"Funding Opportunities by Category."

Types of Diversity Funding 

Institutional

(Funding awarded to an institution such as a university) 

Comprehensive institutional programs aimed solely at increasing Diversity

(Generally broad guidelines, leaving latitude for various approaches to attaining the goal of increasing minority participation at various levels.  Usually require broad partnerships.)

Examples:

• NIH Initiative for Maximizing Student Diversity (IMSD) http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-05-132.html Funding Opportunities by Category
• NSF Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP)
• NSF Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP)
• NSF ADVANCE: Increasing Participation and Advancement of Women in Academic Science and Engineering Careers
• Disciplinary-focused programs: NSF Opportunities for Enhancing Diversity in the Geosciences

Programs aimed at increasing participation in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM)

(The ultimate goal is increasing participation in STEM, with a strong emphasis on diversity.  Innovative approaches are encouraged.)

Examples:

• NSF Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Talent Expansion Program (STEP)

Institutional Doctoral Training Programs

(Encourage enhanced training programs, often with an interdisciplinary flavor.  Increasing diversity is a major criterion but not the only criterion.)

Examples:

• NIH Training Grants (predoctoral)
• NSF Integrative Graduate Education Research Traineeship (IGERT)

Research Experiences

(Use research experiences as a way to recruit a more diverse group of students into STEM, usually with the ultimate aim that they continue to grad school. Increasing diversity is a major goal but not the sole goal.)

Examples:

• NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates
• NIH Short Term Educational Experiences for Research
• NIH Short Term Research Experiences to Enhance Diversity

Bridging Programs (undergrad to grad, community college to 4-year, etc.)

(Increase diversity by encouraging the transition of students from more diverse student pools; requires strong partnerships.)

Examples:

• NIH Bridges to the Doctorate
• NIH Bridges to the Baccalaureate
• NSF Advanced Technological Education (ATE)
• NSF Bridges to the Doctorate

Research Supplements to Promote Diversity

(Supplements for PIs who are already funded by the agency to allow support of minority students.)

Examples:

• NSF Research Supplements to Promote Diversity
• NIH Research Supplements to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research

Programs for Minority Institutions

(Funding goes to minority serving institutions (MSIs); Non-MSIs can participate in a small way by offering support; typically based on on-going collaborations)

Examples:

• NSF HBCU RISE

Career Development Grants

Examples:

• NCI Mentored Clinical Scientist Award to Promote Diversity (K08)

For clinicians interested in going into research.  Requires qualified mentor.

• Robert Wood Johnson Foundation New Connections Initiative

Program designed to give the Foundation a broader perspective in its program planning and design.  New Connections seeks scholars who have historically been underrepresented in research activities supported by the Foundation.

Individual

 (For a comprehensive list of fellowships, scholarships, etc. that promote diversity, please see our "Diversity Funding for Undergrads, Graduate Students, and Postdocs" page.)

Dissertation Awards for Diversity (usually discipline or research area-specific)

Examples:

• NIH Aging Research Dissertation Awards to Increase Diversity (R36)

The National Institute on Aging is encouraging applications for dissertation support across all areas of research supported by the Institute.

• American Anthropological Association Minority Dissertation Fellowship Program

The American Anthropological Association invites minority doctoral candidates in anthropology to apply for a full-year dissertation fellowship of $10,000. This program is designed to demonstrate the AAA's support for promising minority graduate students in anthropology and to demonstrate its commitment to the long-range goal of increasing diversity in the discipline.

Predoctoral Fellowships to Enhance Diversity

• American Educational Research Association Minority Fellowship Program

Established in 1991, the program offers doctoral fellowships to enhance the competitiveness of outstanding minority scholars for academic appointments at major research universities by supporting them conducting research and by providing mentoring and guidance towards completion of their doctoral studies

• American Political Science Association Minority Fellows Program

The APSA Minority Fellows Program, which was established in 1969 as an effort to increase the number of minority scholars in the discipline.  The program is designed primarily for minority students applying to enter a doctoral program in Political Science for the first time.

• Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellowships for Minorities

Awards at the Predoctoral level to students whom demonstrate excellence, a commitment to diversity and, a desire to enter the professoriate.

Common Features of Institutional Diversity-Related Proposals

Preparing a competitive proposal for institutional diversity-related grants can be challenging because of the breadth of information required and the variety of issues that must be addressed. Below is a list of the issues that commonly must be addressed in these proposals with example quotes from various solicitations for diversity-related programs.

•  Environment and Institutional Commitment

“Describe the current academic programs and counseling/mentoring services, and their success in preparing and graduating students from underrepresented groups and all other students in the sciences. Discuss any perceived impediments at your institution to the success of students in biomedical sciences in general, and of underrepresented group students in particular, with reference to graduation and preparation for careers in research in biomedical sciences.”

• Documentation of diversity of students and faculty

“Provide evidence of the institution's commitment to diversity, particularly in the hiring of faculty from groups underrepresented in biomedical and/or behavioral fields, especially in the participating science departments.”

• Recruitment and Retention History

“Provide the following specific information in a tabular format for the last three years, regarding recruitment and retention of students in the participating departments/programs and compare it to the national data in the respective fields: (1) total number of applicants, (2) total number of applicants accepted, (3) total number of applicants who enrolled, (4) total number of students currently enrolled in the program indicating part-time and full-time status,…….”

• Recruitment and Retention Plan (with statistics on recruitment pool)

“Provide details about the pool of proposed participants, their qualifications, recruitment strategies and sources of applicant pool, etc.. Describe the retention and follow-up activities that would ensure a highly qualified participant pool.”

 “Describe plans for recruitment, mentoring, and retention of U.S. graduate students, including specific provisions, beyond the norm, aimed at members of groups underrepresented in science and engineering.”

• Program Assessment and Evaluation

“Include evaluation plans for assessing the success of the program in achieving its goals and objectives. Benchmarks should be specified, and specific plans and procedures must be described to capture, analyze and report outcome measures that would determine the success of the research education program in achieving its objectives. The inclusion of evaluation instruments is encouraged.  Applications that lack an evaluation plan will be returned without review.”

“Strategy and methodology for formative assessments of the project’s effectiveness by individuals internal and external to the institution and program improvements based on these assessments.”

• Track record and experience of faculty/mentors with respect to diversity

“Candidates must identify a suitable sponsor (i.e., mentor) with extensive research experience who has an appreciation of the cultural, socioeconomic, and research backgrounds of the individual candidate and who fully recognizes the individual attention that minority candidates often need to pursue successful research careers. “

• Institutionalization

“Thus, the emphasis of the evaluation activities should be on overall program improvement and on informing the senior leadership in deciding which elements of the IMSD program should be institutionalized.”

• Outcomes

“Proposals should clearly articulate project objectives, planned outcomes with respect to recruitment, retention, degree conferral, and career placement of trainees; project monitoring guidelines; and how outcomes will be measured.”

• Demonstrate Knowledge of Best Practices and Research on What Works

•  Administrative Plan and Organizational Structure

 “Describe plans and procedures for the organization and management of the IGERT project. The plans should be specific and include use of a formal mechanism that assures the fair and effective allocation of IGERT resources and enables faculty members, students, and others to interact effectively in furthering project goals. Plans should include provision for an external advisory body. Consider the institutional or departmental obstacles you foresee in implementing your project, and how you plan to address them.”