Opportunity Information: Apply for 12 542
Apply for 12 542
- The National Science Foundation in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Research in Disabilities Education" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 47.076 Education and Human Resources.
- This funding opportunity was created on Mar 1, 2012 and posted on Mar 1, 2012.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 1, 2012 Full Proposal Deadline(s) June 01, 2012 RDE Model Building Level 1, RDE Model Building Level 2, RDE Broadening Participation Research in STEM Education Level 1, RDE Broadening Participation Research in STEM Education Level 2. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- The funding agency has allocated a total of $2,000,000.00 to eligible and selected applicants.
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $1,000,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 17 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).
- Organization Limit Proposals may only be submitted by the following RDE Proposals ulliUniversities and Colleges Universities and two and four year colleges (including community colleges) accredited in, and having a campus located in the US, acting on behalf of their faculty members. Such organizations also are referred to as academic institutions. /liliNon profit, non academic organizations Independent museums, observatories, research labs, professional societies and similar organizations in the U.S. associated with educational or research activities./li/ul
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Opportunity Summary:
The National Science Foundation (NSF) Research in Disabilities Education (RDE) grant opportunity is designed to increase the participation, success, and degree completion of postsecondary students with disabilities in STEM fields. The program focuses on closing persistent achievement and graduation gaps by supporting work that both builds and tests practical education models and deepens the research base on why inequities occur and what conditions improve outcomes. RDE is centered on students with disabilities across the full postsecondary spectrum, including community colleges, four-year undergraduate programs, and graduate education, with the overall aim of improving learning experiences, persistence in STEM majors, and transitions into STEM careers.
RDE funds two main project types. The first is RDE Model Building (RDE MB), which supports the creation, replication, translation, and implementation of innovative educational or institutional capacity-building models that measurably broaden participation and achievement in STEM for students with disabilities. These projects are meant to be more than good ideas or isolated campus services; they are expected to be grounded in strong theory and justified using relevant research from education, disability studies, and the social sciences. A key expectation is that Model Building projects employ evidence-based educational exemplars and produce models that improve outcomes such as STEM learning, participation in coursework and labs, retention from year to year, persistence in majors, and graduation at the associate, baccalaureate, or graduate level.
The second track is RDE Broadening Participation Research in STEM Education (RDE BPR), which supports basic and applied research aimed at understanding the underlying factors that drive different learning experiences and unequal participation, retention, and graduation rates for postsecondary students with disabilities in STEM. These projects can investigate individual learning and educational influences as well as organizational, institutional, or systemic processes that shape access and success in STEM environments. Disability must be the primary focus of the proposed research and analysis, while factors such as race, ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, and veteran status may be examined as secondary dimensions. The goal of RDE BPR is to generate credible, actionable knowledge that can inform interventions and policy or practice changes, and to clarify which strategies work, for whom, under what conditions, and in which educational contexts.
Across both tracks, NSF emphasizes contributing to the broader knowledge base about STEM learning characteristics and experiences of postsecondary students with disabilities. The solicitation highlights the value of studying the educational and pre-professional pathways that influence interest in STEM, academic performance, engagement in STEM learning settings, retention and persistence in degree programs, degree completion, and career decision-making. In other words, projects are expected to move beyond describing barriers and instead produce evidence that can guide improvements in teaching practices, program design, student supports, accessibility, institutional culture, and other features of the STEM ecosystem that affect outcomes for students with disabilities.
From an administrative and funding standpoint, this is a discretionary grant program (Funding Opportunity Number 12-542; NSF Publication 12-542) within NSF’s Education and Human Resources portfolio (CFDA 47.076). NSF anticipated making about 17 awards, with an estimated total program funding level of $2,000,000. Individual awards were expected to fall between $300,000 (floor) and $1,000,000 (ceiling), and there was no cost sharing or matching requirement. The full proposal deadline listed for all referenced levels and tracks was June 1, 2012, with the opportunity originally posted March 1, 2012, and later archived July 12, 2012.
Eligible applicants included U.S.-accredited two-year and four-year colleges and universities (including community colleges) with a U.S. campus, applying on behalf of their faculty, as well as U.S.-based nonprofit, non-academic organizations such as museums, observatories, research laboratories, professional societies, and similar entities connected to education or research. The solicitation also notes that broadening participation research (BPR) appears in other NSF programs and competitions, particularly within the Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings (DRL) and the Division of Human Resource Development (HRD). It references DRL’s REESE solicitation, which includes a BPR strand overlapping with elements of RDE and NSF’s gender-focused STEM education research efforts, and indicates joint management and coordination across these related programs.
For access issues related to the announcement, the notice directs applicants to NSF’s Grants.gov support (grantsgovsupport@nsf.gov).
NSF Research in Disabilities Education (RDE) Grant Opportunity FAQs
1) What is the NSF Research in Disabilities Education (RDE) program?
NSF Research in Disabilities Education (RDE) is a grant opportunity designed to increase the participation, success, and degree completion of postsecondary students with disabilities in STEM fields. It aims to close persistent achievement and graduation gaps by supporting work that both builds and tests practical education models and strengthens the research base on why inequities occur and what conditions improve outcomes.
2) What is the overall goal of the RDE program?
The overall goal is to improve STEM learning experiences, persistence in STEM majors, degree completion, and transitions into STEM careers for postsecondary students with disabilities across the full postsecondary spectrum (community colleges, four-year programs, and graduate education).
3) Who is the primary population RDE is intended to serve?
RDE is centered on postsecondary students with disabilities in STEM, including students in community colleges, undergraduate programs, and graduate education.
4) What kinds of outcomes is RDE trying to improve?
RDE emphasizes improvements in outcomes such as STEM learning, participation in coursework and labs, year-to-year retention, persistence in STEM majors, graduation (associate, baccalaureate, or graduate), and transitions into STEM careers.
5) What are the two main project types (tracks) funded under RDE?
RDE funds two main project types: (1) RDE Model Building (RDE MB) and (2) RDE Broadening Participation Research in STEM Education (RDE BPR).
6) What is RDE Model Building (RDE MB)?
RDE Model Building supports the creation, replication, translation, and implementation of innovative educational or institutional capacity-building models that measurably broaden participation and achievement in STEM for postsecondary students with disabilities.
7) What is the expectation for RDE Model Building projects beyond offering services?
Model Building projects are expected to be more than good ideas or isolated campus services. They should be grounded in strong theory and justified using relevant research from education, disability studies, and the social sciences, and they should employ evidence-based educational exemplars.
8) What should RDE Model Building projects produce?
They are expected to produce models that measurably improve outcomes for students with disabilities in STEM, including learning and participation, retention and persistence, and graduation at the associate, baccalaureate, or graduate level.
9) What is RDE Broadening Participation Research in STEM Education (RDE BPR)?
RDE BPR supports basic and applied research aimed at understanding the underlying factors that drive different learning experiences and unequal participation, retention, and graduation rates for postsecondary students with disabilities in STEM.
10) What kinds of factors can RDE BPR projects investigate?
RDE BPR projects can investigate factors at multiple levels, including individual learning and educational influences as well as organizational, institutional, or systemic processes that shape access and success in STEM environments.
11) Does disability have to be the central focus of an RDE BPR proposal?
Yes. Disability must be the primary focus of the proposed research and analysis in RDE BPR projects.
12) Can RDE BPR proposals examine other dimensions of identity or experience?
Yes. Factors such as race, ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, and veteran status may be examined as secondary dimensions, while disability remains the primary focus.
13) What is the goal of RDE BPR research results?
The goal is to generate credible, actionable knowledge that can inform interventions and policy or practice changes, and to clarify which strategies work, for whom, under what conditions, and in which educational contexts.
14) What does NSF emphasize across both RDE tracks?
Across both tracks, NSF emphasizes contributing to the broader knowledge base about STEM learning characteristics and experiences of postsecondary students with disabilities, and producing evidence that can guide improvements in the STEM education ecosystem.
15) What kinds of pathways or stages does the solicitation highlight as important to study?
The solicitation highlights the value of studying educational and pre-professional pathways that influence interest in STEM, academic performance, engagement in STEM learning settings, retention and persistence in degree programs, degree completion, and career decision-making.
16) Are projects expected to only describe barriers faced by students with disabilities?
No. The opportunity indicates that projects are expected to move beyond describing barriers and instead produce evidence that can guide improvements in teaching practices, program design, student supports, accessibility, institutional culture, and other features of the STEM ecosystem affecting outcomes.
17) What is the Funding Opportunity Number and NSF publication number for this solicitation?
The Funding Opportunity Number is 12-542, and the NSF Publication number is also 12-542.
18) What NSF portfolio and CFDA number is associated with this program?
The program is within NSF's Education and Human Resources portfolio and is associated with CFDA 47.076.
19) Is this a discretionary grant program?
Yes. The solicitation describes this as a discretionary grant program.
20) How many awards and how much total funding were anticipated?
NSF anticipated making about 17 awards with an estimated total program funding level of $2,000,000.
21) What was the expected award size range?
Individual awards were expected to range from $300,000 (floor) to $1,000,000 (ceiling).
22) Was cost sharing or matching required?
No. The solicitation stated there was no cost sharing or matching requirement.
23) What was the full proposal deadline?
The full proposal deadline listed for all referenced levels and tracks was June 1, 2012.
24) When was the opportunity posted and when was it archived?
The opportunity was originally posted March 1, 2012, and later archived July 12, 2012.
25) Who was eligible to apply?
Eligible applicants included U.S.-accredited two-year and four-year colleges and universities (including community colleges) with a U.S. campus applying on behalf of their faculty. Eligible applicants also included U.S.-based nonprofit, non-academic organizations such as museums, observatories, research laboratories, professional societies, and similar entities connected to education or research.
26) Does the solicitation mention related NSF programs or coordination with other efforts?
Yes. The solicitation notes that broadening participation research appears in other NSF programs and competitions, particularly within the Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings (DRL) and the Division of Human Resource Development (HRD). It references DRL's REESE solicitation, which includes a BPR strand overlapping with elements of RDE, and notes joint management and coordination across these related programs.
27) Who should applicants contact for access issues related to the announcement?
For access issues related to the announcement, the notice directs applicants to NSF's Grants.gov support at grantsgovsupport@nsf.gov.
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