NSFBAA-ENGINES-2022-05-1: 2022 NSF Regional Innovation Engines Type 1 and 2 Awards

Type 2: M. Van Dyke

While NSF allowed more than one concept outline to be submitted by an institution, UArizona may ultimately only submit one full proposal. Therefore, due to the complexity and scope of this program, RII is Institutionally Coordinating the submission of Concept Outlines to NSF, as well as the invited full proposal.

Full sponsor guidelines

The NSF Regional Innovation Engines (NSF Engines) program is a bold new initiative, committed to creating regional-scale, technology-driven innovation ecosystems throughout every region of the United States, accelerating emerging technologies, driving economic growth, addressing key societal challenges, and maintaining national competitiveness.

The NSF Engines program aims to fund regional coalitions of partnering organizations to establish NSF Engines that will catalyze technology and science-based regional innovation ecosystems. Each Engine must focus on addressing specific aspects of a major societal and/or economic challenge that are of significant interest in the Engine’s defined “region of service,” where such a region could range from a metropolitan area (including its adjacent rural regions) to an area spanning parts of several states. The mission of an Engine must be clearly rooted in regional interests and the development of regional talent. The emphasis on “regions” expresses NSF’s aim to stimulate innovation-driven economic growth within a particular region of service. The NSF Engines program is particularly interested in creating new business and economic growth in those regions of America that have not fully participated in the technology boom of the past several decades.

NSF will fund Engines to carry out an integrated and comprehensive set of activities spanning use-inspired research, translation-to-practice, entrepreneurship, and workforce development to nurture and accelerate regional industries. Engines must also work to bring together an inclusive and diverse network of partners and stakeholders who will participate in the regional innovation ecosystem. With the goal of advancing emerging industries and creating societal and economic value, NSF Engines will emphasize research that meaningfully engages the consumers of research outcomes in motivating that research as well as in the subsequent prototyping and piloting of research-based solutions (i.e., co-design and co-creation), the translation of research results to practice, entrepreneurship, and direct economic growth.

Funding for this program will prioritize regions across the Nation without well-established innovation ecosystems. Engines in regions of the country where prospective ecosystem members exist, but where innovation activities are only loosely connected, are of particular interest.