Greetings Colleagues,

Happy New Year and welcome back. The topics for today’s palindromic (1-21-21) post are international education exchanges, equity and health, and correctional education/workforce development. Please let me know if there are any specific funding areas you would like to see in these announcements or that you would like me to inform you about privately.

News

The application deadline for National Science Foundation Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI Program) NSF 20-599 has been revised. The submission deadline of January 13, 2021 for Track 1: PPP and Track 2: IEP proposals has been extended to February 10, 2021. UTSA only qualified for Track 2 (IEP—Implementation and Evaluation Projects) and Track 3 (ITP— Institutional Transformation Projects) proposals. The program solicitation for NSF 20-599 is here: https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2020/nsf20599/nsf20599.htm

Professional Development Opportunities

The UTSA community has free access to LinkedIn Learning modules. There is a course on Writing a Proposal by Ms. Judy Steiner-Williams, Senior Lecturer at Kelley Business School, that provides a comprehensive overview. Ms. Steiner-William also offers several LinkedIn Learning courses on effective business writing that are helpful for transitioning from a scholarly writing to a technical writing mode.

https://www.linkedin.com/learning/writing-a-proposal/overview-of-proposal-parts?u=53505060

New Funding Opportunities

There are four competitions from the US Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs for international educational exchanges. Because they are highly competitive with only one grantee being awarded for each competition extensive planning would need to be undertaken.

FY 2021 Increase and Diversify Education Abroad for U.S. Students (IDEAS) Program Due March 5, 2021

https://eca.state.gov/files/bureau/fy21_ideas_nofo.pdf

The FY 2021 Increase and Diversify Education Abroad for U.S. Students (IDEAS) Program, formerly known as the Capacity Building Program for U.S. Study Abroad, advances the Bureau’s objective of supporting mutual understanding between the people of the United States and other countries by building the institutional capacity of accredited U.S. higher education institutions to increase and/or diversify U.S. student mobility abroad in support of U.S. foreign policy goals. The IDEAS Program aims to increase and diversify study abroad through two main components, the administration of small grants and the implementation of capacity building initiatives.

FY 2021 International Sports Programming Initiative Due March 11, 2021

https://eca.state.gov/files/bureau/fy21_ispi_nofo.pdf

The International Sports Programming Initiative uses sports to help underserved youth around the world develop important leadership skills, achieve academic success, promote tolerance and respect for diversity, and positively contribute to their home and host communities. Sports Diplomacy programs are an important tool for advancing U.S. foreign policy goals through interaction with hard-to-reach groups such as at-risk youth, women, minorities, people with disabilities, and non-English speakers.

FY 2021 Global Media Makers Due March 16, 2021

https://eca.state.gov/files/bureau/gmm_fy21_-_nofo.pdf

The Global Media Makers (GMM) program seeks to elevate creative voices, crucial to building strong civil societies, by utilizing film and television to amplify issues such as, but not limited to, freedom of expression, pluralism, tolerance, women’s and youth empowerment.

FY 2021 Global Sports Mentoring Program Due April 1, 2021

https://eca.state.gov/files/bureau/fy21_gsmp_nofo.pdf

The FY 2021 Global Sports Mentoring Program model has two distinct professional development mentorship exchanges—the Sport for Community GSMP and the espnW GSMP. By empowering women and people with disabilities, the GSMP directly supports U.S. foreign policy goals, promotes social inclusion, and elevates the status of marginalized populations. Through the mentorship experience, the GSMP encourages mutually beneficial relationships between American sports executives and leaders in the sports sector overseas. Tapping into the power of public-private partnerships and founded on participant-led business plans, the GSMP positively impacts communities at home and abroad and creates a more secure and democratic global playing field for all.

Equity and Health

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Equity-Focused Policy Research: Building Cross-Cutting Evidence on Supports for Families with Young Children Due Tuesday, February 16, 2021

https://www.rwjf.org/en/library/funding-opportunities/2021/equity-focused-policy-research--building-cross-cutting-evidence-on-supports-for-families-with-young-children.html?rid=0034400001rlptaAAA&et_cid=2354642

The Equity-Focused Policy Research (EFPR) grant program seeks to fund a body of research that illuminates strategies and policies that enhance families’ equitable access to key resources for supporting their children’s healthy development. EFPR grants are guided by a research agenda that focuses on: (1) understanding the sources of inequities in families’ access to and use of key resources; (2) identifying and testing innovations to advance equity; and (3) strategies for scaling up policies and approaches that are effective in advancing equity. The agenda addresses three policy areas as providing critical resources for families: (1) access to early care and education (ECE); (2) income supports (such as the Earned Income Tax Credit [EITC] and cash transfer programs) and income generation/replacement; and (3) nutrition supports (such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program [SNAP]).

US Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration Pathway Home 2 Due March 16, 2021

https://edit.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ETA/grants/pdfs/FOA-ETA-21-02.pdf?_ga=2.154317624.1457532876.1611250625-287678501.1611250625

The purpose of this pilot program is to provide eligible, incarcerated individuals in state correctional facilities or local or county jails with workforce services prior to release and to continue services after release by transitioning the participants into reentry programs in the communities to which they will return. These grants are job-driven and build connections to local employers that will enable transitioning offenders to secure employment.

These projects ensure that transitioning offenders are prepared to meet the needs of their local labor markets with the skills valued by employers. Applicants must ensure that occupational training provided has no federal, state, or local regulations that restrict individuals with criminal records from obtaining licenses or other necessary credentials in that career. Therefore, applicants will need to research existing barriers for individuals with criminal records in relation to specific industries. Employer connections will inform specific program curricula and ensure relevance to the needs of local businesses and jobs. Teaching transitioning offenders foundational skills, such as job readiness, employability, and job search strategies, in addition to providing apprenticeships and occupational training leading to industry-recognized credentials, can provide access to employment and reduce the likelihood of reoffending.

Reminders:

Lever for Change/W.K. Kellogg Foundation Racial Equity 2030 Registration due January 28, 2021 5:00 PM ET after assessing qualification through Organizational Readiness Tool. Application due February 25, 2021 5:00 PM ET.

https://www.racialequity2030.org/

Due in February 2021

NSF Mid-Career Advancement due February 1, 2021

https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2021/nsf21516/nsf21516.htm

NSF Growing Convergence Research (GCR) due February 1, 2021

https://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=505637

NSF A Science of Science Policy Approach to Analyzing and Innovating the Biomedical Research Enterprise (SCISIPBIO) due February 9, 2021

https://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=505610

NSF Ethical and Responsible Research (ER2) due February 9, 2021

https://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=505693

NSF Science of Science: Discovery, Communication, and Impact (SoS:DCI) due February 10, 2021

https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2020/nsf20128/nsf20128.jsp?WT.mc_id=USNSF_25&WT.mc_ev=click

NSF Cognitive Neuroscience (CogNeuro) due February 11, 2021; also August 13, 2021

https://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5316

NSF Science and Technology Studies (STS) due February 16, 2021

https://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=505697

NSF Expeditions in Computing (Expeditions) due February 16, 2021

https://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=503169

NSF EHR Core Research (ECR): Building Capacity in STEM Education Research (ECR: BCSER) due February 26, 2021

https://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=505645

Due later in 2021

NEH Institutes for Advanced Topics in the Digital Humanities due March 2, 2021 (note: application window is not open until January 4, 2021)

https://www.neh.gov/grants/odh/institutes-advanced-topics-in-the-digital-humanities

NSF Behavioral Systems Proposals accepted anytime

https://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=504676&org=IOS

NSF Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) due August 13, 2021

https://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5467

--Iwan