Broadening Participation in Engineering | PD 19 7680

Opportunity Information: Apply for PD 19 7680

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Broadening Participation in Engineering (BPE) grant opportunity (PD 19-7680) supports research aimed at strengthening the future U.S. engineering workforce by expanding access and success for people who have been historically underrepresented in engineering. Rather than funding general programmatic efforts alone, BPE is focused on building the evidence base: it funds rigorous research that helps educators, employers, and policymakers understand what works, why it works, and how successful approaches can be adapted and scaled across different settings.

BPE prioritizes diversity and inclusion across a wide range of populations and identities, including gender identity and expression; race and ethnicity (specifically African Americans/Blacks, Hispanic Americans, American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and Native Pacific Islanders); disability; LGBTQ individuals; first-generation college students; and people from low socio-economic backgrounds. A key theme is that underrepresentation is not driven by a single factor, so BPE encourages proposals that look at the real-world complexity of engineering pathways and the ways social identities intersect. In practice, that means research that recognizes, for example, that experiences in engineering can differ substantially for someone who is both first-generation and from an underrepresented racial or ethnic group, or for someone navigating disability and gender-based barriers at the same time.

The research topics BPE seeks span the full education-to-career pipeline, from K-12 through higher education and into the workforce, with an emphasis on projects likely to offer strong return on investment and broad impact. The program is interested in studies that identify and analyze systemic barriers that discourage entry into engineering or make persistence difficult, such as limited early exposure to meaningful engineering learning, uneven preparation opportunities, weak or inconsistent support structures, and environments that fail to sustain interest and participation over time. Alongside diagnosing barriers, BPE also supports research on enabling factors, such as support systems, mentoring structures, peer and professional networks, and strategies that improve awareness of engineering careers and multiple engineering pathways.

BPE also funds the development and testing of innovative methods and interventions that can significantly improve recruitment and retention outcomes. This includes projects aimed at increasing participation and success among engineering students from underrepresented groups, with a clear expectation that activities are data-informed and capable of producing models that are replicable in other contexts. In addition to student-centered efforts, BPE explicitly supports work focused on aggressively recruiting and retaining underrepresented tenure-track engineering faculty, recognizing faculty diversity as a major lever for long-term change in climate, mentorship, and institutional decision-making. Another core interest is culture change: BPE encourages research and strategies that transform norms, policies, and everyday practices so that diversity, equity, and inclusion become embedded priorities across the engineering enterprise rather than add-on initiatives.

A central expectation is that funded work produces outcomes that are scalable, sustainable, and broadly applicable across different institutions, communities, and demographic contexts. BPE is looking for projects that advance knowledge beyond a single local implementation, generating evidence that can inform broader engineering education practice and workforce development decisions. Because the program is research-centered, proposals are expected to be grounded in current theory and scientific literature while also making a clear contribution to what is already known.

NSF also highlights alignment and collaboration with the NSF INCLUDES National Network, which is NSF-wide infrastructure aimed at achieving significant, scaled impact in STEM inclusion and workforce development. BPE proposals that create meaningful connections to existing NSF INCLUDES efforts, such as Alliances or the Coordination Hub, are encouraged when the collaboration strengthens both projects. This emphasis reflects NSF interest in building interconnected, community-driven solutions rather than isolated efforts.

From a proposal design standpoint, BPE lays out several required elements. Proposals must clearly state how the project will broaden participation for one or more targeted underrepresented populations and must justify why those groups are the focus, using relevant research on underrepresentation and setting specific, applicable objectives. Projects must include a concrete evaluation and assessment mechanism as part of the management plan, with measurable outcomes that allow reviewers to judge progress and impact. Dissemination is also treated as more than academic publishing: applicants are expected to think deliberately about who needs to use the findings (for example, departments, deans, student support offices, professional societies, industry partners, or state and national decision-makers) and to propose strategies to reach those audiences through channels that can drive adoption. In addition, the Project Summary must include 3 to 5 keywords listed on a separate line at the end of the Overview section.

Administratively, this is a discretionary NSF grant opportunity under CFDA 47.041, with eligibility listed as unrestricted (open to any entity type, subject to any clarifications in the full text). Proposals are accepted at any time (no single fixed deadline), and NSF anticipates making around 20 awards. An award ceiling is not specified in the provided information. NSF strongly encourages prospective principal investigators to speak with the program director before submitting, both to confirm fit with BPE priorities and to sharpen how the proposed work aligns with the program’s strategic goals.

• The National Science Foundation in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Broadening Participation in Engineering" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 47.041.
• This funding opportunity was created on Mar 22, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Proposals accepted anytime. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 20 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.

Apply for PD 19 7680

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