coordinate each EPSCoR to maximize the impact of Federal support for building competitive research infrastructure, and in order to achieve an integrated Federal effort;

coordinate agency objectives with State and institutional goals, to obtain continued non-Federal support of science and technology research and training;

develop metrics to assess gains in academic research quality and competitiveness, and in science and technology human resource development;

conduct a cross-agency evaluation of each EPSCoR and accomplishments, including management, investment, and metric-measuring strategies implemented by the different agencies aimed to increase the number of new investigators receiving peer-reviewed funding, broaden participation, and empower knowledge generation, dissemination, application, and national research and development competitiveness;

coordinate the development and implementation of new, novel workshops, outreach activities, and follow-up mentoring activities among each EPSCoR for colleges and universities in EPSCoR States and territories in order to increase the number of proposals submitted and successfully funded and to enhance statewide coordination of each EPSCoR;

coordinate the development of new, innovative solicitations and programs to facilitate collaborations, partnerships, and mentoring activities among faculty at all levels in non-EPSCoR and EPSCoR States and jurisdictions;

conduct an evaluation of the roles, responsibilities and degree of autonomy that program officers or managers (or the equivalent position) have in executing each EPSCoR at the different Federal agencies and the impacts these differences have on the number of EPSCoR State and jurisdiction faculty participating in the peer review process and the percentage of successful awards by individual EPSCoR State jurisdiction and individual researcher; and

conduct a survey of colleges and university faculty at all levels regarding their knowledge and understanding of EPSCoR, and their level of interaction with and knowledge about their respective State or Jurisdictional EPSCoR Committee.

the total amount made available, by State, under EPSCoR;

the total amount of agency funding made available to all institutions and entities within each EPSCoR State;

the efforts and accomplishments to more fully integrate the EPSCoR States in major agency activities and initiatives;

the percentage of EPSCoR reviewers from EPSCoR States; and

the number of programs or large collaborator awards involving a partnership of organizations and institutions from EPSCoR and non-EPSCoR States; and

A delineation of the policies of each Federal agency with respect to the awarding of grants to EPSCoR States.

The effectiveness of each program.

Recommendations for improvements for each agency to achieve EPSCoR goals.

An assessment of the effectiveness of EPSCoR States in using awards to develop science and engineering research and education, and science and engineering infrastructure within their States.

Such other issues that address the effectiveness of EPSCoR as the National Academy of Sciences considers appropriate.

to more closely align with current agency priorities and initiatives;

to focus EPSCoR funding on achieving critical scientific, infrastructure, and educational needs of that agency;

to encourage collaboration between EPSCoR-eligible institutions and researchers, including with institutions and researchers in other States and jurisdictions;

to improve communication between State and Federal agency proposal reviewers; and

to continue to reduce administrative burdens associated with EPSCoR;

to emphasize long-term investments in building research capacity, potentially through the use of larger, renewable funding opportunities;

to allow the agency, States, and jurisdictions to experiment with new research and development funding models; and

to increase the capacity of rural communities to provide quality STEM education and STEM workforce development programming to students, and teachers; and

to increase collaboration between EPSCoR-funded researchers and agency staff, including by providing opportunities for mentoring young researchers and for the use of Federal facilities;

to identify and disseminate best practices; and

to harmonize metrics across participating Federal agencies, as appropriate.