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Alpha Foundation for the Improvement of Mine Safety and Health, Inc. |
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The Alpha Foundation for the Improvement of Mine Safety and Health, Inc. announces Short-Term Research Projects |
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This category encourages new, exploratory and developmental research projects, by providing support for the early and conceptual stages of project development. These studies may involve considerable risk but may lead to a breakthrough in a particular area, or to the development of novel techniques, agents, methodologies, models, or pilot and feasibility studies. A detailed solicitation for this category of projects is expected to be announced in late August, 2013 with the goal of selecting projects for funding in early 2014. |
The Alpha Foundation for the Improvement of Mine Safety and Health, Inc. (Foundation) was established as part of a Non-Prosecution Agreement (Agreement) entered in December 2011 by the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of West Virginia, the United States Department of Justice and Alpha Natural Resources, Inc. ("Alpha") and Alpha Appalachia Holdings, Inc. This Agreement was related to the explosion at Upper Big Branch Mine, an underground coal mine owned by Performance Coal Company, a former affiliate of Massey Energy Company, which Alpha acquired in June 2011, over a year following the UBB explosion. Pursuant to that agreement, Alpha agreed to establish a trust to fund projects designed to improve mine health and safety by providing $48,000,000 into the trust. More information on the Foundation and its progress is presented in the first report of the Board of Directors (see http://www.alpha-foundation.org/uploads/First_Report_2012_Fall.pdf).
The guiding principles of the Foundation as set by its charter and the Board of Directors are:
- Mission: To improve mine health and safety through funding research and development projects by qualified academic institutions and other not-for-profit organizations
- Vision: To enable miners in the future to be free of work-related injury or disease by the implementation of the results of the projects funded by the Foundation and undertaken by the best researchers from any discipline that can contribute.
The project selection cycle will commence with review of submitted brief concept papers (pre-proposals). The most promising projects will then be invited to submit full proposals for review. The review at both stages will be performed by outside independent experts and the Foundation Directors. In terms of schedule, it is anticipated that the Foundation will announce a Call for Proposals in early 2013, including details of the submission process, deadlines and other information and guidelines. The review of concept papers and, subsequently, of full proposals will be completed in early summer of 2013, when the Directors expect to announce the selected projects of the first solicitation.
The Directors are looking forward to working with the safety and health research community and all stakeholders to advance projects that can fulfill the Foundation’s vision of eliminating work-related injury and disease for the nation’s miners. The Foundation also encourages interested research groups to follow its progress and solicitation schedule via this website.