Research Round-Up
Research Round-Up is a communication devoted to sharing information related to open funding opportunities and research administration procedures.
For additional information on deadlines, processes and procedures, please instead see our Sponsored Programs Support Services webpage.
Friendly Reminder: Proposal Request Form
Individuals serving as principal investigator on a CEHS-led proposal or co-investigator/collaborator on a grant proposal led by another college or external organization must submit a Proposal Request Form a minimum of 4 weeks prior to the proposal due date. Doing so ensures the timely routing of your proposal for review and approval by College administration, Central Sponsored Programs Administration (formerly known as University Research Services), Grants & Contracts Financial Administration, and, if required, University Research Compliance.
Please address any questions or concerns regarding the information contained below to the CEHS Sponsored Programs team: Kayley Watson (Kayley.Watson@okstate.edu), Samar Abid (SamarAA@okstate.edu), and Trisha Sutton (Trisha.Sutton@okstate.edu).
Tip of the Month
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REMINDER: SciENcv Implementation by NIH for Biosketch & Current and Pending Support
documents
For all application due dates and all JIT, RPPR, and Prior Approval submissions on or after January 25, 2026, NIH is requiring the use of website SciENcv (through My NCBI) for the Biographical Sketch, Current and Pending (Other) Support and NIH Biographical Sketch Supplement forms.
- All individuals required to submit one of the above documents to NIH must:
- Obtain an Open Researcher and Contributor Identifier (ORCID iD).
- Link their ORCID iD to their eRA Commons account. For information on linking an ORCID iD to the eRA Commons account see the ORCID iD topic in the eRA Commons online help.
- Confirm their ORCID iD is displayed in the Persistent Identifier (PID) section of the Common Forms.
- NIH will require certification from each individual (not their delegate) of their own form(s) in SciENcv acknowledging information is: 1) current, accurate, and complete and 2) at time of submission, they are not a party to a malign foreign talent recruitment program.
Northwestern Medicine has a great walkthrough for how to set up your SciENcv account and create the necessary documents: https://libguides.galter.northwestern.edu/SciENcv/NIH-biosketch-start
The CEHS Sponsored Programs team is also working on developing a webinar to walk through the process – coming soon!
For Your Information
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Hanover Research Webinar of the Month - Revamping Your Grantseeking Strategy in a
Changing Landscape
MONTHLY WEBINAR – FEBRUARY
DATE: February 26th, 2026
TOPIC: Revamping Your Grantseeking Strategy in a Changing Landscape
As funding priorities and requirements evolve, grant seekers must adapt their strategies to remain competitive. This webinar will offer insights into updating your approach in seeking external funding, including strategies for tracking trends, revising proposal narratives, and exploring new opportunities. Participants will learn how to respond to shifts in the funding environment and position their projects for success.
Sign up HERE!
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From NIH: What Are the Differences Between Highlighted Topics and Funding Opportunities?
Highlighted Topics are a communication tool to promote a particular area of science within the NIH mission and encourage investigator-initiated applications from the community. They provide quick, simple information that is specific to the research topic area.
In contrast to NOFOs, Highlighted Topics:
- Give the applicant more freedom and creativity in responding to a topic.
- Are less prescriptive than a science-specific NOFO.
- Do not direct the applicant to use a particular NOFO, a particular due date or budget, or set other eligibility or application criteria.
- Provide topic inspiration. Applicants use an appropriate funding opportunity, such as one of the NIH Parent Funding Announcements or other broad NIH opportunities on Grants.gov.
- Are not funding opportunities. NIH may or may not have dedicated funding for applications in any given topic area.
- Do not impact referral or peer review of applications.
- Expire after 1 year. However, NIH may choose to update or renew a topic.
Highlighted topics and NOFOs are two ways to find a good fit at NIH for your research idea. Find more advice at Find Your Opportunity.
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Compliance regarding Travel and Collaboration with Foreign Countries/Entities/Partners
In many Conflict of Interest disclosures, it has been noticed that many researchers will disclose outside activities in foreign countries, which is great; however, we have had some conducting these activities in countries or with entities that are on restricted entity lists that could cause problems for both the university and the researcher.
Thus, we would like to bring to your attention OSU’s Office of Research Security and Regulatory Trade Compliance. The mission of this office is to assist OSU faculty/staff/students in complying with highly technical regulations surrounding Research Security and Regulatory Trade (Export Control) Compliance.
Before you collaborate with an international partner, please make sure to visit the following webpages to become informed of the many federal requirements and restrictions regarding collaborations with restricted entities:
- Information regarding topics such as Foreign Travel Security, Cyber Security, and Research Security Training can be found at this link: Research Security webpage
- For all other topics (e.g., What can I take with me to travel internationally? What if I want to bring a visiting scholar to campus? Do I need an Export Control License? etc.) can be found at this link: Regulatory Trade Compliance webpage
Additional information regarding this subject can be obtained from Melvin Torres, Assistant Vice President for Research, Melvin.torres@okstate.edu, (405)744-2873.
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Important National Institutes of Health (NIH) Policy Updates and News
Use of the Common Forms for Biographical Sketch, Current and Pending (Other) Support and NIH Biographical Sketch Supplement will be required for application due dates and all JIT, RPPR, and Prior Approval submissions on or after January 25, 2026.
General Information for Completing Common Forms
- NIH will require the use of SciENcv to complete Common Forms (i.e., Biographical Sketch, Current and Pending (Other) Support) and the NIH Biographical Sketch Supplement to produce digitally certified PDF(s).
- All individuals required to submit one of the above documents to NIH must:
- Obtain an Open Researcher and Contributor Identifier (ORCID iD).
- Link their ORCID iD to their eRA Commons account. For information on linking an ORCID iD to the eRA Commons account see the ORCID iD topic in the eRA Commons online help.
- Confirm their ORCID iD is displayed in the Persistent Identifier (PID) section of the Common Forms.
- NIH will require certification from each individual (not their delegate) of their own form(s) in SciENcv acknowledging information is: 1) current, accurate, and complete and 2) at time of submission, they are not a party to a malign foreign talent recruitment program.
Effective immediately NIH will no longer request or accept Letters of Intent (LOIs) as part of the application process.
Effective immediately, NIH will no longer require applicants requesting $500,000 or more in direct costs (excluding consortium F&A costs) in any one budget period to contact the funding Institute or Center (IC) before application submission. In line with this change, applicants are no longer required to include a cover letter identifying the Program Official contact which notes that the IC has agreed to accept assignment of the application.
Legislative authority for the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs expired on October 1, 2025.
All NIH SBIR and STTR Notices of Funding Opportunity (NOFOs) listed in this notice are expired, effective immediately.
Active NIH SBIR and STTR awards can continue, however NIH will not issue noncompeting continuation awards for existing projects until the SBIR/STTR program is reauthorized.
Research Security Training Requirements for NIH:
In accordance with Section 10634 of Act, each covered individual (for NIH this is defined as senior/key personnel) listed on an NIH grant application must certify that they have completed RST within 12 months of the date of application submission. NIH does not collect Current and Pending (Other) Support at the time of application based on our Just-in-Time policy. Therefore, NIH will collect the individual certification at the time of the application submission, through the Biographical Sketch in SciENcv.
Note: OSU University Research Compliance has already implemented measures to cover this requirement, through the Research Security training course in the CITI Program.
Implementing a Unified NIH Funding Strategy to Guide Consistent and Clearer Award Decisions
Today, NIH has implemented steps towards a unified strategy that will help guide clearer and consistent funding decisions across all Institutes, Centers, and Offices (ICOs). Building on the August NIH Director’s statement, this framework (effective January 2026 Council round) will help ensure we continue to support the most scientifically meritorious research ideas possible, address health priorities, and support a robust biomedical workforce.
More details on the core tenets are shared on NIH’s Funding Decisions webpage. Individual ICO webpages that previously reported similar information will be redirected to this central page.
Peer Review Remains Essential and Vital - Going forward, ICOs will be considering peer review information in its entirety. NIH ICOs will not rely on funding paylines in developing pay plans. Rather, ICOs will consider these scores in context of their and NIH’s priorities, strategic plans, and budgets. ICO Directors will continue to have the delegated authority to decide what is funded by their ICOs.
Moving Away from Paylines - The research community occasionally expressed confusion around the payline process and asked for additional clarity as it related to their applications. Now that ICOs will not rely on funding paylines when developing their pay plans, it should be clearer for applicants to know the award decision was not made only based on overall impact score, without necessarily considering the additional valuable information provided by peer review.
Funding Opportunities
- LIMITED SUBMISSION: [OSU Hamm Institute for American Energy]FY27 Grant Program
https://okstate.infoready4.com/#competitionDetail/2006312
Internal Submission Deadline: Wednesday, April 1, 2026
PURPOSE
The Hamm Institute for American Energy believes that the future of energy is interdisciplinary and collaborative. The energy challenges facing the world are too big and too complex for any one researcher, one discipline or one institution to solve.To ensure alignment with the Hamm Institute’s mission and long-term strategic priorities, all proposals must clearly connect to at least one of the Institute’s three Centers: (1) Energy Technology, (2) Energy Security, or (3) Energy Infrastructure. The Institute seeks to support research that advances the core objectives of these Centers, strengthens interdisciplinary collaboration, and generates insights or innovations relevant to national energy needs. There will be three different funding opportunities outlined below.
Seed/Planning Grants. The Hamm Institute will award/renew four one-year planning grants up to $25K. These planning grants provide the funding necessary for preparing a proposal.
Catalyst Grant. The Hamm Institute plans to award one annual $100,000 project grant to sustain projects on the cusp of external investment or uniquely aligned with Hamm Institute goals.
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LIMITED SUBMISSION: [National Science Foundation] EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Improvement:
2026 EPSCoR Research Fellows
https://okstate.infoready4.com/#competitionDetail/1999059
Internal Submission Deadline: Friday, February 6, 2026
Funding Organization's Deadline: Tuesday, April 14, 2026
NSF Solicitation: https://new.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/epscor-research-infrastructure-improvement-epscor-research/nsf24-528/solicitation
The Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research is designed to fulfill the mandate of the National Science Foundation (NSF) to promote scientific progress nationwide. NSF EPSCoR facilitates the establishment of partnerships among academic institutions, government, industry, and non-profit sectors that are designed to promote sustainable improvements in a jurisdiction's research infrastructure, Research and Development (R&D) capacity, and R&D competitiveness of EPSCoR-eligible jurisdictions (i.e., states, territories, and commonwealths). Eligibility to participate in the EPSCoR funding opportunities, including the EPSCoR RII: EPSCoR Research Fellows program, is described on the NSF EPSCoR website.
EPSCoR RII: EPSCoR Research Fellows directly aligns with the NSF EPSCoR strategic goal of establishing sustainable Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) professional development pathways that advance workforce development and effects engagement in STEM at national and global levels. EPSCoR RII: EPSCoR Research Fellows provides awards to build research capacity in institutions and transform the career trajectories of investigators and further develop their individual research potential through collaborations with investigators from the nation’s premier private, governmental, or academic research institutions and/or centers. The fellowship provides opportunities to establish strong collaborations through extended or periodic collaborative visits to a selected host site. Through collaborative research activities with the host site, Fellows will be able to learn new techniques, develop new collaborations, advance existing partnerships, benefit from access to unique equipment and facilities, and/or shift their research toward potentially transformative new directions. The experiences gained through the fellowships are intended to have lasting impacts that will enhance the Fellows’ research trajectories well beyond the award period. The benefits to the Fellows are also expected to improve the research capacity of their institutions and jurisdictions more broadly.
NOTE: Although EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Improvement (RII): EPSCoR Research Fellows offers two tracks NSF and NASA, OSU does NOT QUALIFY for the NASA track.
In both tracks, the EPSCoR RII: EPSCoR Research Fellows program provides opportunities for the participation of one trainee, who must be an undergraduate or graduate student enrolled full-time in an accredited degree program, or a postdoctoral researcher from an EPSCoR jurisdiction. Staff members, such as technicians or lab assistants could be considered as trainees when properly justified.
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LIMITED SUBMISSION: [National Science Foundation] EPSCoR Graduate Fellowship Program
(EGFP) FY27
https://okstate.infoready4.com/#freeformCompetitionDetail/2004950
Internal Submission Deadline: Monday, March 16, 2026
Funding Organization's Deadline: Monday, June 1, 2026
NSF Solicitation: https://www.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/egfp-nsf-epscor-graduate-fellowship-program/nsf24-588/solicitation
IMPORTANT NOTE for INTERNAL COMPETITION: We expect that the selected PI (from our internal competition) will work very closely with the OSU Graduate College, specifically Dr. Matt Lovern (associate dean), to develop the full proposal submission for this funding opportunity.
The NSF EPSCoR Graduate Fellowship Program (EGFP) provides an opportunity for applicants who received the distinction of GRFP Honorable Mention no more than three years before the proposal due date to be named NSF EPSCoR Graduate Fellows and obtain financial support for their graduate education at an institution in an EPSCoR jurisdiction. EGFP aims to enhance the capacity and competitiveness of EPSCoR jurisdictions by providing funding to graduate degree-awarding institutions to support NSF EPSCoR Graduate Fellows as they pursue graduate degrees in the disciplines specified by the NSF Directorates and Office that are participating in the EGFP funding program. Fellows may pursue degrees in field that differ from the field or sub-field of study that the GRFP Honorable Mention recipients previously listed in their GRFP application.
EGFP awards will be made to institutions in EPSCoR jurisdictions. Awards will provide three years of stipend and associated cost-of-education allowance for each NSF EPSCoR Graduate Fellow. Stipends must be budgeted at the level of $37,000 per year per Fellow and cost-of-education allowances must be budgeted at the level of $16,000 per year per Fellow. A total of three years of support must be budgeted per Fellow. Each Fellow must be given up to five years to utilize the support. Awardees will administer the awards such that the Fellows receive the full stipend amount and the institution retains the full cost-of-education allowance during the three years that each Fellow receives support. All submissions must request support for a minimum of three Fellows.
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[Interdisciplinary Network on Rural Population Health and Aging (INRPHA)] Pilot Research
Proposals
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YESpZ1a6cNW_m-3iubtkPRUeLA7EatCi/view
DEADLINE: April 10, 2026
With funding from the National Institute on Aging (NIA), the Interdisciplinary Network on Rural Population Health and Aging (INRPHA) invites investigators to submit proposals for pilot research that enhances understanding of the multilevel and multidimensional drivers of rural health and aging trends and disparities, with emphasis on within-rural heterogeneity. INRPHA seeks proposals that will advance science in this important area and that will lead to fundable NIH grant proposals. Pilot projects will begin as early as July 1, 2026.
Direct questions to the INRPHA PI, Carrie Henning-Smith, at henn0329@umn.edu.
INRPHA is funded by NIA grant 1R24AG089064 and led by Carrie Henning-Smith (University of Minnesota), Leif Jensen (Penn State), Shannon Monnat (Syracuse University), John Green (Southern Rural Development Center/Mississippi State University), and Lori Hunter (University of Colorado Boulder).
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[National Institutes of Health] Pilot Projects Enhancing Utility and Usage of Common
Fund Data Sets (R03 Clinical Trial Not Allowed)
https://www.grants.gov/search-results-detail/359879
DEADLINE: June 23, 2026
Many valuable and widely available data sets have been generated by multiple Common Fund programs. The purpose of this NOFO is to announce the availability of funding to demonstrate and enhance the utility of selected Common Fund (https://commonfund.nih.gov/) data sets, including generating hypotheses and catalyzing discoveries. Award recipients are asked to provide feedback on the utility of the Common Fund data resources.
Investigators are encouraged to utilize various approaches including, but not limited to, systems approaches, artificial intelligence (including generative)/machine learning/deep learning methods, advanced data science methods for data set integration and harmonization, and incorporating computational modeling to bring together high throughput genotype and phenotype data sets. Because information regarding the user experience could help NIH improve its data resources, the recipients will provide feedback on the find ability, usability, and utility of data sets and public data portals, which the awardees will offer during a virtual CFDE R03 awardee meeting and in their close-out reports.
This NOFO accepts different types of projects with the intent of generating preliminary and/or validation data for subsequent funding, including, but not limited to, the following:
- Building synthetic cohorts by combining and comparing data sets;
- Incorporating CF data or CFDE Knowledge Graphs to provide grounding predictive models, using methods such as the retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) technique (CFDE’s Data Distillery KG is available here (with CFDE-specific contexts), while others may be listed in the FAQ);
- Anonymization of imaging or clinical data;
- Incorporating CF data (e.g., raw, called, or summary) as part of a larger replication, validation, or reproducibility study;
- Creating synthetic data from extant CF data to enable the use of predictive modeling or advanced modeling methods;
- Leveraging existing data across humans and model organisms for novel discovery;
- Developing research methods or analytic tools to support data visualization, harmonization, and integration;
- Developing workflows and tools to automate data integration and interoperability;
- Applying new predictive modeling/machine learning/deep learning approaches for metadata harmonization to aid in data integration;
- Developing new approaches and tools for simultaneous analysis of data available on multiple platforms (e.g., data sets residing in two separate cloud platforms);
- Investigating gene expression, genome topology, protein expression, and/or epigenetic patterns across several disease conditions, phases of the lifespan, or in the analysis of chronic disease;
- Identifying biomarkers (metabolites, genetic variants, DNA methylation and/or histone marks, etc.) associated with various diseases and risk factors;
- New approaches for integrating and analyzing single cell data;
- Network analysis across genetic variation, expression profiling, and/or GWAS data to reveal pathways associated with various diseases;
- Incorporating machine learning and computational approaches to imagingdata for data harmonization;
- Enhancement of information in the data resources through the developing analytic tools, curating and annotating existing data, or the adding phenotypic or clinical information.
- Note: CF data is well prepared for use in causal models; If experimental approaches are proposed, they should be limited to 20% of the requested budget
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[National Council for Therapeutic Recreation Certification]Research Grant Program
https://nctrc.org/research-grant-program/overview/
DEADLINE: Twice a year, March 15th and October 15th
NCTRC funds three types of research for students, faculty, and practitioners:
- Basic: Pursuit of new knowledge or theoretical understanding related to recreational therapy. It is exploratory in nature involving the development of or testing of concepts or functions that can lead to applied research.
- Applied: Utilizes the findings of basic research or other existing knowledge toward discovering new scientific knowledge that has specific commercial objectives with respect to new products, services, processes, or methods.
- Program evaluation: Systematic method for collecting, analyzing, interpreting, and using information to answer questions about programs, such as how well a program is working and why.
NCTRC offers a Research Grant Program to support opportunities for individuals pursuing a career in or already practicing recreational therapy to establish and maintain lines of research and promote the collaboration between higher education faculty and practitioners.
- This grant is open to individuals who hold active status as a CTRS® or are currently enrolled in TR/RT coursework.
- A maximum of $5,000.00 per proposal will be awarded to the selected applicant(s).
- Funding supports student assistants, supplies, costs related to data collection, and other costs of the research project.
If you are a RT/TR student or CTRS professional interested in pursuing research and contributing to the profession of therapeutic recreation and the practice of recreational therapy, please review the NCTRC Research Grant Program eligibility, process, and deadlines found on the application.
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[Cotton Foundation] Project Support
https://www.cotton.org/foundation/cf-project-support.cfm
DEADLINE: July 1, 2026
The U.S. cotton industry is enjoying a healthy return on investment from Foundation member support of general projects and special projects. National Cotton Council staff estimates that accounting for cash and in-kind services, the Foundation’s general projects, for example, enjoy a return of about $3 for every dollar devoted to these projects. By supporting these projects, the Foundation is truly fostering innovative: 1) research to find solutions to cotton problems; 2) technology to implement those solutions; 3) education to speed new research application and 4) communication to spread information throughout cotton's production and marketing chain.
The Cotton Foundation is actively seeking research proposals for funding during the 2027 growing season. Research proposals can encompass any subject, ranging from the production of raw fiber to finished textiles. Proposals are due July 1, 2026. You will find below a PDF containing additional information and directions for submitting research proposals as well as a PDF containing a priority list of research and education topics.
Click here to download the Request for Proposals.
Click here to download the Research and Education Priorities list.
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[Spencer Foundation] Research Grants on Education: Large
https://www.spencer.org/grant_types/large-research-grant
Required Pre-Proposal DEADLINE: February 24, 2026
Full Proposal (By Invitation) DEADLINE: June 23, 2026
The Large Research Grants on Education Program supports education research projects that will contribute to the improvement of education, broadly conceived, with budgets ranging from $125,000 to $500,000 for projects ranging from one to five years. We anticipate awarding grants with budgets across each of the following funding tiers: $125,000 to 250,000; $250,001 to $375,000; and $375,001 to $500,000. Within each of our funding tiers, we evaluate projects within tier and strongly encourage applicants to submit for funding that best fits their project rather than applying for the highest amount of funding. We accept preproposals once a year.
This program is “field-initiated” in that proposal submissions are not in response to a specific request for a particular research topic, discipline, design, method, or location. Our goal for this program is to support rigorous, intellectually ambitious and technically sound research that is relevant to the most pressing questions and compelling opportunities in education.
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[U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)] AFRI Strengthening Agricultural Systems
https://www.nifa.usda.gov/grants/funding-opportunities/afri-strengthening-agricultural-systems
DEADLINE: March 26, 2026
The long-term goal of the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative - Strengthening Agricultural Systems (SAS) Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is to help transform the U.S. food and agricultural system to increase agricultural production while enhancing farmer prosperity. Achieving this goal will require transdisciplinary approaches to address current and future food and agricultural challenges within the context of the economic viability of farm operations, quality of life for farmers and society as a whole, and the most efficient use of resources. NIFA is soliciting applications to support:
- At least one of the following Strengthening Agricultural Systems sub-priorities:
- New Uses and Expanding Markets for Agriculture and Forestry Products
- Solutions to Pests and Diseases of Plants or Animals
- Combating Food and Diet-Related Chronic Diseases
- Artificial Intelligence for K-12 Food and Agricultural Sciences
See AFRI SAS NOFO for details.
- At least one of the following Strengthening Agricultural Systems sub-priorities:
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[U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)] Agriculture and Food Research Initiative -
Education and Workforce Development
DEADLINE: December 31, 2026
The Agriculture and Food Research Initiative - Education and Workforce Development (EWD) focuses on developing the next generation of research, education, and extension professionals in the food and agricultural sciences. The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) requests applications for the AFRI’s Education and Workforce Development program areas to support:
- professional development opportunities for K-14 educational professionals;
- non-formal education that cultivates food and agricultural interest in youth;
- workforce training at community, junior, and technical colleges;
- training of undergraduate students in research and extension;
- fellowships for predoctoral candidates;
- fellowships for postdoctoral scholars; and
- education and workforce development workshop grants.
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[GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBTQ+ Equality]Lesbian Health Fund 2026 Grant
Cycle
https://glma.org/lesbian_health_fund_-_current.php
DEADLINE: March 15, 2026
For the 2026 grant cycle, we plan to fund grants in the range of $5,000 to $10,000 each. The LHF Grant Committee welcomes all proposals that identify or address health disparities among LGBTQ+ women and girls (e.g., sexual and/or gender minority women or girls, gender diverse people assigned female at birth); however, special consideration will be given to proposals that focus on the following:- Research that generates pilot data for subsequent training or early-stage investigator grants
- Subpopulations that are often underrepresented in sexual and gender minority (SGM) research, including but not limited to:
- Adolescents/Youth
- Black, Indigenous, and Other People of Color
- Bisexual people
- Gender diverse people
- Intersex individuals or individuals with differences of sex development (DSD)
- Older adults
- People who experience multiple points of marginalization
- Persons with disabilities
- Rural communities
- People with military backgrounds
- Methods & frameworks
- Measurement & methods of LGBTQ+ people
- Community-informed/community-based participatory research
- Trauma-informed research
- Social & behavioral research
- Intersectionality
- Sexual and Gender Minority Health Disparities Research Framework
- Topical area
- Sexual and reproductive health, including family & parenting issues
- The impact of the current political climate on health and wellbeing
- Educational initiatives (e.g., curriculum development)
- Acute care/hospitalization experiences
- Access to healthcare issues
- Across the lifespan issues
- Violence prevention
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[National Science Foundation] STEM K-12 (STEM K-12)
https://www.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/stem-k-12-nsf-stem-k-12
DEADLINE: Full proposal accepted anytime!
The NSF STEM K-12 program in the Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings (DRL) in the Directorate for STEM Education (EDU) supports fundamental, applied, and translational research that advances STEM teaching and learning and improves understanding of education across the human lifespan and a range of formal and informal settings.
The NSF STEM K-12 program encourages multidisciplinary collaborations that bring together expertise and methodological approaches from various fields, including education research, social and behavioral sciences, implementation sciences, computer science, and all STEM disciplines. In addition, the program encourages partnerships that integrate perspectives from education research, education practice, and industry, as well as perspectives of learners and other critical stakeholders who would benefit from the work.
The program also welcomes quantitative, qualitative, mixed method approaches, and a range of research and/or development efforts across broad areas of scientific inquiry, including but not limited to:
- foundational studies that advance theory or build new conceptual frameworks related to STEM learning and teaching;
- design-based research that iteratively develops and refines learning environments, instructional models, systems, or approaches;
- projects aimed at cultivating the skills, dispositions, and knowledge needed to succeed in computer science, AI pathways, and technology careers, and more generally build capacity in the STEM workforce;
- development and study of innovations for teaching and learning (e.g., curricula, assessments, professional learning resources, technologies, media, etc.) for any STEM field;
- investigations of teaching and learning processes, including cognitive, motivational, or social aspects of learning;
- development and use of advanced research methods and analytical frameworks and tools, such as data science methods and machine learning, to study learning at scale or in complex learning environments; and
- the study of deeper learning and more effective teaching to create opportunities for all Americans everywhere.