Young faculty members at HBCUs and other MSIs usually join the institution as the only person by themselves in a new research area, with little or no support and in need of a fast turn around to meet expectations of showing results in their research activities. In most cases, the only research connection and mentorship for the young faculty is with their Ph.D. advisor or Postdoctoral advisor. Additionally, searching websites looking for funding opportunities that match with their capability and interest usually involves numerous clicks of the mouse with not much success.

This frustrating and sometimes time-consuming process results in new faculty and novice users spending more time on their teaching duties or other work obligations and far less on this critical aspect of research engagement. To effectively direct graduate research, the young faculty at these institutions is in need of mentoring support in assessing solicitations, recognizing and developing their capabilities and preparing competitive proposals.

This Supplement is linked to the SEA National Ecological Observation Network (NEON) award. The Supplement will provide support to new university faculty members and graduate researchers at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs) and Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs) who have not been exposed to the NSF, to assist them in becoming and remaining competitive and productive researchers.

This activity will involve: (1) training faculty at the MSIs on the mechanics of developing competitive proposals, and (2) increasing the number of competitive proposals received within the NSF Biological Sciences Directorate (BIO) from this group. Secondary gains will include strengthening the relationship between NSF and faculty at these institutions by increasing the candidate pool of reviewers and panelists and advertising possibilities for technical speakers on a variety of subjects, all of which are closely linked to building a stronger foundation for improving the research infrastructure at these institutions.

Over time, this activity is expected to spark positive changes at the undergraduate, graduate student and institutional levels, and improve the responsiveness to solicitations and other funding opportunity announcements by the STEM team at MSIs. Furthermore, participants in this activity will be able to provide inter-organization training to future generations of researchers utilizing their personal experiences and established network of contacts secured through their interactions on the STEM team. This activity will compliment other NSF-funded initiatives that are providing support to graduate students and new faculty members with the rank of assistant professor (or equivalent title) or above.

Under this activity, a single one and one-half day workshop will be conducted to inform the STEM team members at the MSIs about funding opportunities within the BIO Directorate, and assist them in identifying and pursuing strategies for completing and submitting competitive proposals. There will be a maximum of 50 participants in the workshop and key BIO program managers will be required to lead the training sessions.

"This initiative is part of our efforts aimed at broadening the participation to include faculty at smaller academic institutions in mainstream research activities," noted Dr. Robert Shepard, SEA Executive Director and Principal Investigator (PI) for workshop initiative. Dr. Ronald Mason, President of Jackson State University and SEA Board Chair said, "This NSF Supplement is expected to encourage some of the young faculty at HBCUs and other MSIs to become more engaged in strong research activity. Linking the workshop to NEON is a great idea since NEON is examining some important research questions. We are pleased that through the efforts of SEA, young faculty from underserved communities will benefit from this new opportunity."

SEA is a Washington; D.C. based non-profit organization established in 1990 "to address the challenge of establishing an ethnically diverse technical workforce prepared to compete in today's global marketplace." Its unique program is dedicated to ensuring that historically underrepresented talent plays a vital role in the nation's scientific and engineering future. It is believed that by working together, SEA will accelerate the production of globally competitive American scientists and engineers among people of color. Public and private sector organizations seeking to enhance their intellectual talent pool can look to SEA member institutions to provide quality scientists and first-rate scientific research.

SEA members include: Alabama A&M University (Huntsville, AL); Jackson State University (Jackson, MS); Prairie View A&M University (Prairie View, TX) and Southern University and A&M College (Baton Rouge, LA), and two national laboratories -- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in Livermore, CA and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Gaithersburg, MD. SEA serves as "A Unique Resource for the Nation®" that focuses on creating opportunities for access and inclusion of its members more fully in the public and private research and development enterprise.