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NSF solicits proposals for $20M program to broaden participation in innovation ecosystems

December 15, 2022

Recognizing that innovation ecosystems require broad networks of partners working together and knowing that many institutions of higher education (IHEs) lack the research capacity to be able to participate in external partnerships, the NSF Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships invites proposals from Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs), Predominantly Undergraduate Institutions (PUIs), and two-year institutions with limited or no research capacity to apply for the support necessary to become equitable partners with teams competing under the current and subsequent NSF Engines program funding opportunities.

The recently announced solicitation, Enabling Partnerships to Increase Innovation Capacity (EPIIC), anticipates awards of up to $400,000 per awardee institution from a pool of $20 million, to provide the opportunities for these institutions to participate in one or more aspects of an emerging innovation ecosystem, spanning workforce development, use-inspired research, and the translation of research to practice through the creation of new or expanded partnerships.

The goals of awards made under this solicitation are to enable awardees to:

  • Create partnerships with external organizations to grow programs in workforce development, research and development (R&D), and/or the translation of research to practice in emerging technology fields; and,
  • Develop the capacity and institutional knowledge needed to build new partnerships and secure future external funding to support ongoing efforts in emerging technology fields and regional innovation ecosystems.

Preproposals are required and must be submitted by Feb. 15, 2023. More information is available here.

nsf, funding, higher ed, innovation