Funder: National Science Foundation (NSF)
Due Dates: February 28, 2025 (Full Proposal Deadline)
Funding Amounts: Up to $5,000,000 total over five years, pending availability of funds.
Summary: Supports a single Resource Center to enhance the impact of the Discovery Research PreK-12 (DRK-12) program by sharing resources, fostering collaboration, and raising national visibility of transformative STEM education research.
Key Information: One cooperative agreement award; proposals accepted from US-based institutions including IHEs, nonprofits, for-profits, state/local governments, and federally recognized Tribal Nations; no limits on number of proposals per PI or organization.
Description
The National Science Foundation (NSF) invites proposals for the Discovery Research PreK-12 Program Resource Center on Transformative Education Research and Translation (DRK-12 RC). This Resource Center will serve as an intellectual partner to the DRK-12 program, which supports applied research and development in formal PreK-12 STEM education.
The DRK-12 RC aims to:
- Identify and disseminate promising resources, tools, approaches, and research findings to teachers, school leaders, administrators, and policymakers to advance both STEM teaching practice and scientific knowledge.
- Facilitate communication and collaboration among current, former, and prospective DRK-12 award recipients to build capacity for rigorous and meaningful STEM education research across diverse project types.
- Increase the national visibility and impact of the DRK-12 program’s goals and outcomes.
The Resource Center is expected to work collaboratively with NSF, DRK-12 communities, and other NSF-supported resource hubs and centers to design, implement, and evaluate activities that support these goals.
Key activities include synthesizing and communicating DRK-12 investments and impacts, capacity building for STEM education researchers and practitioners, broadening participation especially in underrepresented regions and groups (including EPSCoR jurisdictions), and providing technical support to prospective Principal Investigators across the full range of DRK-12 project types.
The DRK-12 RC should develop and maintain a virtual infrastructure (e.g., website, digital repository, social media) to facilitate connections and collaborations among the DRK-12 program’s diverse audiences.
Due Dates
- Full Proposal Deadline: February 28, 2025 (by 5 p.m. local time of submitting organization)
Funding Amount
- One cooperative agreement award anticipated
- Total funding up to $5,000,000 over a maximum of five years
- Funding contingent on satisfactory performance and availability of funds
- Possibility of competitive renewal
Eligibility
- Eligible applicants include:
- U.S.-based Institutions of Higher Education (two- and four-year, including community colleges)
- Non-profit, non-academic organizations (e.g., museums, observatories, research labs, professional societies)
- For-profit U.S. commercial organizations with strong STEM research or education capabilities
- State and local governments
- Federally recognized Tribal Nations (per the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994)
- No restrictions on who may serve as Principal Investigator (PI)
- No limits on the number of proposals per organization or PI
- Proposals involving international branch campuses of U.S. IHEs must justify the benefit of performance at the international site
Application Process
- Proposals must be submitted electronically via Research.gov or Grants.gov following the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG)
- Letters of Intent and preliminary proposals are not required
- Project description may be up to 20 pages
- Collaborative proposals involving multiple organizations may be submitted as separate submissions or as a single proposal with sub-awards
- Voluntary committed cost sharing is prohibited
- Proposals must include plans for dissemination, capacity building, broadening participation, and technical support aligned with the solicitation’s goals
Review Criteria
Proposals will be evaluated based on NSF’s two merit review criteria:
- Intellectual Merit: Potential to advance knowledge and understanding within STEM education research and practice
- Broader Impacts: Potential to benefit society, including broadening participation in STEM, improving STEM education, and increasing national visibility of DRK-12 program impacts
Additional considerations include the quality and feasibility of the proposed activities, qualifications of the project team, and adequacy of resources.
Award Administration
- Award notification is made to the submitting organization by an NSF Grants and Agreements Officer
- Award conditions follow standard NSF policies, including cooperative agreement terms
- Annual and final project reports are required, submitted via Research.gov
- Compliance with federal policies such as Build America, Buy America is required
Additional Information
- The DRK-12 program is the only NSF program supporting applied STEM research and development at the PreK-12 level across all formal STEM education areas
- The Resource Center will build upon and expand prior NSF-supported resource hubs such as CADRE and the Evidence Quality Resource Hub
- The program encourages proposals that engage underrepresented groups and geographic regions to broaden participation in STEM education research and practice
- Proposers should consult the DRK-12 Resource Center logic model for guidance on expected goals, activities, and indicators: DRK-12 RC Logic Model
External Links
Contact Information
This opportunity is ideal for researchers and organizations with expertise in STEM education research, teacher professional development, and education research translation who seek to lead a national center that amplifies the impact of NSF’s Discovery Research PreK-12 investments.