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HomeProposals: Preparation & SubmissionSponsor InfoNational Science Foundation (NSF)Safe & Inclusive Working Environments

NSF Safe & Inclusive Working Environments for Off-Campus and Off-Site Research (SAI)

 

Overview

The National Science Foundation (NSF) requires proposers to certify that they have a plan for creating and maintaining Safe and Inclusive Working Environment(s) for projects that include off-campus or off-site research. 

The intent of this new requirement is to provide support and guidance for project team personnel/participants when they do not have readily-available access to resources that support a safe and inclusive working environment (i.e. in a remote/secluded location or vessel conducting field experiments or collecting data).   If individuals continue to have such access, then no plan is needed.  If the individuals are sufficiently distant from campus that access to these resources is more limited than they would be if they were on campus, then a plan is likely needed.

The plan must be tailored to the project and it must be disseminated to individuals participating in the relevant off-campus or off-site research prior to departure to the off-campus/off-site location. 

Proposers should not submit the plan to NSF for review unless specifically requested in the funding opportunity. 

Accordingly, for each proposal that proposes to conduct research off-campus or off site, the AOR must complete a certification that the organization has a plan in place for that proposal that describes how the following types of behavior will be addressed:

  1. Abuse of any person, including, but not limited to, harassment, stalking, bullying, or hazing of any kind, whether the behavior is carried out verbally, physically, electronically, or in written form; or

  2. Conduct that is unwelcome, offensive, indecent, obscene, or disorderly.

 

what the plan should address

The plan should not exceed two pages and must include:

  • A brief description of the field setting and unique challenges for the team.
  • Steps the applicant will take to nurture an inclusive off-campus or off-site working environment, including processes to establish shared team definitions of roles, responsibilities, and culture, e.g., codes of conduct; trainings, mentor/mentee mechanisms, and field support that might include regular check-ins or developmental events.
  • Communication process and procedures within the off-site team and to the organization that minimizes singular points within the communication pathways. (ex. there should not be a single person overseeing a single satellite phone). Specify if participants will have regular internet or cellphone service available, if not, describe alternative arrangements that are in place for participants to report suspected misconduct.
  • The Organizational mechanisms that will be used for reporting, responding, and resolving issues of harassment should they occur.
  • The plan must be uploaded into myResearch as a part of the funding proposal. The plan will not be submitted to NSF unless it is requested/required by the program solicitation.

To comply with this requirement:

  • Each PI of a NSF proposal determines whether any off-campus or off-site research is involved in the proposal.
  • If applicable, the PI must develop a plan, at the proposal stage, for each off-campus or off-site location.  For guidance, see  OSP SAI Guidance Tool.  The PI must upload the plan/s into myResearch prior to the proposal submission by OSP. 
  • Some NSF solicitations require that proposers who include off-campus or off-site research as part of their project submit, as supplementary documentation, a Plan for Safe and Inclusive Working Environments.  See below article, NSF Pilots Inclusion of SAI Plans in Proposal Submisssions. 
    • PI's need to be sure the plan is compelling, adequately addresses the unique challenges for the team, and the organizational mechanisms used for reporting, responding to, and resolving issues of harassment, should they occur, are clearly outlined.
    • Plans uploaded into Research.gov, when required by NSF, are limited to 2 pages and need to follow NSF's PAPPG 23-1 standard content instructions and the additional proposal preparation instructions in the opportunity/solicitation. 
    • The plan should only be submitted to NSF when/if requested or required by NSF.
  • If awarded, the PI disseminates the plan to each individual participating in the off-campus or off-site activities, prior to departure or involvement in those activities.
  • The PI should retain documentation of who received the plan (email or sign up sheet is sufficient).

OSP Template for INTERNAL USE AND DISSEMINATION to participants  

OSP has developed a Safe and Inclusive Work Environments Plan template .  OSP is pleased to provide this template for SBU Investigators/PIs to be used as a guide when creating your official SAI plan.  The NSF Program Solicitation guidance should always be followed when drafting your SAI plan for inclusion in a NSF proposal submission.

NSF pilots inclusion of SAI PLans in Proposal submissions

Several solicitations from BIO and GEO now require the submission of a Safe and Inclusive Work Environments Plan that will be considered as part of the Broader Impacts criteria during the review process.  Visit  Safe and Inclusive Working Environments Requirements Virtual Office Hour  for more information.

The solicitations that are part of the pilot effort to date are:

    • BIO core solicitations:
      • Division of Environmental Biology (NSF 23-549)
      • Division of Integrative Organismal Systems (NSF 23-547)
      • Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences (NSF 23-548) 
    • Biodiversity on a Changing Planet (BoCP, NSF 23-542) 
    • Pathways into the Geosciences (GEOPAths, NSF 23-540)
    • Cultural Transformation in the Geosciences Community (CTGC, NSF 23-539)

For solicitations with a due date (i.e,. BoCP, GEOPaths, and CTGC), the supplementary document is required upon submission.

For solicitations without a due date (i.e., the BIO core solicitations), a date after which proposals must include the supplementary document is included in the solicitation. That date is generally 90 days after the publication of the solicitation. Prior to that date, any proposal with off-campus or off-site research must include a certification from the Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR).

Review of the SAI Plan (when required by the NSF Proposal Solicitation)

The SAI Plan is considered as part of the Broader Impacts review criterion. Reviewers will also be asked to evaluate the following:

  • Is there a compelling plan (including the procedures, trainings, and communication processes) to establish, nurture, and maintain inclusive off-campus or off-site working environment(s)?
  • Does the proposed plan identify and adequately address the unique challenges for the team and the specific off-campus or off-site setting(s)?
  • Are the organizational mechanisms to be used for reporting, responding to, and resolving issues of harassment, should they occur, clearly outlined?

The required submission and review of the SAI Plan is one more way that the NSF aims to broaden participation and ensure that all people engaged in science, wherever science is conducted, are safe, and that the working environment is harassment free and inclusive for all.

 

 

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