there is overlap of old committee members with new members. 

In its first year (“pilot” year, 2025), the STG Committee will also define the rules and parameters of the solicitation/award process, it will assess the effectiveness of the program and report to HAO’s External Advisory Committee (EAC) after the end of the pilot year.

Timeline for applications

Applications will be solicited at least once a year (or more often if funds are not fully allocated within the first round of applications). The cost cap for each year will be announced in the proposal solicitation. 

Each year, the STG Committee will solicit proposals in mid-March or early April. The submission deadline will be at the end of May. Proposals will be evaluated during the month of June and announcements will be made by mid-July. The project must be started soon thereafter, and no later than the beginning of September. The project must be completed within a year of the start date.

Who can apply

Any person working for HAO can apply including postdocs, administrators, all scientist tracks, engineers, IT, etc (excludes visitors).

Proposal structure

STG proposals should describe their goal(s) with clarity, explain how they build capability in the Sun-Earth discipline and how they align with HAO’s strategic priorities. Proposed projects should address one of the goal(s) outlined in HAO’s strategic plan, and may fall under the categories of “exploratory research” (with the goal of generating new ideas), “confirmatory research” (that designs a study to test whether a hypothesis is true), “tool development” (where the deliverable is a concrete tool that enables/supports an activity), a “design” (where the deliverable is blueprint for a larger project), “training” (including succession planning), or other objectives of the strategic plan. In all cases, the idea(s) must be well developed and the deliverable(s) or expected outcome(s) must be explicitly stated. Most of the STG funding should be used to cover salaries.

  • Proposals must be a maximum of 5 pages (not including references).
  • Proposals must define the goal of the proposed activity, put it into context and connect it to current strategic priorities of HAO and/or the Strategic Working Groups.
  • Proposals must contain clear-cut, concrete steps of the project and a timeline for each step.
  • Proposals must justify the time commitment of each person involved in the project along with a brief statement of work and an approximate level of effort.
  • Proposers will work with their administrator to draft a budget that fits into the STG funding opportunity.
  • Proposals must justify that STG funds will *not* be used for existing projects that are funded through other mechanisms. The STG work can be complementary to existing projects, but not largely overlapping. Proposals must describe any overlap with existing projects, and how the proposed work is new or different from previous and/or current activities.
  • Proposals will be sent in PDF format to the STG email alias: haostg@ucar.edu

Proposal evaluation

Proposals will be evaluated on a series of metrics, including the following: 

  1. Does it align with the strategic plan and the Strategic Working Groups and HAO’s strategic priorities?
  2. Is it achievable in the 1-year timeframe?
  3. Does the activity have the possibility to lead to new funding opportunities?
  4. Or is it a new or innovative idea that could open up a new path of work?
  5. Does the activity use existing HAO data and/or models and apply them in new, novel ways ?
  6. Does it increase collaboration internal to HAO? Does it include people that don’t normally work together?

Project oversight

  • The oversight of the project will be delegated to the supervisor(s) of the grantee(s). The grantees will create a Workday goal that aligns with the activities of the STG and will be evaluated on this activity at the time of yearly performance evaluations.
  • This uses the current oversight structure and creates no extra burdens. The proposers will give a short presentation during a staff meeting at the beginning of the project to explain the proposal objectives and context to HAO folks.
  • A 1-page report on deliverables and/or results will be given to the STG.
  • At the end of the project, one of the proposers will give a colloquium on the subject of the research.