NSF announces $20M investment across eight institutions through its GRANTED initiative, transforming access to research support

Across the research enterprise, organizations face varying challenges with access to research support and service infrastructure. This creates obstacles to widespread participation in national research opportunities. The U.S. National Science Foundation's Growing Research Access for Nationally Transformative Equity and Diversity (GRANTED) initiative aims to address this issue by investing in projects that have a potentially transformative impact, particularly for emerging research and minority-serving institutions. 

"This $20 million investment through NSF's GRANTED initiative reflects our commitment to breaking down barriers in research access. By strategically supporting collaborations like the Atlanta University Center, we are committed to creating a transformative hub, setting the standard for equity and diversity in the national research landscape," said NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan. "These projects underscore our dedication to empowering institutions, fostering inclusivity and propelling the entire research ecosystem towards greater heights of excellence." 

The following list identifies and summarizes the recipients' projects: 

• AUC-GRANTED: A Collaborative Approach for Transforming the Research Enterprise through a Shared Support Model for Collective Impact and Synergistic Effect, Spelman College.  
  
  This project is a collaboration between Spelman College, Morehouse School of Medicine, Morehouse College and Clark Atlanta University, institutions that make up the Atlanta University Center. Institutions under the AUC-GRANTED award will share services designed to enhance research administration, research development and technology commercialization. The goal is to create a hub that can serve as a model for other HBCUs and emerging research institutions (ERIs), promoting equity in the national research ecosystem. 
   
• Collaborative Research: RD/RA Support Networks at Diversified Research Institutions (SUNDRI), Pomona College and University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth.
  
  This project will study the challenges faced by researchers at emerging and primarily undergraduate institutions to inform funding agencies and intermediaries as they seek to strengthen the participation of these institutions.  
   
• GRANTED: Visioning, Organizing, Leading, and Advancing the Research Enterprise at HSIs Institute (VOLARE Institute), Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities. 
  
  This project aims to establish research capacity-building institutes at Hispanic-serving institutions, fostering a stronger and more inclusive national research system.  
   
• Iowa Research Administration Internship Student Experience (I-RAISE), Iowa State University. 
  
  This project will implement a cross-institutional research administration internship program, strengthening research infrastructure in six ERIs within an NSF Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research jurisdiction. 

Unlike traditional funding for scientific research or education, GRANTED focuses on strengthening the research enterprise at institutions and across the nation. Any institution that is eligible for NSF funding is invited to submit a GRANTED proposal, including R2, R3, primarily undergraduate institutions and community colleges. There is no funding minimum or maximum, so potential awardees are encouraged to request whatever funding is necessary to complete a project. There are also no limits on the number of proposal submissions and no deadlines to submit to GRANTED.