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.
Limit on Number of Proposals per Organization: 1
Deadlines:
- Duke Internal Deadline: May 17, 2024
- Required Letter of Intent: June 18, 2024
- Required Preliminary Proposal: August 6, 2024
- Invited Full Proposal: Feb. 11, 2025
NOTE: If the internal deadline has passed and you are interested in this opportunity, please email fundopps@duke.edu to find out if it is still open.
Proposals may only be submitted by the following:
- Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) - Two- and four-year IHEs (including community colleges) accredited in, and having a campus located in the US, acting on behalf of their faculty members. Special Instructions for International Branch Campuses of US IHEs: If the proposal includes funding to be provided to an international branch campus of a US institution of higher education (including through use of subawards and consultant arrangements), the proposer must explain the benefit(s) to the project of performance at the international branch campus, and justify why the project activities cannot be performed at the US campus.
- Non-profit, non-academic organizations: Independent museums, observatories, research laboratories, professional societies and similar organizations located in the U.S. that are directly associated with educational or research activities.
- For-profit organizations: U.S.-based commercial organizations, including small businesses, with strong capabilities in scientific or engineering research or education and a passion for innovation.
- Tribal Nations: An American Indian or Alaska Native tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village, or community that the Secretary of the Interior acknowledges as a federally recognized tribe pursuant to the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994, 25 U.S.C. §§ 5130-5131.
- State and Local Governments
The Principal Investigator (PI) must be a senior member of the submitting organization's leadership and will also serve as the full-time CEO for the NSF Engine. At the time of proposal submission, this role may be filled by an interim CEO until a full-time CEO is named or recruited. The designation of a full-time CEO must occur within the first six months of the start date of the award.
Individuals who are a party to a Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Program are not eligible to serve as a senior/key person on an NSF proposal or award.
Limit on Number of Proposals per Organization: 1. An organization may submit no more than one Letter of Intent (LOI), one preliminary proposal, and one full proposal in response to this solicitation as the lead organization. If an organization exceeds this limitation, LOIs, preliminary proposals, and full proposals will be accepted based on earliest date and time of submission (i.e., the first proposal will be accepted, and the remainder will be returned without review). A lead organization on a proposal may be a sub-recipient on a different proposal. There is no limit on the number of proposals for which an organization can serve as a sub-recipient.
Limit on Number of Proposals per PI or co-PI: 1. An individual may serve as PI or co-PI on no more than one proposal submitted in response to this solicitation. Individuals who are a party to a Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Program are not eligible to serve as a senior/key person on an NSF proposal or award.
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).
Owing to the sponsor's restriction on the number of applications that may be submitted from Duke, anyone wishing to pursue nomination should submit the following materials as one PDF.
- NSF biosketch of PI
- Abstract containing:
- List of anticipated co-PIs (up to four)
- List of core partner organizations (up to four)
- 1-page synopsis including brief descriptions of:
- The proposed vision.
- The region of service, including the region's competitive advantage as it relates to the proposed topic area(s).
- Regional, national, societal, and/or geostrategic challenges(s), including key technology areas that will be advanced.
- Goals of the proposed Engine.
- The potential for high-impact outcomes.
Please submit internal materials through My Research Proposal. (Code: ILN) https://www.grantinterface.com/sl/iLDFb2
Instructions for creating an account (if needed) and submitting your materials: https://ctsi.duke.edu/about-myresearchproposal