BER - Reaching a New Energy Sciences Workforce (BER-RENEW) | DE FOA 0002929

Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0002929

The BER - Reaching a New Energy Sciences Workforce (BER-RENEW) opportunity (DOE Office of Science, Biological and Environmental Research) is a discretionary grant program designed to expand who participates in DOE Office of Science research by strengthening research and training foundations at institutions that have historically been underrepresented in the Office of Science portfolio. The basic idea is capacity building plus real, hands-on research experiences: BER-RENEW is meant to help students and faculty at eligible institutions gain direct access to the kind of facilities, expertise, and research environments that are often concentrated at national laboratories, user facilities, and large research universities. By doing that, the program aims to create clearer pathways into energy-related biological and environmental science careers, while also helping these institutions become more active contributors to BER-relevant research over the long term.

A central feature of the program is experiential training for undergraduate and graduate students. Projects are expected to emphasize practical, mentored research experiences, typically through partnerships with DOE National Laboratories conducting BER-relevant work and/or through connections to BER-supported long-term research activities, including Bioenergy Research Centers. In other words, it is not only about classroom training or short workshops; it is about placing students and trainees into authentic research settings where they can build technical skills, learn research workflows, and form professional networks that can carry them into graduate school, national lab roles, or other science and engineering careers. As part of that professional integration, principal investigators, key personnel, and students supported by BER-RENEW are also expected to engage with the broader BER and Office of Science community through invitations to BER researcher meetings and/or Office of Science-wide professional development and collaborator events.

The funding announcement is also explicitly aimed at overcoming structural barriers that can keep capable researchers and students at underrepresented institutions from connecting with BER programs. BER notes that many scientists at institutions not currently funded by BER may have limited familiarity with BER priorities, funding mechanisms, and entry points into the national lab and user facility ecosystem. BER-RENEW is structured to lower those barriers by encouraging new collaborations and partnerships, and by funding activities that help an institution build durable internal capacity in biological and environmental sciences tied to BER’s mission. The program’s two stated thrusts are (1) developing biological and environmental science training capacity and research at non-R1 MSIs and (2) fostering sustained undergraduate and graduate training and participation in BER-relevant research through new collaborations.

Eligibility is intentionally narrow and is a major defining element of this opportunity. Competition is restricted to domestic applicants that are classified as Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) and are not Carnegie R1 research institutions. MSIs are defined broadly and can include, among others, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), Asian American Native American and Pacific Islander Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs), and Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions. The FOA relies on the U.S. Department of Education MSI eligibility determination (including institutions coded as eligible to receive MSI funding or currently receiving it) and uses the Carnegie R1 classification to exclude R1 institutions from applying. It also notes that certain nonprofit organizations (specifically 501(c)(4) organizations that engaged in lobbying after December 31, 1995) are not eligible, consistent with federal restrictions.

From an applicant’s perspective, the projects that fit best are those that combine student-centered training plans with credible research partnerships and a realistic strategy for institutional growth. Competitive applications are likely to describe how students will be recruited, mentored, and integrated into BER-relevant research; what hands-on experiences they will gain (for example, lab-based research, field work, data science workflows, or user facility-based experiments depending on the BER topic area); how national lab or BER-affiliated collaborators will be engaged; and what the institution will have in place at the end of the award that was not there before (such as new research pipelines, sustained collaborations, improved research infrastructure or training practices, and stronger positioning to compete for future BER funding). The program’s broader purpose is not only to fund individual projects, but to broaden and diversify BER’s institutional representation and strengthen the future workforce needed across the full breadth of BER research.

Key public listing details included in the source data are: Funding Opportunity Title: "BER - Reaching a New Energy Sciences Workforce (BER-RENEW)"; Funding Opportunity Number: DE-FOA-0002929; Agency: DOE Office of Science; Assistance Listing (CFDA): 81.049; Instrument Type: Grant; Activity Category: Science and Technology and other Research and Development; Award ceiling: $800,000; and an original closing date of 2023-04-25.

• The Office of Science in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "BER - Reaching a New Energy Sciences Workforce (BER-RENEW)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 81.049.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2023-01-09.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2023-04-25. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $800,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for DE FOA 0002929

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