The objective of PAARE is to enhance diversity in astronomy and astrophysics research and education by stimulating the development of formal, potentially long-term, collaborative research and education relationships between minority-serving colleges and universities and the NSF-supported facilities, projects or faculty members at research institutions (including private observatories).

PAARE awards are expected to achieve significant increases in the number and quality of interactions between participants from the NSF-supported facilities, projects or faculty at research institutions and students and faculty at minority-serving colleges and universities, and should result in increasing graduate astronomy and astrophysics degrees for underrepresented minorities and in networking and dissemination of new knowledge.