NSF Convergence Accelerator program expansion is intended to enable more research to address regional problems

The five-year-old NSF Convergence Accelerator, which has funded nationwide research projects to address major societal challenges, is adding 10 “anchors” to focus on regional challenges. The regional anchor organizations will engage in the same solution development for underserved, underrepresented organizations and communities as the current national program. However, as part of the regional expansion, NSF aims to reach more local communities to help solve challenges that are especially meaningful to a particular region.

The emphasis on creating a regional program evolved from NSF's recognition that there are regions underserved by NSF, noted Douglas Maughan, NSF Convergence Accelerator section head.

"Part of the reason for the expansion," Maughan said, "is this idea of scale to make the program larger, but at the same time expanding our reach and impact. So, the idea is not only to run the program from NSF but also to create these regional anchors so they can address societal and economic challenges in their region using the same program model."

The national program will continue to coexist along with the regional program. However, national topics might come from the White House or be a direction from Congress or NSF's international or interagency partners. NSF would issue solicitation for these issues nationally, as it does now. In contrast, the anchor organization will establish the regional topics in partnership with NSF.

Anchor organizations can be universities, industry, or nonprofits. Each anchor organization will form a consortium of regional partners. The consortium will work with the anchor organization under the guidance of NSF to establish research topics for the regional accelerator and will partner with the anchor organization for projects funded through the Convergence Accelerator project.

NSF views the regional consortia as a channel for building capacity and creating synergies.

“The end goals are creating synergies amongst the wide range of innovators, researchers, and other communities of practice within the region that would be able to engage into the program model, but also address regional, societal, and economic challenges at the regional level,” said NSF Convergence Accelerator Program Expansion Lead Shelby Smith.

The 10 geographic regions are the Northwest, West, Southwest, Mountain, Midwest, South Central, Central, Southeast, Northeast, and Mid-Atlantic. NSF rolled out the program in May in the first region, the Midwest, and is rolling the program out in the Southeast this July.

“Our next set of events will be in the Northeast in the October-November timeframe,” Maughn said.

After each rollout, there will be a solicitation from NSF for establishing anchor organizations: the first anchor solicitation will be posted “shortly,” Maughan said.

Learn more about the Convergence Accelerator here.