42 U.S.C. § 19181 — Agency responsibilities

(a) In general — Consulting outside stakeholders, the heads of federal research agencies, and the Interagency Working Group on Inclusion in STEM, the OSTP Director^* must develop uniform policy guidelines. The guidelines are for federal research agencies' sustained outreach to increase clarity, transparency, and accountability about federal investments in STEM education and research at HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs, including institutions in rural areas. This section does not define “HBCUs,” “TCUs,” or “MSIs.”

(b) Outreach activities — The guidelines must require each federal research agency:

(1) to designate a liaison for HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs responsible for:

(A) improving direct communication with those institutions to increase the agency's understanding of their capacity and needs and raise awareness of available federal funding opportunities;
(B) coordinating programs, activities, and initiatives while accounting for their capacity and needs;
(C) tracking federal research-agency investments in and engagement with them; and
(D) reporting progress toward increasing their participation in award programs;

(2) to the extent practicable, produce an annual summary of funding opportunities and proposal deadlines targeted at HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs, including grants, contracts, subcontracts, and cooperative agreements;
(3) to the extent practicable, identify in annual budget requests possible areas for collaboration with HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs in the relevant fiscal year, including possible meetings and workshops;
(4) investigate proposal structures that support broader participation by emerging research institutions, including HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs;
(5) conduct on-site reviews of research facilities at HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs, when practicable, and recommend strategies for becoming more competitive in research;
(6) hold geographically accessible or virtual workshops on the agency's research priorities, writing competitive award proposals, and managing awards through the entire lifecycle from application to completion;
(7) ensure opportunities for HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs to communicate directly with agency officials responsible for managing competitive award programs, to receive feedback on research ideas and proposals, including guidance about the agency's merit-review process; and
(8) foster mutually beneficial public-private collaboration among federal research agencies, industry, federal laboratories, academia, and nonprofit organizations to:

(A) identify alternative funding sources for STEM education and research at HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs;
(B) provide students and faculty of HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs access to high-quality, relevant research experiences;
(C) expand the professional networks of their students and faculty;
(D) broaden STEM educational opportunities for their students and faculty; and
(E) support their students' transition into the STEM workforce.

(c) Strategic plan:

(1) In general — No later than one year after August 9, 2022, the OSTP Director, working with the head of each federal research agency, must submit to Congress a report containing a strategic plan. The plan must reflect each agency's plans to increase HBCUs', TCUs', and MSIs' capacity to compete effectively for grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements and to encourage those institutions to participate in federal programs.

(2) Considerations — In developing the plan, the Director and each agency head must consider:

(A) issuing new or expanding existing funding opportunities targeted to HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs;
(B) changing existing research and development solicitations to encourage effective partnerships with them;
(C) offering planning grants for them to develop or equip grant offices with the knowledge needed to submit competitive proposals and manage awarded grants;
(D) offering additional training, including individualized and timely guidance to their grant officers, faculty, and postdoctoral researchers, so they understand the requirements for an effective grant proposal; and
(E) other ways to make current competitive funding models more accessible to under-resourced HBCUs, TCUs, and MSIs.

(d) Report on policy guidelines — No later than two years after August 9, 2022, and every five years after that, the OSTP Director must report to Congress on how federal research agencies have implemented the policy guidelines developed under this section.