Proposals may only be submitted by the following:
- Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) - Two- and four-year IHEs (including community colleges) accredited in, and having a campus located in the US, acting on behalf of their faculty members. Special Instructions for International Branch Campuses of US IHEs: If the proposal includes funding to be provided to an international branch campus of a US institution of higher education (including through use of subawards and consultant arrangements), the proposer must explain the benefit(s) to the project of performance at the international branch campus, and justify why the project activities cannot be performed at the US campus.
- Non-profit, non-academic organizations: Independent museums, observatories, research laboratories, professional societies and similar organizations located in the U.S. that are directly associated with educational or research activities.
The leadership of project teams must have appropriate expertise. This might include expertise in the STEM domains on which the project focuses, or in ethics, values, evaluation and pedagogy. For an Institutional Transformation Research Project proposal, it is highly recommended that at least one senior member of the submitting organization's administration (for example, the provost, a vice provost, and/or the campus president) serve as the PI or co-PI on the project.
Limit on Number of Proposals per PI or co-PI: 2
An individual may appear as PI, co-PI, or Senior Personnel on no more than two proposals submitted in response to this solicitation.
In the event that an individual exceeds this limit, the first two proposals received prior to the target date will be evaluated by the program for review, and the remainder of the individual's proposals will be returned without review. This limitation includes proposals submitted by a lead organization and any subawards included as part of a collaborative proposal involving multiple institutions. No exceptions to this rule will be made.
This solicitation will consider proposals for four types of projects:
- Conference Projects with a total budget of $50,000 and a maximum duration of 12 months.
- Incubation Projects with a total budget of up to $90,000 and a maximum duration of 12 months.
- Standard Research Projects with a total budget of up to $400,000 and a maximum duration of 3 years.
- Institutional Transformation Research Projects with a total budget of up to $700,000 and a maximum duration of 5 years.
Project durations and budgets must be commensurate with the scope of the work proposed and with guidance provided elsewhere in this solicitation regarding anticipated program resources. NSF anticipates a portfolio of awards with a range of budgets and durations up to the maximum amount.
Estimated program budget, number of awards, and average award size/duration are subject to the availability of funds.