PROOF Act

Grants to fund student-led replication research

If enacted, the National Science Foundation would make competitive, merit-reviewed grants to colleges and universities to replicate federally funded STEM research. Awards would pay reasonable project costs, including tuition and stipends for eligible master's students, materials, instruments, facilities, travel, and reproducibility analysis. Eligible students would need to be U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, or lawful permanent residents; be enrolled or intending to enroll full-time in a research-based STEM master's program; hold a related STEM bachelor's degree; and not have a doctoral or other terminal degree. The NSF Director would have to avoid discrimination in award terms and review, consider scientific contribution, institutional capacity, cost-benefit, and conflicts of interest, and report to Congress 18 months after the first award and annually thereafter. The bill does not set or authorize specific funding amounts.