The NSF Regional Innovation Engines (NSF Engines) program creates regional-scale, technology-driven, inclusive innovation ecosystems throughout the United States by accelerating key technologies, addressing regional, national, societal, and/or geostrategic challenges, driving economic growth, creating and retaining quality jobs, expanding equitable pathways into careers, and strengthening national competitiveness and security. Each NSF Engine represents a formal coalition of regional partners, led by a full-time Chief Executive Officer (CEO), tasked to carry out an integrated and comprehensive set of activities spanning use-inspired research, translation of innovation to practice, entrepreneurship, workforce development, community engagement, and ecosystem building, to nurture and accelerate the growth of regional innovation ecosystems grounded in technological innovation and regional, national, societal, and/or geostrategic challenges. The mission of an NSF Engine must be clearly rooted in regional interests and reflect the aspiration that a regional innovation ecosystem can help build strong communities where all residents can thrive. This includes the equitable development of regional talent, intentional community engagement, and attention to impacts on a region's identities and cultures. The NSF Engines program is a placed-based innovation funding initiative, where the emphasis on "regions" expresses NSF's aim to stimulate innovation-driven economic growth within a particular place or region of service. The emphasis of the NSF Engines program further includes creating new business and economic growth in sectors that are critical to American competitiveness and in those regions of America that have not fully participated in the technology boom of the past several decades.
- Topic Area and Regional Vision: A well-formulated strategic vision for an NSF Engine should provide direction and clarity, be ambitious and aspirational, align with regional interests, cultures, and competitive advantages, and inspire core partners to invest in achieving the mission and goals. Each NSF Engine must be centered around a transformative, future-oriented topic area and a broader regional, national, societal, and/or geostrategic challenge(s), based upon key technologies including, but not limited to, those areas defined in the CHIPS and Science Act. The selection of an appropriate topical area is a critical step in articulating a proposed NSF Engine's vision and strategic plans for the proposed region of service. Proposing teams should note that a chosen topic area must:
- reflect the interests and needs of regional stakeholders;
- have the potential to produce disruptive R&D and technological innovation that can lead to economic growth through the creation of new startups and the expansion of existing small businesses;
- have demonstrated potential to serve as the basis for a financially sustainable innovation ecosystem;
- and offer significantly increased opportunities for the creation and retention of quality jobs and equitable workforce development pathways into careers.
The proposal must clearly articulate how the NSF Engine will be a regionally driven effort and what key industries will be impacted by the proposed efforts. Please see the RFP for full details about the Foundation of a successful Regional Innovation Engine.
Award Information
NSF intends to fund all high-quality NSF Engines proposals to expand the geography of American innovation. The overall number of awards will be determined by the number of high-quality proposals received and the availability of funds appropriated by Congress. NSF Engines can be funded for up to ten years, with an initial award for the first two years and subsequent awards for years 3-5 and 6-10, based on performance reviews and evaluations.
Awards can receive funding for up to 10 years. The initial two years of funding will support a ramp-up period. Continued support for the NSF Engine will be contingent upon the NSF Engine's overall performance, including meeting its annual performance goals.
The NSF Engine can be funded for up to a total of $15,000,000 in Years 1-2.
The NSF Engine can be funded at up to $15,000,000 per year in Years 3-5.
The NSF Engine can be funded at up to $20,000,000 per year in Years 6-10.
The total amount of an award will not exceed $160,000,000 from NSF (over a period not exceeding ten years).
Resources
- More information can be found on the NSF Engines program website.
- Register for the 2024 NSF Engines Funding Opportunity Webinar on Thursday, April 25, 2024, at 2 p.m. ET.
Interested applicants should upload the following documents in sequence in one PDF file (File name: [Last name]_NSF-24-565_2024) no later than 4:00 p.m. on the internal submission deadline:
1. Cover Letter (1 page, pdf):
- Descriptive title of proposed activity
- PI name, departmental affiliations(s) and contact information
- Co-PI's names and departmental affiliation(s)
- Names of other key personnel
- Participating institution(s)
- Number and title of this funding opportunity
- Research Topic Area
2. Project Description (no more than three pages, pdf)
- Clearly describe how your NSF Engines project will carry out an integrated and comprehensive set of activities spanning use-inspired research, translation of innovation to practice, entrepreneurship, workforce development, community engagement, and ecosystem building, to nurture and accelerate the growth of regional innovation ecosystems grounded in technological innovation and regional, national, societal, and/or geostrategic challenges.
3. Estimated Budget (1 page)
4. 2-page CV's of Investigators
Formatting Guidelines:
Font/size: No smaller than 11 pt.
Document margins: 1.0” (top, bottom, left and right)
Standard paper size (8 ½” x 11)
Questions concerning the limited submissions process may be submitted to limitedsubs@psu.edu.