NSF Award
2404231
This regional workshop aims to assist participating institutions in enhancing their research capabilities. The workshop will include forums led by NSF program officers. An intended outcome of the workshop is to narrow the NSF funding gap between EPSCoR states and non-EPSCoR states, where EPSCoR states represent those who receive significantly less funding from NSF. Alabama State University will host this workshop within the College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (CSTEM). A key focus of the workshop will be to foster new collaborations, partnerships, and engagement with NSF as well as institutions within the state and region that will ultimately enhance scientific research conducted over time. Workshop attendees will include representatives from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana, including staff from university administration, research and sponsored programs, and research faculty. The workshop has potential to lead to significant impacts for HBCUs, including a potential increase in their NSF grant submissions and awards as well as increase in research products such as peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters and conference proceedings. This regional workshop can serve as a model for future collaborative efforts between HBCUs in EPSCoR states. The workshop also seeks to include both 2-year and 4-year institutions to build additional pipelines supporting both institution types. The involvement of two-year institutions, institutions that are new to NSF funding opportunities, and institutions that have not been successful in securing funding align with NSF’s 2022-2026 Strategic Plan.<br/> <br/>Alabama State University will host a regional workshop that will focus on two-year and four-year HBCUs located in Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana, which are all EPSCoR states. This effort aims to narrow the funding NSF gap between EPSCoR states and non-EPSCoR states. Studies have shown that researchers in EPSCoR states yield more research products per dollar awarded compared to their non-EPSCoR counterparts in the form of peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters and conference proceedings. NSF will partner through participation from NSF science directorates in Biology, Engineering and Geology to provide additional insight to research faculty at participating HBCUs. Workshop outcomes will potentially lead to participants submitting competitive proposals to targeted NSF programs. This effort aims to promote new collaborations and partnerships with NSF as well as institutions within the state and the region that will ultimately enhance scientific research conducted over time.<br/><br/>This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
