March 31, 2022

Dear Colleague:

This Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) encourages submission of proposals and requests for supplemental funding to the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Undergraduate Program (HBCU-UP), to enhance undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and research at HBCUs as means to broaden participation in the nation's STEM workforce.

This DCL encourages submissions beyond the scope of the funding tracks described in the HBCU-UP program solicitation (NSF 20-559) and highlights the various funding mechanisms described in the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG). New proposals should be submitted in Research.gov Proposers should select the PAPPG as the Funding Opportunity Number and EHR>HRD>HBCU-UP program when selecting where to apply. Requests for supplemental funding should be submitted in FastLane and may only be submitted by organizations that have an active award under the current HBCU-UP program solicitation (NSF 20-559).

Funding Mechanism	PAPPG Chapter/SECTION Reference
Supplements
Supplement to Current Award	VI.E.5
Career Life Balance Supplemental Funding	II.E.8
Grant Opportunities for Academic Liaison with Industry (GOALI)*	II.E.5
Facilitation Awards for Scientists and Engineers with Disabilities (FASED)*	II.E.7
New Proposals
Planning	II.E.1
Rapid Response Research (RAPID)	II.E.2
EArly-Concept Grants for Exploratory Research (EAGER)	II.E.3
Research Advanced by Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering (RAISE)	II.E.4
Ideas Lab	II.E.6
Conference	II.E.9
Equipment	II.E.10
Travel	II.E.11
*Note: GOALI and FASED requests may also be made in conjunction with new proposals.

Supplemental funding requests and proposals submitted in response to this DCL must follow the guidance in the PAPPG and must address both NSF merit review criteria, intellectual merit and broader impacts. There is no deadline, however before submission, the prospective PI must consult with one of the HBCU-UP Program Directors listed below about the idea and funding mechanism by providing a short description of the planned project, including references and/or other needed information, of no longer than 1 page.

Full proposal submissions and supplemental funding requests received by the Program before May 18th, annually, are likely to be considered before the end of the current fiscal year. The proposal title must begin with "HBCU-UP: OPEN:" after any PAPPG specific requirements.

Consultation with cognizant Program Directors prior to submission is a required component of the process. Any questions about this DCL should be directed to the Program Directors listed below.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Carleitta Paige-Anderson, cpaigean@nsf.gov
Tomasz Durakiewicz, tdurakie@nsf.gov
LeRoy Jones, ljones@nsf.gov
Jeremy Guinn, jguinn@nsf.gov

Sincerely,

Sylvia Butterfield
Assistant Director (Acting), Education and Human Resources