Scholarships in STEM Network

The National Science Foundation (NSF), an independent federal agency created by Congress in 1950, is the funder of the Scholarships in STEM Network (S-STEM-Net) Research Hubs program solicitation. NSF’s mission is to promote the progress of science and to advance national health, prosperity, and welfare by supporting research and education in science and engineering. This solicitation, NSF 23-536, seeks to strengthen the S-STEM program by building a national network of stakeholders who will collaborate to improve outcomes for domestic low-income students pursuing careers in STEM. Through this effort, NSF aims to ensure that all Americans, regardless of economic status, can participate in the innovation economy. The S-STEM-Net Research Hubs are intended to create a robust ecosystem of multi-sector partners that support STEM students facing economic barriers. These Hubs will investigate challenges faced by such students and identify the conditions under which interventions are successful in helping them graduate and thrive in STEM careers. Each Hub will bring together researchers and practitioners to focus on themes such as student persistence, STEM identity development, or issues unique to certain academic disciplines or institution types. NSF emphasizes that research must be centered on domestic low-income students in STEM. Projects focused on curriculum development or other topics not directly related to low-income student success are not eligible under this program. The program provides funding of up to $3 million per Research Hub for a maximum duration of five years. NSF anticipates awarding between one and five Research Hub grants, with a total program investment of approximately $15 million, contingent on available funds. Proposals must include both formative and summative evaluation conducted by an independent evaluator. Additional requirements include submission of collaboration letters from participating institutions and budgeting for leadership team travel to biennial S-STEM Principal Investigator meetings, as well as participation in reverse site visits. Cost sharing is not permitted for this opportunity. Eligibility for this solicitation is restricted to institutions of higher education accredited in and with a campus located in the United States, including community colleges, acting on behalf of their faculty members. Certain non-academic nonprofit organizations such as museums, observatories, research labs, and professional societies that are associated with educational or research activities in the United States are also eligible to apply. There are no restrictions on who may serve as Principal Investigator. Each organization may submit only one proposal as lead, subawardee, or collaborator, and each individual may serve as PI or Co-PI on only one proposal. Proposals must be submitted via Research.gov or Grants.gov; submissions through FastLane are not accepted. Letters of intent and preliminary proposals are not required. Applications must comply with the NSF Proposal & Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG) and should demonstrate strong research rationale, stakeholder involvement, and robust management plans. Proposals are reviewed under NSF’s standard merit review criteria: intellectual merit, assessing the potential to advance knowledge, and broader impacts, assessing the potential to benefit society and achieve desired outcomes such as advancing STEM education and workforce development. Additional program-specific criteria are also considered. Key dates for this solicitation include proposal deadlines of March 29, 2023, March 27, 2024, and August 14, 2025, with the program recurring annually on the second Thursday in August thereafter. The program requires that proposers prepare for external evaluations and comply with NSF’s standard award and reporting requirements, including annual progress reports and final reports submitted via Research.gov. General inquiries can be directed to the program email at s-stem@nsf.gov. Technical assistance for Research.gov can be reached at 1-800-673-6188, and Grants.gov assistance is available at 1-800-518-4726 or support@grants.gov. The NSF headquarters is located at 2415 Eisenhower Avenue, Alexandria, Virginia.