January 5, 2022

The last year-and-a-half has shown NSF’s Directorate for Biological Sciences (BIO) the need for ongoing and new efforts to broaden participation and enhance diversity in the biological sciences given the disproportionate impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on individuals in historically under-represented groups, those at historically under-served institutions, and on those institutions themselves. Of course, these issues did not arise during the pandemic. They are historic, and COVID-19 has only heightened them.

To achieve greater diversity across the biological workforce, BIO has released three new solicitations, highlighted below.

• Building Research Capacity of New Faculty in Biology (BRC-BIO)
  • Awards will provide the means for new faculty (i.e., those at the Assistant Professor rank (or equivalent) with service at that rank for no more than 3 years by the proposal submission date) -- primarily at MSIs, PUIs, and other universities and colleges that are not among the nation's most research-intensive institutions -- to initiate and build independent research programs by enhancing their research capacity. These projects might also include biology-focused research collaborations among faculty within the same institution, across peer-, or research-intensive institutions, or partnerships with industry or other non-academic partners that advance the candidate’s research program.
  • Full proposal windows: January 3-31, 2022 and June 1-30, 2022
   
• Research and Mentoring for Postbaccalaureates in Biological Sciences (RaMP)
  • Awards will establish networks to support full-time research, mentoring, and training for recent college graduates who have had few or no research or training opportunities during college in research fields typically supported by the Directorate of Biological Sciences.
  • Full proposal deadline: January 20, 2022
   
• Leading Cultural Change Through Professional Societies of Biology (BIO-LEAPS)
  • Builds off previous Dear Colleague Letter.
  • Awards will advance diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in biology at scale through culture change by leveraging the leadership, broad reach, and unique ability of professional societies. 
  • Recognizing disciplines and societies may be at different points in assessing and addressing their culture, the program has three tracks -- Evaluation, Design and Plan, and Implementation.
    
  • Full proposal deadline: July 1, 2022

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