§19014 Expanding Geographic and Institutional Diversity in Research

Summary

The National Science Foundation must set aside growing shares of its research and education money for EPSCoR jurisdictions — places that get less federal research funding — while excluding funds for polar research and facility operations. For research and related activities, the Foundation must award at least 15.5% in fiscal year 2023, 16% in 2024, 16.5% in 2025, 17% in 2026, 18% in 2027, 19% in 2028, and 20% in 2029 to EPSCoR institutions. For scholarships, fellowships, traineeships, and postdoctoral awards (including community colleges), at least 16% in 2023, 18% in 2024, and 20% in 2025–2029 must support EPSCoR institutions. The Foundation must focus on things that build lasting research strength, like labs and equipment, student and faculty support, partnerships with well-funded institutions, and help for HBCUs, Tribal colleges, minority-serving, and emerging research schools. Awards must still follow merit review rules. If a consortium is led by an EPSCoR institution, the full award can count toward the EPSCoR totals. The Director must report to Congress every year starting with fiscal year 2023 on how these goals are being met, and explain plans if they are not. By December 31, 2026, the Director must send a study showing how the rules affected funding across states and institutions, changes for HBCUs/TCUs/MSIs/emerging institutions since August 9, 2022, gains in research capacity, whether EPSCoR eligibility rules should change, and a plan to keep growing capacity. Current EPSCoR areas stay eligible for five years from August 9, 2022; the Director must report by December 31, 2028 on any new eligibility rules and options to help nearby low-funded regions. The Foundation must also run a competitive program of grants to colleges and universities that are not among the top 100 in federal research spending, to grow student, faculty, and institutional research capacity and keep diverse students in STEM. Applications must show how the work will last after the grant and name focus areas where the school can excel. Grants can fund new research programs, faculty hiring and training, student stipends, equipment, needs assessments, and administrative support. No eligible institution may get more than $10,000,000 in any single year from this authority. The Foundation should avoid duplicating other programs, consider student diversity and geographic spread, and report to Congress after three years on results. Congress authorized $150,000,000 per year for fiscal years 2023–2027 for this work. The Director must also run a five-year pilot to fund partnerships with emerging research institutions; proposals over $1,000,000 must show how they will support real, lasting partnerships, and at least 35% of each award must go to the emerging research partners. The pilot must support capacity building like faculty pay, student research experiences, and equipment upkeep, and the Director must report after three years on whether to make the pilot permanent.