Letter of Intent Due Date(s) (required) (due by 5 p.m. submitter’s local time):

     November 03, 2020

     August 02, 2021

     First Monday in August, Annually Thereafter

Letters of Intent are only required for Adaptation and Partnership tracks. Submitting a letter of intent automatically allows you to submit a full proposal. Work on the full proposal should have started well before the letter of intent deadline.

Preliminary Proposal Due Date(s) (required) (due by 5 p.m. submitter’s local time):

     April 22, 2021

     Fourth Thursday in April, Annually Thereafter

IT-Preliminary proposal Target Date – preliminary proposals are only required for institutions of higher education that want to submit a full Institutional Transformation proposal. IT-preliminary proposals are accepted before and after the target date.

Full Proposal Deadline(s) (due by 5 p.m. submitter’s local time):

     February 04, 2021

     November 03, 2021

     First Wednesday in November, Annually Thereafter

Partnership and Adaptation full proposal deadline – if you submitted a letter of intent then you can submit the full proposal. Work on the full proposal should have started well before the letter of intent deadline.

Full Proposal Target Date(s):

     August 07, 2020

     First Friday in August, Annually Thereafter

Catalyst proposals – Catalyst proposals are accepted before and after the target date. Please contact the program office before submitting a proposal to discuss timing for submission.

     October 07, 2021

     First Thursday in October, Annually Thereafter

Institutional Transformation proposals – only IHEs encouraged by NSF after review of an IT-Preliminary proposal should submit a full IT proposal – IT proposals are accepted before and after the target date.

Synopsis of Program:

The NSF ADVANCE program contributes to the National Science Foundation’s goal of a more diverse and capable science and engineering workforce.¹ In this solicitation, the NSF ADVANCE program seeks to build on prior NSF ADVANCE work and other research and literature concerning gender, racial, and ethnic equity. The NSF ADVANCE program goal is to broaden the implementation of evidence-based systemic change strategies that promote equity for STEM² faculty in academic workplaces and the academic profession. The NSF ADVANCE program provides grants to enhance the systemic factors that support equity and inclusion and to mitigate the systemic factors that create inequities in the academic profession and workplaces. Systemic (or organizational) inequities may exist in areas such as policy and practice as well as in organizational culture and climate. For example, practices in academic departments that result in the inequitable allocation of service or teaching assignments may impede research productivity, delay advancement, and create a culture of differential treatment and rewards. Similarly, policies and procedures that do not mitigate implicit bias in hiring, tenure, and promotion decisions could lead to women and racial and ethnic minorities being evaluated less favorably, perpetuating historical under-participation in STEM academic careers and contributing to an academic climate that is not inclusive.

All NSF ADVANCE proposals are expected to use intersectional approaches in the design of systemic change strategies in recognition that gender, race and ethnicity do not exist in isolation from each other and from other categories of social identity. The solicitation includes four funding tracks: Institutional Transformation (IT), Adaptation, Partnership, and Catalyst, in support of the NSF ADVANCE program goal to broaden the implementation of systemic strategies that promote equity for STEM faculty in academic workplaces and the academic profession.

• The Institutional Transformation (IT) track is designed to support the development, implementation, and evaluation of innovative systemic change strategies that promote gender equity for STEM faculty within an institution of higher education.
• The Adaptation track is designed to support the work to adapt, implement, and evaluate evidence-based systemic change strategies that have been shown to promote gender equity for STEM faculty in academic workplaces and the academic profession. Adaptation projects can either: 1) support the adaptation of evidence-based systemic change strategies to promote equity for STEM faculty within an institution of higher education; or 2) facilitate national or regional STEM disciplinary transformation by adapting evidence-based systemic change strategies to non-profit, non-academic organizations.
• The Partnership track is designed to support the work to facilitate the broader adaptation of gender equity and systemic change strategies. Partnership projects are expected to result in national or regional transformation in STEM academic workplaces and the academic profession and demonstrate significant reach. Partnership projects can focus on the transformation of institutions and organizations and/or the transformation within one or more STEM disciplines.
• The Catalyst track is designed to broaden the types of IHEs that are able to undertake data collection and institutional self-assessment work to identify systemic gender inequities impacting their STEM faculty so that these can be addressed by the institution.

Anticipated Type of Award: Standard Grant or Continuing Grant or Cooperative Agreement

Estimated Number of Awards: 18 to 36

The total number of awards to be made under this solicitation is estimated to be between 18 and 36 over two fiscal years.

In each year, NSF expects to make approximately:

• six Adaptation awards up to $1,000,000 for three-year long projects
• six Partnership awards up to $1,000,000 for up to five-year long projects
• four Catalyst awards up to $300K for two years

NSF anticipates that two to four of the twelve Adaptation and Partnerships projects may qualify for an additional $250,000 for collaborating with a project initiated with NSF funding as described in the project description. Additionally, in FY 2021, the program anticipates making up to two Institutional Transformation awards for up to $3,000,000 for five-years. All award amounts include both direct and indirect costs.

Anticipated Funding Amount: $29,000,000

Pending availability of funds, NSF anticipates having up to $29,000,000 available over a period of two fiscal years for support of the NSF ADVANCE portfolio. It is expected that up to $15,000,000 will be available for the FY 2021 competition and approximately $14,000,000 will be available for proposals for the FY 2022 competition.

For more information regarding eligibility and requirements, please visit the NSF page.