Research Initiation Grants to Broaden Participation in Biology  (RIG BP)

CONTACTS

PROGRAM GUIDELINES

Solicitation  09-501

Important Notice to Proposers

A revised version of the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG), NSF 13-1, was issued on October 4, 2012 and is effective for proposals submitted, or due, on or after January 14, 2013. Please be advised that, depending on the specified due date, the guidelines contained in NSF 13-1 may apply to proposals submitted in response to this funding opportunity.

Please be aware that significant changes have been made to the PAPPG to implement revised merit review criteria based on the National Science Board (NSB) report, National Science Foundation's Merit Review Criteria: Review and Revisions. While the two merit review criteria remain unchanged (Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts), guidance has been provided to clarify and improve the function of the criteria. Changes will affect the project summary and project description sections of proposals. Annual and final reports also will be affected.

A by-chapter summary of this and other significant changes is provided at the beginning of both the Grant Proposal Guide and the Award & Administration Guide.

DUE DATES

Archived

SYNOPSIS

With the goal of broadening participation to all biologists including members from groups under-represented in biology, the Directorate for Biological Sciences (BIO) at NSF continues to offer Research Initiation Grants (RIG).  Currently, African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders are under-represented in biology.  These grants are intended to increase the diversity of researchers who apply for and receive BIO funding to initiate research programs early in their careers. 

By providing these funding opportunities, BIO intends to further broaden participation of biological researchers who share NSF's commitment to diversity in the following ways:

• Expand the population of role models who will interact with an increasingly diverse student population, the workforce of the future
• Increase the number of scientists at minority serving institutions actively and competitively engaged in research as independent investigators, thereby creating new research opportunities for students from under-represented groups
• Fund biological research projects that use innovative ways to attract and retain members of under-represented groups to careers in biology.

Awards are for 24 months and are limited to $175,000 total costs (direct plus indirect) with up to an additional $25,000 for equipment (maximum total award amount of $200,000). Principal Investigators must be U.S. citizens or lawfully admitted U.S. permanent residents at the time of application; visa-holders are not eligible.

REVISIONS AND UPDATES

What Has Been Funded (Recent Awards Made Through This Program, with Abstracts)

Map of Recent Awards Made Through This Program

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