NSF Innovation Corps Hubs Program
This grant provides funding to collaborative networks of universities and research institutions to accelerate the commercialization of scientific discoveries and deep technologies that can benefit society.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) seeks to further develop and nurture a national innovation ecosystem that guides the output of scientific discoveries closer to the development of technologies, products, and services that benefit society. The goal of the NSF Innovation Corps (I-Corps) Program, created in 2011 by NSF, has been and will continue to be to reduce the time and risk associated with translating promising ideas and technologies from the laboratory to the marketplace. The I-Corps Program utilizes experiential learning of customer and industry discovery, coupled with first-hand investigation of industrial processes, to quickly assess the translational potential of inventions. The I-Corps Program is designed to support the commercialization of so-called "deep technologies, or those revolving around fundamental discoveries in science and engineering. The I-Corps program addresses the skill and knowledge gap associated with the transformation of basic research into deep technology ventures (DTVs). In the programs initial phase, I-Corps Nodes and Sites were funded separately to serve as the backbone of the National Innovation Network (NIN). Previous solicitations for NSF I-Corps Nodes and NSF I-Corps Sites have now been archived.This new solicitation for I-Corps Hubs has been informed by feedback received from the community and lessons learned over the first eight years of the program. In 2017, the American Innovation and Competitiveness Act (AICA, Public Law 114-329, Sec. 601) formally authorized and directed the expansion of the NSF I-Corps Program. Through this solicitation, NSF seeks to evolve the current structure, in which NSF I-Corps Teams, Nodes, and Sites are funded through separate programs, toward a more integrated operational model capable of sustained operation at the scope and scale required to support the expansion of the NSF I-Corps Program as directed by AICA. In this more integrated model, I-Corps Hubs, comprising a Principal and at least two Partner institutions, form the backbone of the NIN, and each Hub has at least five Affiliates that extend the network to other institutions. Each Hub is funded through a single award. Throughout this solicitation, the term "Hub" refers to all associated organizations identified in a proposal responding to this solicitation, including the Principal, Partners, and Affiliates.
Award Range
$3,000,000 - Not specified
Total Program Funding
$15,000,000
Number of Awards
Not specified
Matching Requirement
No
Eligible Applicants
Additional Requirements
*Who May Submit Proposals: 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 sub-awards 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. - Multi-institution NSF I-Corps Hub proposals are submitted by a single Principal institution, with Partners and Affiliates listed as subawardees in the budget.These eligibility requirements apply to the Principal, Partners and Affiliates of the Hub. *Who May Serve as PI: The PI must be at the Principal (defined in Section II: Program Description) institution and must be in a senior academic administrative role at the level of Dean or higher. Each Partner (defined in Section II: Program Description) institution must identify a senior academic administrator at the level of Dean or higher to be included as Senior Personnel.
Geographic Eligibility
All
Application Opens
Not specified
Application Closes
Not specified
Grantor
National Science Foundation
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