Beginning in 2021, the Department of Energy started requiring Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Plans in some of their Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs). Additionally, some Principal Investigators (PIs) may opt to include DEI plans in other funding proposals and requests, even when this is not required.
This handbook was created to assist PIs in developing DEI Plans that are robust, evidence-based, and increases chances of favorable funding outcomes. Berkeley Lab has a broad range of policies, programs, and resources that can be leveraged in this process.
This guidance document has been created primarily for PIs pursuing single investigator scientific proposals to the DOE. It is also relevant for small collaborative scientific teams. (It may be less relevant for programmatic or facility proposals or proposals responding to a diversity-focused FOA. Funding agencies outside the DOE may have different expectations for DEI plans, so it is important to follow instructions in the specific FOA. For PIs pursuing a large-scale proposal (>$5M/year, such as centers, hubs, etc.), the bar for a DEI plan will be much higher than for a single PI, and will require a more complicated plan.)
The full IDEA FOA Handbook can be found here.
Below is a “cheat sheet” for this document that can help you orient yourself to our key points of guidance; the PDF links back to specific sections of this Handbook for ease of navigation. Download the PDF of this “cheat sheet” here.
