NSF Request for Information: Future Workforce Development

The NSF Directorates for Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (TIP) and STEM Education (EDU) are jointly issuing this Request for Information (RFI) to seek input from nonprofit organizations, philanthropies, industry, local, state and tribal government offices/agencies, K-12 schools and districts, institutions of higher education, trade and/or vocational schools, and other communities of practice on opportunities and challenges towards creating a robust collection of flexible and seamless STEM pathways in emerging technological areas. 

New on-ramps into STEM careers have been facilitated by a recent paradigm shift -- from a linear view of the STEM ‘pipeline’ to the more complex notion of a braided river, described as a collection of paths that change and adapt to the individual. NSF is seeking novel approaches that lead to the recruitment of diverse and creative individuals into emerging technologies. The objective is to develop new funding opportunities that will accelerate efforts to increase both the rate and overall composition of domestic students enrolled in traditional academic pathways into STEM disciplines that will lead to emerging technology careers. Of equal priority is the interest in developing new funding opportunities that focus on flexible, non-traditional pathways into emerging technology careers, through support of continuous lifelong learning as a critical strategy to access high paying jobs in these areas.

Responses to this Dear Colleague Letter must be received on or before 5:00 PM Eastern time on June 21, 2023. Learn more and Respond.