Internal Allocations

About Internal Allocations

The NCAR Directorate budgets modest amounts of funds to facilitate the implementation of new initiatives, to be prepared for unanticipated needs and emergencies, to ensure protection from budget fluctuations, and to manage institution-wide programs that cross laboratories.

Director’s Reserves - These funds include the NCAR Director’s reserves, Equipment and Instrumentation Funds, and other program reserves that fund scientific support activities of scientists moving to and from institutional management positions. The NCAR Director’s Reserve was established at NCAR’s inception and originally functioned primarily to respond to unanticipated needs and emergencies. Although this function continues to be the primary purpose of this fund, the majority of available funding is generally used for new programs and initiatives. Laboratories may request funding from the reserve for unanticipated needs or emergencies at any time during the year. These requests are reviewed and approved by the NCAR Director. The remaining Director’s Reserve fund balances are held each year until NCAR’s final fiscal year target is known. Once unanticipated needs are covered, remaining balances are provided as seed funding for new facility or science initiatives. The Equipment and Instrumentation Fund was established in the late 1980s to ensure NCAR’s continued scientific progress by assisting in the replacement or acquisition of equipment and instrumentation. At the time this fund was established, development of new instrumentation and facilities was becoming increasingly difficult within the existing budget environment. The fund was intended to provide for seed funds for new development without taking away funds from existing instrument operations. This fund is normally allocated in the same manner as the Director’s Reserve.
Diversity Program - The NCAR Director and the NCAR Executive Committee have established the NCAR Diversity Fund to advance efforts in broadening participation from underrepresented groups and diverse institutions in all NCAR activities and to increase the diversity of our workforce. We have made this commitment in our strategic plan and renew it each year in our annual budgeting process. We make this commitment in response to the national challenge in educating the next generation of scientists and in developing the workforce of the 21st century. The Diversity Program is made up of two components, the Directorate Diversity Fund which fund through a competitive proposal process, new initiatives in workforce diversity. The other component is a pool of funds contributed by each of the labs and matched by the NCAR Directorate. These funds are transferred each year to participating labs for their efforts in workforce diversity.
EOL Facility Reserves - NCAR budgets $800K per year to support EOL’s aperiodic aircraft equipment replacement and inspection needs. These funds augment EOL’s existing reserves and were used for a C-130 wing inspection in FY 2005. Approximately $3.5M will be set aside by EOL and NCAR Directorate for the next major inspection scheduled for FY 2009.
Opportunity Fund - The Opportunity Fund was established in FY 1997 in response to a NSF review panel recommendation to provide more opportunities for inter-divisional collaboration. With the advent of a strategic initiative process in FY 2001, which emphasized inter-divisional collaboration, the Opportunity Fund's primary focus shifted to supporting new, innovative ideas in research and facility development. Beginning in FY 2003, inter-divisional collaboration, though encouraged, was no longer an eligibility requirement for the fund. Education and non-research proposals are also encouraged.
Announcement of Opportunity - An announcement of opportunity is provided to all NCAR/UCAR scientific and scientific support staff each year. Eligible proposals generally cover one year but can be for two years with a maximum funding request of $200,000 for each proposal. An internal review panel, convened by the NCAR Scientist Assembly Executive Committee, evaluates proposals using the NSF Merit Review Criteria. The review panel then provides award recommendations to the NCAR Director. The NCAR Director determines the final award allocations. Occasionally, Director's Reserve, Equipment and Instrumentation Fund, and UCAR Bond Funds have augmented the Opportunity Fund, thereby leveraging NCAR resources to fund new activities. NCAR has cancelled the internal competition for FY 2008 and will redirect these funds to support the Earth System Modeling effort.
Scientist I Recruitment Fund - As a complement to the NCAR Diversity Program, this program provides seed funding for the recruitment of early career scientists. In order to sustain demographic balance and diversity at NCAR, NCAR initiated a multiyear program in FY 2001 to hire early career scientists, with a view to restoring and maintaining this balance while increasing diversity of people, ideas, and backgrounds a NCAR. These early career scientists have provided NCAR with increased expertise in a variety of high-priority scientific areas and created new opportunities for collaboration with researchers in the university community. This program supports approximately 60% of salaries and associated costs for a minimum of four scientists each year for two years. Each laboratory is responsible for the remaining 40% and full support after two years. Recruitment costs and reasonable relocation costs are funded by the NCAR Directorate. $20K in start-up funding is also provided shared 50% by the Directorate and 50% by the laboratory program.
Strategic Initiatives - The NCAR Strategic Initiative Fund supports large research and development projects that provide a scientific and technical foundation for innovative solutions to problems confronted in NCAR's mission and strategic plan. Current initiatives include: Education and Outreach Initiative, Coronal Magnetism (COSMO) Initiative, Cyberinfrastructure Initiative, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Megacities Impact on Regional and Global Environments (MIRAGE), Upper Troposphere and Lower Stratosphere (UT/LS), and Community Spectro-Polarimetric Analysis Center (CSAC).
NCAR Visitor Program – This is a centralized NCAR visitor program that augments and builds on the individual laboratories’ visitor programs. These funds are centralized in the NCAR Directorate to provide a stable, growing program that is insulated from year to year budget fluctuations and is also highly visible as an institutional priority. Funding for this program consists of laboratory contributions and additional augmentation from the NCAR Directorate.
US Weather Research Program Science Program – This program was established in FY 1996 as a competitive internal grants program within NCAR as part of the overall USWRP funding provided by the NSF within NCAR’s Base program. These funds are bookmarked in the NCAR Directorate primarily to insulate it from budget fluctuations and ensure objective allocations to projects across NCAR laboratories.

About Internal Allocations

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