Homeland Security Education @ TAMU

Sponsored by the Homeland Defense Journal, the Grant Writing Boot Camp will take place September 11-12, in Arlington VA.  The purpose of the boot camp is to provide participants with information on all stages of grant writing, but especially the researching and writing portions of the grant proposal.  The Boot Camp will be focused real project ideas, and participants are encouraged to bring with them actual grant ideas and uspporting documents, so that they are able to complete the majority of the grant proposal at the workshop.

For more information about the Grant Writing Boot Camp, including registration information, and cost to attend, click here. 

The Smith Richardson Foundation has announced its annual International Security and Foreign Policy Program grant, which is designed to assist junior tenure track faculty who are conducting research on American foreign policy, international relations, international security, military policy, and diplomatic and military history. The Foundation will award three grants of $60,000 each to support faculty in the research and writing of a scholarly book on one of the aforementioned topics.

Dr. McIntyre from the Integrative Center for Homeland Security writes the following about the grant opportunity: “…we are willing to help in any way we can any faculty who want to pursue this opportunity in a subject related to homeland security. We can save any researcher a great deal of time in establishing current awareness of policies in effect, and in researching important documents. Let us know if we can help.”

The grant deadline is June 30. For more information about the grant, visit the Foundation’s website at http://www.srf.org/grants/JF_Domestic_Description.php.

The Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate is currently accepting proposals for grants that will provide scholarships or fellowships to undergraduate and graduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) students that are planning on pursuing careers in homeland security related fields.  These students must either be majoring in a STEM field, or be receiving a minor or certificate in a homeland security STEM area of study. 

Students that may be funded through this grant must focus their research on one following areas: “1. Explosives Detection, Mitigation and Response; 2. Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences; 3. Risk and Decision Sciences; 4. Human Factors Aspects of Technology; 5. Chemical Threats and Countermeasures; 6. Biological Threats and Countermeasures; 7. Food and Agriculture Security; 8. Transportation Security; 9. Border Security; 10. Immigration Studies; 11. Maritime and Port Security; 12. Infrastructure Protection; 13. Natural Disasters and Related Geophysical Studies; 14. Emergency Preparedness and Response; 15. Communications and Interoperability; 16. Advanced Data Analysis and Visualization.”

The deadline for proposals is May 16, 2008.  For more information on this grant, including further application information and details on eligibility, click here.

Jeremy Miner and Lynn Miner have released “A Guide to Proposal Planning and Writing” which covers all aspects of Grant writing, from selecting what grants to apply for, to how to prepare for and deal with the granter’s decision.  The guide provides information about different types of grants, how to gain information about the institutions needs and goals and tips about how to write for various types of reviewers.  The guide also provides tips for writers at each stage of the grant writing process, including questions the writer should ask his/herself, and suggestions about formatting and layout of grant sections. 

To view the guide, go to http://www.wm.edu/grants/PROP/miner.pdf. 

The Homeland Defense Journal has released its 2008 Homeland Security Grants Handbook, which provides detailed information about the various Homeland Security Grants available as well as advice on how to write successful grant applications.  The guide also details the various trends in federal grants that demonstrate changes in how the grants are offered as well as what type of proposals receive funding. 

The handbook also provides information on other resources for grant writing information and a special subsection on writing “Regional Interoperable Communication Grants.”

The guide is available free for download from the Homeland Defense Journal’s website: http://www.homelanddefensejournal.com/hdl/home.asp.

The Department of Homeland Security has announced five new Centers of Excellence, institutions that are designated to lead research and development in homeland security related fields, as part of the department’s continuing effort to foster the development of new technology and advancements in homeland security.  In total eleven universities will be directly involved in the five new Centers of Excellence. 

The University of Texas El Paso and the University of Arizona at Tucson will serve as the co-leads for the Center of Excellence for Border Security and Immigration.  The Integrative Center for Homeland Security at Texas A&M was involved in the proposal with the University of Texas El Paso, and is expected to be involved in the educational programs associated with this Center of Excellence.

For more information on Centers of Excellence, or other DHS university programs, visit the DHS website at: http://www.dhs.gov/xres/programs/editorial_0555.shtm.

On February 1st, the Department of Homeland Security released application guidance for 2008 grants.  Funds will administered through 14 Federal grant programs that all seek to strengthen the nation’s “ability to prevent, protect against, respond to, and recover from terrorist attacks, major disasters, and other emergencies.”  Applications that deal with preparing for and countering IED threats are being especially encouraged, with 25% of funding allotted for this type of application. 

The deadline for IPP applications is March 17, 2008 and HSGP applications must be submitted by May 1, 2008.

For more information, including a comprehensive list of grant programs, as well as funds allotted for each program, visit http://www.dhs.gov/xnews/releases/pr_1201882070387.shtm.