Division of Human Resource Development

The National Science Foundation Division of Human Resource Development is a civilian sub-agency that awards grants to strengthen science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and workforce development, with emphasis on underrepresented populations and institutional capacity building. The Division also procures advisory and evaluation services to support its grant programs and strategic initiatives.

The Division transacts primarily through grants rather than contracts. Over the last five years, it awarded 413 grants totaling $810.6 million in federal dollars obligated, with 74 awards in 2021, 70 in 2022, 102 in 2023, 118 in 2024, and 49 year-to-date in 2025. Grant assistance is heavily weighted toward Project Grants (833 awards, 98% of the portfolio) with a small share of Cooperative Agreements (15 awards, 2%). Across the entire grant portfolio since 2003, the Division has made 848 awards. Grant recipient concentration is highly fragmented; the top five recipients by award count account for 12 percent of recent awards, with Florida A & M University leading at 14 awards and $9.2 million in federal dollars. By federal dollars obligated, the top five recipients represent only 4 percent of combined federal funding. Morgan State University, Florida A & M University, Jackson State University, University of Puerto Rico, and Albany State University are the current leaders, but the 328 distinct recipients across the portfolio reflect broad distribution of funding across institutions, primarily historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and institutions serving minority students.

Contract activity is minimal and sporadic. The Division has awarded 44 contracts since 2011, totaling $25.5 million in combined potential value, with $23.8 million obligated (93% of potential). Recent contract volume is uneven: 2 awards in 2018, 1 in 2021, 26 in 2022, 6 in 2023, and 2 in 2025, with the most recent award recorded on 2025-08-13. Contract competition is highly fragmented; the top five primes by award count represent only 35 percent of recent awards. Evergreen Evaluation LLC leads by count with 4 awards ($80 thousand combined potential value), followed by Gartner, Inc. with 3 awards ($256 thousand). By potential value, Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. dominates with a single $2.4 million award, representing 13 percent of the top-five coverage on the value dimension. The remaining 30 primes in the portfolio hold the long tail. Eighty-six percent of contracts carry no set-aside; 9 percent are designated Total Small Business, and 5 percent are 8(a) Sole Source awards. Thirty-five distinct contractors have been awarded over the contract portfolio history.

Recent contract opportunities focus on evaluation and advisory support. Grant opportunities align with the Division's core mission of STEM education pathways, workforce development, and institutional capacity building for underrepresented groups and minority-serving institutions.

The Division of Human Resource Development (HRD) serves as a focal point for NSF's agency-wide commitment to enhancing the quality and excellence of STEM education and research through broadening participation by historically underrepresented groups - minorities, women, and persons with disabilities. Priority is placed on investments that promise innovation and transformative strategies and that focus on creating and testing models that ensure the full participation of and provide opportunities for the educators, researchers, and institutions dedicated to serving these populations. Programs within HRD have a strong focus on partnerships and collaborations in order to maximize the preparation of a well-trained scientific and instructional workforce for the new millennium.