The erosion of informal relationships with federal agencies has fundamentally altered how universities assess risk. When routine questions go unanswered and faculty fear surveillance of their collaborations, innovation suffers as researchers retreat from proposals and international partnerships.

Faculty exhaustion has deepened beyond pandemic-era stress into permanent strain. At teaching-intensive institutions, even small seed grants require navigating weeks of bureaucratic obstacles. In the humanities, major NEH program cuts and shifting donor priorities toward immediate impact have left experienced scholars struggling to sustain long-term critical work.

Counter intuitively, the most stable research leaders practice restraint rather than bold transformation. By refusing to outpace federal guidance and clearly communicating realistic institutional capacity, they’ve maintained steadier operations. Many institutions have abandoned broad, small-scale bridge funding for targeted faculty cohorts receiving intensive support, while others invest in shared proposal development resources and grant-writing consultants. Yet leaders agree the critical factor isn’t funding, it is morale.

Research administrators increasingly spend time interpreting political signals and strategically reframing work. Some train faculty to avoid problematic keywords, while others align messaging with phrases like “Make America Healthy Again”. This strategic repositioning reflects a troubling reality: research is becoming a political act.

The shift toward industry partnerships to replace declining federal support raises fundamental questions about who determines research priorities and why. Leaders fear that political instability and funding volatility will force institutions to abandon long-term research strategies for short-term survival, undermining the patient cultivation necessary for transformative scholarship.

Despite these challenges, cautious optimism persists. Cross-institutional humanities collaborations are emerging, STEM fields are organizing around AI initiatives, and some leaders embrace moral clarity by honestly communicating what they cannot support. Many focus on strengthening internal collaboration rather than external competition.

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Specifically:

• National Institutes of Health – 20% increase to spur innovation across the economy, renew America’s global leadership, build on efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic and improve the public health infrastructure. Two-thirds of the $9 billion increase for NIH is to establish the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) in order to drive transformational innovation in health research.

• National Science Foundation – $1.7 billion increase is intended to fund research across NSF’s portfolio and improve equity in science and engineering, advance climate science and sustainability research, and augment research infrastructure.

• Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) – $3.45 billion increase, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and tribal colleges and universities to improve research and development infrastructure and the creation of a tuition assistance grant program, which would reduce tuition and fees for low-income students attending HBCU and MSI institutions during their first two years of college.

• Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) – $15 million increase is to be allocated equally for research on integrated treatment for opioid and multiple substance abuse disorders in ambulatory care settings and for its initiative to improve maternal health.

• National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) – $10 million increase for climate change research through the expansion of its existing geospatial program, informing the impact of extreme weather events and establishing baseline data for climate change tracking.

• Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) – $9 million increase to ensure the US Department of Commerce remains a leader across government in data innovation and implementation. The majority of the funds, $7 million, is to develop a federal data service.

• National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) – $6 million increase supports the creation of America’s DataHub, a research center to share and link existing data to solve complex problems and improve the informational infrastructure around understanding racial equity.

• Economic Research Service (ERS) – $5 million increase to expand the modeling, data, and analysis between climate change and the agriculture sector.

The FY 2022 Biden Administration Budget support for education is robust and has been applauded by educational institutions at all levels. For higher education, research and development in the sciences as well as equity takes a leading role. Minority Serving Institutions and Historically Black Colleges and Universities will see benefits for their organizations and students. Equally important is the reinstated increase of funds for climate change research and agricultural innovations.

Ultimately, these budget increases will benefit researchers and those in higher education at various levels through the grants, cooperative agreements and contracts for which they can apply.

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Most US institutions of higher education encourage faculty to apply for external funding, but the assistance they provide varies extensively. Teaching institutions, now more than ever, stress the importance of research. Unfortunately, due to the heavy teaching loads, many provide little if any assistance to faculty, while at the same time expecting them to submit successful grant requests. Among the most well-funded institutions, including R1 Doctoral Universities (very high research activity) and R2 Doctoral Universities (high research activity), assistance given to faculty varies, but all financially support projects that lead to faculty success in procuring external funding.

The following, although not inclusive, are some of the necessary infrastructure support steps an institution needs to take to assure increased funding and faculty support:

• Institutional level: This includes development of an administrative unit, such as a Sponsored Research Office, which will support many grant-related activities such as grant searches, grant compliance with the Requests for Proposals (RFPs), budget development and grant submissions. The university should recruit and pay graduate research assistants and financially and philosophically support departments that encourage and assist faculty in their funding pursuits. Some of these areas might be content reviews, editing, evaluation and statistical services.
• Departmental level: On the departmental level, the key faculty incentives are salary increases and reduced teaching loads. Also, the departmental goals should include funding success in the tenure and promotion criteria. In addition, many departments hire support staff to assist faculty in grant seeking and writing.
• Individual level: Faculty should be encouraged to augment their grant writing skills by attending ongoing extensive workshops sponsored by their department or conducted by external contractors. Another essential activity is creating partnerships and mentorships between the established senior and junior faculty in order for the former to review proposals and recommend changes. Ongoing mock grant review panels, whereby senior faculty review and score junior faculty proposals, are extremely helpful in order for faculty to see how their proposals will be critiqued and scored by the donor agency panels.

Other key aspects are visits by grant program officers, sharing and dissecting of successful proposals, online tutorials, departmental writing retreats, centers of research excellence, and standing committees that can work with faculty on a continuous basis. All of these must be institutionalized and conducted throughout the year. Faculty need to be incentivized and encouraged to attend the training, mentoring and other related activities. Coordination between all areas of the institution is essential. In addition, the orientation for all newly entering faculty should stress the importance of research, grant procurement and the assistance that the university provides in those respects.

From my extensive experience in working with universities throughout the nation, those that implement a culture of grant procurement including as many as possible of the above activities are the institutions with the highest funding success rate.

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Higher Education is also targeted for cuts, including but not limited to institutional improvement, research, and innovative technology programs. State colleges and universities, as well as minority-serving institutions, will be most impacted. The $9.2 billion in cuts represent a 13.5% drop from the U.S. Department of Education’s 2017 budget of $68.2 billion.

The following are examples of the key programs to be impacted, with deep cuts for K-12 and higher education:

• Programs for disadvantaged children to pay for school choice, including Title I funding that pays for services for low-income students, will see $1 billion in cuts to pay for a new school-choice program.
• Programs for innovation and competition will be cut in order to direct those funds to school voucher incentives. The existing program called Investing in Innovation, which is geared to assisting states experimenting with new educational approaches, would instead encourage states to create or expand school voucher programs.
• ThePublic Service Loan Program and federally subsidized student loans would be eliminated, and students would have to pay interest on the money they borrowed from the federal government, even while in school.
• Many other initiatives such as the Alaska Native Education, comprehensive and innovative literacy, enrichment and strengthening of instruction, preschool development grants, and international education and foreign language programs, both domestic and overseas, are on the chopping block for over $3 billion.
• In other cuts, low-income students and their families who depend on the federal government for help accessing healthcare, food, and shelter will see a budget cut of $193 billion in food stamp dollars. This will also have an impact on education and learning.

It is crucial that we convey to our representatives what we believe is essential to assure that our schools, students, and teachers are protected and can continue to deliver top level education and a chance at upward mobility for all students. Knowing what is in jeopardy and how it may affect you and future generations is the first step. Making your voice known to your representatives would be the next.

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Some of the most dramatic cuts by category are:

Arts and Humanities:

The budget plan proposes to eliminate entirely the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and severely cut the existing $148 million budget of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). This will mean that 40% of the NEA funds that are channeled to states and matched will no longer offer real participation to those who otherwise have no avenue to music and the arts in their communities. “The hope that comes from creativity in these low-income communities will be obliterated.” (Washington Post, 3/23/2017).

“One common comparison we’ve seen says that Melania Trump’s security detail at Trump Tower costs more than the annual budget for the National Endowment for the Arts.” (Linda Qiu on Wednesday, February 8th, 2017, PUNDITFACT).

Sciences and Higher Education:

• The Agriculture Department budget eliminates the $500 million Water and Wastewater loan and grant program.
• The Commerce Department budget eliminates the $73 million Sea Grant program, which operates in conjunction with universities in 33 states.
• The Department of Energy is to eliminate $900 million in Office of Science funding.
• The Environmental Protection Agency is to cut the Office of Research and Development funding in half.

A drastic cut of 18% or $5.8 billion is looming over the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This would severely reduce the funding NIH gives out to researchers around the globe, and reductions are slated for intramural and extramural research, and complete elimination the Fogarty International Center, which builds partnerships between the US and international institutions.

Although NASA will take a small cut of 1%, the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), which supports science and technology research and development at colleges and universities in areas such as remote sensing, nanotechnology, astrophysics and aeronautics, will be eliminated.

These cuts range from higher education, to research and innovation, to incentives for younger researchers who are beginning their careers. It is the young investigators who will be most affected. As competition increases they will be pitted against their older and more experienced colleagues. Most importantly, the research that makes the US competitive on the world stage will not take place, eventually affecting national security.

The thinking behind these cuts is that industry will pick up the slack. This will have broad implications for our colleges and universities that teach and train new generations of scientists and educators. Plainly, their potential will be impaired and creativity and exploration will be limited.

Education and Nonprofit groups:

The Education Department is targeted for a 14% reduction, which will downsize or eliminate grants for teacher training, afterschool programs, and aid to low-income and minority college students, currently amounting to $3.7 billion in funding.

Cuts to nonprofit groups and public agencies are epitomized by the 21% or 2.5 billion cut to the Department of Labor, which will eliminate grants that help nonprofit groups and public agencies that fund safety and health training.

Cultural Exchange Programs:

The Department of State is slated for $10.9 billion cut or 29% of its budget. That will reduce most cultural exchange programs. Many bilateral educational programs and agreements under the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) will either be severely cut or completely eliminated.

Hopefully these changes will not pass Congress since some agencies, such as NIH and NSF, have strong bipartisan support. However, according to Barry Toiv, a spokesman for the Association of American Universities, which represents major research institutions, “If Congress goes along with deep overall cuts in non-defense discretionary funding, significant cuts to research spending are almost inevitable.”

Solutions are difficult to anticipate. What is certain, however, is that competition will increase and those submitting proposals will have to be equipped with all the tools that will make their proposals competitive, such as training, mentors, partnerships, collaboration and interdisciplinarity.

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The DoD is mission-driven. Thus, it funds research projects that are most demonstrably relevant to its mission. The majority of research supported by the DoD draws predominantly from engineering, information, and physical sciences. On a comparatively more limited scale, medical, social, and life science projects are also funded. Below are four steps that you will need to follow to get started:

Step 1: Get to know your agency

To familiarize yourself with the DoD, along with its many sub-agencies, you will need to understand who they are and what they wish to fund. Thus, you should:

• Learn their “language”
• Identify their priorities
• Know how they announce funding opportunities
• Check if they fund unsolicited proposals and what percentage of their grants are unsolicited

Step 2: Get to know your Program Officer (PO)

DoD Program Officers play a significant role, since they will be a determining factor in deciding if your research fits the priorities of the particular sub-agency and if so, will move your project forward. In order to assess interest in your project, the PO should be your first contact. Thus, you should:

• Find out what program(s) the PO is responsible for
• Do your homework – ask yourself why they should be excited by your proposed work
• Speak with the PO, but do not cold call – first send a short email summarizing your comments/questions
• Articulate how your research will help the agency and its programs
• Concentrate on the big picture, especially outcomes/deliverables
• Be as specific as possible
• Be persistent, but do not become an annoyance
• If your research does not fit, move on

Step 3: Get to know intramural researchers in your field

Getting to know intramural researchers in your field can be an important step in working with the DoD and its sub-agencies. This is significant because you will have colleagues and allies who are interested in your research, and who may be the ones who will review your proposal and decide its fate. One way to foster collaboration between you and them is for you and/or your students to spend time in their labs. Finding out the answers to the following questions will facilitate your efforts:

• What do intramural researchers in your field see as important issues?
• Can you collaborate with them?
• Do they host academic researchers in their labs in the summer?
• Do they host students for internships?

Step 4: Understand the funding process of the agency

To address mission relevance, you must first become familiar with the goals and focus of the program to which you are applying. Once you have this information, you can describe in your proposal the ways in which your research furthers these goals. You should also convey how your project will advance technology readiness levels. Include any translational or transformative capacities your research will have on other fields or programs within the DoD. Once you have mastered the sub-agency goals and foci, you need to know:

• What steps are initially required to apply?
• Do you need to first submit a white paper or a pre-proposal?
• What are the key areas that you must address and how can you address them?
• What are the format and structure requirements?
• What are the review criteria?

Augmenting your research portfolio is one of the many reasons why you should explore grants from the Department of Defense. In 2016, the DoD is funding $2.1 billion for basic research and $4.7 billion for applied research. Thus, applying for DoD funding might be an excellent way to supplement your portfolio with additional funding alternatives to the more “standard” National Institutes of Health (NIH) or National Science Foundation (NSF) grants that most researchers pursue.

Interested in finding out more? Join us for our DoD Webinar.

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Criminal Justice Reform

The Open Society Foundation has awarded $1.2 million to create national networks of “women affected by violence and incarceration, striving to raise public awareness of the tolls these forces take, and help women mobilize on behalf of their families and their communities.” Other fellowships have been awarded to improve life outcomes and public understanding of those convicted of sex offenses, repurpose prisons as sustainable farms, and combat racial profiling and police brutality. https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/grants/open-society-fellowship

The National Institute of Justice sponsors fellowship programs to increase the number of researchers looking at the issues of crime and justice. This is accomplished by providing early career researchers in any academic discipline with resources to engage in critical and innovative research on pressing criminal justice problems that can be advanced to the national level. http://nij.gov/funding/fellowships/Pages/welcome.aspx

Diversity and Education

The Ford Foundation Fellowship Program seeks to increase diversity at the nation’s colleges and universities. Ethnic and racial minorities are encouraged to apply, as well as those who can demonstrate utilization of diversity to enrich student education. Working in conjunction with the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, national fellowship awards are given for predoctoral, dissertation, and postdoctoral work. http://sites.nationalacademies.org/pga/fordfellowships/index.htm

The Spencer Foundation awards fellowships to strengthen connections among education research, policy, and practice through communication and networking activities. The Dissertation Fellowship Program supports grantees whose dissertations show creative potential for bringing constructive perspectives to the history, theory, and practice of education worldwide. Thirty-five fellowships in the approximate amount of $27,500 each will be awarded in the upcoming competition. http://www.spencer.org/fellowship-awards

Women

The American Association of University Women offers fellowship support to women scholars who wish to complete their dissertation, plan research leave from their academic institutions, or prepare for their publication research. Candidates are evaluated on the basis of scholarly excellence, originality, and active commitment to helping women advance their careers and research. http://www.aauw.org/what-we-do/educational-funding-and-awards/american-fellowships/

The Women’s Leadership Program (WLP) awards fellowships for professional and developmental opportunities in the U.S. and other countries. One of the key criteria for the award is for participants to make a commitment to mentor and empower women to advance the next generation of emerging women leaders. https://www.efworld.org/our-programs/international/2015-women-leadership-program

The Forté Foundation awards fellowships to women who want to pursue careers in business. The Forté Fellows Program was created with the intention of increasing the number of women applying to and enrolling in MBA programs. This is accomplished by offering fellowships to women pursuing a full-time or part-time MBA education. To date, $68 million has been awarded to more than 3,000 Forté Fellows. http://www.fortefoundation.org/site/PageServer?pagename=mba_fellows#.Vbldq_lAaUk

Humanities

The National Endowment for the Humanities has a variety of fellowships that support grantees in pursuit of advanced research that makes a significant contribution to the humanities. Recipients, who may be at any stage in the development of their projects, produce articles, monographs, books, digital materials, archeological site reports, translations, editions, or other scholarly resources in the humanities. http://www.neh.gov/grants/research/fellowships

The American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) is a leading private institution which supports scholars in the humanities and related social sciences at the doctoral and postdoctoral levels. The fellowships awarded are intended as salary replacements to help scholars devote up to one year to full-time research and writing. In the most recent competitions, the ACLS has awarded over $16 million to more than 300 scholars selected from over 3,500 applications. https://www.acls.org/programs/overview/

International Research

International Science and Engineering (ISE), in collaboration with the National Science Foundation (NSF), provides postdoctoral fellowship support for international research and education. The objective of the International Research Fellowship Program (IRFP) is to introduce scientists and engineers in the early stages of their careers to international collaborative research opportunities. These fellowships will further research on an international level and have fellows forge long-term relationships with scientists, technologists, and engineers abroad. http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5179

United States Agency for International Development (USAID) offers research and innovation fellowships to early-career scientists who work across the globe with universities, the private sector, research institutions, government, and non-governmental organizations to engage in research and collaborative projects. In addition, graduate students at U.S. universities may apply for funding. http://www.usaid.gov/RIFellowships/fellowship-opportunities

Distinguished Performance Fellowships

Alfred P. Sloan Foundation awards 126 two-year fellowships to early-career scientists and scholars of outstanding promise via the Sloan Research Fellowships. These are awarded to researchers in recognition of distinguished performance and unique potential to make contributions to chemistry, computational or evolutionary molecular biology, computer science, economics, mathematics, neuroscience, ocean sciences, physics, or a related field. http://www.sloan.org/sloan-research-fellowships/

The MacArthur Fellows Program, one of the most prestigious fellowships, is awarded – with no strings attached – to talented individuals who have shown extraordinary originality and dedication in their areas. According to the Foundation, the criteria for the selection of Fellows are: exceptional creativity, promise for important future advances based on a track record of significant accomplishments, and potential for the fellowship to facilitate subsequent creative work. https://www.macfound.org/programs/fellows/

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) helps ensure the vitality and diversity of the scientific and engineering workforce of the U.S. The program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students who are pursuing research-based masters and doctoral degrees in science and engineering. The GRFP provides three years of support for the graduate education of individuals who have demonstrated potential for significant achievements in science and engineering. https://www.nsfgrfp.org/

Fellowships serve many purposes, but the common denominator is that they allow participants to receive an education, expand their horizons, do the research that will create paradigm shifts in their fields, contribute to their communities, and enable themselves and others to make meaningful and important contributions. In my own case, as a recipient of some of the above fellowships as well as the Fulbright Scholars Program and the U.S. Department of Education Title VI programs, I have been able to enrich my horizons, and have since been able assist others find fellowships for the same purpose.

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Federal Sources

Citations from federal studies have an inherent authenticity that appeals to many donors. Regardless of discipline, most researchers and writers can make use of the following sites:

• USA.gov is the most authoritative statistical portal. You can search for and find statistics spanning all topics.
• Data.gov contains data and statistics on several topics pulled from federal agencies, state and local governments, and several major institutions of higher education.
• The Bureau of Labor and Statistics is the principal fact-finding agency for the Federal Government in the broad field of work economics and statistics.
• The National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics is the nation’s leading data source for science and engineering studies.
• The Department of Education has a large collection of statistical information pertaining to education.
• PubMed is a research warehouse for nearly all medical studies conducted within the U.S.
• All of the 26 federal funding agencies, such as the Department of Justice and the Department of Agriculture, hold a wealth of data within their individual websites.
• The National Archives and Records Administration provides access to archives and historical records. Historians and librarians will greatly benefit from this site.

Multilateral Organizations

Multilateral organizations are a great source of information on national and international areas such as in health, economics, geosciences and education. The following sites are just a few of the major resources:

• The International Monetary Fund (IMF) houses a comprehensive collection of research and statistics with publications in multiple digital formats. The IMF eLibrary is an excellent resource for global statistics and information.
• The World Bank provides data on multiple global-scale topics, such as poverty, education, and technology.
• The World Health Organization is an excellent resource on world health data and statistics.
• The Asian Development Bank and African Development Bank have country-specific economic and business performance measurements, data, and statistics.
• The United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has an array of data on culture and education gathered from global studies.
• The Organization for Economic Co-Operation Development (OECD) iLibrary, although not a multi-lateral organization, can be a great resource for international data for many disciplines.

Medical and Scientific Research

The most authoritative place to begin looking for data and resources for medical research is the National Institute of Health (NIH) site. For scientific research, it is the National Science Foundation (NSF). In addition, the following resources provide further statistics for some disciplines:

• Nature.com’s Statistics for Biologists focuses on data and resources in biology.
• The American Physical Society houses resources and guides for physics research.
• The American Cancer Society focuses on data for cancer research.

Social Sciences Research

Social scientists should make use of mixed method research. Both qualitative and quantitative data can be found at the following sites:

• The American Fact Finder pulls statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau data.
• The American Psychological Association provides resources and data for psychological research.
• The American Sociological Association supplies information and links for sociological research.

To have any chance of being funded you must always start with an important idea. Once you have that, citing authoritative previous research and data to demonstrate the completeness, legitimacy, and accuracy of your idea will greatly increase that chance. The resources listed above are only the some of the countless available, but they should provide an excellent start while writing your proposal.

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The Winners

The two agencies that appear to be favored are NASA and the NSF, both of which received modest funding increases. NASA will get approximately $18 billion, an increase of $364 million. The big winner is the agency’s science mission, which will be $94 million dollars more than the 2014 level of $5.151 billion. The NSF, which had a rocky 2014, did receive an increase to $7.344 billion. In 2014, the Republican Representative Lamar Smith (R–TX), and chair of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, campaigned to demonstrate how the NSF’s $7 billion research agency is “wasting” taxpayer dollars on frivolous or low-priority projects, particularly in the social sciences. Nevertheless, the six NSF directorates will increase by $125 million to $5.93 billion and the education directorates will grow by $20 million to $866 million.

The Stagnant

The NIH will receive $30 billion, which is $150 million above the 2014 budget. Disappointed in the appropriation results, Carrie Wolinetz, president of United for Medical Research stated: “Sustained increases to the NIH budget are necessary to close our nation’s innovation deficit – the widening gap between the current medical research funding levels and the investment required to ensure the U.S. remains the world’s innovation leader.”

The Losers

On the other hand, the areas that seem to be in continued peril are the social sciences and humanities. The social sciences have increasingly been questioned by congress, and support for their research is waning across all agencies. Funding for the arts and humanities remains flat, often reflecting the sentiments of colleges and universities.

The Department of Energy’s Office of Science did not do well, since the budget remained flat. Further, the bill’s language makes the funding contingent upon management reforms.

The EPA fared the worst. The agency’s budget has been slashed by $2.2 billion – or 21 percent – since 2010, and is $60 million less than the $8.1 billion budget in 2014. The cuts mean that the EPA will need to reduce its staffing to the lowest levels since 1989.

To Be Determined

The 2015 Budget for the Department of Education focuses on six priorities: (1)increasing equity and opportunity for all students; (2) strengthening support for teachers and school leaders; (3)expanding high-quality preschool programs; (4) affordability and quality in post secondary education; (5) promoting educational innovation and improvement; and (6) improving school safety and climate. The Obama Administration is requesting $68.6 billion in discretionary appropriations for the Department of Education in 2015, an increase of $1.3 billion – or 1.9 percent – more than the 2014 budget.

Community colleges will do well in adult education, workforce development, and affordability of education, because these are the priorities of the President. Very recently, President Obama announced a plan for free community college education.

Moving Forward

Institutions and organizations seeking funding in 2015 will have to diversify their requests. The Federal Government will continue to be a major source for research, but foundation and corporate giving will increase their weight in the formula. Equally, partnerships between government and the private sector will be favored, due to cost-sharing for major research. In all cases, accountability and performance measurements will continue to increase in significance in the decision-making process.

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CoSTEM

The multi-agency Committee on STEM Education (CoSTEM) has generated four new grants for 2015 that shift the focus to the teachers. These four funding opportunities will facilitate and encourage teachers and education administrators to develop additional high-quality STEM programs and lessons by sponsoring the following:

• STEM Innovation Proposal – This $170 million grant program will be divided among those who can demonstrate fresh ideas and new techniques to teach the next generation of innovators.
• STEM Innovation Networks – School district and college partnerships are the target of this $110 million program. The goal is to increase the number of students in STEM field career tracks.
• STEM Teacher Pathways – Recruitment and training of STEM teachers is the primary directive of this $40 million program.
• National STEM Master Teacher Corps – $20 million has been dedicated to recognition and assistance for outstanding STEM teachers who are having a real impact in their communities.

NSF

The National Science Foundation (NSF) offers ten STEM-focused grant programs, each with numerous possible directions for proposals. Primarily, the NSF focuses on undergraduate and higher levels of education; however, the agency does partner with organizations and other agencies to augment secondary STEM education. Also, the Broader Impacts section of each NSF proposal must include an outreach component in order to strengthen STEM education. Typical NSF STEM grant programs are:

• Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Talent Expansion Program (STEP) – The goal of STEP is to increase the number of students earning undergraduate degrees in STEM disciplines, with awards between $50,000 and $1.5 million.
• Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (IUSE: EHR) – This program seeks to make STEM undergraduate education a better-supported set of disciplines, whether by improving student learning experiences or institutional program reform. Awards range from $94,000 to $2 million.

Department of Education

More than thirty-four programs at the U.S. Department of Education focus on or give priority to STEM education. With the recent movement toward STEM-oriented disciplines, even more programs will be developed. The Department of Education supports all levels of education, and many K-12 school systems depend on this funding. Two examples of STEM grant programs are:

• Mathematics and Science Partnerships – The goal of this program is to improve math and science education via partnerships between K-12 school systems or education programs and STEM professionals, and between teachers and institutions of higher education for training purposes.
• Minority Science and Engineering Improvement Program – This initiative solicits long-term projects to increase the number of people from underrepresented groups, especially women.

Private Foundations

An increasing number of private foundations are taking the initiative to solve the STEM education problem in America. Support for teacher training, innovation in the classroom, or undergraduate research is available from many organizations, from local community nonprofits to globally recognized foundations. Some examples are:

• Gates Foundation – A technology component and teacher support are required for the CollegeReady program, which seeks to improve personalized learning in the classroom.
• Alfred P. Sloan Foundation – The Leadership Diversity program seeks to sponsor faculty positions and professional development for underrepresented groups.
• Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers Foundation – The Noche de Ciencias program sponsors a series of informative and interactive student activities throughout the community to generate an interest of the STEM disciplines in Hispanic students.
• Burroughs Wellcome Fund – Promoting Innovation in Science and Mathematics (PrISM) awards are granted to exceptional K-12 teachers for classroom support in STEM education.

The call to action from these organizations has broadened the horizons for those who have been seeking to make a difference in their classrooms or institutions. Innovative, creative, and outcome- and student-centered approaches are what will drive the changes toward correcting America’s STEM education problem.

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