NSF Regional Innovation Engines | 24 565

Opportunity Information: Apply for 24 565

The NSF Regional Innovation Engines (NSF Engines) program is a National Science Foundation grant opportunity designed to build and grow regional, technology-driven innovation ecosystems across the United States. The central idea is to help a defined region organize around a compelling technology focus that also responds to real-world regional, national, societal, and/or geostrategic challenges. NSF is aiming for outcomes that go beyond research alone, including faster technology advancement, stronger pathways from ideas to practical use, new business creation, sustained economic growth, and the creation and retention of quality jobs. A major emphasis is ensuring that the benefits of innovation reach more people, particularly by expanding equitable pathways into education and careers and by strengthening the long-term competitiveness and security of the nation.

An NSF Engine is expected to operate as a formal coalition of regional partners rather than as a single organization acting alone. The coalition is led by a full-time Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and is responsible for delivering a comprehensive, integrated strategy that spans multiple connected areas: use-inspired research, translation of innovation into practice, entrepreneurship support, workforce development, community engagement, and broader ecosystem building. In practical terms, NSF is funding regions to build the connective tissue that often determines whether technology and research turn into durable companies, skilled workers, and thriving communities. The program stresses that an Engine mission must be clearly grounded in regional interests and should reflect an ambition to build strong communities where all residents can thrive. That includes intentional community engagement, equitable development of local talent, and thoughtful attention to how innovation affects the identity and culture of the region being served.

NSF describes this as a place-based innovation initiative, meaning the "region" is not just a backdrop but the central unit of impact. The program explicitly seeks to stimulate innovation-led economic growth within particular places, including regions that have not fully benefited from the technology-driven growth of the last several decades. Alongside building new capacity, NSF highlights the goal of catalyzing new business and economic growth in sectors critical to US competitiveness. The emphasis on inclusion and broad participation is not presented as optional; it is framed as part of how Engines should be designed and judged, alongside the strength of the technology and the regional strategy.

Eligibility to submit proposals is limited to specific types of US-based applicants. Eligible submitting organizations include for-profit US commercial organizations (including small businesses) with strong scientific or engineering research or education capabilities and a clear commitment to innovation; non-profit, non-academic organizations such as independent museums, observatories, research laboratories, and professional societies that are directly tied to research or educational activities and are located in the US; and accredited two-year or four-year institutions of higher education (including community colleges) that have a campus located in the United States and submit on behalf of their faculty. Federally recognized Tribal Nations are eligible, as are state and local governments. For US universities that wish to include funding for an international branch campus, NSF requires a clear explanation of the benefits of performing work at that branch campus and a justification for why those activities cannot be conducted at the US-based campus, including if the branch campus is supported through subawards or consultants.

The leadership structure is a distinctive feature of this opportunity. The Principal Investigator (PI) must be a senior leader of the submitting organization and must also serve as the full-time CEO of the NSF Engine. NSF allows an interim CEO/PI arrangement at the time of proposal submission, but the program requires that a full-time CEO be designated within the first six months after the award start date. NSF also includes an eligibility restriction tied to foreign influence safeguards: 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.

Key administrative details provided in the listing include the program name (NSF Regional Innovation Engines), the funding instrument type (grant), the opportunity category (discretionary), and the sponsoring agency (National Science Foundation). The funding opportunity number is 24-565, and the original closing date shown is February 11, 2025. The listing also references multiple NSF CFDA numbers associated with NSF research and development activities. The award ceiling and expected number of awards are not specified in the provided text.

• The National Science Foundation in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NSF Regional Innovation Engines" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 47.041, 47.049, 47.050, 47.070, 47.074, 47.075, 47.076, 47.079, 47.083, 47.084.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-04-17.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-02-11. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for 24 565

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