Inclusion across the Nation of Communities of Learners of Underrepresented Discoverers in Engineering and Science (NSF INCLUDES)

This solicitation is a call for NSF INCLUDES Alliance proposals only.

 NSF INCLUDES Alliances: With this solicitation, NSF is introducing opportunities for successful Design and Development Launch Pilots to build upon their achievements and propose an NSF INCLUDES Alliance that has the potential to substantially broaden participation in STEM fields.  Alliances will use lessons learned, promising practices, and evidence-based mechanisms from the Design and Development Launch Pilots; the science of broadening participation literature; and the research and evaluations from past and present efforts related to broadening participation in STEM. Alliances will bring together programs, people, organizations, technologies, and institutions to achieve results at scale, provide new research, and leverage NSF’s broadening participation investments. Each Alliance will be committed to collectively achieving common goals through a well-defined set of common objectives. Alliances will take the collaborative change strategies started through the Design and Development Launch Pilots and employ them at a larger scale.

The NSF INCLUDES approach requires that each Alliance focus not only on its own vision and goals, but also work with other organizations within the NSF INCLUDES National Network. This is a shift from current practice, which often involves highly successful but locally concentrated efforts. NSF INCLUDES aims to systematically build a network that will mobilize communities with evidence-based strategies for broadening participation in STEM opportunities, bringing renewed emphasis and resources to increase diversity across and within STEM fields at scale.

Application Instructions

Please submit:

1. a 3-page letter of intent with a description of proposed aims and approach that briefly describes plans in the following five areas:
2. Biosketch or CV of the PI
3. A letter of support from the Dean or Chair. This letter of support signifies that the Dean or Chair have ensured that the nominee and application are likely to be of sufficient quality to be competitive nationally

1. Develop a vision and strategy (e.g., problem statement and theory of change) for broadening participation in STEM along with relevant metrics of success and key milestones/goals to be achieved during the project’s lifecycle;
2. Contribute to the knowledge base on broadening participation in STEM through broadening participation and implementation research, sharing project evaluations, data, new scientific findings/discoveries, and promising practices;
3. Develop multi-stakeholder partnerships and build infrastructure among them to decrease social distance and achieve progress on common goals targeted by the Alliance;
4. Establish a "backbone" or support organization that provides a framework for communication and networking, network assistance and reinforcement, visibility and expansion of the Alliance and its partners, that will collaborate with the NSF INCLUDES Coordination Hub;
5. Advance a logic model or other heuristic that identifies Alliance outcomes that reflect implementation of change at scale and progress toward developing an inclusive STEM enterprise.

to research@uw.edu by 5:00 PM Thursday December 13, 2018. Required preliminary proposals are due to the sponsor 4/2/19, so you will need to have your materials in to OSP by 3/25/19.