Build and Broaden program fuels innovative research at minority-serving institutions

Continued innovation and economic growth in the U.S. depend on training and supporting the next generation of scientists and expanding opportunities to conduct vital research. To help fill that critical need, the U.S. National Science Foundation's Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE) has launched the Build and Broaden program supporting transformative research, training opportunities and new research infrastructure at minority-serving institutions throughout the country.

The Build and Broaden program supports cutting-edge research in the social, behavioral and economic sciences at minority-serving institutions, including historically Black colleges and universities, Hispanic-serving institutions and tribal colleges and universities.

Minority-serving institutions educate millions of Americans, including many who will go on to join the U.S. science and technology workforce. However, NSF receives few grant proposals from minority-serving institutions. As a result, innovative and potentially groundbreaking scientific work at those institutions is left unfunded and unpursued.

The Build and Broaden program seeks to increase proposal submissions from minority-serving institutions by fostering research partnerships centered on those institutions, thus growing their scientific infrastructure and capacity while expanding the overall diversity of social, behavioral and economic science disciplines.

"Minority-serving institutions make critical contributions to our nation's STEM enterprise by producing some of our most talented scientists and engineers," says Kellina Craig-Henderson, SBE deputy assistant director, "Build and Broaden will help to grow research capacity in the social, behavioral and economic sciences at minority-serving institutions."

Proposals are welcome from individual researchers and groups at minority-serving institutions. Researchers at other institutions may also submit proposals if they are collaborating with scientific staff at a minority-serving institution and if their proposal includes a focus on fostering scientific partnerships or capacity-building at those institutions.

For full details on how to submit a proposal, visit the Build and Broaden program webpage.

For additional information on NSF's efforts to increase the diversity and effectiveness of the STEM workforce, read "I've been there. Fighting stereotypes in the world of science." in NSF's "Science Matters" blog.