Proposal Preparation Toolkit & Webinar Archive

EHR Guidelines & Background

Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (IUSE) is a core NSF STEM education program that seeks to promote novel, creative, and transformative approaches to generating and using new knowledge about STEM teaching and learning to improve STEM education for undergraduate students. The program is open to application from all institutions of higher education and associated organizations. –NSF

Anyone interested in submitting an IUSE grant proposal should be familiar with these documents:

• NSF IUSE: EHR Solicitation 21-579 (This new solicitation replaces solicitation 19-601 as of April 16, 2021)
• NSF IUSE: EHR FAQs

Explore currently funded projects or connect with a Program Officer:

• Recent IUSE Award Abstracts (Use IUSE Program Element Code 1998)
• Map of Recent Awards Made Through This Program
• Program Officer contact information

Deadlines & Track Information

Detailed information about the Engaged Student Learning and Institutional and Community Transformation tracks can be found in the NSF IUSE: EHR Solicitation 21-579 under II. Program Description, Section B and is overviewed in this webinar.

Full Proposal Deadlines (due by 5 p.m. submitter’s local time):

Webinar Archive – Learn what makes a successful proposal

The NSF Division of Undergraduate Education in collaboration with AAAS offers an IUSE: EHR webinar series (solicitation NSF 21-579). This series provides introductions to the IUSE: EHR program, recommendations for designing competitive proposals, track information, background on the merit review criteria, information for new awardees, and more.

General Guidelines & Resources for NSF Grant Writing

NSF Grant Writing Guidelines

• NSF Proposal & Award Policies and Procedure Guide (PAPPG) (NSF 20-1): The NSF PAPPG provides detailed information about the proposal and award process at NSF. It is composed of two parts:
  1. Proposal Preparation and Submission Guidelines
  2. Award, Administration and Monitoring of Grants and Cooperative Agreements
• NSF PAPPG Webinar (Note: This latest PAPPG version is in effect as of June 1, 2020.)
• NSF & U.S. Department of Education Common Guidelines for Education Research and Development
  • FAQs: Common Guidelines
• NSF – Approved Formats for Biographical Sketch & Current and Pending Support Sections of NSF Proposals

NSF Award Management

• NSF Prospective New Awardee Guide

Other Grant Writing Resources

• Tips for Developing Proposals (CADRE)
• Differentiating Research & Evaluation:
  • Writing Research and Evaluation Plans for NSF Grants: How are they similar and different? (MN Associates, Inc)
  • Webinar: Untangling Knowledge Generation and Evaluation (NOTE: This webinar is from the NSF S-STEM Program but contains generally helpful information on this frequently confusing topic.) View the Slides.