Greetings Colleagues,

Here’s the TL;DR (summary)—The National Science Foundation (NSF) has several competitions available for researchers to apply for. Included in the list are those under the Social, Behavioral, Economics Directorate that are relevant to education researchers. These competitions cover a wide range of topics, including STEM learning, engineering, and technology outcomes. Some of the competitions include the AccelNet Program, which has two tracks for building capacity across teams to launch an international network of networks (NoN), and the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program, which supports research on the design, development, and impact of STEM learning opportunities and experiences for the public in informal educational environments. Other competitions include the Fostering Harassment-Free STEM Education, Research, and Workplace Environments program, which invites proposals that advance fundamental knowledge about the nature and dynamics of sexual or other harassment in STEM environments, and the Broadening Participation in Engineering (BPE) program, which supports broadening participation and equity in engineering through research, planning and conference grants, mentoring hubs, and centers serving K-12, higher education, nonprofit, and industry communities. Four Dear Colleague Letters are listed first followed by 18 NSF competitions with deadlines from October 30 to January 24^th.

Dear Colleague Letters

STEM Access for Persons with Disabilities (STEM-APWD)

https://new.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/stem-access-persons-disabilities-stem-apwd

Invites conference proposals and supplemental funding requests that address the intersections between disability and fundamental science to increase access to, and equity in, STEM research and training among persons with disabilities.

Organizations can submit the following:

Type 1: Conference proposals, inclusive of indirect costs, must not exceed $100K.
Type 2: Supplemental funding requests as described in the PAPPG. Requests must be submitted at least two months before funds are needed and may not exceed $100,000 for this DCL. Note that supplemental funding requests that request greater than 20% of the existing award budget will require external review.

The 2023 target date for proposal submissions of both types is 5 p.m. submitter's local time on December 7, 2023.

NSF 23-156

Exploring Task-based Interactions between Human and Synthetic Actors

https://new.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/exploring-task-based-interactions-between-human

Invites EAGER proposals and supplemental funding requests for research into the performance of tasks that require physical interaction involving sensing between people and physical or virtual agents.

NSF 23-140

Fostering Harassment-Free STEM Education, Research, and Workplace Environments

https://new.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/fostering-harassment-free-stem-education-research

Invites proposals that advance fundamental knowledge about the nature and dynamics of sexual or other harassment in STEM environments and inform anti-harassment efforts or facilitate culture and policy changes to ensure safe, harassment-free STEM environments.

NSF 23-134

Workshops to Identify Educational Requirements of the Future Ocean Technical Workforce

https://new.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/workshops-identify-educational-requirements-future

Encourages conference proposals that will create partnerships between industry and academic institutions for the purpose of identifying requirements for curriculum and skill development in support of the next generation of the ocean technical workforce.

Programs 2023-24

Assessing and Predicting Technology Outcomes (APTO)

View guidelines 23-600

https://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?WT.z_pims_id=506195&ods_key=nsf23600

Full Proposal Deadline: October 30, 2023

The National Science Foundation (NSF), through the Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (TIP), is launching a new program on Assessing and Predicting Technology Outcomes (APTO) to assess how investments in science and technology research and development will contribute to specific outcomes for the Nation. The APTO program will support a cohort of projects that will work together to complement each other's research and development (R&D) efforts on technology outcome models to accurately describe three types of technology outcomes: technology capabilities, technology production, and technology use. These models should be able to predict future as well as past states of technology outcomes. Of particular interest are prediction models that are generalizable across multiple technology areas. The outcome of this work will help assess and evaluate the effectiveness of U.S. R&D investments and generate information that decision makers could use to strategize and optimize investments for advancing long-term U.S. competitiveness into the future.

SBE Postdoctoral Research Fellowships (SPRF)

View guidelines 23-500

Supports postdoctoral research in the social, behavioral and economic sciences and/or activities that broaden the participation of underrepresented groups in these fields. The Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE) offers Postdoctoral Research Fellowships to encourage independence early in the fellow's career by supporting his or her research and training goals. The research and training plan of each fellowship must address important scientific questions within the scope of the SBE directorate and the specific guidelines in this solicitation. The SPRF program offers two tracks: (I) Fundamental Research in the SBE Sciences (SPRF-FR) and (II) Broadening Participation in the SBE Sciences (SPRF-BP). See the full text of the solicitation for a detailed description of these tracks.

https://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?WT.z_pims_id=504810&ods_key=nsf23500

Full Proposal Deadline: November 1, 2023

Discovery Research PreK-12 (DRK-12)

View guidelines 23-596

https://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?WT.z_pims_id=500047&ods_key=nsf23596

Full Proposal Deadline: November 8, 2023

Supports research and development to enhance STEM learning and teaching for preK-12 students. The goal of the Discovery Research PreK-12 program (DRK-12) is to catalyze research and development that enhances all preK-12 teachers’ and students’ opportunities to engage in high-quality learning experiences related to the sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The program’s objectives are to: (1) build knowledge about how to develop preK-12 students’ and teachers’ STEM content knowledge, practices, and skills; (2) support collaborative partnerships among STEM education researchers, STEM education practitioners and school leaders with the goals of extending relevant scientific literatures while developing more effective practice; and (3) build the field of STEM education by supporting knowledge synthesis, interdisciplinary interactions across fields and stakeholders, and the development of novel and robust ways of assessing teacher and student learning, engagement, and skills. Outcomes of DRK-12 projects can include but are not limited to promising, evidence-based products that can be used by others to support the success of all teachers and all students (e.g., curriculum, teaching and research tools, and models of collaboration).

The program solicits proposals along two strands: (1) Learning and (2) Teaching. While these strands certainly overlap and have synergy, proposals should identify one strand that is most consistent with the proposal’s objectives and research questions (e.g., are the project’s methods and outcomes focused primarily on teacher development and teaching or student development and learning?). Research project types under both Strands include exploratory, design and development, impact, implementation, measurement and assessment, and synthesis studies. The program also supports other project types including Partnership Development Grants and Workshops/Conferences.

Smart Health and Biomedical Research in the Era of Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Data Science (SCH)

View guidelines 23-614

https://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?WT.z_pims_id=504739&ods_key=nsf23614

Full Proposal Deadline: November 9, 2023

The purpose of this interagency program solicitation is to support the development of transformative high-risk, high-reward advances in computer and information science, engineering, mathematics, statistics, behavioral and/or cognitive research to address pressing questions in the biomedical and public health communities. Transformations hinge on scientific and engineering innovations by interdisciplinary teams that develop novel methods to intuitively and intelligently collect, sense, connect, analyze and interpret data from individuals, devices and systems to enable discovery and optimize health. Solutions to these complex biomedical or public health problems demand the formation of interdisciplinary teams that are ready to address these issues, while advancing fundamental science and engineering.

PFE: Research Initiation in Engineering Formation (PFE: RIEF)

View guidelines 20-558

https://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?WT.z_pims_id=503603&ods_key=nsf20558

Posted March 13, 2020

Full Proposal Deadline: November 14, 2023

The PFE: Research Initiation in Engineering Formation (PFE: RIEF) program has two goals: 1) Support research in the Professional Formation of Engineers (PFE), and 2) Increase the community of researchers conducting PFE research. PIs are expected to have little or no experience conducting social science or education research. PFE: RIEF is not intended for established researchers in engineering education or other social science fields to initiate new projects. Those researchers should consider the Research in the Formation of Engineers program (https://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=505681). The NSF Engineering (ENG) Directorate has launched a multi-year initiative, the Professional Formation of Engineers, to create and support an innovative and inclusive engineering profession for the 21st Century. Professional Formation of Engineers (PFE) refers to the formal and informal education and value systems by which people become engineers. It also includes the ethical responsibility of practicing engineers to sustain and grow the profession. The engineering profession must be responsive to national priorities, grand challenges, and dynamic workforce needs; it must be equally open and accessible to all. Engineering faculty possess both deep technical expertise in their engineering discipline and the primary responsibility for the process of professional formation of future engineers. As such, engineering faculty are in a unique position to help address critical challenges in engineering formation. The Professional Formation of Engineers: Research Initiation in Engineering Formation (PFE: RIEF) program enables engineering faculty who are renowned for teaching, mentoring, or leading educational reform efforts on their campus to develop expertise in conducting engineering education research.

Broadening Participation in Engineering (BPE)

View guidelines 22-514

https://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?WT.z_pims_id=505962&ods_key=nsf22514

Full Proposal Target Date November 15, 2023

PLEASE NOTE: The Target Date is for BPE proposals submitted to Tracks 3 and 4 only. Proposals will be accepted at any time for BPE Tracks 1 and 2.

Supports broadening participation and equity in engineering through research, planning and conference grants; mentoring hubs; and centers serving K-12, higher education, nonprofit and industry communities. Through the Broadening Participation in Engineering (BPE) Program, NSF seeks to strengthen the future U.S. engineering workforce by enabling and encouraging the participation of all citizens in the engineering enterprise. The BPE Program seeks to support not only research in the science of broadening participation and equity in engineering, but also collaborative endeavors which foster the professional development of a diverse and well-prepared engineering workforce as well as innovative, if not revolutionary, approaches to building capacity through inclusivity and equity within the engineering academic experience.

To solicit the best ideas for these activities, both in formation and enactment, the BPE Program will support projects at various levels of readiness and complexity through the following four tracks: (1) Planning and Conference Grants; (2) Research in Broadening Participation in Engineering; (3) Inclusive Mentoring Hubs (IMHubs); and (4) Centers for Equity in Engineering (CEE). Specific details regarding these pathways can be found in the Program Description.

Dynamics of Integrated Socio-Environmental Systems (DISES)

View guidelines 23-609

https://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?WT.z_pims_id=13681&ods_key=nsf23609

Full Proposal Deadline: November 17, 2023

The DISES Program supports research projects that advance basic scientific understanding of integrated socio-environmental systems and the complex interactions (dynamics, processes, and feedbacks) within and among the environmental (biological, physical and chemical) and human ("socio") (economic, social, political, or behavioral) components of such a system. The program seeks proposals that emphasize the truly integrated nature of a socio-environmental system versus two discrete systems (a natural one and a human one) that are coupled. DISES projects must explore a connected and integrated socio-environmental system that includes explicit analysis of the processes and dynamics between the environmental and human components of the system.

PIs are encouraged to develop proposals that push conceptual boundaries and build new theoretical framing of the understanding of socio-environmental systems. Additionally, we encourage the exploration of multi-scalar dynamics, processes and feedbacks between and within the socio-environmental system.

Racial Equity in STEM Education (EHR Racial Equity)

View guidelines 22-634

https://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?WT.z_pims_id=506103&ods_key=nsf22634

Full Proposal Deadline: December 5, 2023

Supports projects focused on advancing racial equity in STEM education and workforce development that are led or co-developed by individuals and communities most impacted by the inequities caused by systemic racism.

This solicitation aligns with the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Directorate for Education and Human Resources (EHR) long-standing investments in the development of a diverse and well-prepared public and workforce, which was recently reinforced in the NSF Vision: “A nation that leads the world in science and engineering research and innovation, to the benefit of all, without barriers to participation,” p. 9, NSF 2022-2026 Strategic Plan (https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2022/nsf22068/nsf22068.pdf). The NSF Strategic Plan focuses on ensuring that U.S. research is an inclusive enterprise that benefits from the talent of all sectors of American society – a research enterprise that incorporates the rich demographic and geographic diversity of the nation. The strategic plan recognizes that the more people who engage in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) research and the more diverse their backgrounds, the richer the range of questions asked. The result is a greater breadth of discovery and more creative solutions to societal challenges.

Racial inequities often create barriers to STEM knowledge generation, as well as access to and participation in all aspects of STEM education, research, and the workforce. In ongoing efforts to address these disparities, NSF EHR seeks to support bold, groundbreaking, and potentially transformative projects that contribute to advancing racial equity in STEM education and workforce development through practice and/or fundamental or applied research. EHR’s mission builds from the NSF Strategic Plan, seeking “to achieve excellence in U.S. science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education at all levels and in all settings (both formal and informal) in order to support the development of a diverse and well-prepared workforce of scientists, technicians, engineers, mathematicians and educators and a well-informed citizenry that have access to the ideas and tools of science and engineering. The purpose of these activities is to enhance the quality of life of all citizens and the health, prosperity, welfare and security of the nation.”

Collectively, proposals funded by this solicitation will: (1) substantively contribute to institutionalizing effective research-based practices, policies, and outcomes in STEM environments for those who experience inequities caused by systemic racism and the broader community; (2) advance scholarship and promote racial equity in STEM in ways that expand the array of epistemologies, perspectives, ideas, theoretical and methodological approaches that NSF funds; and (3) further diversify project leadership (PIs and co-PIs) and institutions funded by NSF.

Each proposal should include a rigorous plan to generate knowledge and/or evidence-based practice via fundamental or applied research. Projects may focus on, but are not limited to:

building theory; developing research, evaluation, and assessment methods; conducting pilot projects and feasibility studies;
testing approaches and interventions;
assessing the potential, efficacy, effectiveness, and scalability of approaches and interventions;
changing institutional, organizational, and structural practices and policies;
establishing, cultivating, and assessing authentic partnerships with communities impacted by systemic racism; conducting syntheses, meta-syntheses, meta-analyses, and systematic literature reviews;
convening conferences that explore a theory, topic, method, or issue related to the program goals in order to drive research and practice forward; and/or
focusing on affective, behavioral, cultural, social components, and implications.

Prospective PIs are encouraged to send a one-page concept paper to EHRRacialEquity@nsf.gov in advance of submitting a proposal.

Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education Individual Postdoctoral Research Fellowships (STEMEdIPRF)

View guidelines 23-544

https://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?WT.z_pims_id=505980&ods_key=nsf23544

Full Proposal Deadline: December 5, 2023

Supports professional development activities for postdoctoral fellows to position them for careers as STEM education research scholars and to develop their expertise in STEM education research design and methods.

The Directorate for STEM Education (EDU) STEM Education Postdoctoral Research Fellowships (STEM Ed PRF) Program funds postdoctoral fellowship projects designed to enhance the research knowledge, skills, and practices of STEM Education research by recent doctoral graduates in STEM, STEM Education, Education, and related disciplines. This solicitation supports individual postdoctoral fellowship awards; a companion solicitation (STEM Ed OPRF) supports organizational postdoctoral fellowship programs. The STEM Ed PRF Program as a whole seeks to broaden the pool of researchers who can advance knowledge regarding STEM learning and learning environments, broadening participation in STEM fields, and STEM workforce development. The Program is designed to support postdoctoral fellows engaged in experiences that will advance their career goals by developing their expertise, skills, and competencies to conduct fundamental STEM education research. Principal Investigators who are women, veterans, persons with disabilities, and from groups underrepresented in STEM, or who have attended community colleges and minority-serving institutions (e.g., Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribal Colleges and Universities, Hispanic Serving Institutions, Alaska Native Serving Institutions, and Hawaiian Native and Pacific Islander Serving Institutions) are especially encouraged to apply.

STEM Ed IPRF awards provide direct support to Fellows to enable them to engage in ongoing research, to develop independent research, and to implement an independent professional development plan under the guidance of a sponsoring researcher. Fellows must affiliate with an appropriate host organization and are expected to devote themselves full time to the fellowship activities for the duration of the fellowship.

Predictive Intelligence for Pandemic Prevention Phase II (PIPP Phase II Centers Program)

View guidelines 23-608

https://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?WT.z_pims_id=505908&ods_key=nsf23608

Full Proposal Deadline: December 8, 2023

Despite decades of research, scientists do not fully understand the dynamic nature of pathogen and disease emergence. Emerging (and re-emerging) pathogens represent a continuing risk to national security because they threaten health (animal, human, and ecosystem) and economic stability. Often, society falls short on the coordination and breadth of expertise needed to respond to such threats. Effective responses to emerging pathogens will require sustained, global-scale efforts of researchers and organizations. This can only be accomplished by synergistic integration of innovative scientific and technological advances across disciplines and scales, and effective knowledge transfer into practice. As part of these efforts, NSF is organizing a set of activities around the broad theme of Predictive Intelligence for Pandemic Prevention (PIPP).

The PIPP initiative focuses on foundational research and development activities needed to tackle grand challenges in infectious disease pandemics through prediction and prevention. The PIPP Phase II Centers Program expands upon the Phase I Development Grant Program and is the NSF’s flagship program to establish a network of Centers or large-scale awards/investments that will support interdisciplinary team-based approaches to accelerate research and development activities in emerging infectious diseases and pandemics. The overall goal of the PIPP Phase II Centers program is to support research and development activities needed to transform society’s ability to forecast the likelihood of pandemic-scale events, detect outbreaks early, and respond efficiently.

Continued advancement, enabled by sustained federal investment channeled toward issues of national importance holds the potential for further economic impact and public health improvements.

Informed by visioning activities in the scientific community as well as a previous round of development grant activities (PIPP Phase I), the program invites proposals for Centers that have a principal focus in one of the following multidisciplinary themes: 

Theme 1: Pre-emergence – Predicting and detecting rare events in complex, dynamical systems
Theme 2: Data, AI/ML and Design - Computing, manufacturing and technology innovation for pandemics
Theme 3: The Host as the Universe - Identifying host-pathogen tipping points that dictate control or spread of an infection
Theme 4: Human Systems – The role of human behavior, activities and environments in disease emergence, transmission, and response or mitigation

These components directly support the NSF’s strategic goals by funding cutting edge science aimed at societal challenges and opportunities that face the Nation, while concurrently working to develop a globally competitive and diverse science, engineering and technology-adept workforce.

The Directorates for Biological Sciences (BIO), Computer Information Science and Engineering (CISE), Engineering (ENG), Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE), and Mathematics and Physical Sciences (MPS) are jointly collaborating to support the PIPP Phase II activities. Involvement of and collaboration with other research communities with significant effort in related spaces, including use-inspired research is highly encouraged.

Accelerating Research through International Network-to-Network Collaborations (AccelNet)

View guidelines 23-619

https://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?WT.z_pims_id=505584&ods_key=nsf23619

Full Proposal Deadline: December 11, 2023

The contemporary research landscape is a collaborative and international enterprise requiring high level coordination among multi-disciplinary, cross-cultural teams. As such, the Accelerating Research through International Network-to-Network Collaborations program (AccelNet) values cooperation over competition. Program goals are to 1) leverage prior NSF support for building research capacity towards activities that launch international research network of networks (NoN) that will lead to an accelerated advancement of an area of science after the award period and 2) recruit and foster a diverse and internationally competent US-based workforce trained in conducting and leading multi-team international collaboration. Any area funded by the National Science Foundation is eligible, particularly those addressing grand research challenges identified within research communities and/or by NSF.

Successful proposals will demonstrate that the proposed activities will: 1) accelerate scientific research at a rate that would not be possible without concerted international cooperation in research planning; 2) make NoN members more competitive for research awards following the period of award; 3) recruit and foster a US-based diverse and internationally competent workforce trained in conducting and leading multi-team international collaboration. Proposals must include detailed plans for collaborative networking activities that will result in a synergy of effort across the entire NoN.

The AccelNet Program has two tracks. The Design Track allows PIs to build on prior NSF research awards by providing time and resources for building capacity across teams to launch a synergistic international NoN. The Implementation Track allows PIs to build on prior research or networking awards, such as AccelNet Design or Research Coordination Networks (RCN) by providing time and resources to implement an international NoN. There are two phases to the Implementation Track. Phase 1 funding is for activities related exclusively to NoN activities and is open to all PIs, including but not limited to prior successful Design Track PIs. Phase 2 funding is for early concept research arising from Phase 1 activities and is only open to Phase 1 PIs who have identified a critical research gap during synergistic networking activities in the first 18-24 months of Phase 1 awards.

Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL)

View guidelines 22-626

https://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?WT.z_pims_id=504793&ods_key=nsf22626

Full Proposal Deadline: January 10, 2024

Supports research on the design, development and impact of STEM learning opportunities and experiences for the public in informal educational environments.

The Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) Program is committed to funding research and practice, with continued focus on investigating a range of informal STEM learning (ISL) experiences and environments that make lifelong learning a reality. This Program seeks proposals that center equity and belonging, and further the well-being of individuals and communities who have historically been and continue to be excluded, underserved, or underrepresented, due to gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability status, neurodiversity, geographic location, and economic status, among others, as well as their intersections. The current solicitation encourages proposals from institutions and organizations that serve public audiences, and specifically focus on public engagement with and understanding of STEM, including community STEM; public participation in scientific research (PPSR); science communication; intergenerational STEM engagement; and STEM media.

Projects funded by AISL should contribute to research and practice that further illuminates informal STEM learning’s role in equity and belonging in STEM; personal and educational success in STEM; advancing public engagement in scientific discovery; fostering interest in STEM careers; creating and enhancing the theoretical and empirical foundations for effective informal STEM learning; improving community vibrancy; and/or enhancing science communication and the public’s engagement in and understanding of STEM and STEM processes.

The AISL Program funds five types of projects: (1) Synthesis; (2) Conference; (3) Partnership Development and Planning; (4) Integrating Research and Practice; and (5) Research in Support of Wide-reaching Public Engagement with STEM.

Human Networks and Data Science (HNDS)

View guidelines 23-568

https://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?WT.z_pims_id=505702&ods_key=nsf23568

Full Proposal Deadline: January 11, 2024

Supports research that studies the behavior of individuals and groups by leveraging data and network science and the development of data infrastructure that makes such work possible.

The Human Networks and Data Science program (HNDS) supports research that enhances understanding of human behavior by leveraging data and network science research across a broad range of topics. HNDS research will identify ways in which dynamic, distributed, or heterogeneous data can provide novel answers to fundamental questions about individual or group behavior. HNDS is especially interested in proposals that provide data-rich insights about human networks to support improved health, prosperity, and security. HNDS has two tracks:

Human Networks and Data Science – Infrastructure (HNDS-I). Infrastructure proposals will address the development of data resources and relevant analytic techniques that support fundamental Social, Behavioral and Economic (SBE) research. Successful infrastructure proposals will construct, within the financial resources provided by the award, databases or relevant analytic techniques and produce a finished product that will enable previously impossible data-intensive research in the social sciences. The databases or techniques should have significant impacts, either across multiple fields or within broad disciplinary areas, by making possible new types of data-intensive research in the SBE sciences.
Human Networks and Data Science – Core Research (HNDS-R). Core research proposals will advance theory in a core SBE discipline by the application of data and network science methods. This includes the leveraging of large data sets with diverse spatio-temporal scales of measurement and linked qualitative and quantitative approaches, as well as multi-scale, multi-level network data and techniques of network analysis. Supported projects are expected to yield results that will enhance, expand, and transform theory and methods, and that generate novel understandings of human behavior – particularly understandings that can lead to significant societal benefits or opportunities. HNDS-R encourages core research proposals that make innovative use of NSF-supported data networks, databases, centers and other forms of scientific infrastructure including those developed by HNDS-I (formerly RIDIR) projects.

Human-Environment and Geographical Sciences Program (HEGS)

View guidelines 21-623

https://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?WT.z_pims_id=505745&ods_key=nsf21623

Full Proposal Deadline: January 16, 2024

Supports research on the nature, causes and consequences of the spatial dimensions of human activities and/or environmental processes across a range of scales.

The objective of the Human-Environment and Geographical Sciences Program is to support basic scientific research about the nature, causes and/or consequences of the spatial distribution of human activity and/or environmental processes across a range of scales. Contemporary geographical research is an arena in which diverse research traditions and methodologies are valid. Recognizing the breadth of the field's contributions to science, the HEGS Program welcomes proposals for empirically grounded, theoretically engaged, and methodologically sophisticated, generalizable research in all sub-fields of geographical and spatial sciences.

Because the National Science Foundation's mandate is to support basic scientific research, the NSF Human-Environment and Geographical Sciences program does not fund research that takes as its primary goal humanistic understanding or applied research. HEGS welcomes proposals that creatively integrate scientific and critical approaches, and that engage rigorous quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods in novel ways. However, a proposal that applies geographical/spatial methods to a social problem but does not propose how that problem provides an opportunity to make a theory-testing and/or theory expanding contributions to geographical science will be returned without review. HEGS supported projects are expected to yield results that will enhance, expand, and transform fundamental geographical theory and methods, and that will have positive broader impacts that benefit society. A proposal to the HEGS Program must also articulate how the results are generalizable beyond the case study. It should be noted that HEGS is situated in the Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences Division of the Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences Directorate at NSF. Therefore, it is critical that research projects submitted to the Human-Environment and Geographical Sciences Program illustrate how the proposed research questions engage human dimensions relevant and important to people and societies. A proposal that fails to be responsive to these program expectations will be returned without review.

Research on the Science and Technology Enterprise: Indicators, Statistics, and Methods

View guidelines 21-627

https://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?WT.z_pims_id=5265&ods_key=nsf21627

Full Proposal Deadline: January 16, 2024

Supports using data on STEM to produce statistics and indicators about R&D activities and the STEM workforce as well as develop new data and analysis methodologies.

The National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) of the National Science Foundation (NSF) is one of the thirteen principal federal statistical agencies within the United States. It is responsible for the collection, acquisition, analysis, reporting and dissemination of objective, statistical data related to the science and technology (S&T) enterprise in the United States and other nations that is relevant and useful to practitioners, researchers, policymakers and the public. NCSES uses this information to prepare a number of statistical data reports including Women, Minorities and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering and the National Science Board's biennial report, Science and Engineering (S&E) Indicators.

The Center would like to enhance its efforts to support analytic and methodological research in support of its surveys as well as promote the education and training of researchers in the use of large-scale nationally representative datasets. NCSES welcomes efforts by the research community to use NCSES or other data to conduct research on the S&T enterprise, develop improved survey methodologies that could benefit NCSES surveys, explore alternate data sources that could supplement NCSES data, create and improve indicators of S&T activities and resources, strengthen methodologies to analyze S&T statistical data, and explore innovative ways to communicate S&T statistics. To that end, NCSES invites proposals for individual or multi-investigator research projects, doctoral dissertation improvement awards, conferences, experimental research, survey research and data collection, and dissemination projects under its program for Research on the Science and Technology Enterprise: Indicators, Statistics, and Methods (NCSES S&T).

Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Directorate for STEM Education (IUSE: EDU)

View guidelines 23-510

https://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?WT.z_pims_id=505082&ods_key=nsf23510

Full Proposal Deadline: January 17, 2024

Supports projects to improve STEM teaching and learning for undergraduate students, including studying what works and for whom and how to transform institutions to adopt successful practices in STEM education.

The fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) hold much promise as sectors of the economy where we can expect to see continuous vigorous growth in the coming decades. STEM job creation is expected to outpace non-STEM job creation significantly, according to the Commerce Department, reflecting the importance of STEM knowledge to the US economy.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) plays a leadership role in developing and implementing efforts to enhance and improve STEM education in the United States. Through the NSF Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (IUSE) initiative, the agency continues to make a substantial commitment to the highest caliber undergraduate STEM education through a Foundation-wide framework of investments. The IUSE: EDU is a core NSF STEM education program that seeks to promote novel, creative, and transformative approaches to generating and using new knowledge about STEM teaching and learning to improve STEM education for undergraduate students. The program is open to application from all institutions of higher education and associated organizations. NSF places high value on educating students to be leaders and innovators in emerging and rapidly changing STEM fields as well as educating a scientifically literate public. In pursuit of this goal, IUSE: EDU supports projects that seek to bring recent advances in STEM knowledge into undergraduate education, that adapt, improve, and incorporate evidence-based practices into STEM teaching and learning, and that lay the groundwork for institutional improvement in STEM education. In addition to innovative work at the frontier of STEM education, this program also encourages replication of research studies at different types of institutions and with different student bodies to produce deeper knowledge about the effectiveness and transferability of findings.

IUSE: EDU also seeks to support projects that have high potential for broader societal impacts, including improved diversity of students and instructors participating in STEM education, professional development for instructors to ensure adoption of new and effective pedagogical techniques that meet the changing needs of students, and projects that promote institutional partnerships for collaborative research and development. IUSE: EDU especially welcomes proposals that will pair well with the efforts of NSF INCLUDES (https://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/nsfincludes/index.jsp) to develop STEM talent from all sectors and groups in our society.

For all the above objectives, the National Science Foundation invests primarily in evidence-based and knowledge-generating approaches to understand and improve STEM learning and learning environments, improve the diversity of STEM students and majors, and prepare STEM majors for the workforce. In addition to contributing to STEM education in the host institution(s), proposals should have the promise of adding more broadly to our understanding of effective teaching and learning practices.

The IUSE: EDU program features two tracks: (1) Engaged Student Learning and (2) Institutional and Community Transformation.

Build and Broaden: Enhancing Social, Behavioral and Economic Science Research and Capacity at Minority-Serving Institutions (B2)

View guidelines 22-638

https://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?WT.z_pims_id=505864&ods_key=nsf22638

Full Proposal Target Date January 18, 2024

Broadens participation in the social, behavioral and economic sciences through support for research, training and research infrastructure at minority-serving institutions, including partnerships with and among those institutions.

Build and Broaden (B2) supports fundamental research and research capacity across disciplines at minority-serving institutions (MSIs) and encourages research collaborations with scholars at MSIs. Growing the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workforce is a national priority. National forecasts of the impending shortage of workers with science and engineering skills and essential research workers underscore a need to expand opportunities to participate in STEM research (President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, 2012).

MSIs make considerable contributions to educating and training science leaders for U.S. economic growth and competitiveness. Yet NSF has received comparatively few grant submissions from, or involving, scholars at MSIs. Targeted outreach activities reveal that MSIs have varying degrees of familiarity with funding opportunities within NSF and particularly within the Social, Behavioral and Economic (SBE) Sciences Directorate. As a result, NSF is limited in its ability to support research and training opportunities in the SBE sciences at these institutions. With its emphasis on broadening participation , Build and Broaden is designed to address this problem. SBE offers Build and Broaden in order to increase proposal submissions, advance research collaborations and networks involving MSI scholars, and support research activities in the SBE sciences at MSIs. Proposals that outline research projects in the SBE sciences that increase students' pursuit of graduate training, enhance PI productivity build research capacity, or cultivate partnerships are especially encouraged to apply.

Proposals are invited from single principal investigators based at MSIs and from multiple co-investigators from groups of MSIs. Principal investigators who are not affiliated with MSIs may submit proposals, but must collaborate with PIs, co-PIs, or senior personnel from MSIs and describe how their project will foster research partnerships or capacity-building with at least one MSI as a primary goal of the proposed work. Proposals may address any scientific and cross-disciplinary areas supported by SBE. These areas include anthropology, archaeology, cognitive neuroscience, decision science, ecological research, economics, geography, linguistics, law and science, organizational behavior, political science, public policy, security and preparedness, psychology, and sociology. To find research areas supported by SBE please visit the SBE programs page or visit the NSF funding and awards page.

Research on Innovative Technologies for Enhanced Learning (RITEL)

View guidelines 23-624

https://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?WT.z_pims_id=504984&ods_key=nsf23624

Full Proposal Deadline: January 24, 2024

Supports early-stage research in emerging technologies such as AI, robotics and immersive or augmenting technologies for teaching and learning that respond to pressing needs in real-world educational environments.

The purpose of the Research on Innovative Technologies for Enhanced Learning (RITEL) program is to support early-stage research in emerging technologies for teaching and learning that respond to pressing needs in authentic (real-world) educational environments. RITEL supports future-oriented exploratory and synergistic research in emerging technologies (including, but not limited to, artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, and immersive or augmenting technologies) for teaching and learning. The program accepts proposals that focus on learning, teaching, or a combination of both. The scope of the program is broad and includes teaching and learning in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and in foundational areas that enable STEM (e.g., self-regulation, literacy, communication, collaboration, creativity, and socio-emotional skills). RITEL supports research in all learning contexts (e.g., formal, informal, workplace) and for all learner populations. RITEL has a special interest in diverse learner/educator populations and in developing new educational technologies that are cost-effective for budget-limited school districts, colleges and universities. Research in this program should be informed by the convergence (synthesis) of multiple disciplines: e.g., learning sciences; discipline-based education research; computer and information science and engineering; design; and cognitive, behavioral, and social sciences. RITEL is unique in its requirement that projects must advance research in both learning (and/or teaching) and technology.

A part-two with NSF grants for the rest of the 2024 school year is coming as well as funding announcements for NEH grants. If you are interested in applying for any of the grants mentioned above, please set up an appointment with me to discuss or drop in during my Monday office hours at 9 and 3.

--Iwan