About the NSF
The U.S. National Science Foundation is an independent federal agency that supports science and engineering in all 50 states and U.S. territories.
NSF was established in 1950 by Congress to:
- Promote the progress of science.
- Advance the national health, prosperity and welfare.
- Secure the national defense.
The NSF fulfills their mission chiefly by making grants. The NSFs investments account for about 25% of federal support to America’s colleges and universities for basic research: research driven by curiosity and discovery. The NSF also supports solutions-oriented research with the potential to produce advancements for the American people. The ERN Conference and the HBCU-UP PI-PD Meeting are funded and supported by the NSF HBCU-UP program via grant no. 2434437.
The NSF vision: A nation that leads the world in science and engineering research and innovation, to the benefit of all, without barriers to participation.
The NSF mission: NSF promotes the progress of science by investing in research to expand knowledge in science, engineering and education. NSF also invests in actions that increase the capacity of the U.S. to conduct and exploit such research.
To promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity and welfare; and to secure the national defense.
NSF’s core values: NSF’s core values are essential and enduring tenets that guide everyone in the organization as we support the agency’s mission. They have been developed with the active engagement of NSF staff. These values identify who we are and what is important to us. They guide how we make decisions, set priorities, address challenges, manage trade-offs, recruit and develop personnel and work together with our awardees.
- Scientific leadership.
- Diversity and inclusion.
- Integrity and excellence.
- Public service.
- Innovation and collaboration.
Explore NSF’s Strategic Goals and Objectives
The Directorate of STEMM Education serves as a focal point for NSF‘s agency-wide commitment to enhancing the quality and excellence of STEM education and research through broadening participation for all students including minorities, women, and persons with disabilities. Priority is placed on investments that promise innovation and transformative strategies and that focus on creating and testing models that ensure the full participation of and provide opportunities for the educators, researchers, and institutions dedicated to serving these populations. Programs within EDU have a strong focus on partnerships and collaborations in order to maximize the preparation of a well-trained scientific and instructional workforce for the new millennium. See below for more about the directorate.
The Historically Black Colleges and Universities – Undergraduate Program (HBCU-UP) supports conferences that seek to increase the research capacity of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) students and faculty at HBCUs. The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) will organize two Making & Innovation Showcases to provide students and faculty from HBCUs with an opportunity to implement and present technology prototypes. Furthermore, AAAS will conduct an evaluation research study exploring the impact of maker-related activities on students, faculty, and institutions. The showcases will be held on November 2021 and November 2022 on the campus of Howard University. Each showcase will host sixty participants, with teams comprised of three to five undergraduate or graduate students and one faculty member.
The overall goal of the project is to conduct research to investigate best practices to enhance making and innovation-related capacity for HBCU students and faculty via an inclusive community of practice. This goal will be accomplished via the following activities: two yearly Making and Innovation Showcases where student teams will develop and present innovations in response to one of the seventeen United Nations Sustainability Development Goals, and participate in professional development sessions; monthly virtual engagement to support participants; e-mentoring and coaching; and development of a toolkit of making and innovation resources for HBCUs. The research questions that guide this project at the faculty and student level are related to faculty professional development, improved teaching strategies, student motivation and STEM identity, and the students’ role in the community of practice. The impact of the activities will be studied using quantitative and qualitative research methods.
This award reflects NSF’s statutory mission, and updated priorities, and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation’s intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.