Dear Colleagues,  

One (possibly) last thing before the break. Along with reminders for three recently posted private foundation opportunities, I’ve listed several National Science Foundation programs with deadlines for early next year.   

--Iwan 

 

Previously posted:  

 

William T. Grant Foundation Research Grants on Improving the Use of Research Evidence LOI Due: January 12, 2022 

http://wtgrantfoundation.org/grants/research-grants-improving-use-research-evidence 

"This program supports research on strategies to improve the use of research evidence in ways that benefit young people ages 5-25 in the United States.  We want to know what it takes to produce useful research evidence, what it takes to get research used, and what happens when research is used. 

We welcome descriptive studies that reveal the strategies, mechanisms, or conditions for improving research use, as well as evaluation of deliberate efforts to increase routine and beneficial uses of research in decision-making.  We are particularly interested in research on ways to improve the use of research evidence by state and local policymakers, mid-level managers, and intermediaries. 

We invite studies from a range of disciplines, fields, and methods, and we encourage investigations into various youth-serving systems, including justice, housing, child welfare, mental health, and education." 

 

William T. Grant Foundation Research Grants on Reducing Inequality LOI Due: January 12, 2022 

http://wtgrantfoundation.org/grants/research-grants-reducing-inequality 

"This program supports research to build, test, or increase understanding of programs, policies, or practices to reduce inequality in the academic, social, behavioral, or economic outcomes of young people ages 5-12 in the United States. We prioritize studies that aim to reduce inequalities that exist along dimensions of race, ethnicity, economic standing, language minority status, or immigrant origins. 

We welcome descriptive studies that clarify mechanisms for reducing inequality or elucidate how or why a specific program, policy, or practice operates to reduce inequality. We also welcome intervention studies that examine attempts to reduce inequality. Finally, we welcome studies that improve the measurement of inequality in ways that can enhance the work of researchers, practitioners, or policymakers." 

 

Spencer Foundation Research Grants on Education: Large LOI Due: January 26, 2022 

https://www.spencer.org/grant_types/large-research-grant 

"The Large Research Grants on Education Program supports education research projects that will contribute to the improvement of education, broadly conceived, with budgets ranging from $125,000 to $500,000 for projects ranging from one to five years. We anticipate awarding grants with budgets across each of the following funding tiers -- $125,000 to 250,000; $250,001 to $375,000; and $375,001 to $500,000. We accept Intent to Apply forms twice a year. This program is “field-initiated” in that proposal submissions are not in response to a specific request for a particular research topic, discipline, design, method, or location. Our goal for this program is to support rigorous, intellectually ambitious and technically sound research that is relevant to the most pressing questions and compelling opportunities in education." 

 

National Science Foundation RFPs for early 2022 

 

National Science Foundation Science of Learning and Augmented Intelligence (SL) Due: January 19, 2022 

https://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=505731&org=NSF&sel_org=NSF&from=fund 

"Science of Learning and Augmented Intelligence (SL) supports potentially transformative research that develops basic theoretical insights and fundamental knowledge about principles, processes and mechanisms of learning, and about augmented intelligence - how human cognitive function can be augmented through interactions with others, contextual variations, and technological advances. 

The program supports research addressing learning in individuals and in groups, across a wide range of domains at one or more levels of analysis including: molecular/cellular mechanisms; brain systems; cognitive, affective, and behavioral processes; and social/cultural influences. 

The program also supports research on augmented intelligence that clearly articulates principled ways in which human approaches to learning and related processes, such as in design, complex decision-making and problem-solving, can be improved through interactions with others, and/or the use of artificial intelligence in technology. These could include ways of using knowledge about human functioning to improve the design of collaborative technologies that have capabilities to learn to adapt to humans. 

For both aspects of the program, there is special interest in collaborative and collective models of learning and/or intelligence that are supported by the unprecedented speed and scale of technological connectivity.  This includes emphasis on how people and technology working together in new ways and at scale can achieve more than either can attain alone. The program also seeks explanations for how the emergent intelligence of groups, organizations, and networks intersects with processes of learning, behavior and cognition in individuals. 

Projects that are convergent and/or interdisciplinary may be especially valuable in advancing basic understanding of these areas, but research within a single discipline or methodology is also appropriate. Connections between proposed research and specific technological, educational, and workforce applications will be considered as valuable broader impacts but are not necessarily central to the intellectual merit of proposed research. The program supports a variety of approaches including: experiments, field studies, surveys, computational modeling, and artificial intelligence/machine learning methods." 

 

National Science Foundation Computer Science for All (CSforAll: Research and RPPs) Due: February 9, 2022 

https://beta.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/computer-science-all-csforall-research-and-rpps 

"This program aims to provide all U.S. students with the opportunity to participate in computer science (CS) and computational thinking (CT) education in their schools at the preK-12 levels. With this solicitation, the National Science Foundation (NSF) focuses on both research and researcher-practitioner partnerships (RPPs) that foster the research and development needed to bring CS and CT to all schools. Specifically, this solicitation aims to provide (1) high school teachers with the preparation, professional development (PD) and ongoing support they need to teach rigorous computer science courses; (2) preK-8 teachers with the instructional materials and preparation they need to integrate CS and CT into their teaching; and (3) schools and districts with the resources needed to define and evaluate multi-grade pathways in CS and CT." 

 

National Science Foundation EHR Core Research : Building Capacity in STEM Education Research Due: February 25, 2022 

https://beta.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/ehr-core-research-building-capacity-stem-education-research 

"ECR’s Building Capacity for STEM Education Research (ECR: BCSER) solicitation supports projects that build individuals’ capacity to carry out high quality STEM education research that will enhance the nation’s STEM education enterprise and broaden the pool of researchers that can conduct fundamental research in STEM learning and learning environments, broadening participation in STEM fields, and STEM workforce development. 

Specifically, ECR: BCSER supports activities that enable early and mid-career researchers to acquire the requisite expertise and skills to conduct rigorous fundamental research in STEM education. ECR: BCSER seeks to fund research career development activities on topics that are relevant to qualitative and quantitative research methods and design, including the collection and analysis of new qualitative or quantitative data, secondary analyses using extant datasets, or meta-analyses. 

This career development may be accomplished through investigator-initiated projects or through professional development institutes that enable researchers to integrate methodological strategies with theoretical and practical substantive issues in STEM education. Early and mid-career faculty new to STEM education research, particularly underrepresented minority faculty and faculty at minority-serving and two-year institutions, are encouraged to submit proposals." 

 

National Science Foundation Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education (V&C) Due: March 7, 2022 

https://beta.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/vision-and-change-undergraduate-biology-education-vc 

"The National Science Foundation's (NSF's) Division of Undergraduate Education (DUE) in the Directorate for Education and Human Resources (EHR) acknowledges the need to expand and chronicle educational change efforts across the nation.  To this end, DUE invites proposals to study the impact of the Vision and Change (V&C) movement in Undergraduate Biology Education. Specifically, this program seeks to support projects that evaluate a combination of factors such as the awareness, acceptance, adoption, and adaptation of V&C principles and outcomes including changes in curriculum, laboratories, and student retention, completion, and learning. Collectively, results of these projects are anticipated to describe the nature and extent of V&C’s use within the undergraduate biology curriculum. The projects could also describe key factors and approaches taken by the V&C community that have the potential to be useful for improving undergraduate education in other scientific disciplines or in interdisciplinary STEM education. " 

 

National Science Foundation Racial Equity in STEM Education Due: March 22, 2022 

https://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=505910 

"Persistent racial injustices and inequalities in the United States have led to renewed concern and interest in addressing systemic racism.  The National Science Foundation (NSF) Directorate for Education and Human Resources (EHR) seeks to support bold, ground-breaking and potentially transformative projects addressing systemic racism in STEM. Proposals should advance racial equity in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and workforce development through research (both fundamental and applied) and practice.  Core to this funding opportunity is that proposals are led by, or developed and led in authentic partnership with, individuals and communities most impacted by the inequities caused by systemic racism.  The voices, knowledge, and experiences of those who have been impacted by enduring racial inequities should be at the center of these proposals, including in, for example:   project leadership and research positions, conceptualization of the proposal, decision-making processes, and the interpretation and dissemination of evidence and research results. The proposed work should provide positive outcomes for the individuals and communities engaged and should recognize peoples’ humanity, experiences, and resilience. Proposals need to consider systemic barriers to opportunities and benefits, and how these barriers impact access to, retention in, and success in STEM education, research, and workforce development. Competitive proposals will be clear with respect to how the work advances racial equity and addresses systemic racism, as these constructs may have different meanings in different settings.   

Proposals should articulate a rigorous plan to generate knowledge through research (both fundamental and applied) and practice, such as, but not limited to:  

• building theory;   
• developing methods;  
• testing approaches and interventions;   
• assessing the potential, efficacy, effectiveness, and scalability of approaches and interventions;   
• establishing, cultivating and assessing authentic partnerships;  
• changing institutional, organizational, and structural practices and policies; and/or   
• focusing on affective, behavioral, cultural, social components, and implications.  
• 
  
• Contexts may include, but are not limited to: preK-12, two- and four-year undergraduate, and graduate institutions; municipal organizations; STEM workplaces; and informal STEM contexts, such as museums, community organizations, and media. In addition, proposals should include a dissemination plan to proactively share what is learned with individuals and communities most impacted, as well as relevant leaders, policy makers, and other stakeholders." 
  
  National Science Foundation Advancing Innovation and Impact in Undergraduate STEM Education at Two-year Institutions of Higher Education Due: May 2, 2022 
  https://beta.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/advancing-innovation-and-impact-undergraduate-stem-education-two-year 
  "NSF’s Education and Human Resources Directorate seeks to significantly enhance its support for research, development, implementation, and assessment to improve STEM education at the Nation’s two-year colleges. NSF encourages bold, potentially transformative projects that address immediate challenges facing STEM education at two-year colleges and/or anticipate new structures and functions of the STEM learning and teaching enterprise. This program description is a targeted approach for advancing innovative and evidence-based practices in undergraduate STEM education at two-year colleges.  It also seeks to support systemic approaches to advance inclusive and equitable STEM education practices." \