STEM, Education, Training

No applicants // Limit: 1 // Tickets Available: 1 

The Susan Harwood Grant Program awards funds to qualifying organizations who have demonstrated capabilities to achieve the program’s performance expectations outlined in this FOA. This includes experience in employing subject matter experts, delivering and administering adult training programs, recruiting students, and managing grants. Following the grant awards, OSHA monitors each organization’s progress in achieving their performance goals and training targets. OSHA accomplishes this by conducting orientation meetings, training material reviews, training observations, program and financial monitoring visits, and quarterly and year-end report reviews.

Applicants must propose to develop new training materials addressing one of the OSHA-specified training topics. The materials must include learning objectives, course matrices, presentation/training materials including videos, instructor and participant guides, student handouts, training evaluations, and learning assessments. Grantees must validate the training materials in a live classroom training session. 

J. Hinton (Nursing)

UArizona may submit one proposal to this funding program.

This notice announces the opportunity to apply for funding under the Nurse Education, Practice, Quality and Retention (NEPQR)-Simulation Education Training (SET) Program. The purpose of the NEPQR-SET program is to enhance nurse education and strengthen the nursing workforce by increasing training opportunities for nursing students through the use of simulation-based technology, including equipment, to increase their readiness to practice upon graduation. This training expands the capacity of nurses to advance the health of patients, families, and communities in rural or medically underserved areas experiencing diseases and conditions such as stroke, heart disease, behavioral health, maternal mortality, HIV/AIDS, and obesity. Program Goal The goal of the NEPQR-SET program is to increase the number and capacity of nursing students to address the health care needs and improve patient outcomes of rural and/or medically underserved populations. Program Objectives Implement or expand academic-clinical partnerships to create experiential learning opportunities that prepare nursing students to efficiently address health equity for rural and underserved populations. Increase the diversity of the nursing workforce to better address the needs of the populations they serve by recruiting and supporting students and faculty, including those from diverse populations. For more details, see Program Requirements and Expectations

No applicants // Limit: 1 // Tickets Available: 1 

UArizona may submit one proposal to this funding program. 

The OPPE is committed to ensuring underserved communities can equitably participate in USDA programs. Differences in demographics, culture, economics, language, and other factors preclude a single approach to identifying solutions that can benefit underserved farmers and ranchers. Grants are provided to nonprofit community-based organizations, higher education institutions, and eligible Tribal entities with at least three (3) years of documented experience, preceding the submission date of an application. Eligible entities working with underserved farmers and ranchers or military veteran farmers and ranchers can improve their ability to start and maintain successful forestry and/or agricultural-related operations. With 2501 Program funding, eligible entities can provide education, training, and technical assistance and extend outreach and education efforts to connect with and assist underserved and military veteran farmers and ranchers to provide them with information on available USDA resources.

Limit: 2  // PIs: 
M. Kwinn   ( Systems and Industrial Engineering /Engineering Management)
H. Budinoff (Systems and Industrial Engineering)

UArizona may submit two proposals to this funding program. 

VentureWell Course and Program (C&P) Grants of up to $30,000 are awarded to US higher education institutions to support curriculum to grow and expand the entrepreneurial ecosystem in order to engage students in science and technology (S&T) innovation and entrepreneurship (I&E). Ideally, C&P Grant funding should act as a catalyst for increased entrepreneurial activity and help faculty and universities leverage other opportunities to launch and/or grow their I&E ecosystems. 

C&P grants may be used to strengthen existing curricular programs or to build new, pedagogically inclusive courses and programs that engage student teams in developing and pursuing scalable solutions to real-world needs through S&T I&E. The end goal is to support diverse groups of faculty, staff, and students in collaborating to develop novel inventions and technologies that have positive environmental and social impact.

Activities supported by C&P grants should lead to effective courses and programs that are sustained by the institution, lead to the formation of student teams by leveraging experiential learning practices, and expand opportunities for learning across S&T I&E.

C&P grant proposals may include plans to create or improve an individual course, course sequence, minor, major, certificate program, or other co- and extracurricular programs, including non-credit programs, that are directly tied to and support I&E-focused curriculum. S&T focus area may include, but are not limited to:

• General (science- and technology-based) entrepreneurship
• Sustainable technologies (new materials, clean tech, green energy, and chemistry innovation)
• Climate change solutions (technology to mitigate and/or adapt to climate change), especially technologies that support communities most impacted by climate change
• Biomedical and healthcare innovation
• Technologies that address poverty alleviation and basic human needs

Limit: 1  // PI: M. Romero-Ortega (Biomedical Engineering)

The NIH Research Education Program (R25) supports research education activities in the mission areas of the NIH. The overarching goal of this R25 program is to support educational activities that encourage individuals from diverse backgrounds, including those from groups underrepresented in the biomedical and behavioral sciences, to pursue further studies or careers in research.

To accomplish the stated over-arching goal, this FOA will support educational activities with a primary focus on:

• Courses for Skills Development

• Research Experiences

The ESTEEMED program is designed to foster the development of undergraduate freshmen and sophomores from diverse backgrounds to pursue further studies and careers in bioengineering or STEM fields relevant to NIBIB’s scientific mission. Applications are encouraged to propose integrated educational activities that include 3 elements: a summer bridge program for incoming freshmen, and in the freshman and sophomore years, academic year activities and summer research experiences. The ESTEEMED program is intended to expose students to bioengineering research early in their college careers while also providing students didactic, mentoring and career development opportunities. This will prepare students to join, in their junior and senior years, an honors program that promotes STEM and entrance into a Ph.D. program. The ultimate goal is for the participants to pursue a doctoral degree and a subsequent research career in bioengineering or NIBIB-relevant field.

Components of Participating Organizations:
National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB)
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

Institutionally coordinated submission

UArizona may not submit more than one application as the Lead Institution.

The goal of the Bridges to the Baccalaureate Research Training Program is to provide structured activities to prepare a diverse cohort of research-oriented students to transfer from associate degree-granting institutions to baccalaureate degree-granting institutions and complete a baccalaureate degree in disciplines related to the biomedical sciences.. This funding opportunity announcement (FOA) provides support to eligible, domestic institutions to develop and implement effective, evidence-informed approaches to biomedical training and mentoring that will keep pace with the rapid evolution of the research enterprise. NIGMS expects that the proposed research training programs will incorporate didactic, research, mentoring, and career development elements. This program requires strong partnerships between at least two post-secondary educational institutions offering science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) degrees. At least one partner must be an institution that offers the associate degree as the highest STEM degree and the other partner(s) must offer baccalaureate degrees in biomedically relevant STEM fields. Upon completion of the Bridges to the Baccalaureate Research Training program, trainees are expected to be well positioned to pursue research-oriented biomedical higher degree programs or enter careers in the biomedical research workforce.

This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) does not allow appointed Trainees to lead an independent clinical trial, but does allow them to obtain research experience in a clinical trial led by a mentor or co-mentor.

K. Sierra-Cajas (Undergraduate Research and Inquiry)

The new Beginning for Tribal Students program (NBTS) makes competitive grants to Land-grant Colleges and Universities to provide identifiable support specifically targeted for tribal students. A Land-grant College or University that receives this grant shall use funds for, but not limited to, recruiting; tuition and related fees; experiential learning; student services, including tutoring; counseling; academic advising; and other student services that would increase the retention and graduation rate of tribal students enrolled at the land-grant college or university. The maximum one state can receive is $500,000 per year. 

No applicants // Limit: 1 // Tickets Available: 1 

TERA will recognize and promote excellence in teaching in the food and agricultural sciences within colleges and universities; teaching is defined to include all aspects of developing human capital in order to help meet current and future national food, agricultural, natural resources, and human sciences (FANH) workplace needs. Examples of relevant activities under this project type include (but are not limited to) the following: formal classroom instruction; laboratory instruction; and practicum experience such as faculty development, student recruitment and services, curriculum development, and innovative teaching methodologies. It also includes activities that directly or indirectly contribute to student learning such as research, extension/outreach, and organizational arrangements needed for the proper functioning of the educational institution.

This program addresses the national priority of developing competent human capital for employment in the food, agriculture, natural resources, and human (FANH) sciences.  NIFA, subject to the availability of funds, will administer this TERA project. This cooperative agreement program also addresses the national priority of developing competent human capital for employment in the food, agriculture, natural resources, and human (FANH) sciences. USDA is designated as the lead federal agency that supports higher education in the FANH sciences. In this context, NIFA has a specific responsibility to initiate and support projects that strengthen higher education teaching programs in these areas.

Program Goals include:

• Annually recognize and honor a select group of college and university teachers who excel at teaching, research and extension.

• Help disseminate best practices in teaching through workshops, conferences, blogs, social media and other appropriate activities; and

• Increase the number and diversity of academic programs participating in TERA.

D. Johnson (Study Abroad)

The Institute of International Education“IIE American Passport Project” to assist students, who are in their first year and eligible for Pell grants, obtain a U.S. passport, and to facilitate international experiences as part of their post-secondary education.

J. Van Haren (Biosphere 2)

Mid-scale RI-2 is an NSF-wide competitive program that addresses scientific demand for research infrastructure in the $20 million -$100 million cost range for implementation. Mid-scale RI-2 is intended to support visionary projects that are high-priority national needs as identified by research communities of the United States, rather than projects primarily serving regional, campus or local interests. Solving the most pressing scientific and societal problems of the day – such as those called out in National Academies reports and decadal surveys, identified through research community planning and prioritizing exercises or other emerging national priorities – using new technologies, techniques, and concepts is encouraged in this competition. The scientific justification should demonstrate how the proposed research infrastructure provides potentially transformative research capability or access relative to what is currently available to the general U.S. research community. Investigators whose preliminary proposals are for capabilities similar to those currently available to the U.S. research community are unlikely to be invited to submit full proposals. All proposals should show the project's value and benefit to the U.S. science community.

Proposals for research infrastructure that is part of a larger project must clearly state the impact of the proposed infrastructure on the project, whether and how any specific part(s) of the infrastructure would be identified with NSF, and the benefit to the U.S. research communities that NSF supports.

The Total Project Cost (TPC) submitted to NSF for implementation must be at least $20 million but less than $100 million. Mandatory cost analyses will be conducted on proposals considered for award and will need to demonstrate a high probability that the project can be completed in less than $100 million. Projects whose most likely risk-adjusted costs are found to exceed this threshold, as determined via the NSF cost analysis, will not be considered for funding from the Mid-scale RI-2 Program. NSF will utilize independent cost estimate reviews (in some cases performed by contractors or other government agencies) to inform the cost analysis.

PIs are reminded of the GAO cost escalation and uncertainly requirements as outlined in the RIG (Section 4.2.2.3). Besides the award duration, careful consideration should also be given to the 2-year cycle of the Mid-scale RI-2 Program, from solicitation publication to eventual award decision, and its potential impact on the anticipated total project cost. Thus, proposed budgets should carefully consider validity of quotes, market forces, escalation (including inflation), and other potential influencing factors that could push the risk-adjusted total project cost above the programmatic threshold.

If a PI finds, while developing the project budget, that the total project cost could reasonably exceed the upper limit of the Mid-scale RI-2 Program, they should consult with the cognizant Program Officer about other potential options.

NSF defines Research Infrastructure (RI) as any combination of facilities, equipment, instrumentation, or computational hardware or software, and the necessary human capital in support of the same. Major facilities and mid-scale projects are subsets of research infrastructure. The NSF Mid-scale RI-2 Program supports the implementation of unique and compelling RI projects at a national scale. Mid-scale RI-2 projects may include any combination of equipment, instrumentation, cyberinfrastructure, broadly used large-scale data sets, and the commissioning and/or personnel needed to successfully complete the project. Mid-scale RI-2 projects should fill a research community-defined scientific need or national research priority that enables current and next-generation U.S. researchers and a diverse STEM workforce to remain competitive in the global research environment. Mid-scale RI-2 investments are expected to demonstrate high potential to significantly advance the Nation's research capabilities. Mid-scale RI-2 projects will directly enable advances in any of the research domains supported by NSF, including STEM education research. Projects may also include upgrades to existing research infrastructure.

Mid-scale RI-2 is intended to support the implementation stage of a wide variety of RI projects. Mid-scale RI-2 therefore uses an inclusive definition of implementation, which can include traditional stand-alone construction or acquisition as well as a degree of final development for infrastructure and equipment projects. For example, it could include a spiral development step leading to the acquisition of a larger system for cyberinfrastructure or other shared community research capability.