This month, the Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences (MCB) held informational webinars reviewing relevant highlights of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities – Excellence in Research (HBCU-EiR) solicitation (20-542). The webinars provided an overview of the solicitation, best practices for submitting competitive proposals, and an introduction to the four divisions of NSF’s Directorate for Biological Sciences (BIO).

To watch the webinar recording, click here (access passcode: wyc^Jh9F).

To view the slides from the presentation, click here:

Additionally, in June 2021, MCB will provide webinar-based, interactive workshops on proposal-writing and the merit review process to HBCU faculty and staff who have registered for the workshop and submitted required pre-work. Since 2018, MCB has provided these workshops to HBCU institutions. Preliminary data indicates that participants who attend the webinar-based workshop tend to submit stronger proposals that are funded at higher rates than non-participants.

If you work at an HBCU and are interested in participating in the June workshops, request a registration form via email at MCBwebreg@nsf.gov. Registration deadline is Thursday, May 6, 2021. Please share this information with appropriate faculty and staff.