ADVANCE: Organizational Change for Gender Equity in STEM Academic Professions
Limited submission
NSF ADVANCE grants support systemic changes promoting gender, racial, and ethnic equity for STEM faculty in academic workplaces through four funding tracks.
This grant is no longer accepting proposals
U.S. National Science Foundation has archived this opportunity.
Funder: National Science Foundation (NSF)
Due Dates: November 6, 2024 (Partnership & Adaptation full proposals) | April 24, 2025 (IT-Preliminary proposals) | August 1, 2025 (Catalyst full proposals) | August 4, 2025 (Letters of Intent for Adaptation & Partnership) | October 2, 2025 (Institutional Transformation full proposals)
Funding Amounts: Up to $3,000,000 for Institutional Transformation (5 years); up to $1,000,000 for Adaptation and Partnership (3-5 years); up to $300,000 for Catalyst (2 years); additional $250,000 possible for collaborations.
Summary: Supports systemic, evidence-based organizational change strategies to promote gender, racial, and ethnic equity for STEM faculty in academic workplaces through four funding tracks.
Key Information: Intersectional approaches required; no fellowships or individual research/travel grants; limited submission per organization; Catalyst track only for institutions without prior ADVANCE leadership.
Description
The NSF ADVANCE program aims to foster a more diverse and capable STEM workforce by promoting systemic organizational change that advances gender, racial, and ethnic equity for STEM faculty in academic professions. It targets systemic factors in policies, practices, culture, and climate that create inequities in academic workplaces and the profession.
The program emphasizes intersectionality, recognizing that gender, race, ethnicity, and other social identities intersect and influence equity challenges and solutions. Proposals must incorporate intersectional approaches throughout project design, implementation, and evaluation.
Four funding tracks are offered:
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Institutional Transformation (IT): Supports innovative systemic change strategies within a single institution of higher education (IHE) covering all STEM disciplines. Requires a rigorous research study on gender equity and systemic change. Only IHEs submitting an IT-Preliminary proposal may submit a full IT proposal.
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Adaptation: Supports adaptation and implementation of evidence-based systemic change strategies by a single non-profit IHE (all STEM disciplines) or non-academic organization (one or more STEM disciplines) with national or regional impact.
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Partnership: Supports regional or national diffusion and scale-up of systemic change strategies through partnerships of two or more organizations. Projects must demonstrate significant reach and impact on STEM academic workplaces or disciplines.
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Catalyst: Supports non-profit IHEs that have not previously led an ADVANCE award to conduct self-assessment, data collection, pilot equity strategies, and develop a five-year STEM faculty equity strategic plan.
The program does not fund fellowships, individual research, or travel grants for students, postdocs, or faculty pursuing STEM degrees or research.
