Limited Submission Funding Opportunity: NSF – Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) Program
OBJECTIVES: A well-educated science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) workforce is a significant contributor to maintaining the competitiveness of the U.S. in the global economy. The National Science Foundation (NSF) Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) program addresses the need for a high quality STEM workforce in STEM disciplines supported by the program and for the increased success of low-income academically talented students with demonstrated financial need who are pursuing associate, baccalaureate, or graduate degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
Recognizing that financial aid alone cannot increase retention and graduation in STEM, the program provides awards to Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) to fund scholarships and to advance the adaptation, implementation, and study of effective evidence-based curricular and co-curricular activities that support recruitment, retention, transfer (if appropriate), student success, academic/career pathways, and graduation in STEM. The S-STEM program encourages collaborations among different types of participating groups, including but not limited to partnerships among different types of institutions; collaborations of STEM faculty and institutional, educational, and social science researchers; and partnerships among institutions of higher education and business, industry, local community organizations, national labs, or other federal or state government organizations, if appropriate.
The program seeks to 1) increase the number of low-income academically talented students with demonstrated financial need obtaining degrees in S-STEM eligible disciplines and entering the workforce or graduate programs in STEM; 2) improve the education of future scientists, engineers, and technicians, with a focus on low-income academically talented students with demonstrated financial need; and 3) generate knowledge to advance understanding of how interventions or evidence-based curricular and co-curricular activities affect the success, retention, transfer, academic/career pathways, and graduation of low-income students in STEM.
FUNDING INFORMATION:
- Awards for Track 1 (Institutional Capacity Building) projects may not exceed $750,000.
- Awards for Track 2 (Implementation: Single Institution) projects may not exceed $1.5 million.
- Awards for Track 3 (Inter-institutional Consortia) projects may not exceed $5.0 million.
- Collaborative Planning projects may not exceed $150,000.
ELIGIBILITY RESTRICTIONS:
For Track 1 (Institutional Capacity Building) and Track 2 (Implementation: Single Institution) projects, the Principal Investigator must be a faculty member currently teaching in an S-STEM eligible discipline who can provide the leadership required to ensure the success of the project. Projects involving more than one department within an institution are eligible, but a single Principal Investigator must accept overall management and leadership responsibility. Faculty from all departments involved need to have roles in the project as either Co-Principal investigators or senior personnel. Other members of the S-STEM senior project leadership and management team may be listed as Co-Principal Investigators.
For Track 3 (Inter-institutional Consortia) projects, the Principal Investigator must be a faculty member currently teaching in an S-STEM eligible discipline or an institutional, educational, or social science researcher who can provide the leadership required to ensure the success of the project. A consortium project must have a Principal Investigator who accepts overall management and leadership responsibility. Faculty from all institutions and departments involved need to have roles in the project as either Co-Principal investigators or senior personnel. Other members of the S-STEM senior project leadership and management team may be listed as Co-Principal Investigators or as Principal Investigators on collaborative research proposals.
Collaborative Planning grants are intended to help a collection of institutions plan for a future Track 3 proposal. For Collaborative Planning grants, the Principal Investigator must a be a faculty member teaching in any S-STEM eligible discipline or STEM administrator (e.g., Department Head, Chair, Dean or Associate Dean) at one of the institutions within the envisioned inter-institutional consortia, who can provide the required leadership and has the capacity to convene and shepherd a team of inter-institutional STEM faculty and social science or education researchers to write the desired proposal in a 1-2 year time-frame.
INTERNAL SELECTION PROCESS: Interested BUMC investigators should submit the following materials listed below via InfoReady Review by Monday, Feb. 15, 2021. If you are a BMC investigator and wish to apply for this opportunity, please contact Jennifer Fleming, Director of Foundation Relations and Government Grants at jennifer.fleming@bmc.org by Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021.
- Questions outlined in InfoReady Review application;
- A letter of recommendation from the appropriate department chair or dean
- A brief statement (up to 2 pages) by the candidate describing their scientific achievements and proposed project including a clear statement of which track is being proposed, key team members, potential partner institutions (if applicable), and a brief description of student selection criteria;
- A brief budget outline for the proposed project
- Up-to-date CV or biosketch.
A faculty committee drawn from both campuses will review internal proposals and select nominees.
DEADLINES: Internal Materials Due: Monday, Feb. 15, 2021 ǀ Sponsor Deadline: Wed., April 7, 2021
In requesting to be considered for this limited submission funding opportunity, you are making a commitment, if selected, to submit your proposal to the sponsor in a timely manner and to Sponsored Programs in accordance with the Proposal Submission Policy.