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PRIME (NSF) Grant Opportunity FAQs

What is the PRIME program?

The Promoting Research and Innovation in Methodologies for Evaluation (PRIME) program was a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant opportunity focused on advancing the science and practice of evaluation, especially for STEM education and STEM workforce development initiatives.

What kinds of projects was PRIME designed to support?

PRIME was designed to support research that improves how STEM education and STEM workforce development projects are evaluated. The emphasis was on developing, testing, refining, and validating evaluation methodologies rather than running or expanding STEM education programs themselves.

Did PRIME fund STEM education programs directly?

No. PRIME was not intended to fund STEM education programs themselves. It funded research aimed at improving evaluation methods used to assess the impacts and usefulness of STEM education and workforce development efforts.

What was the central goal of the PRIME solicitation?

The central goal was to support innovative, well-grounded approaches to determine what impacts STEM education projects actually have, how useful they are to different stakeholders, and how evaluation methods can be made more rigorous, informative, and transferable across settings.

What was the main theme of the PRIME opportunity?

A key theme was methodology development and improvement in evaluation. PRIME encouraged efforts that strengthen theoretical foundations and practical tools for evaluating STEM education and workforce development initiatives.

What types of methodology work did PRIME encourage?

PRIME encouraged the creation, testing, refinement, and validation of evaluation models, designs, and tools. It also welcomed translation and adaptation of evaluation approaches from other fields into STEM education and STEM workforce contexts.

Could applicants adapt evaluation approaches from other fields?

Yes. PRIME explicitly welcomed efforts to translate and adapt evaluation approaches from other fields into STEM education and workforce development contexts, recognizing that strong methodological ideas may exist outside the STEM evaluation community.

Did PRIME include a focus on capacity building or infrastructure for evaluation?

Yes. Alongside innovation in methods, PRIME emphasized growing the capacity and infrastructure of the evaluation field. Proposals could address building shared resources, strengthening evaluator expertise, and developing frameworks or systems that enable high-quality evaluation at scale.

What proposal types were supported under PRIME?

The solicitation supported two main proposal types: Exploratory Projects and Full Scale Projects.

What were Exploratory Projects under PRIME?

Exploratory Projects were intended for earlier-stage work such as proof-of-concept studies, feasibility testing, piloting new measures or analytic strategies, or other foundational activities to determine whether a promising evaluation approach is workable and worth expanding.

What were Full Scale Projects under PRIME?

Full Scale Projects were intended for more extensive efforts, typically involving broader implementation and stronger empirical testing of evaluation methodologies, potentially across multiple sites or contexts, with the expectation of producing more mature and generalizable contributions to evaluation practice in STEM education and workforce development.

Who administered PRIME?

PRIME was administered by the National Science Foundation (NSF) as a discretionary grant program.

How was PRIME categorized administratively?

Administratively, PRIME was categorized within science and technology and other research and development, and it was associated with CFDA number 47.076 (Education and Human Resources).

What is the CFDA number associated with PRIME?

The opportunity was associated with CFDA number 47.076 (Education and Human Resources).

How many awards were anticipated under PRIME?

The opportunity anticipated around 13 awards.

What was the estimated total funding amount for PRIME?

The estimated total funding amount was $7,000,000.

What was the expected award size range for PRIME grants?

Individual awards were expected to range from $250,000 (award floor) to $800,000 (award ceiling).

Was cost sharing or matching required?

No. Cost sharing or matching was not required.

Who was eligible to apply?

Eligibility was listed as unrestricted, meaning proposals could be submitted by a wide range of applicant types, subject to any clarifications that may have appeared in the full solicitation text (NSF Publication 13-515).

Where could applicants find the full solicitation details?

The information referenced the full solicitation text as NSF Publication 13-515, which would contain any additional clarifications, requirements, or constraints beyond the summary listing.

When was the PRIME opportunity posted?

The opportunity was posted on November 7, 2012.

What was the full proposal deadline?

The full proposal deadline was February 20, 2013.

Is PRIME currently open for submissions?

No. The listing was later archived (archive date July 28, 2014), which means it is no longer open for submission.

When was the PRIME opportunity archived?

The opportunity was archived on July 28, 2014.

Who should be contacted for access issues related to the announcement?

For access issues related to the announcement, the contact provided was NSF grants.gov support at grantsgovsupport@nsf.gov.

Was PRIME focused more on evaluation rigor or on program delivery?

PRIME focused on evaluation rigor and methodological advancement. It aimed to improve how STEM education and workforce development initiatives are evaluated, including rigor, usefulness to stakeholders, and transferability of evaluation approaches across settings.