National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program: Program-Level Independent Evaluation Opportunity

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Office of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Engagement (OSTEM) solicits new competitive proposals from the National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program (Space Grant) consortia. The Space Grant Program is dedicated to building, sustaining, and deploying a skilled, high-performing and diverse STEM workforce that meets the current and emerging needs of NASA and the nation. The goal of this solicitation is to invite Space Grant consortia members, specifically all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, to submit proposals to conduct an independent program-level impact evaluation of multiple state consortiums in the Space Grant Program. NASA’s OSTEM seeks innovative proposals to conduct an independent program-level, two-year impact evaluation pilot. This pilot evaluation will be representative of the Space Grant Program offerings across multiple states that can be scaled to assess the entire Space Grant Program (based upon the findings and recommendations of the pilot studies). It is essential to NASA’s OSTEM that this evaluation be performed on a truly independent basis in order to ensure that the input the Space Grant Program receives under this funding opportunity is objective and unbiased. The purpose of this independent program-level impact evaluation is to 1) determine how and to what extent the Space Grant Program is designed and executed in alignment with federal law and NASA's STEM engagement goals and priorities; and 2) assess the impact and degree to which the Space Grant Program is achieving its intended outputs and outcomes on a national level. These efforts will provide Space Grant Program Management with robust evidence that can be used to drive future scaled evaluation strategy, program policy, data collection plans, and appropriated competitive awards. Every institution that intends to submit a proposal to this CAN including the proposed prime award or any partner whether an education institution, and other organizations that will serve as sub-awardees or contractors, must be registered in NSPIRES. Electronic submission of proposals is required by the due date and must be submitted by an authorized official of the proposing organization. Such registration must identify the authorized organizational representative(s) who will submit the electronic proposal. All principal investigators and other participants (e.g. co-investigators) must be registered in NSPIRES regardless of submission system. Potential proposers and proposing organizations are urged to access the system(s) well in advance of the proposal due date(s) of interest to familiarize themselves with its structure and enter the requested information. Electronic proposals may be submitted via the NASA proposal data system NSPIRES. Additional programmatic information for this CAN may develop before the proposal due date. If so, such information will be added as a Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) or formal amendment to this CAN and posted on http://nspires.nasaprs.com. It is the proposer’s responsibility to regularly check NSPIRES for updates to this CAN.