Broader Impacts

The NSF evaluates proposals according to two categories of review criteria: Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts. Broader Impacts refer to how the research will benefit society. Seven possible areas of Broader Impacts emphasis have been congressionally mandated:

1. Increasing economic competitiveness
2. Advancing the health and welfare of the American public
3. Supporting national defense
4. Enhancing partnerships between academia and industry
5. Developing a globally competitive STEM workforce through improved pre-kindergarten through grade 12 STEM education and teacher development, and improved undergraduate STEM education and instruction
6. Improving public scientific literacy and engagement with science and technology.
7. Expanding participation of women and individuals from underrepresented groups in STEM

In 2025, President Trump's issued an Executive Order that changed NSF's longstanding approach to priority 7. Rather than focusing outreach only on underrepresented groups, new guidelines dictate that efforts to broaden participation in STEM must “create opportunities for all Americans everywhere.” As a result, proposals centered on protected classes or characteristics will not receive priority, and could be screened out prior to review. Instead, investigators can broaden participation through non‑protected factors such as socioeconomic status, institutional type, geography, or career stage, as long as opportunities remain open to all.


See the full update announcement here:

https://www.nsf.gov/updates-on-priorities

Work with your Research Development representative to develop a broader impacts strategy that highlights the strengths of your proposal.

The Advancing Research Impact in Society (ARIS) organization offers a toolkit that helps researchers satisfy the Broader Impact requirements for NFS proposals. Resources include an overview of NSF criteria, a planning checklist, a “BI Wizard” for developing key project elements, and an evaluation rubric which helps in planning, reviewing, and improving your Broader Impact project.


For more information on ARIS workshops on campus, or to obtain a copy of the presentations, please contact rdadmin@byu.edu.

Broader Impact activities can also include involvement with BYU student clubs. The Student Connection and Leadership Center inspires BYU students to create lasting connections, foster an inclusive campus, cultivate skills and talents, and live with integrity.

Y-Serve's mission is to provide every student with a meaningful service opportunity, following our Guiding Principles of Safety, Respect, Meaning, Revelation, Selflessness and Reflection. In order to fulfill this mission, the Center offers over 70 community service programs.

BYU’s STEM camp is an immersive week of hands-on learning and fun for students entering 10th and 11th grades. Participants get to work directly with BYU faculty and students as they experiment, design, build, and learn in a variety of STEM fields and projects. Additionally, participants get exposed to different resources and labs across campus, and the research being done in them at BYU.