42 U.S.C. § 19014 — Expanding geographic and institutional diversity in research

(a) Continuing support for EPSCoR. (1) Sense of Congress: Congress believes that because keeping America's scientific and economic lead needs talented people from across the whole country, the money EPSCoR invests in state research and education capacity serves the federal interest and should keep flowing. Congress also believes EPSCoR should keep its experimental part, supporting new methods for building research capacity and competitiveness. And Congress believes the Director should carry out this program while keeping or raising the share of proposals from emerging research institutions nationwide that succeed, without shutting those institutions out of other awards. (2) [This paragraph was omitted from the law as printed.] (3) Geographic diversity and inclusion. (A) In general: As much as practical, a rising minimum share of the money Congress gives the Foundation for research and related activities and for science, math, and engineering education—not counting money for polar research and operations or for running and maintaining research facilities—must go to EPSCoR institutions. The minimum share is 15.5% in fiscal year 2023, 16% in 2024, 16.5% in 2025, 17% in 2026, 18% in 2027, 19% in 2028, and 20% in 2029. (B) Scholarships: A similar rising minimum share of the Foundation's money for scholarships (including at community colleges), graduate fellowships and traineeships, and postdoctoral awards must support EPSCoR institutions: 16% in 2023, 18% in 2024, and 20% in each year from 2025 through 2029. (C) Considerations: The Director should consider prioritizing funding that helps EPSCoR jurisdictions grow their competitiveness sustainably. That includes infrastructure investments that build research capacity; scholarships, fellowships, and traineeships that build up research and academic staff; partnerships between organizations in EPSCoR and non-EPSCoR jurisdictions that build administrative, grant management, and proposal-writing skills in EPSCoR jurisdictions; capacity-building for emerging research institutions, historically Black colleges and universities, Tribal Colleges or Universities, and minority-serving institutions, consistent with this section and section 19183 of this title; and using the Partnerships for Innovation program and the Commerce Department's technology and innovation hub program to build lasting innovation ecosystems in EPSCoR jurisdictions. (D) Merit review: The Director must try to hit these percentages as much as practical, but always in a way consistent with the Foundation's merit review process — quality still has to come first. (E) Consortia: If an award goes to a group of organizations working together, and the lead organization is an EPSCoR institution, the Director may count the entire award toward the EPSCoR funding percentage. (F) Annual reporting: Starting with fiscal year 2023, the Director must report to Congress each year on how this paragraph is being carried out, on progress building research capacity — including infrastructure and staff — at historically Black colleges and universities, Tribal Colleges or Universities, minority-serving institutions, and emerging research institutions, and, if the Foundation misses the required percentage, an explanation and a plan to fix it the following year. (G) Analysis and sustainability report: By December 31, 2026, the Director must send Congress a report analyzing the effects of the funding percentage requirements in subparagraphs (A) and (B). It must analyze how these requirements changed the balance of Foundation funding across states and territories; changes in award success and total funding for historically Black colleges and universities, Tribal Colleges or Universities, minority-serving institutions, and emerging research institutions between August 9, 2022, and December 31, 2026; the gains made in EPSCoR jurisdictions' research capacity, quality, competitiveness, and STEM workforce development over that same period; whether new EPSCoR eligibility criteria should be developed based on those findings; and a plan to sustain and grow these improvements. (H) EPSCoR eligibility: The Director must keep current EPSCoR jurisdictions eligible for five years from August 9, 2022. After that, the Director must decide whether new eligibility criteria are needed, based on the findings in the report required by subparagraph (G). By December 31, 2028, the Director must report to Congress on any new eligibility criteria, any resulting changes to which jurisdictions qualify, and whether the funding percentage requirement in subparagraph (A) should continue or change given any such changes — including an analysis of ways to help nearby non-EPSCoR regions that have historically gotten disproportionately little Foundation funding, possibly including expanding the EPSCoR program or creating new ones. (b) Fostering STEM research diversity and capacity program. (1) In general: The Director must make competitive, merit-reviewed awards to eligible institutions to test new ways of building research capacity, in order to engage and keep students from a wide range of institutions and backgrounds in STEM. (2) Eligible institution defined: For this program, an "eligible institution" is a college that, according to National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics data, was not on average among the top 100 institutions for federal research and development spending over the three years before the award. (3) Purpose: These awards must aim to make an impact at the same time on students, faculty, and the institution itself — building up research capacity and growing the number of undergraduate and graduate students earning STEM degrees at eligible institutions. (4) Requirements: The Director must require eligible institutions to apply, in whatever form and with whatever information the Director requires, including at minimum a plan for keeping the funded activities going after the award ends; require applicants to identify the subjects and focus areas where they can excel, and explain how the award will build their research competitiveness and add to regional and national STEM capacity; require the awards to fund activities such as developing or expanding research programs in those focus areas, recruiting and developing faculty (including early-career researchers) in those areas, paying stipends to undergraduate and graduate students doing research in those areas, buying instruments needed to build research capacity, assessing capacity-building and infrastructure needs, supporting administrative research development, and other activities needed to build research capacity; and make sure that no eligible institution gets more than $10,000,000 in any single year of this program's funding. (5) Additional considerations: In choosing awards, the Director may also weigh how much an applicant will support students from diverse backgrounds, including first-generation college students; the geographic and institutional diversity of the applicants; and how applicants can use public-private partnerships and existing federal research agency partnerships. (6) Duplication: The Director must make sure these awards add to, rather than repeat, existing programs. (7) Report: After the program's third year, the Director must report to Congress, assessing how effectively the program grew the geographic and institutional diversity of colleges getting Foundation research awards; assessing the quality, quantity, and diversity of colleges doing Foundation-sponsored research since the program began; assessing the number and diversity of students graduating from eligible institutions with STEM degrees; and giving statistical data on the program, including how award funding was spread geographically and institutionally, how many and how diverse the supported students were, and how the program built capacity at eligible institutions. (8) Authorization of appropriations: Congress authorized $150,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 through 2027 for this program. (c) Partnerships with emerging research institutions. (1) In general: The Director must run a five-year pilot program of awards to research partnerships that include emerging research institutions, and that may also include institutions the Carnegie Classification rates as having "very high research activity." (2) Requirements: The Director must require that any proposal from a multi-institution collaboration for an award over $1,000,000 — including under part G of this subchapter — explain how the applicants will build real, lasting, mutually beneficial partnerships with one or more emerging research institutions; require award recipients to direct at least 35% of the total award to one or more emerging research institutions; require recipients to report on their partnership activities as part of the Foundation's regular annual reporting; and ask partner emerging research institutions directly for feedback, in whatever form the Director thinks fits. (3) Capacity building: Emerging research institutions can use their share of these funds to build research capacity — for example, paying and training faculty, giving undergraduate and graduate students field and lab research experience, and maintaining and repairing research equipment. (4) Report: After the pilot's third year, the Director must report to Congress, using feedback from the research community and other sources to assess how well the pilot improved the quality of partnerships with emerging research institutions, and, if the pilot worked well, laying out a plan to make it permanent.