The Historically Black Colleges and Universities - Excellence in Research (HBCU-EiR) program was established in response to direction provided in the Senate Commerce and Justice, Science and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee Report (Senate Report 115-139), and is built on prior and continuing efforts by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to strengthen research capacity at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). This report provided guidance to NSF to establish the HBCU Excellence in Research program "to provide opportunities for both public and private HBCUs, particularly for those who have not been successful in larger NSF Research & Related Activities competitions, in order to stimulate sustainable improvement in their research and development capacity"  (https://congress.gov/congressional-report/115th-congress/senate-report/139/1).

EiR supports such capacity building by funding research projects aligned with NSF's research programs. The program aims to establish stronger connections between researchers at HBCUs and NSF's research programs.