Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings

The National Science Foundation Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings is a civilian sub-agency component within NSF that funds research and development in science education and learning across K-12, higher education, and public engagement contexts. The Division operates as a grant-making entity, with minimal contract activity; it disburses federal funding to academic institutions, nonprofit research organizations, and consortia pursuing learning-science research and implementation projects.

The Division's contract footprint is negligible—eight awards cumulatively since 2008, with only one contract issued in the last five years (April 2023, to the National Academy of Sciences for $1.3 million). Combined contract potential value stands at $17.9 million with $16.2 million obligated. The sole recent awardee, the National Academy of Sciences, represents 100 percent of awards and 7 percent of combined potential value over the last five years; the remaining seven awards are distributed among distinct vendors with no vendor appearing more than once in recent activity. No set-asides characterize the majority of awards (88 percent unrestricted); one 8(a) sole-source award rounds out the mix. Because of the extremely sparse and intermittent contract activity—only one award in the last five years—contract opportunity evaluation is not a meaningful pursuit vector.

Grant activity dominates the Division's portfolio. Since 2002, the Division has obligated $1.89 billion in federal dollars across 1,657 grants to 417 distinct recipients. The most recent recorded grant award date is March 2027 (future-dated), with activity in 2023 yielding 139 awards, 151 in 2024, 150 in 2025, 61 year-to-date in 2026, and 2 recorded for 2027. The top five recipients by award count and federal dollars are highly fragmented—North Carolina State University leads by award count (17 awards, $19.3 million federal obligated), followed by the University of Wisconsin System and Michigan State University at 12 and 11 awards respectively. By federal dollars, North Carolina State holds the lead ($19.3 million), with Terc, Inc. placing second ($13.3 million across 9 awards). The top five recipients account for only 10 percent of recent awards and 4 percent of federal dollars, indicating a highly dispersed recipient base across academic and nonprofit research organizations. Grants are predominantly Project Grants (99 percent of awards) with a small share of Cooperative Agreements (1 percent). No recent grant opportunities are provided in the source material.