Sponsor:
National Science Foundation (NSF)
Summary:
The main goal of the S-STEM program is to enable low-income students with academic ability, talent or potential to pursue successful careers in promising STEM fields. Ultimately, the S-STEM program seeks to increase the number of academically promising low-income students who graduate with a S-STEM eligible degree and contribute to the American innovation economy with their STEM knowledge. Recognizing that financial aid alone cannot increase retention and graduation in STEM, the program provides awards to institutions of higher education (IHEs) not only to fund scholarships, but also to adapt, implement, and study evidence-based curricular and co-curricular activities that have been shown to be effective supporting recruitment, retention, transfer (if appropriate), student success, academic/career pathways, and graduation in STEM.
To be eligible, scholars must be domestic low-income students, with academic ability, talent or potential and with demonstrated unmet financial need who are enrolled in an associate, baccalaureate, or graduate degree program in an S-STEM eligible discipline. Proposers must provide an analysis that articulates the characteristics and academic needs of the population of students they are trying to serve. NSF is particularly interested in supporting the attainment of degrees in fields identified as critical needs for the Nation. Many of these fields have high demand for training professionals that can operate at the convergence of disciplines and include but are not limited to quantum computing and quantum science, robotics, artificial intelligence and machine learning, computer science and computer engineering, data science and computational science applied to other frontier STEM areas, and other STEM or technology fields in urgent need of domestic professionals. It is up to the proposer to make a compelling case that a field is a critical need field in the United States.
For more information, including important revisions to the S-STEM FY2023 competition, please view the full NSF 23-527 solicitation.
Award:
The S-STEM program supports four types of projects subject to availability of funds:
- Track 1 (Institutional Capacity Building) – Please note: Boise State University is not eligible for this track.
- Track 2 (Implementation: Single Institution) projects may not exceed $2.5 million total for a maximum duration of 6 years.
- Track 3 (Inter-institutional Consortia) projects may not exceed $5 million total for a maximum duration of 6 years.
- Collaborative Planning projects may not exceed $100,000 for a maximum duration of 1 year.
Limited Submission Requirements and Timeline:
Two (2) applications per institution (either as a Lead, Subawardee, or Member of a Consortia) are permitted. This limited submission-restriction does not apply to Collaborative Planning proposals.
Only proposals approved by the Division of Research and Economic Development may be submitted to this program. For such approval, Principal Investigators (PIs) must first submit a 1-2-page white paper to preaward@boisestate.edu by 4p on December 04, 2023.
White papers will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
- Intellectual Merit. Potential for the proposed project to advance knowledge and understanding within its own field or across different fields while simultaneously enhancing research competitiveness and research capacity and infrastructure at the participating institutions.
- Broader Impacts. Potential for the proposed activity to benefit society or advance desired societal outcomes.
- Regional and National Need. The proposal makes the case for the regional or national need for professionals with degrees being awarded in the project.
- Student Success. The information provided demonstrates the likelihood of low-income scholars to find a rewarding job in the STEM workforce upon graduation with either an undergraduate or graduate degree.
If selected to submit a full proposal, PIs must ensure that proposals meet all requirements stated in the RFP, in this announcement, and in the implementing laws and regulations related to this grant program.
Key Submission Dates:
- Dec 04, 2023, by 4pm – White paper due to preaward@boisestate.edu. We encourage you to CC your Dean for visibility as well.
- Dec 11, 2023 – Anticipated date Internal Awardees Notified.
- Feb 13, 2024 – All final documents for Track 2, Track 3, and Collaborative Planning proposals due to OSP.
- Feb 20, 2024 – Track 2, Track 3, and Collaborative Planning proposals due to NSF.
Important Note on Requirements:
- Institutions with a current S-STEM award should wait at least until the end of the third year of execution of their current award before submitting a new S-STEM proposal focused on students pursuing degrees in the same discipline(s).
- In all Track 1, 2 and 3 proposals, at least 60% of all funds must be provided solely as pure scholarships to cover the cost of attendance and entered as Participant Support – Stipends (Line F1) on the NSF budget form.
Did you find a limited submission opportunity? Email us at preaward@boisestate.edu.