Programs to Expand the Skilled, Technical Transportation Workforce: Proceedings of a Workshop (2025)
Chapter: National Science Foundation Sub-Workshop: How to Complete and Obtain Grants
National Science Foundation Sub-Workshop: How to Complete and Obtain Grants
The workshop ended with a sub-workshop conducted by the National Science Foundation (NSF), which was focused on how to complete and obtain grants, with a focus on community colleges and tribal institutions. The purpose of the presentation and following activity was to have attendees find partnerships and learn how to support one another in future projects. Preparation materials and questions for the activity are included in Appendixes D and E, respectively.
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION PRESENTATION
April Bernard, Wilson de Lima Silva, and Jorge Valdés Kroff, National Science Foundation
Jorge Valdés Kroff introduced NSF’s Build and Broaden Program, which works to enhance social, behavioral, and economic science research and capacity at Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs). He noted that there is a lot of planning that goes into finding the right funding mechanisms. This timeline may differ per person, but preparation includes the following steps:
- Get to know the “language of NSF.” This can be done by finding copies of proposals (both funded and unfunded), serving as a panelist or reviewer for grants, and signing up for directorate email updates.
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While developing research ideas:
- Read the NSF 101 blog series, which talks about the different steps an applicant wants to think about when preparing a proposal.
- Get to know the sponsored research officer and the process of submitting grants at an institution, including ethical approvals and an institution’s workflow process.
- Identify what makes a person, team, institution, and research ideas unique, and consider how to best convey this in the proposal.
- Narrow down programs that will be the best fit for a team’s research. One way to do this is by searching through NSF’s databases to see what has recently been funded and through what programs. Users can also explore program pages to find their summary, program officers, specialists, and any recent projects that have been funded through them.
- Cover all the bases. This includes keeping track of collaborators and finding more details about the program a person would like to apply to. Program pages may include additional resources, such as webinars, workshops, and frequently asked questions. Many program pages also include program solicitation, which outlines additional requirements to the basic NSF submission. NSF program submissions typically require a background overview, intellectual merit, and broader impacts of the research or program that you are proposing.
- While finishing a proposal, read and re-read the program solicitation to identify solicitation-specific preparation instructions and review criteria and consult the NSF Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide.
The goals of the Build and Broaden Program are to expand the number of proposals submitted from MSIs; increase the number of partnerships and collaborative proposals between MSIs and non-MSIs (e.g., government agencies, non-government agencies, private partners); and enhance research productivity, infrastructure, and capacity in social, behavioral, and economic sciences at MSIs. In addition to NSF’s basic review criteria, proposals are evaluated on the intellectual quality of the proposal research and associated activities; the potential of the proposed project to increase the quantity, quality, and capacity of research at the participating MSI(s); and the impacts of the project upon the professional development of faculty and students at the participating MSI(s). This includes whether most of the budget is going to an MSI, if the partnership has the right elements such that it consists of a co-equal partnership, and professional development that
will lead to more sustainable funding and research investments for investigators at MSIs. Additional NSF programs to consider include:
- ECU Core Research,
- Tribal Colleges and Universities Program,
- Hispanic-Serving Institutions’ Equitable Transformation in STEM Education,
- Historically Black Colleges and Universities’ Undergraduate Program,
- Centers of Research Excellence in Science and Technology,
- Faculty Early Career Development Program,
- Mid-Career Advancement, and
- Research in Undergraduate Institutions and Research Opportunity Awards.
April Bernard concluded by outlining the NSF Growing Research Access for Nationally Transformative Equity and Diversity (GRANTED) Program and Ideas Lab. The GRANTED program supports the sponsored program offices and other infrastructure at universities so they are able to successfully apply for grants. The Ideas Lab helps bring together diverse groups of people based on geographic location, disciple, and/or sector to address a particular issue or create innovation around a collaborative idea. The Ideas Lab is typically a guided workshop with the goal of creating group partnerships and beginning to develop proposal ideas to address a particular idea or need. Idea Labs tend to have a funding commitment, so supporting officers are often committed to supporting whatever projects come out of the workshop.
BREAKOUT GROUPS: COLLABORATION FOR INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS TO RESEARCH AND GRANT FUNDING NEEDS
Following the presentation, workshop attendees broke into three groups led by Bernard, de Lima Silva, and Valdés Kroff. The groups discussed what principal investigators needed to move their research and programs forward, what partners could bring to support projects, and potential ideas for future collaboration between attending participants. Details of the specific activity can be found in Appendix E.
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