Science and Technology Studies

Overview

Science and Technology Studies (STS) is an interdisciplinary field that investigates the conceptual foundations, historical developments and social contexts of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), including medical science. The STS program supports proposals across a broad spectrum of research that uses historical, philosophical and social scientific methods to investigate STEM theory and practice. STS research may be empirical or conceptual; specifically, it may focus on the intellectual, material or social facets of STEM.

STS research seeks to understand how scientific knowledge is produced and sanctioned, and how it is challenged and changes. It examines the theoretical foundations of science, brings to light underlying presuppositions and alternative interpretations, and assesses the reliability of research methods. It investigates how materials, devices and techniques are designed and developed; how and by whom they are diffused, used, adapted and rejected; how they are affected by social and cultural environments; and how they influence quality of life, culture and society. It also considers how socio-cultural values are embedded in science and technology, and how they evolve with the development and use of scientific knowledge and technological artifacts. In addition, it explores relationships between STEM and fundamental social categories.

Traditional STS Focus Areas -- The program encourages research that furthers STS as a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary field, including, but by no means limited to the following:

• Research on the social organization of scientific work and how this shapes the production of knowledge and its intellectual and social impacts.
• Research on the historical, conceptual and methodological foundations of any of the natural, social or engineering sciences including their foundations, origins or place in modern society.
• Mixed methods approaches and other approaches that integrate multiple STS perspectives with each other or with innovative approaches from the arts or humanities.
• Interdisciplinary projects on topics of broad societal concern that engage in integrative, collaborative research involving at least one STS expert and at least one expert in some other STEM field, with prospective outcomes that serve to advance both fields.
• STS projects that contribute to NSF's research-focused Big Ideas, or that contribute to other pertinent initiatives such as Ethical and Responsible Research (ER2), Science of Broadening Participation and ADVANCE.
• How can emerging technologies such as machine learning systems, gene drives or quantum computers be developed and implemented so that they can benefit everyone? How are people interacting with these emerging technologies and how will they affect culture, society and norms?
• What are the best approaches for maintaining and developing the built environment while respecting the natural environment as well as local cultures and values? What factors need to be considered to ensure that technologies work well within social and cultural contexts?
• How can major technological shifts in energy, algorithm usage, transportation or communication be accomplished in ways that are transparent and consistent with societal values, engage diverse perspectives in all phases of development and benefit broad sectors of society?

New Areas of Emphasis for STS
The STS program strongly encourages research that addresses complex socio-technical and techno-scientific problems from multiple perspectives that capture the different social facets of the problem. The goal is to bring different disciplinary and interdisciplinary perspectives to the problem and thereby make use of a variety of theoretical frameworks and methodological approaches. Some examples of questions that address such problems may include, but are by no means limited to, the following:

Link to Guidelines for Developing Effective STS Proposals

GRANT TYPES SUPPORTED BY STS
STS program supports a variety of grant types [see full RFP for details] with associated guidelines. Funding caps on the grant types supported by the STS program are expressed in terms of the requested amount, which is the amount listed on the cover page of the proposal.

• The program mainly supports Standard Research Grants, Grants for Collaborative Research, Scholars Awards, Research Community Development Grants, Conference Grants and Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grants.
• In addition, the program may support other NSF-wide grant mechanisms that are detailed in NSF's PAPPG, including Rapid Response Research (RAPID), Early-concept Grants for Exploratory Research (EAGER) and Research Advanced by Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering (RAISE).

Who May Serve as PI: PI eligibility limit varies by the type of proposal. [See Section II. Program Description for detailed information about each type of proposal.] 

Limit on Number of Proposals per PI or co-PI: There are no restrictions or limits.

Budget Guidelines [see full proposal announcement for complete details]

• Standard and Collaborative Research Grant Proposals -- Amount will rarely exceed $750,000 including indirect costs. 
• Scholars Award Proposals -- Amount will rarely exceed $350,000. The duration is usually one year. 
• Research Community Development Grant Proposals -- There is no award ceiling…typical research community development grant award in the STS Program is expected to be in the range of $75,000-$100,000 per year of the project (corresponding to line L of the yearly budget), for up to 36 months. 
• Conference Grant Proposals -- Expected to be under $50,000.
• Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grant Proposals -- Should not exceed $25,000.
• Faculty Early Career Development Grant Proposals -- The minimum Requested Amount is $400,000 and the duration must be for five years. 
• Mid-Career Advancement Grant Proposals -- Funds may include up to a total of 6.5 months of salary (plus fringe benefits) over the course of the award, and up to $100,000 for other direct costs in support of the research advancement and training plan. 
• Research Coordination Network Grant Proposals -- The maximum Requested Amount is $500,000 and the maximum duration is five years. 
• EAGER Proposals -- The maximum Requested Amount is $300,000 and the maximum duration is two years.
• RAISE Proposals -- The maximum Requested Amount is $1 million and the maximum duration is five years.
• RAPID Proposals -- The maximum Requested Amount is $200,000 and the maximum duration is one year.
• REU Supplemental Funding Requests -- The maximum Requested Amount is $16,000 to support up to two STS undergraduate students at $8,000 per student to support the cost of the student's independent research activity.