A new framework for articulating broader impacts in research proposals is now available from the U.S. National Science Foundation’s Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences.

NSF's existing criteria for evaluating research proposals through both intellectual merit and broader impacts remain unchanged. The new framework offers guidance on how researchers can better articulate the potential impacts of their proposed research and how those impacts can lead to benefits for society, including improved quality of life. The framework includes questions for researchers to consider when developing the broader impacts of their research and suggestions on how to explain them.

“By effectively describing a project's potential broader impacts, researchers can help others understand the relevance of that research to their lives,” says Arthur Lupia, head of NSF’s Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences. “As more researchers do this, more people in the U.S. will understand the tremendous and irreplaceable public value of fundamental research in the social, behavioral and economic sciences.”

To read the framework, see Dear Colleague Letter: A Broader Impacts Framework for Proposals Submitted to NSF's Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences Directorate.

The AERA-NSF Grants Program is currently accepting proposals for both its Dissertation and Research Grants. With support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Program provides dissertation grants to graduate students and small research grants to doctoral level scholars using large-scale data sets in their research.

The AERA-NSF Grants Program emphasizes the advanced statistical analysis of data sets from the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics, NSF, and other federal agencies. The program also supports studies using large-scale international data systems (e.g., PISA, PIRLS, or TIMMS) that benefit from U.S. federal government support. In addition, statewide longitudinal administrative data systems enhanced through federal grants are also eligible for consideration. Proposals are encouraged from a variety of disciplines, such as, but not limited to, education, sociology, economics, psychology, demography, statistics, and psychometrics.

AERA Dissertation Grants. AERA provides dissertation support for advanced doctoral students to undertake doctoral dissertations using data from large-scale data sets. The award provides professional development, training, and networking opportunities for students. The selection process is competitive. AERA-NSF Dissertation Grants are awarded for one-year for an amount of up to $25,000.

AERA Research Grants. AERA provides small grants for faculty members, postdoctoral researchers, and other doctoral-level scholars to undertake quantitative research using data from large-scale data sets. The selection process is competitive. AERA-NSF Research Grants are awarded for one or two years, for an amount of up to $35,000.

The next proposal deadline is Wednesday, May 12, 2021 (11:59PM PT). Please the AERA-NSF Grants Program via email (grantsprogram@aera.net) or phone (202-238-3200) if you have any questions regarding the program.

Cradle to Kindergarten: A New Plan to Combat Inequality

Wednesday, March 17, 2021; 5:30 to 7 p.m. (ET)

Inequality in early experiences and education have impacts on long-term socioeconomic success. How can early childhood policies help? The Russell Sage Foundation and the School of Public Affairs at American University will host a discussion featuring co-authors Taryn Morrissey (American University), Ajay Chaudry (New York University), and Christina Weiland (University of Michigan), joined by Miriam Calderon (Oregon's Early Learning Division) and Melissa Boteach (National Women's Law Center), to talk about the second edition of their RSF book Cradle to Kindergarten: A New Plan to Combat Inequality. The book presents research on how inequality in early opportunity has life-long consequences and offers an evidence-based approach to expanding access to affordable, high-quality early care and education to all children.

The discussion will be moderated by Ruth Marcus, Washington Post columnist and 2019 Sine Institute Fellow.

U.S. Representative Bobby Scott (D-VA), Chair of the House Committee on Labor & Education, will offer remarks before the discussion.

This event is co-hosted by the Russell Sage Foundation, the nation's oldest foundation dedicated exclusively to research in the social sciences, and by the School of Public Affairs (SPA) at American University, which has been a hub for policy-related research and teaching for 85 years.

Read more about the book and purchase a copy.