WASG Student Experience Grant: Call for proposals

Application Deadline: May 1, 2024
Award Notification Date: May 31, 2024
Funds must be used by March 1, 2025

We are here to help with your application and are happy to talk through your proposal. Contact Kam Yee, WASG Deputy Director, by emailing nasa@uw.edu or attend a drop-in Q&A info session via Zoom

What are we looking for?

Washington Space Grant seeks proposals for career and college pathway projects to provide authentic student engagement experiences in STEM fields. Funds may be used to support or enhance existing projects or fund new initiatives and endeavors. Suggested categories include but are not limited to undergraduate research experiences, educator professional development, and experiential learning projects for college, high or middle school students.

Award amount requires a one-to-one fund matching. This matching must be from non-federal funds and can be cost-shared or in-kind. The one-to-one fund matching is waived for first-time applicants.

Selection criteria

For this grant, reviewers will use the criteria below to score each application:

1. Qualifications: The applicant has demonstrated ability, subject matter expertise, and staff to produce the project.
2. Quality: Program is well-conceived and intentionally integrates evidence-based diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility practices. Program includes multiple (or a series of) meaningful learning experiences over a period of time (from weeks to months) for participants to develop technical skills or gain STEM career and college readiness through sustained engagement.
3. Feasibility: Program has institutional infrastructure to sustain meaningful engagement with participants from diverse backgrounds. Proposal includes a clear and realistic budget, timeline, and milestone goals.
4. Advancing Equity: Provides opportunities to underserved communities, as defined by White House Executive Order 13985: "Individuals who belong to underserved communities that have been denied such treatment, such as women and girls; Black, Latino, and Indigenous and Native American persons, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and other persons of color; members of religious minorities; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) persons; persons with disabilities; persons who live in rural areas; and persons otherwise adversely affected by persistent poverty or inequality."
5. NASA Mission Directorate Alignment: Washington Space Grant Partner Grant is financially supported by NASA and requires funded activities to have direct alignment with the NASA Mission Directorates.

Are you and your program eligible?

Applicant

• Accredited colleges or universities in Washington State
• Community-based institutions such as STEM museums, science centers, or colleges and career pathway organizations operating in Washington State

You can use this grant to:

• Provide a scholarship for college or university students in pursuing STEM majors in Washington State.  See definition section below for the list of approved STEM degrees and majors.   
• Pay for stipends for program participants to work firsthand in research and gain technical skills. 
• Implement a STEM pathway program for participants belonging to underserved communities including people of color, LGBTQ communities, gender variant communities, people with disabilities, and veterans. See definition section below for our racial equity goals.
• Pay for materials, transportation, and compensation for professional staff to guide middle and/or high school students through experiential learning in STEM topics.  
• Host an educator professional development event that will lead to authentic student experiences. 
• We welcome new projects and collaborations. Please submit your proposal ideas for consideration. 

You cannot use this grant for:

• Major equipment purchases.
• General operating support, overhead costs and fees.
• Only US citizens are allowed to receive direct support from WASG. Non-US citizens can be the primary contact, faculty, staff, and participants can take part in the proposed program but cannot get any direct financial support from WA Space Grant funds. Direct support includes stipends, salaries and travel funds.

How to apply

Submit your application as a PDF to nasa@uw.edu by 12pm Pacific Time.

Summer 2024 Application

• Deadline: March 1, 2024
• Award notification: March 31, 2024
• Funds used by: October 1, 2024
• Funding period may be extended with pre-planning and approval in the application.

Fall 2024 Application 

• Deadline: May 1, 2024
• Award notification: May 31, 2024
• Funds used by: March 1, 2025
• Funding period may be extended with pre-planning and approval in the application.

Winter 2025 Application

• Deadline: September 5, 2024
• Award notification: September 30, 2024
• Funds used by: March 1, 2025
• Funding period may be extended with pre-planning and approval in the application.

The Student Experience Grants are awarded, reported, and invoiced every quarter. While no Space Grant funding is distributed for Spring 2025, awardees are encouraged to allocate their institution’s cost-share spending during the Spring quarter.

Your application should include the following:
Email Subject: Grant Proposal Submission: [Your Institution’s Name]

1. Program Narrative: Single spaced. Size 12 font. 2 pages limit.

   1. Reference the Selection Criteria listed above.
   2. What activity(s) are you proposing? List major milestones and outcomes. 
   3. Include a brief timeline of program activities.
   4. Include data on diversity, equity, and inclusion on a current or recent program. Discuss the data you presented. Where are you seeking to improve and how will you reach that goal? 

2. Budget table, including cost breakdown. Not included in the page count. Visit our invoice and budgeting template (Google sheet).

Example budget table: 

3. OPTIONAL: Supporting documentation such as website, past program reports, and key personnel and facilitators’ credentials and relevant experience. Please submit as attachments or weblinks. If you attach supporting documents, cross-reference them in the body of the proposal narrative. 3 page limit.

Definitions

Cost Sharing or Fund Matching

Cost Share occurs when a quantified portion of the costs of an Award are not paid by the sponsor, but paid instead using resources within a department, school/college, or other party outside of the UW and Affiliate Institution. Cost-share must be from non-federal funds. Example: Salary, facilities rental on awardee campus directly related to reaching stated goals in awarded projects. 

NASA Mission Directorates

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is broken down into Mission Directorates: Aeronautics, Exploration Systems, Science, Space Operations, and Space Technology. They define NASA research priorities and form the foundation of the agency’s mission to explore the unknown in air and space, innovate for the benefit of humanity, and inspire the world through discovery. Visit NASA’s webpage for details.

Pathway Program

College and career preparatory program using an equity-focused framework to strengthen students’ access to STEM careers by removing systemic obstacles to their success. 

STEM Degrees and Majors 

For the purpose of this grant, please refer to the STEM Designated Degree Program List. Student participants may be enrolleded full-time or part-time in pursuit of majors and equivalent certifications.

Underserved Communities

To foster a diverse next-generation workforce to meet the current and emerging needs of NASA and the nation, Space Grant prioritizes proposals that serve Underserved Communities as defined by White House Executive Order 13985, “Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government.”

See examples of communities or identities. Please see Executive Order 13985 for full list. 

• Person of  color, such as Black and African American, Hispanic and Latino, Native American, Alaska Native and Indigenous, Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, Middle Eastern, and North African persons
• Individuals who belong to communities that face discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity (LGBTQ+)
• Parents and caregivers
• Disability
• First-generation professionals or first-generation college students
• Individuals who face employment barriers based on older age or former incarceration
• Persons who live in rural areas
• Veterans and military spouses
• Individuals may belong to more than one underserved community and face intersecting barriers

For more information and/or to apply:
https://www.waspacegrant.org/info/about/affiliate-faq/
Deadline: 09/05/2024 12:00 Pacific Time