The DOE Office of Science (SC) is fully committed to fostering safe, diverse, equitable, and inclusive work, research, and funding environments that value mutual respect and personal integrity. Effective stewardship and promotion of diverse and inclusive workplaces that value and celebrate a diversity of people, ideas, cultures, and educational backgrounds is foundational to delivering on the SC mission. The scientific community engaged in SC-sponsored activities is expected to be respectful, ethical, and professional.
The DOE SC does not tolerate discrimination or harassment of any kind, including sexual or non-sexual harassment, bullying, intimidation, violence, threats of violence, retaliation, or other disruptive behavior in the federal workplace, including DOE field site offices, or at national laboratories, scientific user facilities, academic institutions, other institutions that we fund, or other locations where activities that we support are carried out.
The DOE has long-standing policies and procedures for the prevention of discrimination and harassment. SC makes these policies and procedures accessible to the scientific community and the institutions that receive DOE SC funding to clearly communicate SC’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
- DOE Equity Action Plan (April 2022)
- DOE Office of Science Statement of Commitment
- DOE Policies Prohibiting Discrimination & Harassment
- How to Report a Complaint
- Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at the DOE National Laboratories
PIER Plans: In FY 2023, the DOE Office of Science added a new requirement to its solicitation processes: applicants must now submit a plan for Promoting Inclusive and Equitable Research, or PIER Plan, along with their research proposals. PIER Plans should describe the activities and strategies that investigators and research personnel will incorporate to promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in their research projects. The complexity and detail of a PIER Plan is expected to increase with the size of the research team and the number of personnel to be supported. This will be a requirement for proposals submitted to all Office of Science solicitations, as well as invited proposals from the DOE national laboratories. The PIER Plans will be evaluated under a new merit review criterion as part of the peer review process.