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Important information for proposers

All proposals must be submitted in accordance with the requirements specified in this funding opportunity and in the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) that is in effect for the relevant due date to which the proposal is being submitted. It is the responsibility of the proposer to ensure that the proposal meets these requirements. Submitting a proposal prior to a specified deadline does not negate this requirement.

Dear Colleague Letter

Piloting Departmental-level Systemic Change for Equity

Encourages proposals to understand and support the role of STEM departments in institutionalizing change strategies that promote equitable policies and practices for graduate students, postdoctoral scholars and faculty.
Encourages proposals to understand and support the role of STEM departments in institutionalizing change strategies that promote equitable policies and practices for graduate students, postdoctoral scholars and faculty.

Dear Colleagues:

With this Dear Colleague Letter, the National Science Foundation’s Directorate for STEM Education (EDU), with leadership from the Division of Equity for Excellence in STEM (EES) and the Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) program, seek to understand the role that STEM departments play in institutionalizing change strategies that promote equitable policies and practices for graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, and faculty.

This Dear Colleague Letter particularly encourages submission of new proposals to support projects focused on departmental-level changes in policies and practices that support and retain the diverse talent of STEM doctoral candidates, postdoctoral scholars and faculty from historically underrepresented and underserved minority groups. (The use of the term "minority" reflects language from the Congressional origin of AGEP in 1998 as the Minority Graduate Education program (MGE), adjusted here to reflect current appropriation language “historically underrepresented minority.” See also the AGEP Solicitation.) Proposals are invited for AGEP Catalyst Alliances (ACA) and Institutional Transformation Alliances (ITA), as detailed in the AGEP Solicitation. Some examples of projects may include changes to departmental policies related to recruitment and retention of graduate students and/or postdoctoral fellows; changes to recruitment and retention of faculty members; changes to the structure and practices of promotion and/or tenure of full time instructors or tenure-track faculty; or changes to teaching evaluations, or evaluation of pedagogical practices that promote equitable and inclusive classroom involvement of all students, and most importantly, are considered valid and important components of faculty evaluation.

The AGEP Program especially encourages submissions from institutions in EPSCoR jurisdictions as well as submissions that address the NSF-wide investment priority areas and special interests of the program as articulated in the AGEP Solicitation.

Sincerely,

James L. Moore III
Assistant Director
Directorate for STEM Education (EDU)

1https://new.nsf.gov/about/budget/fy2024#nsf-wide

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