The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Outreach program’s goal is to: Increase STEM awareness and proficiency among K-12 and college students to enhance the number of U.S. scientists and engineers capable of solving future missile defense challenges in the government, industry, and academia.
The MDA STEM Boosting Engineering, Science, and Technology (BEST) Robotics Grants provide a means for Official BEST Robotics Inc. Local Competition Hubs to obtain financial support for providing direct teacher professional development to teachers within their first three (3) years of being a team teacher for a BEST Robotics team. This teacher professional development increases the number of students able to complete and engage in this meaningful STEM learning opportunity and expand the accessibility of this program to underserved populations, specifically Title 1 schools, who would otherwise not have access to the resources necessary to fully engage.
Deadline: July 21, 2023
Only proposals submitted by an Official BEST Robotics Inc. Local Competition Hub will be considered.
To be eligible for this grant, all applicants must meet the following five (5) criteria:
1. The applicant must be registered with BEST Robotics Inc. as an Official BEST Robotics Inc. Local Competition Hub
2. The applying Official BEST Robotics Inc. Local Competition Hub must be EITHER: Managed by a Higher Education Agency (HEA), such as a junior college or university OR A 501(c)3 non-profit organization working closely with an HEA o All receipts and payment portions of the grant must be processed through the HEA’s grant office
3. The HEA associated with the applying Official BEST Robotics Inc. Local Competition Hub submitting a proposal must have: Current information in the System for Award Management (SAM). AND A Grants.gov account with current information AND A Procurement Integrated Enterprise Environment (PIEE) (https://wawf.eb.mil/piee-landing/), formerly Wide Area WorkFlow (WAWF), e-Business Suite account for, at a minimum, Invoice, Receipt, Acceptance, and Property Transfer (iRAPT) usage.
4. If the applying Official BEST Robotics Inc. Local Competition Hub was awarded an MDA STEM BEST Robotics Grant Teacher Professional Development during any previous competition year: All reporting requirements, including deadlines and content requirements for the previous grant were met AND Projected team registration goals proposed in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 application were attained (if applicable) AND Current request for grant funds reasonably exceeds the previous proposal and new team recruitment target goals
5. Grant award recipients must be able to accomplish all required hub tasks (including conducting teacher professional development) without any involvement or additional funding from MDA.
The MDA will award no more than $60,000 through this grant opportunity in FY 2023 to Official BEST Robotics Local Competition Hubs only. The number of awards is not predetermined. Each individual grant award will vary, but will not exceed $5,000. Estimated cost per teacher attendee shall not exceed $483.10.