Sponsor:
National Science Foundation (NSF)
Summary:
Cultural Transformation in the Geoscience Community (CTGC) responds to the desire of individuals from a wide range of backgrounds to make a difference in their world and supports the creative power of truly diverse groups to make major strides in Earth System Science in service of humanity. CTGC aims at engaging institutions that support Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC), persons with disabilities, LGBTQIA+, and other individuals from marginalized/ minoritized groups, to help promote career advancement, and advance Earth system science. CTGC builds on tenets of NSF programs like GOLD (Geoscience Opportunities for Leadership in Diversity), ADVANCE and NSF INCLUDES that lead to environments that foster inclusion and belonging. The program will support projects that are based on geoscience education scholarship, mentorship, allyship, equity, anti-racist and anti-harassment practices, and increasing accessibility. CTGC projects will establish sustainable and long-term STEM learning and research ecosystems that connect individuals’ academic training with informal and work-based training opportunities through strong collaborative relationships and career-pathway mapping among schools, informal learning environments, local communities, private sector partners, and university and research partners. The program will support planning grants and implementation projects.
For more information, view the full Cultural Transformation in the Geoscience Community solicitation (Program Solicitation No. NSF 22-562).
Award:
Implementation Grants: $1.5M per year for up to five (5) years.
Planning Grants: $120,000 per year for up to two and a half (2.5) years.
Limited Submission Requirements and Timeline:
One (1) application, regardless of track, is permitted per institution as a lead applicant.
Only proposals approved by the Division of Research and Economic Development may be submitted to this program. For such approval, Principal Investigators must first submit a one- to two-page white paper to preaward@boisestate.edu by 1 PM on Tuesday, March 1.
Your white paper should:
- State the PI’s name and the names of any collaborators* (e.g., Co-PIs, Subrecipients, and/or non-funded collaborators).
- Include the Project Title.
- List the intended track for your proposal (Implementation or Planning).
- Provide a synopsis that describes the work in sufficient detail to permit an appropriate selection of reviewers, including:
- Addressing how your proposal will establish sustainable and long-term STEM learning and research ecosystems that will connect individuals’ academic training with informal and work-based training opportunities through strong collaborative relationships and career-pathway mapping among schools, informal learning environments, private sector partners, and university and research partners.
- Addressing how your proposal will support the professional development of cohorts of individuals at different career stages through transition points and addressing areas where data demonstrates failure to engage or alienation from the research ecosystem of historically marginalized groups.
*Note the cohort model requirements in the Important Notes on Requirements section below.
If selected to submit a full proposal, PIs must ensure that proposals meet all requirements stated in the RFP, in the announcement, and in the implementing laws and regulations related to this state grant program.
Key Submission Dates:
- March 1, 2022 at 1 PM – White paper due to preaward@boisestate.edu. We encourage you to cc your Dean for visibility as well.
- March 4, 2022 – Anticipated date Internal Awardees Notified
- March 14, 2022 – Letter of Intent Due to NSF
- April 25, 2022 – Full proposal due to OSP
- May 2, 2022 – Full proposal due to NSF
Important Notes on Requirements:
- A Principal Investigator may serve in the role of PI or Co-PI on only one proposal per competition if they are at the sole-submitting organization or the lead organization of a collaborative project but may serve as the Co-PI for a non-lead organization of a collaborative project more than once per competition.
- Please review the specific expectations about the cohort model:
- Projects are asked to build cohorts of individuals at different career stages: postbaccalaureate, graduate students, postdocs, educators or researchers, or administrators (or equivalent). Projects should include cohorts from at least two of the stages listed above.
- Each cohort will include at least six individuals that will participate in a wide range of professional development opportunities appropriate to their career stage.
- The activities that the cohorts will undertake should include scientific and leadership skill building that sets them up to be agents of change.
- The projects should use asset-based models that focus on strengths of individuals from historically minoritized/marginalized backgrounds and holistic mentoring.
- There should be consideration of the various types of learning and research practices within the research community (e.g., individualism vs collectivism or use of Traditional Ecological Knowledge) and appropriate evaluation methods to track the impact of these diverse approaches and styles on both the research conducted and on engaging a more diverse set of scholars.
- The projects should focus on creating a culture of sustained and measured educational and professional development.
Did you find a limited submission opportunity? Email us at preaward@boisestate.edu.