Instructions for Phase 1:

You should read the four example research proposals at the blackboard site of the class. These are actual proposals that have been (or will be) submitted to NWO (the Dutch Science foundation) or other funding agencies by staff members of the Computer Science department. (Their names have been omitted). Some of these proposals have actually been accepted, and some have been rejected.

For each proposal, write a short (at most 1 page) review, using the review form given below (adapted from an NWO form). The most important task is to find arguments in favor or against each proposal, and make this clear in your review. It is insufficient to just indicate which ones you like or dislike, you have to come up with arguments (and defend these in class). Be critical when you want to (you won't insult anyone!).

You are not asked to give any ratings to the individual proposals, but please do specify an ordering between the proposals, ranging from best to worst.

Email your submission to bal@cs.vu.nl. Adhere to the following instructions:

• Submit a single PDF file (no other formats, no zipfile)
• The filename should be: FirstnameSecondname.pdf (e.g. HenriBal.pdf)
• The first line of the PDF should contain your name and student number
• the next line of your submission should list your relative ranking from high (best proposal) to low (worst proposal), e.g., 4-2-1-3 (where proposal #4 would then the proposal you rank best). The proposals are numbered/identified on the blackboard site, stick to this numbering (so 1=GreenClouds, 2=DASDIP, 3=Jungle Computing, 4= Software Telescopes).
• The order of the reviews in the PDF file should be the same as on the blackboard site (not the order of your own ranking)
• Use page breaks between the different reviews (each review should start on a new page) and start each review with the proposal number and title
• You must run a spell checking program; submissions with many obvious spelling errors will get lower grades
• Also make sure the text layout is reasonable and readable (the text should fit on a printed page and not have abundant line breaks)

Review form:

1. Number and title of the proposal
2. What is your opinion about the scientific merits of the proposed research?
3. Can you identify a clear scientific goal?
4. Does the research open new grounds by generating new concepts, a deeper understanding of new methods?
5. Please comment on the overall quality and urgency of the research laid out in this proposal.
6. Do you have special remarks about the proposal?

Your review should start with the line "Number and title of the proposal" in boldface, then on the next line, the number and title. Then comes a blank line, followed by "What is your opinion about the scientific merits of the proposed research?" in boldface on a line by itself, followed by the answer to the question, and so on.

Henri will also give you some brief comments on your reviews, as well as an average grade.

Here is the link to the phase 2 instructions.