EDU Core Research | 21 588

Opportunity Information: Apply for 21 588

The EDU Core Research (EHR Core Research, or ECR) grant opportunity from the National Science Foundation supports fundamental STEM education research that builds general, explanatory knowledge rather than producing quick, direct classroom fixes. The program is aimed at curiosity-driven basic research and use-inspired basic research, with the central expectation that proposals will advance or refine foundational understanding of how STEM education works. Because the focus is on underlying mechanisms and theory-building, the payoff for practice can be indirect and longer-term, with results intended to be broadly relevant across contexts instead of narrowly tied to a single intervention or site.

Projects must fit within at least one of three major research areas. The first is Research on STEM Learning and Learning Environments, which covers how people learn STEM and how different settings, tools, curricula, technologies, and instructional environments shape learning in schools, higher education, and informal learning contexts. The second is Research on Broadening Participation in STEM fields, which targets the factors that influence equitable access, persistence, and success in STEM for populations that have been historically underrepresented or underserved, including the structural and contextual conditions that produce participation gaps. The third is Research on STEM Workforce Development, which looks at how people prepare for, enter, and progress in the STEM workforce, including education-to-career pathways, competencies, identity and professional formation, and the systems connecting education, training, and employment. Across all three areas, the program welcomes research involving learners of all ages and groups in both formal and informal settings.

Funding is structured in three levels so that the budget matches the maturity and scale of the proposed empirical work. Level I proposals may request up to $500,000, Level II proposals may request up to $1,500,000, and Level III proposals may request up to $2,500,000 (the award ceiling). For any level, project duration can be between 3 and 5 years, and the proposal is expected to clearly justify why the chosen funding level and timeline are appropriate for the work being proposed, including the size and scope of the research effort.

This opportunity is a discretionary grant program in the NSF Education and Human Resources directorate, categorized under Science and Technology and other Research and Development (CFDA 47.076). Eligibility is listed as unrestricted, meaning a wide range of applicant organizations can apply as long as they meet NSF requirements. The funding opportunity title is EDU Core Research, funding opportunity number 21-588, with an original closing date of 2024-10-03. The solicitation was created on 2021-05-27.

• The National Science Foundation in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "EDU Core Research" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 47.076.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2021-05-27.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-10-03. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $2,500,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted.

Apply for 21 588

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