Sec. 10305. Broadening participation

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Section 117(a) of the National Science Foundation Authorization Act of 1988 ( 42 U.S.C. 1881b(a) ) is amended— in subparagraph (B)— by striking 108 and inserting 110 ; by striking clause (iv); in clause (v), by striking the period at the end and inserting ; and ; by redesignating clauses (i), (ii), (iii), and

(v)as subclauses (I), (II), (III), and (IV), respectively, and moving the margins of such subclauses (as so redesignated) two ems to the right; and by striking In selecting teachers and all that follows through two teachers— and inserting the following: In selecting teachers for an award authorized by this subsection, the President shall select— at least two teachers— ; and in subparagraph (C), as designated by paragraph (1)(A)(v), by adding at the end the following: at least one teacher— from the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands; from American Samoa; from the Virgin Islands of the United States; and from Guam. . The amendments made by paragraph

(1)shall apply with respect to awards made on or after the date of the enactment of this Act. It is the sense of Congress that over the next five years the Foundation should increase the number of scholarships awarded under the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship program established under section 10 of the National Science Foundation Authorization Act of 2002 ( 42 U.S.C. 1862n–1 ) by 50 percent. To increase the diversity of participants, the Director shall support symposia, forums, conferences, and other activities to expand and enhance outreach to— historically Black colleges and universities that are part B institutions, as defined in section 322(2) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1061(2) ); Tribal Colleges or Universities; Minority serving institutions; institutions of higher education that are located near or serve rural communities; labor organizations; emerging research institutions; and higher education programs that serve or support veterans. The Director shall award grants and cooperative agreements, on a competitive basis, to institutions of higher education or non-profit organizations (or consortia of such institutions or organizations) to carry out a comprehensive national initiative to facilitate the development of networks and partnerships to build on and scale up effective practices in broadening participation in STEM studies and careers of groups historically underrepresented in such studies and careers. The Director shall require organizations seeking a cooperative agreement for the management of the operations and maintenance of a Foundation project to demonstrate prior experience and current capabilities in employing best practices in broadening participation in science and engineering and ensure implementation of such practices is considered in oversight of the award. The Director shall establish a five-year pilot program to enhance partnerships between emerging research institutions and institutions classified as very high research activity by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education at the time of application. In carrying out this program, the Director shall— require that each proposal submitted by a multi-institution collaboration for an award, including those under section 10309, that exceeds $1,000,000, as appropriate, specify how the applicants will support substantive, meaningful, and mutually-beneficial partnerships with one or more emerging research institutions; require awardees funded under paragraph

(1)to direct no less than 25 percent of the total award to one or more emerging research institutions to build research capacity, including through support for faculty salaries and training, field and laboratory research experiences for undergraduate and graduate students, and maintenance and repair of research equipment and instrumentation; require awardees funded under paragraph

(1)to report on the partnership activities as part of the annual reporting requirements of the Foundation; solicit feedback on the partnership directly from partner emerging research institutions, in such form as the Director deems appropriate; and submit a report to Congress after the third year of the pilot program that includes— an assessment, drawing on feedback from the research community and other sources of information, of the effectiveness of the pilot program for improving the quality of partnerships with emerging research institutions; and if deemed effective, a plan for permanent implementation of the pilot program. Section 525 of the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 ( 42 U.S.C. 1862p–13 ) is amended— in subsection

(a)by— striking Native American and inserting American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian ; inserting post-secondary credentials and before associate’s ; and striking or baccalaureate degrees and inserting , baccalaureate, and graduate degrees ; and in subsection

(b)by striking undergraduate ; and in subsection

(c)by inserting and STEM after laboratory . There is authorized to be appropriated to the Director to carry out this program $107,250,000 for fiscal year 2022 through fiscal year 2026. The Director shall award grants, on a competitive basis, to institutions of higher education or non-profit organizations (or consortia of such institutions or organizations) to support basic and applied research that yields a scientific evidence base for improving the design and emergence, development and deployment, and management and ultimate effectiveness of organizations of all kinds, including research related to diversity, equity, and inclusion in the technology sector. It is the sense of Congress that— since maintaining the Nation’s scientific and economic leadership requires the participation of talented individuals nationwide, EPSCoR investments into State research and education capacities are in the Federal interest and should be sustained; and EPSCoR should maintain its experimental component by supporting innovative methods for improving research capacity and competitiveness. In this subsection, the term EPSCoR has the meaning given the term in section 502 of the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 ( 42 U.S.C. 1862p note). Section 517(f)(2) of the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 ( 42 U.S.C. 1862p–9(f)(2) ) is amended— in subparagraph (A), by striking and at the end; and by adding at the end the following: to increase the capacity of rural communities to provide quality STEM education and STEM workforce development programming to students, and teachers; and . The Director shall establish a program to make awards on a competitive, merit-reviewed basis to eligible institutions to implement and study innovative approaches for building research capacity in order to engage and retain students from a range of institutions and diverse backgrounds in STEM. In this subsection the term eligible institution means an institution of higher education that, according to the data published by the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, is not, on average, among the top 100 institutions in Federal research and development expenditures during the 3 year period prior to the year of the award. The program established in paragraph

(1)shall be focused on achieving simultaneous impacts at the student, faculty, and institutional levels by increasing the research capacity at eligible institutions and the number of undergraduate and graduate students pursuing STEM degrees from eligible institutions. In carrying out this program, the Director shall— require eligible institutions seeking funding under this subsection to submit an application to the Director at such time, in such manner, containing such information and assurances as the Director may require. The application shall include, at a minimum a description of how the eligible institution plans to sustain the proposed activities beyond the duration of the grant; require applicants to identify disciplines and focus areas in which the eligible institution can excel, and explain how the applicant will use the award to build capacity to bolster the institutional research competitiveness of eligible entities to support grants awarded by the Foundation and increase regional and national capacity in STEM; require the awards funded under this subsection to support research and related activities, which may include— development or expansion of research programs in disciplines and focus areas in subparagraph (B); faculty recruitment and professional development in disciplines and focus areas in subparagraph (B), including for early-career researchers; stipends for undergraduate and graduate students participating in research in disciplines and focus areas in subparagraph (B); acquisition of instrumentation necessary to build research capacity at an eligible institution in disciplines and focus areas in subparagraph (B); an assessment of capacity-building and research infrastructure needs; administrative research development support; and other activities necessary to build research capacity; and require that no eligible institution should receive more than $10,000,000 in any single year of funds made available under this section. In awarding a grant under this subsection, the Director may also consider— the extent to which the applicant will support students from diverse backgrounds, including first-generation undergraduate students; the geographic and institutional diversity of the applying institutions; and how the applicants can leverage public-private partnerships and existing partnerships with Federal Research Agencies. The Director shall ensure the awards made under this subsection are complementary and not duplicative of existing programs. The Director shall submit a report to Congress after the third year of the program that includes— an assessment of the effectiveness of the program for growing the geographic and institutional diversity of institutions of higher education receiving research awards from the Foundation; an assessment of the quality, quantity and geographic and institutional diversity of institutions of higher education conducting Foundation-sponsored research since the establishment of the program in this subsection; an assessment of the quantity and diversity of undergraduate and graduate students graduating from eligible institutions with STEM degrees; and statistical summary data on the program, including the geographic and institutional allocation of award funding, the number and diversity of supported graduate and undergraduate students, and how it contributes to capacity building at eligible entities. There is authorized to be appropriated to the Director $150,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2022 through 2026 to carry out the activities under this subsection. The Director shall make awards, on a competitive basis, to eligible institutions described in paragraph

(2)to support the mission of the Foundation and to build institutional research capacity at eligible institutions. The Director shall administer separate competitions for each category of eligible institution described in subclauses

(I)through

(IV)of paragraph (2)(A)(i). To be eligible to receive an award under this subsection, an institution— shall be— a historically Black college or university; a Tribal College or University; a minority-serving institution; or an institution of higher education with an established STEM capacity building program focused on traditionally underrepresented populations in STEM, including Native Hawaiians, Alaska Natives, and Indians; and shall— have not more than $50,000,000 in annual federally financed research and development expenditures for science and engineering as reported through the National Science Foundation Higher Education Research and Development Survey; or not be an institution classified as having very high research activity by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. An eligible institution receiving a grant under this subsection may carry out the activities of the grant through a partnership with other entities, including community colleges and other eligible institutions. To receive an award under this subsection, an eligible institution shall submit an application to the Director at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Director may require, including a plan that describes how the eligible institution will establish or expand research office capacity and how such award would be used to— conduct an assessment of capacity-building and research infrastructure needs of an eligible institution; enhance institutional resources to provide administrative research development support to faculty at an eligible institution; bolster the institutional research competitiveness of an eligible institution to support grants awarded by the Foundation; support the acquisition of instrumentation necessary to build research capacity at an eligible institution in research areas directly associated with the Foundation; increase capability of an eligible institution to move technology into the marketplace; increase engagement with industry to execute research through the SBIR and STTR programs (as defined in section 9(e) of the Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 638(e) ) and direct contracts at an eligible institution; provide student engagement and research training opportunities at the undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral levels at an eligible institution; further faculty development initiatives and strengthen institutional research training infrastructure, capacity, and competitiveness of an eligible institution; or address plans and prospects for long-term sustainability of institutional enhancements at an eligible institution resulting from the award including, if applicable, how the award may be leveraged by an eligible institution to build a broader base of support. Awards made under this subsection shall be for periods of 3 years, and may be extended for periods of not more than 5 years. There are authorized to be appropriated to the Director $200,000,000 for fiscal year 2022 and $250,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2026 to carry out the activities in this title. The Director shall appoint a senior agency official within the Office of the Director as a Chief Diversity Officer. The Chief Diversity Officer shall have significant experience, within the Federal Government and the science community, with diversity- and inclusion-related matters, including— civil rights compliance; harassment policy, reviews, and investigations; equal employment opportunity; and disability policy. The Chief Diversity Officer shall direct the Office of Diversity and Inclusion of the Foundation and report directly to the Director in the performance of the duties of the Chief Diversity Officer under this subsection. The Chief Diversity Officer is responsible for providing advice on policy, oversight, guidance, and coordination with respect to matters of the Foundation related to diversity and inclusion, including ensuring the geographic diversity of the Foundation programs. Other duties may include— establishing and maintaining a strategic plan that publicly states a diversity definition, vision, and goals for the Foundation; defining a set of strategic metrics that are— directly linked to key organizational priorities and goals; actionable; and actively used to implement the strategic plan under paragraph (1); advising in the establishment of a strategic plan for diverse participation by individuals and institutions of higher education, including community colleges, historically Black colleges and universities, Tribal colleges or universities, minority-serving institutions, institutions of higher education with an established STEM capacity building program focused on traditionally underrepresented populations in STEM, including Native Hawaiians, Alaska Natives, and Indians, and institutions from jurisdictions eligible to participate under section 113 of the National Science Foundation Authorization Act of 1988 ( 42 U.S.C. 1862g ); advising in the establishment of a strategic plan for outreach to, and recruiting from, untapped locations and underrepresented populations; advising on a diversity and inclusion strategy for the Foundation’s portfolio of PreK–12 STEM education focused programs and activities, including goals for addressing barriers to participation; advising on the application of the Foundation's broader impacts review criterion; and performing such additional duties and exercise such powers as the Director may prescribe. From any amounts appropriated for the Foundation for each of fiscal years 2022 through 2026, the Director shall allocate $5,000,000 to carry out this subsection for each such year. The Director of the National Science Foundation shall award grants to eligible entities, on a competitive basis, to enable such eligible entities to carry out the activities described in paragraph (4), in order to increase the participation of women and underrepresented minorities in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Each eligible entity that desires to receive a grant under this subsection shall submit an application to the National Science Foundation at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Director of the National Science Foundation may reasonably require. An eligible entity that receives a grant under this subsection shall use such grant funds to carry out one or more of the following activities designed to increase the participation of women or minorities underrepresented in science and engineering, or both: Online workshops. Mentoring programs that partner science, technology, engineering, or mathematics professionals with students. Internships for undergraduate and graduate students in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Conducting outreach programs that provide elementary school and secondary school students with opportunities to increase their exposure to the fields of science, technology, engineering, or mathematics. Programs to increase the recruitment and retention of underrepresented faculty. Such additional programs as the Director of the National Science Foundation may determine. In this subsection— the term minority means American Indian, Alaskan Native, Black (not of Hispanic origin), Hispanic (including persons of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, and Central or South American origin), Asian (including underrepresented subgroups), Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander origin subgroup, or other ethnic group underrepresented in science and engineering; and the term underrepresented in science and engineering means a minority group whose number of scientists and engineers per 10,000 population of that group is substantially below the comparable figure for scientists and engineers who are White and not of Hispanic origin, as determined by the Secretary of Education under section 637.4(b) of title 34, Code of Federal Regulations. There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this subsection $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026, and 2027.

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