Inclusion across the Nation of Communities of Learners of Underrepresented Discoverers in Engineering and Science | 18 529

Opportunity Information: Apply for 18 529

The National Science Foundation (NSF) INCLUDES initiative, short for Inclusion across the Nation of Communities of Learners of Underrepresented Discoverers in Engineering and Science, is a national effort aimed at strengthening U.S. leadership in STEM by tackling one of the biggest barriers to innovation: unequal participation. The central idea is that the country cannot reach its full scientific and technological potential if large parts of the population are not fully included in STEM education and career pathways. NSF INCLUDES is designed to push broadening participation beyond isolated programs and into coordinated, large-scale change, with the long-term goal of building a STEM workforce that more closely reflects the demographics of the United States.

A major feature of NSF INCLUDES is the creation of a National Network that connects many types of stakeholders and NSF-funded efforts into a shared learning and action system. This network includes Design and Development Launch Pilots, NSF INCLUDES Alliances, a dedicated NSF INCLUDES Coordination Hub, other NSF-funded broadening participation projects, related NSF projects, researchers studying broadening participation, and additional organizations that contribute to STEM talent development. The Coordination Hub is meant to act as connective tissue across the whole network by supporting communication, visibility, networking, and coordination, so that promising approaches spread more quickly and participants can learn from each other rather than operating in silos.

This particular solicitation focuses on funding NSF INCLUDES Alliances. An Alliance is expected to be more than a collection of partners; it is meant to function as a structured, strategy-driven collaboration capable of producing measurable improvements in inclusion at scale. Each Alliance must define a clear vision and strategy for broadening participation, including a well-articulated problem statement and a theory of change that explains how the Alliance believes meaningful, lasting improvement will happen. Alliances are expected to set concrete metrics, milestones, and goals that can be tracked over the life of the project, and to use evidence and research to shape their approach.

Alliances are also expected to contribute to the national knowledge base on what works in broadening participation in STEM. That includes conducting or incorporating implementation research, sharing evaluation results, collecting and analyzing data, and communicating scientific or practical insights gained through the work. The emphasis is on building evidence that is useful beyond a single project, so that lessons learned can inform other efforts and help the broader community make better decisions about policy, practice, and investment.

Partnership-building is a core requirement. Alliances must bring together multiple stakeholders and create an infrastructure that reduces "social distance" among organizations and communities that do not normally collaborate, with the goal of making progress on shared inclusion outcomes. Proposals need to explain why their specific partnership is the right one to achieve the stated vision, how partners will align around common goals, and how the Alliance will engage a broader community in the idea that inclusion directly supports scientific creativity, discovery, and innovation.

A key structural expectation is the establishment of a "backbone" or support organization. This backbone is responsible for making the collaboration function day-to-day by organizing communication, reinforcing the network, supporting coordination among partners, increasing the Alliance's visibility, and helping the Alliance expand. Importantly, the backbone is also expected to collaborate with the NSF INCLUDES Coordination Hub so that the Alliance remains connected to the larger national network and contributes to the overall learning agenda of NSF INCLUDES.

Each Alliance is required to use a logic model or similar framework that clearly identifies intended outcomes and shows how the work leads to change at scale. The program is looking for evidence that an Alliance is not only delivering activities, but also building the conditions for sustainable systems change, such as improved pathways into STEM, changes in institutional or regional practices, more equitable learning opportunities, and policies that support inclusion over the long term.

Collectively, all NSF INCLUDES Alliances are expected to operate as peers within the broader NSF INCLUDES ecosystem. They are required to participate in cross-Alliance networking, collaborate with the Coordination Hub to develop credible evidence of national progress, and create "on-ramps" that allow additional organizations and stakeholders to join and expand the National Network. In other words, Alliances are not intended to be closed collaborations; they should be designed to grow, to bring in new partners, and to help scale what works across regions, sectors, or institutions.

NSF makes clear that Alliance proposals should be organized around five defining characteristics. First is Vision: a compelling picture of what will be different in the broadening participation landscape if the Alliance succeeds. Second is Partnerships: a plan for building an effective, multi-stakeholder coalition supported by a backbone organization. Third is Goals and Metrics: shared goals grounded in research and paired with strong data collection, evaluation, milestones, and implementation research to support continuous improvement. Fourth is Leadership and Communication: a strategy for strengthening leadership capacity and communication across partners to create real opportunities for inclusion. Fifth is Expansion, Sustainability, and Scale: a credible plan showing how the Alliance will grow, persist beyond the award period, and produce change large enough to matter across the STEM enterprise.

From the posted opportunity details, this is an NSF discretionary grant competition (Funding Opportunity Number 18-529) in the science and technology research and development category, associated with multiple NSF CFDA numbers (47.041, 47.049, 47.050, 47.070, 47.074, 47.075, 47.076, 47.079, 47.083). Eligibility is described as unrestricted (open to any type of entity), subject to any additional clarifications in the official solicitation. The opportunity anticipated about three awards, with an original closing date of April 4, 2018, and the award ceiling listed as 0 (which typically indicates that award sizes may vary or are defined elsewhere in the solicitation rather than capped in the summary listing).

• The National Science Foundation in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Inclusion across the Nation of Communities of Learners of Underrepresented Discoverers in Engineering and Science" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 47.041, 47.049, 47.050, 47.070, 47.074, 47.075, 47.076, 47.079, 47.083.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jan 06, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Apr 04, 2018. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 3 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.

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