National Science Foundation (NSF) Advancing Informal STEM Learning

National Science Foundation (NSF) Advancing Informal STEM Learning is sponsored by National Science Foundation (NSF). Supports projects that advance new approaches to and evidence-based practices in STEM learning in informal environments.

Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) | NSF - U.S. National Science Foundation Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) Archived funding opportunity This document has been archived. Important information for proposers and award recipients All proposals must be submitted in accordance with the requirements specified in the funding opportunity and in the Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) and its supplements .

All NSF grants and cooperative agreements are subject to the applicable set of NSF award terms and conditions . NSF has updated its research security policies for NSF funded projects. 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)