National Science Foundation (NSF)

No applicants // Limit: 1* // Tickets Available: 1 

*There are no restrictions or limits on Pilot or Implementation proposals. Institutions are limited to one CIP proposal per CyberTraining program competition. Only submit to this internal competition if you are planning a CIP proposal. 

This program seeks to prepare, nurture, and grow the national scientific research workforce for creating, utilizing, and supporting advanced cyberinfrastructure (CI) to enable and potentially transform fundamental science and engineering (S&E) research and education and contribute to the Nation's overall economic competitiveness and security. The goals of this solicitation are to (i) ensure broad adoption of CI tools, methods, and resources by the research community in order to catalyze major research advances and to enhance researchers' abilities to lead the development of new CI; (ii) integrate core literacy and discipline-appropriate advanced skills in advanced CI as well as computational and data-driven methods for advancing fundamental research, into the Nation's undergraduate and graduate educational curriculum/instructional materials; and (iii) build communities of research CI professional staff to deploy, manage, and collaboratively support the effective use of research CI, as well as establish career paths for those staff within and across institutions and science and engineering (S&E) disciplines. Proposals responding to the Pilot and Implementation project classes defined in this solicitation may target one or both of the first two solicitation goals, while proposals responding to the CIP project class must address the third goal. For the purpose of this solicitation, advanced CI is broadly defined as the set of resources, tools, methods, and services for advanced computation, large-scale data handling and analytics, and networking and security for large-scale systems that collectively enable potentially transformative fundamental S&E research and education.

This solicitation calls for innovative, scalable training, education, and curriculum/instructional materials, along with deeper incorporation of CI professionals into the research enterprise — targeting one or more of the solicitation goals — to address emerging needs and unresolved bottlenecks in S&E research workforce development, from the postsecondary level to active researchers to CI professionals. The funded activities, spanning targeted, multidisciplinary communities, should lead to transformative changes in the state of research workforce preparedness for advanced CI-enabled research in the short- and long-term. This solicitation also seeks to broaden CI access and adoption by (i) increasing adoption of advanced CI and of computational and data-driven methods to a broader range of S&E disciplines and institutions; (ii) enhancing the incorporation of CI professionals into the research enterprise – highlighting the value of those professionals in S&E research; and (iii) effectively utilizing the capabilities of individuals from a diverse set of underrepresented groups. Proposals from, and in partnership with, the aforementioned communities are especially encouraged.

No applicants // Limit: 1 // Tickets Available: 1 

No applicants // Limit: 1* // Tickets Available: 1 

*UA may submit one proposal under the Research Partnerships track. There is no institutional limitation on the Technology Translation track.

If you don’t have a demonstrated and substantial industry relationship as required for a PFI submission, please reach out to Brian Adair or Lindsay Ridpath, to help develop those connections so that your proposal is competitive. PFI proposals are accepted three times per year and you may be better served by strengthening your industry relationship and waiting for the next cycle.


The Partnerships for Innovation (PFI) Program within the Division of Translational Impacts (TI) offers researchers from all disciplines of science and engineering funded by NSF the opportunity to perform translational research and technology development, catalyze partnerships and accelerate the transition of discoveries from the laboratory to the marketplace for societal benefit.

The Research Partnerships (PFI-RP) track seeks to achieve the same goals as the PFI-TT track by supporting instead complex, multi-faceted technology development projects that are typically beyond the scope of a single researcher or institution and require a multi-organizational, interdisciplinary, synergistic collaboration. A PFI-RP project requires the creation of partnerships between academic researchers and third-party organizations such as industry, non-academic research organizations, federal laboratories, public or non-profit technology transfer organizations or other universities. Such partnerships are needed to conduct use-inspired research on a stand-alone larger project toward commercialization and societal impact. In the absence of such synergistic partnership, the project’s likelihood for success would be minimal.

The intended outcomes of both PFI-TT and PFI-RP tracks are: a) the commercialization of new intellectual property derived from NSF-funded research outputs; b) the creation of new or broader collaborations with industry (including increased corporate sponsored research); c) the licensing of NSF-funded research outputs to third party corporations or to start-up companies funded by a PFI team; and d) the training of future innovation and entrepreneurship leaders.


 

The please be aware of important revisions in the PFI program recently announced in solicitation NSF 23-538, as outlined below:

NSF Lineage Requirement
Innovation Corps (NSF I-CorpsTM) Teams awards no longer convey the lineage required to submit a PFI proposal.
All proposals submitted to the PFI program must meet a lineage requirement by having NSF-supported research results in any field of science and engineering: Principal Investigator (PI) or a co-PI must have had an NSF award that ended no more than seven (7) years prior to the full proposal deadline date or be a current NSF award recipient. The proposed technology development project must be derived from the research results and/or discoveries from this underlying NSF award.

Award Information
The funding amounts in both tracks of the PFI program have significantly increased. Specifically:

• PFI-Technology Translation (PFI-TT) projects will be funded for up to $550,000 for 18-24 months per award; and

• PFI-Research Partnerships (PFI-RP) projects will be funded for up to $1,000,000 for 36 months.
   

Ticket #1: I. Djordjevic
Ticket #2: B. Bash

UArizona may submit two preliminary proposals.

The Quantum Sensing Challenges for Transformational Advances in Quantum Systems (QuSeC-TAQS) program supports interdisciplinary teams of three (3) or more investigators to explore highly innovative, original, and potentially transformative research on quantum sensing. The QuSeC-TAQS program supports coordinated efforts to develop and apply quantum sensor systems, with demonstrations resulting in proof of principle or field-testing of concepts and platforms that can benefit society. The QuSeC-TAQS program aligns with recommendations articulated in the strategy report, Bringing Quantum Sensors to Fruition, that was produced by the National Science and Technology Council Subcommittee on Quantum Information Science, under the auspices of the National Quantum Initiative.

Ticket #1, Track 1: Confidential
Ticket #2, Track 1: Confidential
Ticket #3, Track 2: Confidential
Ticket #4, Track 3: Confidential (Contact RDS for more information. PI names will be posted after the sponsor's deadline.)

NEW to NSF 23-519:
Track 3: Track 3 MRI proposals are those that request funds from NSF greater than or equal to $100,0001 and less than or equal to $4,000,000 that include the purchase, installation, operation, and maintenance of equipment and instrumentation to conserve or reduce the consumption of helium. Institutions may submit no more than one Track 3 proposal. Submission of a Track 3 proposal does not impact limits that apply for Track 1 and Track 2 proposals.

October 6, 2022 UPDATE: The deadline for TRACK 1 pre-proposals has been extended until 11:59p on Sunday, October 16. No additional Track 2 pre-proposals will be accepted under this extension. Contact RDS with questions

NOTE: RDS is holding the 2022-23 internal competition for the MRI program based on the existing solicitation and announced deadlines. Should NSF issue a new solicitation or make other program changes, our internal program and timeline will be adjusted and the new internal requirements will be announced on the Limited Submissions Table and in the Limited Submissions Newsletter.

UArizona may submit three total proposals, with no more than two submissions in Track 1 and no more than one submission in Track 2.

Contact RDS for more information

The Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) Program serves to increase access to multi-user scientific and engineering instrumentation for research and research training in our Nation's institutions of higher education and not-for-profit scientific/engineering research organizations. An MRI award supports the acquisition or development of a multi-user research instrument that is, in general, too costly and/or not appropriate for support through other NSF programs.

MRI provides support to acquire critical research instrumentation without which advances in fundamental science and engineering research may not otherwise occur. MRI also provides support to develop next-generation research instruments that open new opportunities to advance the frontiers in science and engineering research. Additionally, an MRI award is expected to enhance research training of students who will become the next generation of instrument users, designers and builders.

Ticket #1: M. Chertkov
Ticket #2: C. Atkins

UArizona may participate in two Innovations in Graduate Education (IGE) proposals per competition. Participation includes serving as a lead organization on a non-collaborative proposal or as a lead organization, non-lead organization, or subawardee on a collaborative proposal.

The Innovations in Graduate Education (IGE) program is designed to encourage the development and implementation of bold, new, and potentially transformative approaches to STEM graduate education training. The program seeks proposals that explore ways for graduate students in research-based master's and doctoral degree programs to develop the skills, knowledge, and competencies needed to pursue a range of STEM careers.

IGE focuses on projects aimed at piloting, testing, and validating innovative and potentially transformative approaches to graduate education. IGE projects are intended to generate the knowledge required for their customization, implementation, and broader adoption. The program supports testing of novel models or activities with high potential to enrich and extend the knowledge base on effective graduate education approaches.

The program addresses both workforce development, emphasizing broad participation, and institutional capacity-building needs in graduate education. Strategic collaborations with the private sector, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), government agencies, national laboratories, field stations, teaching and learning centers, informal science centers, and academic partners are encouraged.

Contact RDS for more information

11/22/2022 UPDATE: NSF is not accepting applications under 22-527 and "This program is currently waiting for a new publication." RDS will be working with NSF to determine the next steps and will announce those on the LS Table once full guidelines are available. Thank you.

Previous guidance related to the 22-527 solicitation:
Per the UArizona Limited Submissions process, RII is prioritizing competitive resubmissions for 2023 should institutional eligibility be confirmed. At this time there will be no internal competition for the two institutional submissions.

Per guidelines in the 2022 solicitation, UArizona will not be eligible to apply for this program again until 2023 at the earliest. The guidelines note that: Institutions with a current S-STEM award should wait at least until the end of the third year of execution of their current award before submitting a new S-STEM proposal focused on students pursuing the same discipline(s). As UArizona has a current S-STEM, the Pima-UAZ STEM Bridge Program, that encompasses all S-STEM disciplines our earliest opportunity to apply for any discipline will be March 2023. Priority is given to single discipline. 

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.

Institutionally Coordinated - UArizona HSI Initiatives // Limit: 1 // Tickets Available: 1 

M. Franco (UArizona HSI Initiatives)
UArizona may submit one application as the lead to HSI-CCC, one to HSI-CERS, and one to HSI-Hub.

This opportunity is Institutionally Coordinated. UArizona HSI Initiatives will be the lead submitter for the university for all proposals for this NSF funding opportunity.

No applicants // Limit: 1 // Tickets Available: 1 

The NSF ADVANCE program goal is to broaden the implementation of evidence-based systemic change strategies that promote equity for STEM faculty in academic workplaces and the academic profession. The Partnership track is designed to support the work to facilitate the broader adaptation of gender equity and systemic change strategies. Partnership projects are expected to result in national or regional transformation in STEM academic workplaces and the academic profession and demonstrate significant reach. Partnership projects can focus on the transformation of institutions and organizations and/or the transformation within one or more STEM disciplines. UArizona may submit one proposal as the lead organization for a partnership grant. UArizona is not eligible for an IT, adaptation, or catalyst grant because of previous funding for an ADVANCE grant.