Programs to Expand the Skilled, Technical Transportation Workforce: Proceedings of a Workshop (2025)
Chapter: Appendix D: National Science Foundation Preparatory Materials and Agenda
D
National Science Foundation Preparatory Materials and Agenda
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION RESOURCES
Build and Broaden Program: Enhancing Social, Behavioral, and Economic Science Research and Capacity at Minority-Serving Institutions
The Build and Broaden (B2) Program supports fundamental research and research capacity across disciplines at Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) and encourages research collaborations with scholars at MSIs.
MSIs make considerable contributions to educating and training science leaders for U.S. economic growth and competitiveness. Yet, the National Science Foundation (NSF) has received comparatively few grant submissions from, or involving, scholars at MSIs. Targeted outreach activities reveal that MSIs have varying degrees of familiarity with funding opportunities within NSF and particularly within the Social, Behavioral, and Economic (SBE) Sciences Directorate. As a result, NSF is limited in its ability to support research and training opportunities in the SBE sciences at these institutions.
With its emphasis on broadening participation, B2 is designed to address this problem. SBE offers B2 in order to increase proposal submissions, advance research collaborations and networks involving MSI scholars, and support research activities in the SBE sciences at MSIs. Proposals that outline research projects in the SBE sciences that increase students’ pursuit of graduate training, enhance principal investigator (PI) productivity build research capacity, or cultivate partnerships are especially encouraged to apply.
Build and Broaden Homepage: https://new.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/build-broaden-enhancing-social-behavioral-economic
Build and Broaden Program Solicitation and Requirements: https://new.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/build-broaden-enhancing-social-behavioral-economic/nsf22-638/solicitation
Growing Research Access for Nationally Transformative Equity and Diversity
Growing Research Access for Nationally Transformative Equity and Diversity (GRANTED) focuses on addressing systemic barriers within the nation’s research enterprise by improving research support and service capacity.
GRANTED is a whole-of-NSF approach that will transform NSF and the science and engineering community to develop the collective knowledge, skills, talents, and desire to serve within the nation’s science and engineering enterprise.
PIs from emerging and developing research institutions—including R2, R3, and primarily undergraduate institutions and community colleges—often lack the support to help develop meritorious ideas, contact federal program staff, keep updated on federal funding priorities, and assist in the pragmatics of grant submission and award management. This puts talented PIs at these institutions at a disadvantage and prevents the nation from benefiting from numerous impactful scientific advances and the advancement of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics talent.
There are many individuals across the nation with specialized skills and knowledge to build grant-writing capacity at emerging research institutions. They are usually not PIs on grants. Instead, they are often staff—almost exclusively employed at the nation’s R1 institutions—with the know-how to help investigators develop competitive ideas and ensure that progress is made on funded projects. Empowering these individuals to play a role in building research capacity at emerging and developing research institutions will bridge gaps and broaden participation within existing networks of research service professionals across the nation.
GRANTED Homepage: https://new.nsf.gov/funding/initiatives/broadening-participation/granted
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION WORKSHOP TO BROADEN THE DIVERSITY OF THE SKILLED, TECHNICAL TRANSPORTATION WORKFORCE
Overview
NSF Workshop goal (from organizers): How to complete and obtain grants and focus on community colleges and tribal institutions.
NSF’s Objective: To provide an interactive forum with participating PIs focused on community colleges and tribal institutions as hubs for collaboration on innovative solutions to specific research and grant funding needs.
Expected Outcomes: (1) Innovative and collaborative ideas on ways to match specific research and grant funding needs of participating PIs with comprehensive support, including from potential federal/state, private, and non-government partners, and NSF (e.g., B2 program); (2) clear articulation of gaps between needs and support; and (3) new potential partnerships for ongoing collaboration on research and grantsmanship.
Pre-Conference Preparation
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine/workshop organizers: Please assign attendees (including virtual) to three groups. Each group must have at least two PIs from universities/community colleges and the rest are partners. Paper and pens available during the workshop or encourage participants to bring laptops.
All Participants Develop PI and/or Partner Assessments: Please bring or be prepared to share a brief description of your research needs (PIs) and/or support (partners) that you can provide along one or more of the following dimensions below. (250–500 words total or bullet points fine)
- Infrastructure (e.g., grants office support, budget manager, access to other successful proposals, lab personnel)
- Research (e.g., equipment, human subjects payments, travel, research dissemination, effort and time needs)
- Mentoring and Partnerships (e.g., lab visits, sabbaticals, skills and training support, networks)
- Gamechanger Wild Card (e.g., anything you can think of to address a critical barrier or need)
Workshop Outline
| 20 min | Introduction of NSF Build and Broaden Program (Submission Criteria and Best Practices) |
| 50 min |
Collaboration for Innovative Solutions to Research and Grant Funding Needs
|
| 20 min | Sharing Elevator Pitches and Open Q&A |
