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Dear Colleague Letter

INCLUDES Alliances - Strengthening and Scaling Systems Transformation

Invites the submission of supplemental funding requests to existing INCLUDES Alliance grants to scale and sustain systemic change activities and continue to connect those activities with the INCLUDES Network.
Invites the submission of supplemental funding requests to existing INCLUDES Alliance grants to scale and sustain systemic change activities and continue to connect those activities with the INCLUDES Network.

Dear Colleagues:

NSF's Eddie Bernice Johnson Inclusion across the Nation of Communities of Learners of Underrepresented Discoverers in Engineering and Science (INCLUDES) Initiative is a comprehensive effort to enhance U.S. leadership in science and engineering discovery and innovation by developing science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) talent from all sectors and groups in our society. NSF is committed to accelerating progress in increasing diversity in the STEM workforce. The vision of the INCLUDES Initiative is to catalyze the STEM enterprise to work collaboratively for inclusive change, which will result in a STEM workforce that reflects the population of the Nation. Alliances, INCLUDES’ largest investment, are large-scale networks that build collaborative infrastructure in order to implement, study, and scale up systemic strategies to broaden participation in STEM at national levels of impact.

This Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) encourages the submission of supplemental funding requests to existing INCLUDES Alliance grants to scale and sustain systemic change activities and continue to connect those activities with the INCLUDES National Network.

NSF welcomes supplemental funding requests from:

Active INCLUDES Alliance awards in the final year of the cooperative agreement. The amount of supplemental funding requested must: (a) be less than $1,000,000 per year; and (b) not exceed one year in duration. A second year of supplemental funding may be requested, contingent upon demonstration of satisfactory progress from the first year of the supplemental award and pending available funding. Only one supplemental funding proposal will be accepted per Alliance per year.

PREPARATION AND SUBMISSION OF SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDING REQUESTS

Requests for supplemental funding must be submitted via Research.gov and must include the following required elements.

  • A Summary of Proposed Work (5-page limit)
    • What is your vision for prioritizing and sustaining activities once NSF supplemental funds are depleted?
    • What are the goals of the proposed activities?
    • What specific activities are proposed, including evaluation of metrics that demonstrate progress and dissemination of project outcomes? Knowledge mobilization and innovative dissemination activities are expected
    • How will the Alliance communicate outcomes, share resources, and build capacity in the INCLUDES National Network?
  • A Justification for Supplemental Funding (5-page limit)
    • How has the Alliance demonstrated satisfactory progress toward the goals of the original award and how will this request lead to sustainability, scale, and systems change to broaden participation in STEM?
    • What problems do the proposed activities address?
    • How does supplemental funding support plans for sustainability and align to accomplishments related to sustainability goals under the original Alliance award?
    • How will the Alliance sustain partnerships?
    • How do the stated goals, objectives, and activities that the Alliance is proposing lead to systemic change?
    • What evidence exists to justify the proposed activities, including those that work toward systemic change?
    • How will the backbone organization continue to support the Alliance and its partners?
    • How will the Alliance continue to collaborate with the INCLUDES Coordination Hub and other Alliances?
  • A budget and budget justification
  • Letters of collaboration are required from the appropriate senior/executive leader of each organization that will be involved in implementing, sustaining, and scaling the Alliance’s systemic change strategies for broadening participation in STEM.

To be competitive, the supplemental funding request must have the potential to enhance both the Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts of the existing project.

Supplemental funding requests should be prepared and submitted in accordance with the guidance in the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG).

Alliances in the final year of the cooperative agreement are strongly encouraged to contact their cognizant NSF Program Director(s) at least one month prior to submission to discuss their request for supplemental support. If an award is made, the current cooperative agreement, including reporting requirements, will remain in effect through the duration of the supplemental funding period(s).

Supplemental funding requests must be submitted by May 15, 2023. Every year thereafter, supplemental funding requests must be received by 5 p.m. submitter's local time no less than six months prior to the award end date.

Supplemental funding is dependent on the availability of funds.

REVIEW INFORMATION

Requests for supplemental funding submitted in response to this Dear Colleague Letter will be reviewed externally by expert reviewers. Competitive supplemental funding requests will explicitly address the questions in this DCL and demonstrate alignment with the mission and goals of NSF’s Eddie Bernice Johnson INCLUDES Initiative. Failure to sufficiently address the requirements will result in the supplemental funding request being declined.

Sincerely,

James L. Moore, III
Assistant Director
Directorate for STEM Education

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