NSF 23-140
Dear Colleague Letter: Fostering Harassment-Free STEM Education, Research, and Workplace Environments
August 24, 2023
Dear Colleagues:
It is the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) policy to foster safe and harassment-free environments wherever STEM research, technology development, and education is conducted. NSF views harassment-free science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) environments as necessary for an innovative science enterprise. To that end, NSF has undertaken a number of initiatives, including implementation of its harassment notification award term and condition, code of conduct prerequisites for NSF-funded conferences and travel, and requirements for plans for safe and inclusive work environments for proposals involving off-campus and off-site research. NSF also continually promotes the sharing of promising practices to address harassment in science. NSF Important Notice 144, states: “The NSF does not tolerate sexual harassment, or any kind of harassment, within the agency, at grantee organizations, field sites, or anywhere NSF-funded science and education are conducted. The 2,000 American colleges, universities and other institutions that receive NSF funds are responsible for fully investigating complaints and for complying with federal non-discrimination law.” Nevertheless, harassment in general, and sexual harassment in particular, continues to persist widely in STEM education and research settings and workplaces.1
The focus of this Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) includes all forms of harassment, whether based on gender or any other aspects of identity.