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Solicitation NSF 24-601 archived; AISL is recurring — check nsf.gov for current solicitation and deadlines
Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) is a grant program from the National Science Foundation (NSF) that funds projects enhancing public engagement with science, technology, engineering, and mathematics outside formal school settings. The program supports informal learning environments including science museums, nature centers, libraries, broadcast media, and community organizations that reach diverse audiences across all ages.
Funded projects advance knowledge of how people learn STEM in informal settings, develop innovative exhibits and programming, and build the capacity of informal STEM education practitioners. Note: This is an archived funding opportunity; organizations should verify current availability with NSF.
Eligible applicants include nonprofits, universities, museums, and media organizations; award amounts range from small planning grants to multi-year research and development awards.
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Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) | NSF - U.S. National Science Foundation Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) Archived funding opportunity This document has been archived. NSF's implementation of the revised 2 CFR NSF Financial Assistance awards (grants and cooperative agreements) made on or after October 1, 2024, will be subject to the applicable set of award conditions, dated October 1, 2024, available on the NSF website .
These terms and conditions are consistent with the revised guidance specified in the OMB Guidance for Federal Financial Assistance published in the Federal Register on April 22, 2024.
Important information for proposers All proposals must be submitted in accordance with the requirements specified in this funding opportunity and in the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) that is in effect for the relevant due date to which the proposal is being submitted. It is the responsibility of the proposer to ensure that the proposal meets these requirements.
Submitting a proposal prior to a specified deadline does not negate this requirement.
Updates to NSF Research Security Policies On July 10, 2025, NSF issued an Important Notice providing updates to the agency's research security policies, including a research security training requirement, Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Program annual certification requirement, prohibition on Confucius institutes and an updated FFDR reporting and submission timeline.
Supports research and practice in informal STEM learning settings, with a focus on engaging diverse audiences, increasing STEM participation and fostering a sense of belonging, particularly for historically excluded and underrepresented groups.
The Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) Program is committed to funding research and practice, with continued focus on investigating a range of informal STEM learning (ISL) experiences and environments that make lifelong learning a reality.
This program seeks proposals that center engagement, broadening participation, and belonging, and further the well-being of individuals and communities who have been and continue to be excluded, underserved, or underrepresented in STEM along several dimensions.
The current solicitation encourages proposals from institutions and organizations that serve public audiences, and specifically focus on public engagement with and understanding of STEM, including community STEM; public participation in scientific research (PPSR); science communication; intergenerational STEM engagement; and STEM media.
Projects funded by AISL should contribute to research and practice that further illuminates informal STEM learning’s role in engagement, broadening participation, and belonging in STEM; personal and educational success in STEM; advancing public engagement in scientific discovery; fostering interest in STEM careers; creating and enhancing the theoretical and empirical foundations for effective informal STEM learning; improving community vibrancy; and/or enhancing science communication and the public’s engagement in and understanding of STEM and STEM processes.
The AISL Program funds five types of projects: (1) Synthesis; (2) Conference; (3) Partnership Development and Planning; (4) Integrating Research and Practice; and (5) Research in Support of Wide-reaching Public Engagement with STEM. NOTES: Activities primarily focused on formal educational systems or outcomes are outside the scope of work supported by this program.
AISL does not fund formal elementary, middle, or high school, or undergraduate or graduate education, whether in-person or online. Similarly, AISL does not fund formal workforce training (e.g., professional certifications and degree-earning programs) that is not aimed directly at informal STEM learning professionals.
While the language in the Broadening Participation in STEM section draws attention to the diversity of institutions of higher education (IHEs), the AISL program encourages submissions from the full spectrum of diverse talent that society has to offer to include those from Non-profit, Non-academic Organizations, and Tribal Nations as core to the program’s Broadening Participation and overall efforts to engage the diverse talent from communities and advance informal STEM education.
Non-profit, Non-academic Organizations are directly associated with educational or research activities but do not grant degrees.
They include but are not limited to independent museums, observatories, research laboratories, professional societies, and similar organizations located in the U.S. The term “Tribal Nation” means an American Indian or Alaska Native tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village, or community that the Secretary of the Interior acknowledges as a federally recognized tribe pursuant to the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994, 25 U.S.C.
§§ 5130-5131. Updates and announcements AISL: Serve as a Proposal Reviewer Live Webinars for NSF 24-122 Dear Colleague Letter: NSF 75th Anniversary: NSF STEM Day For administrative questions contact the Program by e-mail at DRLAISL@nsf.
gov or phone at (703)292-8616 Address Questions to the Program Awards made through this program Browse projects funded by this program Map of recent awards made through this program Directorate for STEM Education (EDU) Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings (EDU/DRL)
According to the current listing, eligibility includes: Nonprofits, universities, and some individuals (via institution/nonprofit affiliation). Confirm the full requirements in the official notice before applying.
The current listing shows $250,000 - $2,000,000. Verify award ceilings, matching requirements, and allowable costs in the official notice.
Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) accepts applications on a rolling basis — there is no single fixed deadline. Check the official notice for any cycle-specific review dates.
Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) is funded by National Science Foundation (NSF). Verify program details on the funder's official page before applying.
Yes — this listing is flagged as national in scope, so applicants across the U.S. may apply, subject to the sponsor's other eligibility criteria.
Start with the full solicitation document linked on this page — it contains the submission instructions and required forms.
The UKRI Policy Fellowships 2025, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, offer 18-month placements for academics to co-design research with UK government and What Works Network host organizations. Awards range from £180,000 to £280,000 and support three fellowship tracks: core policy fellows, Natural Hazards and Resilience policy fellows, and What Works Innovation fellows. Applicants must hold a PhD or equivalent research experience, be based at a UKRI-eligible UK organization, and possess relevant subject matter or methodological expertise. Government-hosted positions target early to mid-career academics, while What Works fellowships welcome all career stages. Fellows work directly with policymakers to bridge academic research and policy development on pressing national and global challenges. The application deadline is July 15, 2025.
The Smart Data Research UK Fellowships provide up to £200,000 per project for researchers using smart data to address real-world challenges across the United Kingdom. Funded by UKRI through Smart Data Research UK, this program supports up to ten projects lasting 18 months, with start dates by February 2026. Applicants must be based at eligible UK organizations and demonstrate strong data skills with a compelling research question aligned to one of four SDR UK themes: productivity and prosperity, health and wellbeing, sustainability, or communities and places. Researchers at all career stages may apply, with early career researchers particularly encouraged. Projects may use smart datasets from SDR UK's six national data services or combine smart data with administrative and survey data sources.
NSF's TechAccess: AI-Ready America commits up to $224 million to build one AI-readiness coordination hub in every state, DC, and U.S. territory. Round 1 closed July 16, 2026 — but Rounds 2 and 3 are still open, and most states are still up for grabs. Here is how the hub structure works, who is eligible, why cost sharing is banned, and how to position an institution to own its state's hub.
Read articleNSF just put $83 million into six national-scale data systems through its Integrated Data Systems and Services program — the plumbing that makes AI-for-science actually work. Here is who won, how the three-category structure (national-scale, transition, planning) really functions, why the Category III planning grant is the on-ramp most teams should be aiming at, and how to build readiness before the next fourth-Tuesday-in-July deadline.
Read articleNSF's new AI Datasets solicitation puts up to $100 million behind a specific bet: that the bottleneck in AI-for-science is not models but data. Here is how the three award tiers work — Flagship up to $5M, Impact up to $2M, Planning up to $200K — who is eligible, why voluntary cost sharing is banned, and how to build a proposal that survives review before the November 4, 2026 deadline.
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