Build and Broaden: Enhancing Social, Behavioral and Economic Science Research and Capacity at Minority-Serving Institutions
This grant supports social science research at minority-serving institutions, encouraging collaboration and building research capacity in STEM fields.
This grant is no longer accepting proposals
U.S. National Science Foundation has archived this opportunity.
Funder: National Science Foundation (NSF)
Due Dates: January 15, 2026 | January 23, 2025 (archived) | Third Thursday in January, Annually Thereafter
Funding Amounts: Approximately $8,000,000 total anticipated funding; 25 to 30 awards expected; award size and duration vary based on proposal and availability of funds.
Summary: Supports fundamental social, behavioral, and economic science research and capacity-building at minority-serving institutions (MSIs), encouraging collaborations and broadening participation in STEM fields.
Key Information: Proposals must involve MSIs either as lead or collaborative partners; more than 50% of direct costs must go to MSIs if PI is non-MSI; limited to one proposal per PI/co-PI annually.
Description
The Build and Broaden (B2) program by the NSF Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE) aims to enhance research capacity and fundamental research in social, behavioral, and economic sciences at minority-serving institutions (MSIs). It addresses the national priority of expanding the STEM workforce by increasing opportunities for underrepresented groups and institutions to participate in STEM research.
MSIs play a critical role in educating diverse populations and contributing to U.S. economic growth and competitiveness. However, they have historically been underrepresented in NSF research awards, particularly within the SBE sciences. B2 seeks to increase proposal submissions from MSIs, foster research collaborations involving MSI scholars, and build research infrastructure and capacity at these institutions.
The program supports a broad range of scientific and cross-disciplinary research areas supported by SBE, including but not limited to anthropology, archaeology, cognitive neuroscience, decision science, economics, geography, linguistics, law and science, organizational behavior, political science, public policy, psychology, sociology, and security and preparedness.
Proposals may be submitted by single PIs at MSIs or by collaborative teams involving multiple MSIs. Non-MSI PIs may apply only if they include MSI scholars as senior/key personnel and demonstrate that the project will build research capacity or partnerships at MSIs, with at least 50% of direct costs allocated to MSIs.
The program also encourages proposals that increase graduate student pursuit in STEM, enhance PI productivity, and cultivate sustainable partnerships. Conference proposals, Early-concept Grants for Exploratory Research (EAGER), and Research Coordination Network (RCN) proposals are also accepted.
