NDSU part of massive statewide research partnership

NDSU will play a major role in a nearly $8 million statewide collaboration to strengthen STEM research and education across North Dakota, thanks to a new award from the National Science Foundation.

The initiative, known as SPARK-ND (Sustainable Programs Advancing Research and Knowledge across North Dakota), was selected for an anticipated $7,963,804 over four years through the NSF’s EPSCoR Collaborations for Optimizing Research Ecosystems (E-CORE RII) program. The project will unite 10 North Dakota colleges and universities, including five Tribal Colleges and universities, in a coordinated effort to build a more inclusive and sustainable research infrastructure.

The award was secured through the North Dakota Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research, with NDSU serving as the project’s lead institution.

“We are very excited and pleased to be able to continue and expand valued and key partnerships from across North Dakota to foster STEM learning and research ecosystems,” said Sheridan McNeil (Oyate Ohowicada Win), principal investigator and ND EPSCoR director of tribal partnerships. “These efforts were co-designed with each partner to ensure they are aligned with the strengths, capacities, interests, and needs of each institution and the communities they serve. We are also very proud to have a unique TCU Core, which sets us apart from other states.”

Planned activities include outreach to rural high schools and undergraduates, initiatives to engage and retain STEM students at Tribal and primarily undergraduate institutions, and collaborative research development through networking events, workshops and funding support.

Participating institutions include:

NDSU

University of North Dakota

Valley City State University

Mayville State University

Minot State University

Cankdeska Cikana Community College

Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College

Turtle Mountain College

Sitting Bull College

United Tribes Technical College

“This is a collaborative award, which is also a huge steppingstone to building STEM and research capacity in our state,” McNeil said. Now, more colleges in ND are NSF direct awardees, which opens doors for other NSF funding opportunities for them. Great job to all the teams across the state who made this happen! Wopida Tanka! (In great appreciation).”