Funder: National Science Foundation (NSF)
Due Dates: January 17, 2023 | December 05, 2023 | October 08, 2024 | October 14, 2025
Funding Amounts: Up to $5 million per project | Duration up to 5 years | 15 to 35 awards anticipated annually
Summary: Supports transformative research and practice projects advancing racial equity in STEM education and workforce development by addressing systemic racism and broadening participation.
Key Information: Proposals must include rigorous knowledge generation, be led by or in authentic partnership with communities impacted by systemic racism, and center their voices and experiences. Submission via Research.gov or Grants.gov only.
Description
This National Science Foundation (NSF) solicitation aims to fund bold, groundbreaking projects that advance racial equity in STEM education and workforce development. It aligns with NSF’s 2022-2026 Strategic Plan, which emphasizes an inclusive research enterprise benefiting from the diverse talent of all sectors of American society. The program targets systemic racism as a barrier to STEM knowledge generation, participation, and access, seeking projects that contribute to institutionalizing effective, research-based practices and policies in STEM environments.
Funded projects are expected to:
- Advance scholarship and promote racial equity by expanding epistemologies, perspectives, and methodologies.
- Diversify project leadership and institutions funded by NSF.
- Generate rigorous knowledge or evidence-based practice through fundamental or applied research.
Projects may focus on theory building, research and assessment methods, pilot studies, intervention testing, policy and structural change, authentic community partnerships, literature syntheses, conferences, and social or cultural implications related to racial equity in STEM.
The program encourages proposals that center the voices, knowledge, and experiences of those affected by systemic racism, ensuring authentic leadership and partnership. Proposals should articulate how systemic racism is conceptualized within the project context and how the work advances racial equity.
Due Dates
- January 17, 2023
- December 05, 2023
- October 08, 2024
- October 14, 2025
All deadlines are by 5 p.m. submitter’s local time.
Funding Amount
- Maximum budget request: $5 million per project
- Maximum project duration: 5 years
- Estimated number of awards: 15 to 35 annually
- Total anticipated program budget: $15 million to $25 million (subject to availability)
Eligibility
- Eligible proposers: Organizations and institutions as defined in the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG), Chapter I.E. Unaffiliated individuals are not eligible.
- Principal Investigators (PIs): No restrictions on who may serve as PI.
- No limits on the number of proposals per organization or per PI/co-PI.
Application Process
- Proposals must be submitted electronically via Research.gov or Grants.gov. Submission via FastLane is not accepted.
- Letters of Intent and preliminary proposals are not required.
- Proposals must include:
- A one-page Project Summary with overview, broader impacts, intellectual merit, and five keywords.
- A Project Description (up to 15 pages) addressing solicitation-specific review criteria, including conceptualization of systemic racism, authentic partnership, leadership, research plan, evaluation, and broader impacts.
- Budget and budget justification (up to $5M, max 5 years).
- Biographical sketches, current and pending support, and collaborators/affiliations information for senior personnel.
- Data Management Plan and Postdoctoral Researcher Mentoring Plan (if applicable).
- Other supplementary documents such as letters of collaboration (letters of support or endorsement are not allowed).
- Appendices are not permitted and will result in return without review.
- Proposals should include travel funds for the PI and a community member to attend a two-day EDU Racial Equity Awardee meeting in even years near NSF headquarters.
Additional Information
- Proposals must conceptualize systemic racism within their project context and demonstrate how the work advances racial equity in STEM.
- Projects should be led by or in authentic partnership with communities impacted by systemic racism, centering their voices and experiences.
- Evaluation plans must support iterative improvement and promote accountability regarding equity-centered goals.
- The program also supports other proposal types such as EAGER, RAPID, CAREER awards, and REU supplements.
- Cost sharing is prohibited.
- Funding does not support capital expenses, vehicles, or projects primarily focused on health or medicine.
- Awardees must cooperate with NSF third-party evaluators for program evaluation.
- Standard NSF reporting requirements apply, including annual and final project reports and a public project outcomes report.
External Links
Contact Information
This funding opportunity is archived but remains relevant for planning future proposals. Researchers interested in advancing racial equity in STEM education and workforce development through rigorous research and authentic community partnerships should consider this program.