Infrastructure Capacity for Biological Research

The National Science Foundation, an independent federal agency established in 1950, administers the Infrastructure Capacity for Biological Research (Capacity) program through its Directorate for Biological Sciences and the Division of Biological Infrastructure. The agency is charged with advancing scientific progress across disciplines, including biology, and this program specifically addresses the need to scale, expand, and sustain critical infrastructure that supports contemporary biological research. By funding the development of broadly accessible resources, the NSF aims to ensure that biological researchers across diverse disciplines and institutions have access to shared tools and facilities. The Capacity program is designed to support the implementation, scaling, or major improvements of research tools, products, and services that serve a wide community of biological researchers. It is focused in three primary programmatic areas: cyberinfrastructure, biological collections, and biological field stations and marine laboratories. Projects must be applicable to more than a single team, laboratory, or institution, with priority given to proposals that can demonstrate a broad and sustained impact on the biological sciences community. Proposals should be product-driven and justify budget requests relative to the anticipated scope, reach, and complexity of the project. Funding cannot be used for general instrumentation proposals, which should be submitted through the Major Research Instrumentation program, nor can it be used for infrastructure limited to a specific laboratory or project, which fall under other NSF Biological Sciences programs. Eligible activities include planning proposals for strategic infrastructure development, workshops, digitization of collections, and improvements to field stations and marine labs. The program also emphasizes the importance of openly accessible resources, long-term sustainability, reproducibility, and broader scientific and educational impact. Awards under this program are expected to total between $16 million and $18 million annually, with 40 to 60 awards anticipated each year. Individual award sizes and durations vary depending on the scale and impact of the proposed work. Both standard and continuing grants are issued, and larger or more complex projects may be awarded as cooperative agreements. While cost sharing is not required, all proposed budgets must be fully justified with detailed allocation of expenses, including personnel, equipment, and maintenance. Eligible applicants include U.S. institutions of higher education, both two- and four-year, including community colleges, as well as nonprofit, non-academic organizations such as museums, research laboratories, observatories, and professional societies directly associated with research or education. Proposals may be submitted by organizations on behalf of faculty members or principal investigators, and there are no limits on the number of proposals per organization or per individual. International branch campuses of U.S. institutions may participate if clear justification is provided regarding the necessity of work being performed abroad. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis with no fixed deadline, and submissions may be made at any time via either Research.gov or Grants.gov, following the NSF Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide. Letters of intent and preliminary proposals are not required. Proposals must include a project summary, a detailed project description, and a data management and sharing plan. Proposals involving fieldwork must also include a Safe and Harassment-Free Fieldwork (SAHF) Plan. Review of proposals is based on NSF’s two primary merit review criteria—intellectual merit and broader impacts—as well as additional solicitation-specific factors including rationale, design, management, dissemination, and sustainability. The program requires that outcomes be openly disseminated to the biological community, with proper deposition of specimens, data, and products into accessible repositories where appropriate. Contacts for the program are listed by thematic area, including cyberinfrastructure, biological collections, and biological field stations and marine laboratories, each of which may be reached by email at DBICyberinfrastructure@nsf.gov, DBIBioCollections@nsf.gov, or DBIBioFieldStations@nsf.gov, and by phone at (703) 292-8470. General inquiries may also be directed to the NSF Help Desk at 1-800-673-6188. Reporting requirements for funded projects include annual project updates and a final project report, with all materials submitted through Research.gov.