There is funding this week for research and evaluation of HUD-assisted housing, proposals that improve undergraduate STEM education, and to expand the role of the humanities in undergraduate education.
Department of Housing and Urban Development
Grant Title: The Research and Evaluation, Demonstrations and Data Analysis and Utilization Program (HUDRD)
Grant Info: http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=296552
Details: HUD expects to make at least 2 awards from the funds available under this NOFA: Project 1 - Understanding Child Trajectories in HUD-Assisted Housing (HUD may award one or more cooperative agreements for this project). Project 2 - The Social and Economic Impacts of the Community Development Block Grant Program (HUD may award one or more cooperative agreements for this project).
National Science Foundation
Grant Title: Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Education and Human Resources
Grant Info: http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=296684
Details: The fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) hold much promise as sectors of the economy where we can expect to see continuous vigorous growth in the coming decades. STEM job creation is expected to outpace non-STEM job creation significantly, according to the Commerce Department, reflecting the importance of STEM knowledge to the US economy. The National Science Foundation (NSF) plays a leadership role in development and implementation of efforts to enhance and improve STEM education in the United States. Through the NSF Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (IUSE) initiative, the agency continues to make a substantial commitment to the highest caliber undergraduate STEM education through a Foundation-wide framework of investments. The IUSE: EHR program is a core NSF undergraduate STEM education program that seeks to improve the effectiveness of undergraduate STEM education for both majors and non-majors. The program is open to applicants from all institutions of higher education and associated organizations. NSF places high value on educating students to be leaders and innovators in emerging and rapidly changing STEM fields as well as educating a scientifically literate populace. In pursuit of this goal, IUSE: EHR supports projects that have the potential to improve student learning in STEM through development of new curricular materials and methods of instruction, and development of new assessment tools to measure student learning. In addition to innovative work at the frontier of STEM education, this program also encourages replications of research studies at different types of institutions and with different student bodies to produce deeper knowledge about the effectiveness and transferability of findings. IUSE: EHR also seeks to support projects that have high potential for broader societal impacts, including improved diversity of students and instructors participating in STEM education, professional development for instructors to ensure adoption of new and effective pedagogical techniques that meet the changing needs of students, and projects that promote institutional partnerships for collaborative research and development. The IUSE: EHR especially welcomes proposals that will pair well with the efforts of STEM talent from all sectors and groups in our society. Collaborations are encouraged between IUSE proposals and existing INCLUDES projects, provided the collaboration strengthens both projects. For all the above objectives, the National Science Foundation invests primarily in evidence-based and evidence-generating approaches to understand and improve STEM learning and learning environments, improve the diversity of STEM students and majors, and prepare STEM majors for the workforce. In addition to contributing to STEM education in the host institution(s), proposals should have the promise of adding more broadly to our understanding of effective teaching and learning practices. The IUSE: EHR program recognizes and respects the variety of discipline-specific challenges and opportunities facing STEM faculty as they strive to incorporate results from educational research into classroom practice and work with education research colleagues and social science scholars to advance our understanding of effective teaching and learning. Toward these ends the program features two tracks: (1) Engaged Student Learning and (2) Institutional and Community Transformation. Two tiers of projects exist within each track: (i) Exploration and Design and (ii) Development and Implementation (Level 1: Up to $600K, for up to 3 years Level 2: $601K-$2M, for up to 5 years.) Institutional and Community Transformation Up to $300K, for up to 3 years, Up to $3M, for up to 5 years.
National Endowment for the Humanities
Grant Title: Humanities Connections
Grant Info: http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=296563
Details: The Humanities Connections grant program seeks to expand the role of the humanities in undergraduate education at two- and four-year institutions. Grants will support innovative curricular approaches that foster productive partnerships among humanities faculty and their counterparts in the social and natural sciences and in pre-service or professional programs (such as business, engineering, health sciences, law, computer science, and other technology-driven fields). Competitive applications will demonstrate • that the proposed curricular projects address significant and compelling topics or issues in undergraduate education at the applicant institution(s); • that these projects engage the intellectual skills and habits of mind cultivated by the humanities; and • that faculty and students will benefit from meaningful collaborations in teaching and learning across disciplines as a result of the project. Humanities Connections projects have four core features: 1. integration of the subject matter, perspectives, and goals of two or more disciplines (with a minimum of one in and one outside of the humanities); 2. collaboration between faculty from two or more separate departments or schools at one or more institutions; 3. experiential learning as an intrinsic part of the curricular plan; and 4. long-term institutional support for the proposed curriculum innovation(s). If the project addresses core or general education requirements, or requirements for specific pathways or pre-professional programs, it must incorporate a fresh approach in doing so. Humanities Connections grants are funded at two levels: Planning and Implementation. Planning Grants (up to twelve months) support the interdisciplinary collaboration of faculty from two or more separate departments or schools (a minimum of one in and one outside of the humanities), with the goal of designing a new, coherent curricular program or initiative. The grant gives the institution(s) the opportunity to create a firm foundation for implementing the program. Planning goals will include identifying the members of a planning committee and organizing the planning process; defining the rationale, design, and structure that would undergird a comprehensive and institutionally sustainable effort; and establishing potential scenarios for curriculum development. Institutions may draw on current short-term initiatives or curricular programs run by individual departments in this effort. The outcome of a successful planning phase should be a project in, or ready for, the implementation stage. Implementation grants (up to three years) support the interdisciplinary collaboration of faculty from two or more separate departments or schools (a minimum of one in and one outside of the humanities), with the implementation of a sustainable curricular program or initiative as the outcome. Implementation grant proposals must show unambiguous evidence of preceding planning work and present a defined rationale with clear intellectual and logistical objectives that are supported by institutional commitment. The grant gives applicants the opportunity to build on faculty/administrative or institutional partnerships and to develop and refine the project’s intellectual content, design, and scope. For example, the applicant should be able to demonstrate potential commitments of any partners or collaborators; outline preferred approaches to curriculum building/consolidation; and explain outreach strategies that will be employed to attract students to the new educational opportunity.