Developmental Sciences | 24 544

Opportunity Information: Apply for 24 544

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Developmental Sciences (DS) program (Funding Opportunity 24-544; CFDA 47.075) funds basic research aimed at explaining how human development works across the full lifespan. The focus is on the core developmental processes that shape how people perceive, think, learn language, interact socially, regulate emotions, and develop motor skills, and how these processes support real-world functioning in society. DS supports studies spanning infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and aging, and it also allows research using non-human animals when that is appropriate for answering developmental questions. The unifying theme is mechanism: projects should deepen scientific understanding of how developmental change happens, why it differs across individuals or contexts, and how multiple developmental systems interact over time.

DS is broadly interested in research on perceptual, cognitive, social, emotional, language, and motor development, including how these domains connect to one another (for example, how memory and emotion jointly shape learning, or how perception and motor development work together in early exploration). The program also supports research on the drivers and conditions of developmental change, including influences from family, peers, schooling, neighborhoods and communities, culture, and media, as well as biological and physical influences such as genetics and epigenetics. Strong proposals often integrate across levels of analysis (for example, behavioral measures paired with social-context measures or neural data), across time scales (short-term learning mechanisms and long-term developmental trajectories), and across methods (experiments, observational work, computational modeling, psychophysiology, and other approaches). Multidisciplinary, multi-method, and especially longitudinal designs are explicitly encouraged, as are projects that develop new methods, models, or theories for studying development.

A key boundary is that DS is not a clinical or health-outcomes program. It funds fundamental developmental science rather than clinical trials or research where the primary emphasis is on health interventions or health endpoints. Applicants are expected to propose innovative, potentially transformative basic research, and to build a budget that matches the scientific plan, rather than designing the science around a predetermined funding target.

Funding levels are flexible, but NSF signals a typical range and enforces it in practice. A common DS award is about three years long, with total costs (direct plus indirect) typically between $100,000 and $200,000 per year. Budgets substantially above that range may be returned without review, so applicants planning unusually expensive work should be cautious and should consult DS examples in the NSF awards database. In addition to standard research proposals, DS may consider workshops and small conferences on a case-by-case basis, typically around $35,000 total cost; importantly, conference proposals can only be submitted after an invitation from DS Program Directors.

NSF strongly encourages prospective applicants to check prior DS awards to calibrate fit and scope, and it can be helpful to email a brief (no more than one page) project summary to a Program Director before writing a full proposal to get feedback on program alignment. The solicitation also encourages newer investigators to seek mentoring and informal pre-submission review from senior colleagues and to use professional conference resources that explain federal funding expectations. Separately, DS is interested in recruiting new peer reviewers; potential reviewers generally should hold a Ph.D. (or equivalent) in psychology or a related field and have clear expertise relevant to developmental science, and they can volunteer through an expression-of-interest form.

Eligibility to submit proposals is broad and includes U.S.-based institutions of higher education (two- and four-year, including community colleges), U.S.-based for-profit organizations (including small businesses) with strong R&D or educational capabilities, and U.S. non-profit, non-academic organizations such as museums, research labs, and professional societies. State and local governments are eligible, as are Tribal Nations that are federally recognized. Foreign organizations may submit, but for collaborative projects involving U.S. and foreign partners, NSF support is limited to the U.S. portion. Other federal agencies and Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) may apply, but they are directed to contact the program before preparing a proposal. If a U.S. institution proposes to route funds to an international branch campus (including via subawards or consultants), the proposal must explain why work at that branch campus is beneficial and why it cannot be done at the U.S. campus.

Principal Investigators and co-PIs must have a Ph.D. or equivalent training and experience sufficient for independent basic research. The program encourages involving undergraduate and graduate students in the research, but students should not be listed as PI/co-PI or as senior/key personnel. The program also explicitly welcomes proposals that broaden participation across the full spectrum of STEM talent and institutions, including historically underrepresented or underserved groups, Minority Serving Institutions, Primarily Undergraduate Institutions, two-year colleges, and major research universities. Proposals from EPSCoR jurisdictions are especially encouraged. The listed original closing date for this opportunity was July 30, 2024.

• The National Science Foundation in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Developmental Sciences" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 47.075.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-02-15.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-07-30. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for 24 544

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