Growing Research Access for Nationally Transformative Economic Development (GRANTED)

NSF GRANTED supports innovative models of research enterprise administrative development and workforce training infrastructure that promote sustainable research capacity and opportunities for economic impact in U.S. organizations. The research enterprise, broadly defined, includes research development and administration, research analytics, technology transfer and commercialization, corporate relations/public-private partnerships, research integrity, compliance and security, research policy, administration of student research training, and research leadership. Strengthening and transforming this administrative infrastructure is necessary to fully utilize the Nation's research talent and capabilities and empower America's organizations that engage in or support research and its outcomes, to participate in a globally competitive research enterprise.

Program Description

Maintaining U.S. global leadership demands a research enterprise that is competitive, effective, sustainable and contributes to the Nation's economic growth goals. A strong national research enterprise relies on more than funding for the research itself. It also requires robust administrative support-and-service infrastructure, which is often unseen, yet includes critical components to ensure a competitive research environment regardless of organization or location. Research enterprise infrastructure enables the development of proposals and management of awards and supports research translation through technology transfer and public-private partnerships. Research compliance enables the security and integrity of research approaches. Research analytics and communication, managing the training of the U.S. scientific workforce, and harnessing the creativity and drive of research leadership, and more, are also fundamental components of the infrastructure.

The GRANTED initiative provides unique opportunities to realize a broad and collaborative vision for research enterprise infrastructure. Proposals in response to this GRANTED program description should engage the professional, administrative research support-and-service workforce in project leadership roles described within proposals. Proposed projects should look beyond individual and discipline-specific research needs and focus on activities that create organization-wide impact and potential for regional and national impact. Projects should propose scalable approaches and models to build and sustain research enterprise infrastructure. Competitive proposals will recognize structural and organizational challenges and include goals to implement interventions, solutions, and/or strategies that will mitigate the challenges. Proposals must be centered around one or more of the three main themes of GRANTED:

• Innovating and enhancing practices and processes within the research enterprise;
• Developing and strengthening human capital within the research enterprise; and
• Translating effective practices related to the research enterprise into a broad range of organizational contexts.

The GRANTED program utilizes general proposal requirements, including eligibility, as outlined in the current NSF Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG). Prospective PIs are strongly encouraged to contact GRANTED initiative personnel (GRANTED@nsf.gov) with inquiries prior to developing and submitting a proposal to this program description. The project budget and duration should be determined by the scope of the proposed activities and presented in accordance with the PAPPG. GRANTED is not intended to fund discipline-specific STEM research and training projects.

Collectively, proposals funded through this Program Description will advance transformation of the national research enterprise, measured through 1) generating scalable models that improve research capacity and competitiveness, 2) creating collaborations, partnerships, and communities centered around strengthening the Nation's research enterprise, 3) increasing the range of project leadership, organizations, ideas, and approaches that NSF funds, especially related to developing areas aligned to agency priorities, and 4) strengthening engagement across the Nation’s research enterprise.