The Historically Black Colleges and Universities – Excellence in Research program (HBCU-EiR) provides opportunities to stimulate sustainable improvement in research and development capacity. HBCU-EiR was established in 2018 in response to direction provided in a report from the Senate Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (Senate Report 115-139) and is built on prior and continuing efforts by NSF to strengthen research capacity at HBCUs. This report provided guidance to NSF to establish the program “to provide opportunities for both public and private HBCUs, particularly for those who have not been successful in larger NSF Research & Related Activities competitions, in order to stimulate sustainable improvement in their research and development capacity.”
HBCU-EiR planning grants
The HBCU-EiR Dear Colleague Letter encourages planning grant proposals from HBCUs to support initial conceptualization, planning, and collaboration activities that will lead to solid plans for a future submission to the program. This opportunity is open to accredited HBCUs that have faculty members who conduct research in a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and/or STEM education discipline supported by NSF.
HBCU-EiR research grants
The HBCU-EiR funding opportunity awards grants to increase support for researchers at HBCUs interested in pursuing research in areas that align with NSF’s program areas. The program is designed to establish stronger connections between researchers at HBCUs and NSF’s core program. Researchers are empowered to subsequently apply for discipline-specific program funding, such as through core divisional solicitations. HBCU-EiR is managed by the Office of Integrative Activities in collaboration with a liaison group consisting of program directors representing each NSF directorate.
Key elements:
- Provides research grants to individual faculty with an eye towards long-term impacts on research infrastructure at the institution. Lead principal investigators must have a full-time faculty or research appointment at an HBCU. Faculty at other institutions may partner as co-PIs but can only receive funding through subawards.
- Ideally serves as a bridge between funding through the HBCU-Undergraduate Program Research Initiation Award and funding through NSF’s research program areas.
- PIs with an established history of successful research funding should apply directly to research programs in NSF directorates and not to the HBCU-EiR mechanism.
HBCU-EiR ideas lab grants
The Advancing Research Capacity at HBCUs through Exploration and Innovation funding opportunity invites participation in an Ideas Lab, which is an intensive, facilitated workshop that brings together multiple diverse perspectives to find innovative solutions to a grand challenge. This Ideas Lab will focus on exploring innovative approaches for addressing the research capacity needs of the nation’s HBCUs and developing collaborative networks among HBCUs that enable STEM research.
This lab aims to bring together HBCU faculty, staff, research administrators, and academic leadership to develop innovative and transformative approaches for HBCUs to finance and conduct STEM research. The workshop will lead to new models and practices that sustainably increase research capacity. Participants will develop plans for collaborations within and between institutions; institutional practices for project planning and development; increased and enhanced research infrastructure through resource sharing; and access to information, tools, and resources that facilitate basic research in NSF-supported fields.
