At all levels across the US computing and information science and engineering workforce, there is underrepresentation of various populations including women, African Americans, Hispanics, American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders, and persons with disabilities. BPC activities must seek to increase the representation of these groups in the US computing and information science and engineering workforce. Note that BPC activities may include low-income, rural, and other underserved populations in addition to (not in place of) the populations described above. For example, a goal could focus on increasing representation of students who identify as Black or low-income, and every activity aligned with this goal needs to focus on both groups. A goal may not focus only on low-income students. Further reading can be found at the CISE BPC website (https://www.nsf.gov/cise/bpc/).

For Project BPC Plans submitted to NSF, if the solicitation you are responding to has specific details related to this topic, those supersede this FAQ.

CISE has had a longstanding commitment to BPC (see https://www.nsf.gov/od/broadeningparticipation/bp.jsp). CISE recognizes that BPC requires an array of long-term, sustained efforts, and will require the participation of the entire community. Efforts to broaden participation in computing must be action-oriented and must take advantage of multiple approaches to eliminate or overcome barriers. BPC depends on many factors, and involves changing culture throughout academia—within departments, classrooms, and research groups. This change begins with enhanced awareness of barriers and remedies to participation throughout the CISE community, including among principal investigators (PIs), students, and reviewers.  BPC may therefore involve a wide range of activities, examples of which include participating in professional development opportunities aimed at providing more inclusive environments, joining various existing and future collective impact programs to helping develop and implement departmental BPC plans that build awareness, inclusion, and engagement, and conducting outreach to groups underrepresented in computing at all levels (K-12, undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate). 

In 2017, CISE announced a 3-year pilot effort to increase the community’s involvement in BPC. CISE required that BPC plans were included in proposals for certain large awards, notably proposals to the Expeditions in Computing program, plus Frontier proposals to the Cyber-Physical Systems and Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace (SaTC) programs.  CISE also encouraged for certain other projects, the inclusion of BPC plans in proposals and required the inclusion of BPC plans in awards, notably Medium and Large projects in the core programs of the CISE Divisions of Computing and Communication Foundations (CCF), Computer and Network Systems (CNS), and Information and Intelligent Systems (IIS), plus the SaTC program.  

Building on this experience, in FY 2022, CISE will require that Medium projects in the above programs include a Project BPC plan at time of submission; and have a meaningful BPC plan at the time of award. Project BPC Plans should help PIs develop their individual awareness, knowledge, resources, and skills in pursuing meaningful BPC activities.

CISE hopes to accomplish several things:

• Continue to signal the importance of and commitment to BPC;
• Stimulate the CISE community to take action; and
• Educate the CISE community about the many ways in which all members of the community can contribute to BPC.

The long-term goal of this pilot is for all segments of the population to have clear paths and opportunities to contribute to computing and closely related disciplines.

Inclusion is a component of BPC. According to the Association of American Colleges and Universities, inclusion is “the active, intentional, and ongoing engagement with diversity—in the curriculum, in the co-curriculum, and in communities (intellectual, social, cultural, geographical) with which individuals might connect—in ways that increase awareness, content knowledge, cognitive sophistication, and empathic understanding of the complex ways individuals interact within systems and institutions” (https://www.aacu.org/making-excellence-inclusive). Thus, given its focus on increasing the participation of people from groups underrepresented in computing, BPC is not the same as inclusion, but inclusion is a key component of BPC.

Below are a few select references that can serve as a starting point:

• “CISE Broadening Participation in Computing,” available at https://www.nsf.gov/cise/bpc/
• “BPCnet Resource Portal,” available at https://bpcnet.org/
• “Broadening Participation at the National Science Foundation: A Framework for Action,” available at https://www.nsf.gov/od/broadeningparticipation/nsf_frameworkforaction_0808.pdf
• “Biennial Report to Congress,” Committee on Equal Opportunities in Science and Engineering, available at https://www.nsf.gov/od/oia/activities/ceose/index.jsp
• “Making Excellence Inclusive,” Association of American Colleges & Universities, available at https://www.aacu.org/making-excellence-inclusive

A BPC Plan describes how an individual PI or department will contribute to BPC in a meaningful way. NSF CISE defines BPC Plans for departments (Departmental BPC Plans) and PIs (Project BPC Plans).

A Departmental BPC Plan is a 2 page document that will describe the current focus of BPC activities across a department, and what the department has committed to do to address the underrepresentation of certain groups. See Q22 for more information about Departmental BPC Plans.

Project BPC Plans are written by PI(s) submitting a proposal to NSF for certain programs that require the inclusion of a BPC Plan (see https://www.nsf.gov/cise/bpc/ for a current list). When the PI(s) submit a proposal that requires a Project BPC Plan, they pick one of the two types of Project BPC Plans: Connected or Standalone. See Q7 for more details about Project BPC Plans.

Every goal and activity needs to be explicitly connected to BPC as it is defined in the NSF’s BPC call. For many goals and activities, making this connection will require referring to specific communities. Recommendations for how to do so can be found at Referring to Communities Underrepresented in Computing in BPC Plans. For Project BPC Plans submitted to NSF, please refer to the solicitation you are responding to for the most accurate information on how and whether you are required to name specific populations.

Note that not all activities that benefit a “diverse population” will broaden participation in computing. “Diversity” only means that there’s variation within a group, and does not specify the different communities within a group. A diverse group does not necessarily include more people from groups underrepresented in computing. Therefore, it is necessary to identify specific communities within that diversity to make the connection to BPC explicit.

Some activities and goals are focused on inclusivity and/or equity in computing contexts and do not require identifying a specific community. Examples of such activities are marked as not needing to refer to specific communities on the page of Example Activities to Use in BPC Plans.

For Project BPC Plans submitted to NSF, if the solicitation you are responding to has specific details related to this topic, those supersede this FAQ.

Regardless of length, a meaningful Project BPC Plan can answer positively to the following five elements:

1. Context: Does the plan describe a goal using institutional or local data?
2. Intended population(s): Does the plan identify the characteristics of participants from an underrepresented group listed above, including school level (e.g., African-American undergraduates or female high-school students)? Note that BPC activities can include faculty as the intended population.
3. Strategy: Does the plan describe activities that address the goal(s) and intended population(s)? Is there a clear role for each PI and co-PI?
4. Preparation: Does the plan describe how the PI is prepared (or will prepare or collaborate) to do the proposed work?
5. Measurement: Is there a plan to measure the outcome(s) of the activities?

All PIs and co-PIs are expected to participate in BPC activities in a manner aligned with their personal contexts, interests, and skills. More information regarding BPC can be found at https://www.nsf.gov/cise/bpc/.

For Collaborative Proposals, all PIs are expected to participate in BPC activities, but these activities do not have to be the same in every organization.

Please note that it is not necessary to try and solve all BPC needs in a given proposal; strong Project BPC Plans will prioritize doing things well over doing more things. More information, including metrics for BPC activities and examples, can be found on the BPC pilot website (https://www.nsf.gov/cise/bpc/) and the NSF-funded BPCnet.org Resource Portal (https://bpcnet.org/).

CISE recognizes that individual PIs have different levels of experience with BPC, and that a variety of activities may be suitable depending on the PI, organization, and research context. BPC activities can span a wide range of activities at the individual, organizational, and national levels. CISE has historically supported a number of collective impact alliances and is in the process of expanding that set of activities to provide infrastructure so that PIs need not invent activities from scratch. Proposers should decide what sets of activities will be appropriate for their intended population(s) considering local, regional, and cultural contexts. More is not necessarily better; plans may focus on a small set of activities and do them well.

The activities proposed in the BPC plan must be commensurate with the team composition as well as the size and duration of the award. The smoothest path to meaningful BPC efforts is to leverage existing successful programs. You can start with participation in professional development activities related to BPC (e.g., implicit bias training), or with ongoing programs and organizations within your department or at your university that would facilitate reaching out to groups underrepresented in computing. You can also join an existing BPC program by partnering with a BPC provider.

For more details, please visit the CISE BPC pilot website. In particular, PIs are strongly encouraged to review the BPCnet resource portal, which provides examples of ongoing BPC efforts and can assist CISE PIs to plan their own meaningful BPC activities.

A BPC activity may include mentoring (and hiring) students from groups underrepresented in computing, using appropriate mentoring models. PIs should have a specific plan regarding how (and from where) they would recruit students. For example, if a PI notes that a student will be recruited from a Minority-Serving Institution, then the proposal should include documentation of a relationship with such an institution, for example, in the form of a letter of collaboration. Also required would be a statement of how the PI will support students’ persistence and professional development through the educational pipeline (i.e., the education, inclusion, and research pathways) to the next step of the students’ careers.

You can still write a good Project BPC Plan, and you have a couple options to consider. If another department at your institution has a Verified Departmental BPC Plan, you can engage in an activity from that Verified Departmental BPC Plan and submit a Connected Project BPC Plan. See the current list of verified Departmental BPC Plans at BPCnet.org: ​​https://bpcnet.org/verified-departmental-bpc-plans/.

If your institution does not have a department with a verified Plan, you should submit a Standalone Project BPC Plan. There are resources to help with the development of strong Project BPC plans, available at the BPCnet resource portal (https://bpcnet.org/). Since your department does not have any BPC activities going on, your Standalone Project BPC Plan could focus on collecting data about BPC in your context – a common first step for PIs and departments just getting started with BPC.

Not necessarily. Steps to increase BPC readiness such as organizing training opportunities for faculty or administrators are also appropriate.

No, you are encouraged to build upon proven methods for BPC. The choice of whether to use existing BPC activities or create new BPC activities depends upon one’s skills, knowledge, interests, and resources. The smoothest path to meaningful BPC efforts is to leverage existing successful programs. You could partner with existing BPC programs or organizations (for national examples, see https://bpcnet.org/all-resources/), start collecting data, or organize/participate in an activity where faculty can learn about BPC.

This will vary according to the particular activities planned. Certain principles apply, however: 

• PIs should be intentional and objective about measuring the outcomes of their projects’ activities; 
• CISE recognizes that “moving the needle” will take time; PIs should treat BPC activities as ongoing and integral parts of their research projects, and measure them more or less continually; and 
• CISE is standing up resources (https://bpcnet.org/) to help PIs learn from the many activities CISE has sponsored to broaden participation in computing, as well as to share their experiences.

BPC activities as part of a Project BPC Plan are not required to include a formal evaluation component; however, PIs are required to collect and report data about their BPC activities. Grantees are required to submit descriptions and assessments of their BPC activities and outcomes as part of their annual project reports. Measured data must be sufficient to demonstrate that the PI fulfilled their role in the activity.

Yes. With NSF funding, BPCnet.org offers a free BPC Plan Consultancy service for you to schedule an appointment with a consultant at any stage of the development process, whether or not you have a draft ready. You can schedule a free appointment here: https://bpcnet.org/bpc-plan-consultancy/.

Yes. If all collaborating institutions have a BPCnet.org Verified Departmental BPC Plan and intend to engage in BPC activities listed in the Verified Departmental BPC Plan(s) from their institution, then the PI(s) may submit a Connected Project BPC Plan. If only some of the collaborating institutions have a BPCnet.org Verified Departmental BPC Plan, then the PI(s) must submit a Standalone Project BPC Plan.

BPCnet.org has more details about how to select a Project BPC Plan that is right for you: https://bpcnet.org/project-bpc-plans/#creating

In a Connected Project BPC Plan, there can only be one Verified Departmental BPC Plan per institution. PIs may use any Verified Departmental BPC Plan from their institution, even if that plan is from a department other than their home department. This means that some PIs will use a plan from another department.

If any PI wishes to engage in a BPC activity not listed in the Verified Departmental BPC Plan, a Standalone Project BPC Plan must be used instead of a Connected Project BPC Plan.

No, only Verified Departmental BPC Plans can be used in a Connected Project BPC Plan. PIs may use any Verified Departmental BPC Plan from their institution, even if that plan is from a department other than their home department. This means that some PIs will use a plan from another department. See the current list of Verified Departmental BPC Plans at BPCnet.org: ​​https://bpcnet.org/verified-departmental-bpc-plans/.

Your department can submit a Departmental BPC Plan for verification at any time (https://bpcnet.org/submit-plan/).

No, with the exception that all Project BPC Plans must adhere to the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG). 

If you already have a Standalone Project BPC Plan from a previous award and wish to use the same approach to creating your new Project BPC Plan for an upcoming proposal, you may do so. BPCnet.org includes a checklist and template that you can use to create your Standalone Project BPC Plan. See https://bpcnet.org/project-bpc-plans/.

If a Departmental BPC Plan is verified, that means it has undergone a review process from BPCnet.org. BPC Plan Consultants review and provide feedback on the Departmental BPC Plan. Departmental BPC Plans are verified if they meet or exceed the recommended checklist items provided on BPCnet.org. After verification, Departmental BPC Plans are stamped with a verification logo and then published on BPCnet.org (https://bpcnet.org/verified-departmental-bpc-plans/). Verified Departmental BPC Plans can be used by PIs creating Connected Project BPC Plans. PIs from any department can use a Verified Departmental BPC Plan from their institution.

Yes. Visit BPCnet.org Verified Departmental BPC Plans page to see some Departmental Plans that span multiple Academic Units (https://bpcnet.org/verified-departmental-bpc-plans/). We encourage you to create a plan at the level within your institution where you think it can be most impactful.

BPCnet.org provides curated information to assist Departments and Project PIs in developing BPC Plans, including a checklist to guide your efforts in developing a Departmental BPC Plan (https://bpcnet.org/departmental-bpc-plans/). Impactful Departmental BPC Plans address a problem that is relevant to the context of the proposing institution. As mentioned in Q9, the smoothest path to meaningful BPC efforts is to leverage existing successful programs. You could partner with existing BPC programs or organizations (for national examples, see https://bpcnet.org/all-resources/) or organize an activity where faculty can learn about BPC.

BPCnet provides a tool to download disaggregated data for computing degree recipients at your institution and K-12 enrollment, along with state and national data for additional context (https://bpcnet.org/statistics). You can include these data in your BPC Plan.

Additionally, universities maintain institutional data, and it is often publicly available. If you do not know where to find such data, ask your department leadership.

No, there is no expectation of quotas. Rather, the Departmental BPC Plan should set Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-based goals (“SMART” goals) for how its activities will broaden participation in computing and then measure progress towards those goals every year. By setting goals and measuring progress towards those goals, departments can monitor how successful their activities are, and refine those activities that are not having the expected impact or introduce and/or retire activities as departmental needs change. BPCnet has curated a page of example BPC-related SMART goals, which you can adapt for your BPC Plan (https://bpcnet.org/example-bpc-goals/).

Yes. With NSF funding, BPCnet.org offers a free BPC Plan Consultancy service for you to schedule an appointment with a consultant at any stage of the development process, whether or not you have a draft ready. You can schedule a free appointment here: https://bpcnet.org/bpc-plan-consultancy/.

No. Instead, once department leadership has signed off on the plan, departments should submit their Departmental BPC Plan to BPCnet.org for verification by a team of BPC Consultants (https://bpcnet.org/submit-plan/). Once the Departmental BPC Plan includes the required components from the checklist for Departmental BPC Plans, the plan will be stamped as a verified plan and then published on BPCnet.org. Only Verified Departmental BPC Plans can be used by PIs in Connected Project BPC Plans. 

Your department can submit your Departmental BPC Plan for verification by visiting BPCnet.org (https://bpcnet.org/submit-plan/). Once submitted, your Departmental BPC Plan will be reviewed by a BPC Plan Consultant, who will provide feedback and any requests for revisions. Once the Departmental BPC Plan includes the required components from the checklist for Departmental BPC Plans, the plan will be stamped as a verified plan and then published on BPCnet.org.

NSF CISE strongly encourages the creation of Departmental BPC Plans and their subsequent submission for verification to BPCnet.org. Departmental BPC Plans are important because they can help reaffirm the department’s commitment to equity and inclusion for faculty, identify and organize the departments’ BPC goals and activities, and support PIs creating Project BPC Plans for their CISE proposals. Departmental BPC Plans may be used as opportunities to expand faculty engagement in BPC activities, such as encouraging data collection or participation in training related to addressing issues related to BPC.

With NSF funding, BPCnet.org provides a consultancy service, where PIs and Departments can receive free support in developing their BPC Plan (schedule here: https://bpcnet.org/bpc-plan-consultancy/). 

BPCnet.org also provides a checklist for what to include in these Departmental BPC Plans (https://bpcnet.org/departmental-bpc-plans/).

No. Only Verified Departmental BPC Plans can be submitted with Connected Project BPC Plans; BPCnet.org does not verify Plans that exceed 2 pages. 

Some departments find it useful to create an internal document with greater detail about the Plan implementation. These documents are for internal use only and are not submitted to NSF.

Depending on your program solicitation guidelines, you will either submit your Project BPC Plan as a supplemental document or as a section within your proposal. Please consult your specific program solicitation guidelines for instructions.

NSF’s definition of broader impacts covers an array of activities that impact society, and may or may not include broadening participation (https://www.nsf.gov/od/oia/publications/Broader_Impacts.pdf). Computing and closely related disciplines have specific and acute, longstanding issues of underrepresentation that traditional efforts to advance broader impacts have not sufficiently addressed. BPC will address causes of underrepresentation in computing as described in Q2, while Broader Impacts may necessarily address underrepresentation in computing.

Yes. In this expanded CISE pilot, for all Medium and larger-sized awards in the CISE core programs plus the SaTC program, a BPC plan is required as a Supplementary Document, at the time of submission, with a title clearly identifying it as such. Collaborative proposals should submit a Project BPC plan for the entire project, as described in the proposal preparation instructions in current solicitations. PIs will need to have a meaningful Project BPC plan in place by the time of award (see #8). 

Please review your specific solicitation guidelines for more information. You may also visit https://www.nsf.gov/cise/bpc/ for a current list of programs requiring BPC Plans.

Yes. The NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) Chapter II.C.2.d.(i) requires a separate section labeled “Broader Impacts” in the Project Description section of all proposals. In that section, PIs may discuss a range of outcomes that could result from the proposed Research. The Project BPC Plans submitted as part of CISE’s pilot are to be described fully in the supplementary documents, but PIs may briefly summarize those Project BPC Plans within the broader impacts sections of their Project Descriptions.

Not necessarily. The eventual goal is for BPC to be integrated with the research activities specified in a proposal—but for now, your BPC plan does not need to relate to the research in your proposal and does not itself need to include new research.

Activities part of your Project BPC Plan do not need to relate to the technical content of your research proposal, but they can if relevant.

CISE encourages PIs to select activities based on potential impact rather than their cost. The costs for the BPC activities are separate from the stated budget limits for proposals, and proposals recommended for award may be provided additional funding to carry out BPC activities if necessary.

At award time, PIs will submit for review a budget for the cost of any BPC activities with justification. Any organizational resources that support BPC activities should also be described in the Facilities, Equipment and Other Resources section of the proposal (for additional information about Facilities, Equipment and Other Resources, see PAPPG Chapter II.C.2.i) or could be described in a Verified Departmental BPC Plan submitted as part of a Connected Project BPC Plan.

For Project BPC Plans submitted to NSF, if the solicitation you are responding to has specific details related to this topic, those supersede this FAQ.

No, having a BPC expert on the team to accomplish the goals of a Project BPC Plan is not a requirement. Outsourcing the entire execution of the Project BPC Plan to a BPC expert is counter to the goals of the CISE BPC initiative. Project BPC Plans should help PIs develop their individual awareness, knowledge, resources, and skills in pursuing meaningful BPC activities. Having connections to researchers or practitioners with BPC expertise may therefore help proposers generate a meaningful Project BPC Plan. CISE welcomes creative Project BPC Plans that develop interest, knowledge, skills, and activities in support of BPC at all levels. When partners are included, the Project BPC Plan should be clear about what the partners’ roles will be and if there are existing relationships or commitments.

With NSF funding, BPCnet.org offers a free BPC Plan Consultancy service that PIs can use to get feedback and advice on their Project BPC Plan from BPC experts. You can schedule a free appointment here: https://bpcnet.org/bpc-plan-consultancy/.

For Project BPC Plans submitted to NSF, if the solicitation you are responding to has specific details related to this topic, those supersede this FAQ.

CISE recognizes that individual PIs vary in their BPC skills and knowledge. Each PI will need to demonstrate that they have adequate resources to carry out the proposed activities and that the qualifications of the individual, team, or organization are consistent with the needs and goals of the plan. For example, the plan may describe relevant prior BPC experience, a plan for how PIs will receive training if needed, a plan for connecting with a BPC expert who will partner with or coach the PIs, or a resource that articulates and guides the necessary steps.

For Project BPC Plans submitted to NSF, if the solicitation you are responding to has specific details related to this topic, those supersede this FAQ.

Submitted BPC plans will be evaluated by reviewers with expertise in computing and broadening participation as appropriate for the proposal. Reviewers will be asked to comment on whether the Broadening Participation in Computing (BPC) plan meaningfully addresses the five elements of a BPC Plan. See https://bpcnet.org/standalone-project-bpc-plans/ for more information. 

Grantees under this pilot are required to submit descriptions and assessments of their BPC activities and outcomes as part of their annual project reports in the Special Report Requirements section for evaluation by the cognizant NSF program officers. In addition, CISE plans to conduct an evaluation of the overall BPC pilot. This may be conducted by a third party. Grantees under the BPC pilot must provide information about project outcomes to support this evaluation.

For Project BPC Plans submitted to NSF, if the solicitation you are responding to has specific details related to this topic, those supersede this FAQ.

All medium or larger proposals must include a BPC plan at the time of submission.  Reviewers will be asked to comment on whether BPC plans have the elements to make them meaningful, as identified in #8. CISE will continue to support the community in developing meaningful Project BPC Plans, and CISE Program Directors will work with all PIs whose proposals are recommended for funding to ensure they have meaningful Project BPC Plans in place. CISE Program Directors will also work with PIs after reviewing their BPC activities as described in their annual project reports. No Medium or larger awards will be made without approved BPC plans in place.

For Project BPC Plans submitted to NSF, if the solicitation you are responding to has specific details related to this topic, those supersede this FAQ.