ADVANCE Increasing the Participation and Advancement of Women in Academic Science and Engineering Careers | Apply Online

Opportunity Summary:

The National Science Foundation (NSF) ADVANCE program (Funding Opportunity Number 09-504) is a discretionary, cooperative-agreement grant opportunity designed to increase the representation, retention, and career advancement of women in academic STEM fields. The program is aimed at changing the systems that shape faculty careers rather than focusing only on individual development. In practice, this means proposals are expected to tackle structural and cultural barriers in higher education that affect recruitment, hiring, promotion, leadership opportunities, workplace climate, and long-term career success for women in STEM. While the program is centered on women, NSF explicitly invites creative strategies from people of all genders, and it places special emphasis on projects that meaningfully address the experiences of women with disabilities and women from underrepresented minority groups.

A key theme of this opportunity is broadening participation across many types of institutions. NSF encourages proposals not only from research-intensive universities but also from primarily undergraduate institutions, teaching-intensive colleges, community colleges, minority-serving institutions (including Tribal Colleges and Universities, HBCUs, and HSIs), women’s colleges, and institutions that primarily serve persons with disabilities. This emphasis reflects the idea that systemic barriers and effective solutions can look different depending on institutional mission, size, governance, and local context, and that progress in the STEM workforce depends on strengthening the full range of pathways into academic careers.

For the 2009-2010 competition cycle described in the announcement, NSF supports three main project types. The largest and most comprehensive category is Institutional Transformation (IT). IT awards are intended for institution-wide change efforts that redesign policies, practices, and organizational norms in ways that lead to measurable improvements in the participation and advancement of women STEM faculty. Importantly, IT proposals must include a research component that studies how and why the proposed interventions work (or do not work), so that the project contributes evidence and insight that other institutions can use. In other words, NSF is not only funding change at a single campus; it is also funding knowledge generation about institutional transformation itself.

A second category, Institutional Transformation Catalyst (IT Catalyst), is meant for institutions that are not yet ready to implement a full transformation plan but need support to do the foundational work that makes transformation possible. IT Catalyst projects focus on institutional self-assessment, such as collecting and analyzing baseline data, reviewing policies and practices, and diagnosing barriers affecting women’s recruitment, retention, and promotion in STEM departments. The goal is to help an institution identify its specific challenges and opportunities and build a credible, evidence-based roadmap for later transformation. Proposals in this category are evaluated in part on the demonstrated need for external resources to conduct this type of assessment and policy review.

The third category is Partnerships for Adaptation, Implementation, and Dissemination (PAID). PAID awards can be led by a single institution or organization or built as a multi-institution partnership, and they may operate at local, state, national, or even international scales (with the typical expectation that NSF funds support the U.S. side). PAID projects support adapting and implementing proven ADVANCE-related tools and practices, as well as actively disseminating and diffusing effective approaches to appropriate audiences. NSF draws a clear line between passive sharing and real dissemination: simply posting materials online is not considered sufficient. Instead, PAID projects are expected to include deliberate efforts to help others adopt or adapt practices, such as training, technical assistance, communities of practice, or structured implementation support. PAID also allows for research-focused projects (sometimes described as PAID Research) that advance understanding of gender in the STEM academic workforce, which can include work in social and behavioral sciences in addition to other STEM fields.

Funding details in the announcement indicate an estimated total program funding level of $16,000,000, with an expected 38 awards. Individual award sizes range from a $100,000 floor to a $4,000,000 ceiling, and there is no cost-sharing or matching requirement stated. The activity category is science and technology and other research and development, and the opportunity links to multiple NSF CFDA program areas spanning engineering, mathematical and physical sciences, geosciences, computing, biological sciences, social and behavioral sciences, education and human resources, polar programs, international science and engineering, and cyberinfrastructure. This breadth signals that ADVANCE is intentionally crosscutting and can be applied across STEM disciplines, including social and behavioral science domains tied to workforce and organizational change.

Eligibility is structured by project type. For IT and IT Catalyst, proposals may be submitted by U.S.-based, non-profit academic institutions of higher education (including U.S. territories and Puerto Rico) with educational programs in NSF-supported fields. There are restrictions intended to spread opportunities and avoid repeat transformation funding at the same institution: institutions that have already received an NSF ADVANCE Institutional Transformation award are not eligible to apply again for another IT award or for an IT Catalyst award, and organizations that received an IT Start award are not eligible for an IT Catalyst award. For PAID, eligibility is broader: proposals may be submitted by non-profit academic institutions of higher education as well as professional societies and other not-for-profit organizations that support the STEM enterprise, provided the submitting and funded partner entities are U.S.-based (or in U.S. territories/Puerto Rico). Partnerships that include industry, government, professional societies, and other non-profits are encouraged but not required, and international collaborations are welcomed even though NSF generally supports only the U.S. components.

The timeline information in the notice reflects the 2009 cycle, with a letter of intent due August 4, 2009 and full proposals for IT and IT Catalyst due November 12, 2009 (with the same date shown as the original and current closing date). The announcement is associated with NSF Publication 09-504, and general submission/access assistance is routed through NSF’s Grants.gov support contact (grantsgovsupport@nsf.gov). Overall, this opportunity is best understood as NSF’s flagship mechanism for funding evidence-driven institutional change and scalable dissemination strategies that improve the conditions, progression, and leadership representation of women in academic STEM, with particular encouragement for intersectional approaches that address disability and underrepresented minority status.

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