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NIST Standards Coordination Office Curricula Development Cooperative Agreement Program
Enriching college curricula to raise awareness of the role of standards and standardization in science, technology, engineering, math, law, public policy, business, and other related or multi-disciplinary fields.
The Notice of Federal Funding Opportunity (NOFO) announcing the FY23 Program was released on April 5, and the deadline to submit a proposal was June 4, 2023. To learn more about the FY23 awardees, please see the news release.
Eligible applicants may apply for awards of up to $150,000 to integrate standards education into undergraduate or graduate-level courses. Funding is awarded in an open, competitive process.
Background
The Standards Coordination Office (SCO) Standards Services introduced the “Education Challenge Grants” program in Fiscal Year (FY) 2012. The program began with a budget of $150,000; six small grants were awarded to launch the program, supporting the development of new learning resources and course modules integrating standards into the formal curriculum in business and engineering programs. The following year, the program was changed from a grant program to a cooperative agreement program, allowing SCO to work more closely with award recipients and to provide greater support to strengthen education and learning about standards and standardization. In 2023, the name of the program became the SCO Curricula Development Cooperative Agreement Program.
The number of awards given fluctuates each year based on various factors such as the number of proposals received and funding available. The evaluation criteria have evolved as NIST continues to improve the program each year, but the essential goal has remained the same—support for standards education at US colleges and universities.
Program Criteria
Applicants are evaluated on their ability to meet criteria in four major categories:
- Technical Project Approach and Project Execution Plan;
- Communication and Dissemination Plan;
- Qualifications and Experience of Key Personnel; and
- Resource Availability.
Updated News
NIST Awardees Publish Book on Standards Information Literacy
A new publication, Teaching and Collecting Technical Standards: A Handbook for Librarians and Educators, is available for free download or purchase from Purdue University Press. Comprising 13 chapters, the handbook provides background information on standards and information on how to access standards, best practices for developing a useful collection of standards, and integrating standards into the curriculum. Additionally, it includes 14 case studies in many disciplines, including engineering, business, and law. NIST Standards Coordination Office Curricula Development Cooperative Agreement Program (SCOCD CAP) awardees Margaret Philips, Purdue University, and Daniela Solomon, Case Western Reserve University, are co-authors and co-editors of the book. Click here for more details.
NIST Awards Funding to 8 Universities to Advance Standards Education
The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has made eight awards totaling $1,156,973 to support standards education in undergraduate and graduate curricula.
The University of Pennsylvania Law School and Penn Program on Regulation (PPR) received two awards under the NIST Standards Services Curricula Development Cooperative Agreement Program to develop course modules and case studies on legal and administrative issues related to codes and standards. The curricula is now available on a new website, Codes-and-Standards.org, and can be used to integrate the study of codes and standards into core and elective courses in law schools and public policy graduate programs. The content is organized into five segments:(1) Introduction to Codes and Standards; (2) Standard Essential Patents; (3) Incorporation by Reference; (4) Risk Regulation; and (5) Federal Preemption. All of the materials needed to support one or more class modules are provided.
November 28, 2022 - RIT was recently awarded a grant to develop curricular modules on infrastructure improvement and resilience to introduce undergraduate and graduate students to standards. The modules will include case studies and simulation exercises that can be used in traditional classroom and online courses. The new curricula will be integrated into RIT degree programs in construction management, environmental sustainability, health and safety, and computing security, as well as smart grid and architectural engineering curriculum at partnering institutions.
To receive future program updates, please click Connect With Us and input your email. Then scroll down the list of subscription topics to Standards.gov, check the NIST Standards Coordination Office Curricula Development Cooperative Agreement Program News and Announcements box, and click "Submit."
Contacts
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NIST Standards Coordination Office Curricula Development Cooperative Agreement Program