NSF’s Racial Equity in STEM Education Program Description (EHR Racial Equity)

Deadlines: Full Proposal Target Date: October 12, 2021 (Second Tuesday in October, Annually Thereafter); March 22, 2022 (Fourth Tuesday in March, Annually Thereafter)

“Persistent racial injustices and inequalities in the United States have led to renewed concern and interest in addressing systemic racism.  The National Science Foundation (NSF) Directorate for Education and Human Resources (EHR) seeks to support bold, ground-breaking, and potentially transformative projects addressing systemic racism in STEM. Proposals should advance racial equity in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and workforce development through research (both fundamental and applied) and practice.  Core to this funding opportunity is that proposals are led by, or developed and led in authentic partnership with, individuals and communities most impacted by the inequities caused by systemic racism.  The voices, knowledge, and experiences of those who have been impacted by enduring racial inequities should be at the center of these proposals, including in, for example:   project leadership and research positions, conceptualization of the proposal, decision-making processes, and the interpretation and dissemination of evidence and research results. The proposed work should provide positive outcomes for the individuals and communities engaged and should recognize peoples’ humanity, experiences, and resilience. Proposals need to consider systemic barriers to opportunities and benefits, and how these barriers impact access to, retention in, and success in STEM education, research, and workforce development. Competitive proposals will be clear with respect to how the work advances racial equity and addresses systemic racism, as these constructs may have different meanings in different settings.  

Proposals should articulate a rigorous plan to generate knowledge through research (both fundamental and applied) and practice, such as, but not limited to: 

• building theory;  

• developing methods; 

• testing approaches and interventions;  

• assessing the potential, efficacy, effectiveness, and scalability of approaches and interventions;  

• establishing, cultivating and assessing authentic partnerships; 

• changing institutional, organizational, and structural practices and policies; and/or  

• focusing on affective, behavioral, cultural, social components, and implications. 

Contexts may include, but are not limited to: preK-12, two- and four-year undergraduate, and graduate institutions; municipal organizations; STEM workplaces; and informal STEM contexts, such as museums, community organizations, and media.” 

Also from NSF:
NSF BIO invites Principal Investigators (PI) of active awards to submit a supplemental funding request to support the research training of post-baccalaureate students. (Submissions for FY 2022 accepted on a rolling basis.)

• ACLS Barrington Foundation Centennial Fellowships in Classical Studies
• ACLS Carl and Betty Pforzheimer Fellowships in English and American Literature
• ACLS Centennial Fellowships in the Dynamics of Place
• ACLS Frederic E. Wakeman, Jr. Fellowships in Chinese History
• ACLS H. and T. King Fellowships in Ancient American Art and Culture
• ACLS/New York Public Library Fellowships (separate application required)
• ACLS Oscar Handlin Fellowships in American History
• ACLS Pauline Yu Fellowships in Chinese or Comparative Literature
• ACLS Susan McClary and Robert Walser Fellowships in Music Studies
• ACLS Yvette and WIlliam Kirby Centennial Fellowships in Chinese Studies

• Luce/ACLS Early Career Fellowships in China Studies

• Early Career Fellowships
• Translation Grants
• Buddhism Public Scholars

 The Newberry Publication Subvention grant “offers up to $8,000 to subsidize the publication of scholarly book or books on European civilization before 1700 in the areas of music, theater, cultural studies, or French or Italian literature. Applicants must document that their projects have been accepted for publication and provide detailed information regarding the publication and the subvention request.” Grants of up to $8,000, with deadline to be announced (applications will open up August 15).
 

Furthermore Grants in Publishing “assist nonfiction books having to do with art, architecture, and design; cultural history, the city, and related public issues; and conservation and preservation. We look for work that appeals to an informed general audience, gives evidence of high standards in editing, design, and production, and promises a reasonable shelf life. Funds apply to such specific publication components as writing, research, editing, indexing, design, illustration, photography, and printing and binding.” Grants of $1,500 to $15,000, with rolling deadlines (must apply at least three months before the anticipated press date).

Some successful project proposal categories include: 

• A new course related to forced migration that fills a gap in the college’s curriculum, including community engaged classes or classes that bring together the college’s students with students who have experienced forced migration

• A community engaged project that asks students to work with people who have experienced displacement, either in person or digitally or both.

 Proposals will be accepted online via the following link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe3_dromlEDudtuiZHm2CX7UgQmWsZzusHH64mGTqNZcwUpaw/viewform

Recipients are expected to write a brief report to their home institution’s Faculty Director after the term of grant funding ends. Recipients of grant awards are also expected to attend a subsequent CFMDE workshop or Teaching Lab to present their work and enrich our shared conversation, and are encouraged to report on their findings in the journal EuropeNow.

Please note that CFMDE is funded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, which does not support international student travel, the digitization of library archives, overhead/indirect costs, tuition, or financial aid.  Direct disbursement of funds to refugees, forced migrants, or others outside CFMDE colleges is not permitted.

Questions? Contact Ava McElhone Yates, Coordinator for Research and Pedagogy, at amcelhoneyates@vassar.edu

NSF’s recent Spring 2021 Virtual Grants Conference was full of terrific information for anyone interested in applying to NSF in the coming years OR principal investigators with current NSF awards. 

All presentations, handouts, slides, and recorded webinar sessions and slides are available on NSF’s Policy Office Outreach website. Additionally, all webinar recordings will soon be posted on NSF’s YouTube page.

Get information, tips and requirements right from the source about Proposal Preparation, the Merit Review Process, and Award Management as well as updates from every directorate (the Directorate for Geosciences (GEO) presentation was especially informative) and detailed information about NSF’s CAREER grant opportunity for early career faculty or the Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) grant opportunity. 

Those of you who are currently working with international collaborators or considering international activities in the coming years will also be interested in the presentation  Promoting & Protecting the U.S. Science & Engineering Enterprise

Also of interest for NSF applicants in the coming year:

NSF has issue a revised version of the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) (NSF 22-1), effective for proposals submitted or due on or after October 4, 2021. “Significant changes include:

• A new section covering requests for reasonable and accessibility accommodations regarding the proposal process or requests for accessibility accommodations to access NSF’s electronic systems, websites and other digital content;

• A table entitled, NSF Pre-award and Post-award Disclosures Relating to the Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending Support. This table identifies where pre- and post-award current and pending support disclosure information must be provided. Proposers and awardees may begin using this table immediately;

• Increasing the page limit for the biographical sketch from two to three pages;

• Updates to the current and pending support section of NSF proposals to require that information on objectives and overlap with other projects is provided to help NSF and reviewers assess overlap/duplication;

• Adding planning proposals and Career-Life Balance supplemental funding requests as new proposal types;

• Updates to travel proposals will require that AORs certify that prior to the proposer’s participation in the meeting for which NSF travel support is being requested, the proposer will assure that the meeting organizer has a written policy or code-of-conduct addressing harassment.”

Additional information regarding NSF-approved formats for current and pending support, including the helpful table for pre-and post-award disclosures on the biographical sketch and current and pending support documents are recommended reading for all interested applicants!

 The Broader Impacts statement is a critical component of any research proposal submitted to NSF. Broader impacts strengthen the relationship between the science community and society. Here are five tips from NSF program officers to help you with your Broader Impacts statement.

Sample Funded Proposals

If you’ve ever benefited from – or wanted to – reviewing sample proposals to funding agencies, this is a great website for you!

Open Grants is a searchable database of 216 funded and unfunded grant proposals – shared by their authors – to funding agencies ranging from NSF to NIH to the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

“An increasing number of researchers are sharing their grant proposals openly. They do this to open up science so that all stages of the process can benefit from better interaction and communication and to provide examples for early career scientists writing grants. This is a list of 216 of these proposals to help you find them.”

NIH released a new Policy for Data Management and Sharing, which will be required for all research grants starting January 25, 2023.

“This Policy establishes the requirements of submission of Data Management and Sharing Plans…. It also emphasizes the importance of good data management practices and establishes the expectation for maximizing the appropriate sharing of scientific data generated from NIH-funded or conducted research, with justified limitations or exceptions.”