Grants for Small businesses - Science and Technology

This program provides financial assistance to small to mid-sized companies in Pennsylvania to help them expand their export sales through various eligible activities and services.

This program provides $145 million in financial assistance to hospitality businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic through county-established grant programs.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was signed into law on March 27, 2020. The $2 trillion economic relief package aims to protect the American people from the public health and economic impacts of COVID-19. Act 2A of 2020, known as the COVID-19 Emergency Supplement to the General Appropriation Act of 2019, appropriated $10,000,000 from the COVID-19 Response Restricted Account to the Department of Health. Through a sub-grant, the Department of Community and Economic Development will administer this program to eligible applicants for the rapid advancement of vaccines, treatments, and therapies in response to COVID-19. Financial Info: The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was signed into law on March 27, 2020. The $2 trillion economic relief package aims to protect the American people from the public health and economic impacts of COVID-19. Act 2A of 2020, known as the COVID-19 Emergency Supplement to the General Appropriation Act of 2019, appropriated $10,000,000 from the COVID-19 Response Restricted Account to the Department of Health. Through a sub-grant, the Department of Community and Economic Development will administer this program to eligible applicants for the rapid advancement of vaccines, treatments, and therapies in response to COVID-19.

This grant provides funding for research institutions and companies to develop innovative tactics and technologies for small groups of autonomous systems to effectively maneuver in complex military environments.

This ISO seeks solution summary and proposal submissions for projects that fall within the scope of the ARPA-H mission Resilient Systems Office (RSO). RSOs interest areas will address systemic challenges across the healthcare and public health landscape by investing in cutting-edge technologies that address long-standing gaps in the quality, efficacy, and consistent availability of care.Aspects of todays health and public health systems remain fragile due to systemic challenges, which include rising healthcare costs, inadequate healthcare coverage for significant populations, outdated infrastructure, and health disparities among different demographic groups. Acute challenges, such as hospital closures, supply chain disruptions, staffing shortages, cyber-attacks, public health crises, and the emergence of new diseases, further exacerbate existing fragilities, making it more difficult to maintain high standards of care. These challenges are compounded by the fact that systems remain fragmented, hindering the ability to gain comprehensive insights, make informed decisions, develop tailored interventions, and share critical health information between stakeholders.RSO seeks solution summaries and proposals that drive innovations to enhance the adaptability, reliability, and interoperability of the health ecosystem. Of interest are innovations that foster flexibility and enable adaptation to system stressors, so that people and systems remain well-positioned to deliver high-quality care and improve health outcomes. The following interest areas categorize the ground-breaking research we seek to support:Sociotechnical System Innovation: Innovate user-centric digital health tools, platforms, technologies, and intervention models that improve outcomes across the health continuum, including prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of physical, mental, and behavioral health. Approaches to build trust in the healthcare system and distribute high-quality health guidance in an understandable manner that improves patient outcomes. Novel real-time measurement tools to track health outcomes, evaluate post-market performance of new interventions, and enable convergence on the most effective strategies to improve the quality of care, especially for underserved communities. Other population centered innovations to create more resilient communities and subpopulations. Innovations might include aggregate improvements to quality of care and better physical, mental, and behavioral health outcomes for the health ecosystem.Health Ecosystem Integration: Novel ways to collect, protect, secure, integrate, analyze, communicate, and present health data, including but not limited to advances in privacy, cyber security, artificial intelligence with enhanced patient safety properties, low-code or no-code technologies, semantic approaches, and rapid integration techniques. Strategies and technologies to leverage homes, community centers, pharmacies, and other accessible locations to enable new modalities of high-quality care, expand the reach of clinical research, or integrate end-user feedback to rapidly iterate prototype designs. Approaches to strengthen the connectivity and interoperability of health data and devices to 5 enable the safe, secure, and seamless exchange of information among healthcare providers, researchers, and stakeholders. Other novel approaches to increase the interoperability of health-related systems in support of improved health outcomes and enhanced transparency across the health ecosystem.Adaptive Antifragile Solutions: Creative approaches to enhance the stability and dependability of the health ecosystem through new adaptive paradigms, methods that anticipate and mitigate disruptions before they occur, and enhancements to emergency response. Approaches that enable health infrastructure to rapidly integrate information from new sensors; create decision support tools; adapt supply chains, manufacturing, and logistics; and better leverage the workforce during public health emergencies. Novel methods to engineer resilient tissues, microbiomes, and biophysical systems to combat disease or maintain health. Other novel approaches to enhance adaptability and reduce fragility within the health ecosystem.Proposals are expected to use innovative approaches to enable revolutionary advances in science, technology, systems, or methodology. Specifically excluded are proposals that represent an evolutionary or incremental advance in the state of the art or technology that has reached the clinical trial stage. Additionally, proposals directed towards policy changes, traditional education and training, or center coordination, formation, or development, and construction of physical infrastructure are outside the scope of the ARPA-H mission

Despite huge advances in the development of novel medical therapies, Americans still live with poor health outcomes and suffer from the ill-effects of disease. Current medical research and the medical delivery system in the United States focus primarily on the reactive treatment of illnesses, despite the fact that many diseases or their ill-effects are preventable.The Proactive Health Office (PHO) at ARPA-H is seeking solutions to improve the healthspan and health outcomes of Americans prior to the onset of disease and/or the development of diminished quality of life from illness. Specifically, PHO hypothesizes that 1) population-level improvements in access to and uptake of disease prevention and wellness-promoting behaviors and 2) development of novel early-detection methods and prophylactic interventions could drastically improve the health of American throughout their lives, and 3) that system level innovations are required for delivery of proactive health effectively. Specific PHO interest areas include:Novel prevention, detection and prophylactic treatment methods for disease: Novel and scalable methods for early detection of disease and illness including the use of low/no-cost sensing modalities. Prophylactic approaches to prevention of diseases and harmful disease outcomes. Methods for continuous and widespread sensing of health state and early disease indicators that can be deployed at population-scale.Population-level approaches to increase the adoption of prevention and wellness behaviors: Early indicators of disease and pre-disease states and measures associated with proactive health outcomes that are both inexpensive and effective. Low-cost, high-uptake mental health resiliency and mindfulness building methods for individuals. Methods to inform and educate individuals about healthy behaviors including lifestyle and preventative medical measures. Methods that incentivize individuals to adopt and maintain healthy behaviors. Novel approaches to increasing individual healthspan and independence even in the absence of disease.System innovation for the delivery of proactive health outcomes: Novel, robust and predictive surrogates for long-term health outcomes with associated epidemiological models. Valuation models for long-term treatment effects for vaccination, screening and other public health interventions. New funding and delivery models for preventative intervention.Other high-quality submissions that propose revolutionary technologies that meet the goals of PHO will be considered even if they do not address the topics listed above.Proposals are expected to use innovative approaches to enable revolutionary advances in medicine and healthcare, and the science and technology underlying these areas. While approaches that are disease agnostic are encouraged, ARPA-H welcomes proposals that bring radically new insights to address specific diseases including, but not limited to, cancer, diabetes, neurological diseases, pediatric and maternal/fetal health, infectious diseases, and cardiovascular disease.Specifically excluded are proposals that represent an evolutionary or incremental advance in the current state of the art or technology that has reached the clinical trial stage. An example of this type of proposal might include the request to fund clinical trials of an otherwise developed product. Additionally, proposals directed towards policy advocacy, traditional education and training, or center coordination, formation, or development, and construction of physical infrastructure are outside the scope of the ARPA-H mission.

This ISO seeks solution summaries and proposal submissions for projects that fall within the general scope of the ARPA-H Health Science Futures (HSF) mission office. HSF expands what is technically possible by developing approaches that will remove the scientific and technological limitations that stymie progress towards the healthcare of the future. HSF supports cutting-edge, often disease-agnostic research programs that have the potential for translational real-world change.Considering the current healthcare challenges that we face today, the goal of achieving better health outcomes is a moving target that requires daring and adaptable solutions. HSF awardees will develop innovative technologies, tools, and platforms that can be applied to a broad range of diseases. The following interest areas define the ground-breaking research we seek to support:Breakthrough Technologies: Paradigm shifting technologies that will change how we approach the diagnosis, treatment, and impact of diseases and conditions. Novel approaches to improve maternal and fetal medicine, decrease maternal morbidity and mortality during birth, and the post-partum period. Efforts should include new technology to monitor, detect, and/or treat maternal and/or fetal complications with less invasive and traumatic methods. Foundational advances in genetic, epigenetic, cellular, tissue, and organ replacement therapies that enable personalized medical interventions at scale in a manner that is accessible, cost-effective, and designed to impact the communities of greatest need. Interventions that target and reverse disease pathogenesis and/or enhance plasticity to address diseases of the nervous, neuromuscular, skeletal, lymphatic, cardiovascular, and other organ systems. Novel approaches to diagnose and treat diseases of the lymphatic system, particularly rare diseases, with a focus on the effects of genetic expression in the lymphatic system and/or models demonstrating the relationship between lymphatic dysfunction and health and disease.Transformative Tools: Novel, agile solutions that will move from bench to bedside quickly, facilitating revolutionary advances in medical care. Development of tools that counter idiosyncratic, off-target, or chronic effects of medicines that are commonly used or that are being used experimentally to treat or prevent disease. Development of bionics to restore sight, hearing, taste, or smell. Site-selective neuromodulation to regulate specific physiological functions and treat chronic health conditions such as inflammation, pain, and metabolic or endocrine disorders. Synthetic biology approaches to diagnosing, treating, and/or curing a multitude of diseases. Novel physics and/or chemistry-based approaches to improve imaging that reduces cost, increases availability, expands capability, improves resolution, reduces exposure to radiation, and accommodates pediatric patient populations. Integrated sensing and delivery devices for treating and diagnosing chronic health conditions, including mental health conditions or substance use disorders. Miniaturization of complex hardware to enable broader access to pediatric and other patient populations, as well as portability, such as diagnostic, treatment, imaging, or other devices.Platform Systems: Adaptable, multi-application systems and technologies that are reconfigurable for a wide variety of clinical needs Novel molecular platform approaches, including the modulation of host systems, delivery to targets with spatial and temporal precision, and mitigation of off-target effects to accelerate interventions that dramatically improve health outcomes. New approaches to accelerate and routinize mammalian and microbial cellular engineering to enable next generation therapeutic applications, develop multiscale interventions, and automate hypothesis generation and discovery to expand those applications to disease states in which cellular therapies have not traditionally been employed. Innovative approaches at the intersection of artificial intelligence, high performance computing (including quantum computing) and biological systems, including enabling de novo design of biomolecules with entirely new phenotypes.Other high-quality submissions that propose revolutionary technologies that meet the goals of HSF will be considered even if they do not address the topics listed above.Proposals are expected to use innovative approaches to enable revolutionary advances in medicine and healthcare, and the science and technology underlying these areas. While approaches that are disease agnostic are encouraged, ARPA-H welcomes proposals that bring radically new insights to address specific diseases including, but not limited to, cancer, diabetes, neurological diseases, pediatric and maternal/fetal health, infectious diseases, and cardiovascular disease.Specifically excluded are proposals that represent an evolutionary or incremental advance in the current state of the art or technology that has reached the clinical trial stage. An example of this type of proposal might include the request to fund clinical trials of an otherwise developed product. Additionally, proposals directed towards policy changes, traditional education and training, or center coordination, formation, or development, and construction of physical infrastructure are outside the scope of the ARPA-H mission.

This ISO seeks solution summaries and proposals for projects that fall within the general scope of the ARPA-H Scalable Solutions mission office. SSO expands what is technically possible by developing approaches that will leverage an interdisciplinary approach and collaborative networks to address challenges of geography, distribution, manufacturing, data and information, thereby improving health care access and affordability. In the United States, many communities and remote areas lack access to timely and quality health care, which leads to disparities in health outcomes for those populations. Bottlenecks during the manufacturing processes of products and health technologies also lead to delays and limited availability, preventing effective distribution of health care solutions to areas of need, especially in emergencies.ARPA-H SSO seeks solutions to improve the scalability and affordability of health care solutions, bridge gaps in underserved areas, and extend remote access to expertise by developing location-specific interventions, telemedicine solutions, and mobile health clinics. Solutions should focus on rapid innovation and the use of partnerships, as well as flexible distribution networks and streamlined manufacturing processes. The following SSO interest areas categorize the ground-breaking solutions we seek to support:Scalable Technologies and Interventions: Approaches to improve affordability and equitable access to health care that are adaptable to various geographic, demographic, economic contexts and can be rapidly deployed at scale (e.g., drug-repurposing*, telemedicine, point-of-care diagnostics, and modular health care infrastructure). Tailored solutions for the pediatric population that provide parity in access to treatments and other health care interventions with the adult population and adapt to the pediatric patients changing physiology and developmental status over the course of years. Transformational approaches to reduce or eliminate health disparities, including tools and models for product design and care delivery that scale novel approaches in human factors and human-centered design to respond to full diversity of patients. Tools to enable the scaling of provider and institutional capabilities (e.g., school nurses and schools, walk-in clinics, homesteading care) to address unmet health care access needs and expand availability of critical services. Foundational capabilities to accelerate diagnoses and reduce the cost of treatments for rare diseases wherever patients are, without the need for specialized facilities or healthcare expertise.* Solution summaries and proposals that focus on testing drugs for effectiveness for other disease states or use cases, are unlikely to be funded unless including additional R, or providing gains in cost reduction, accessibility, and/or equity.Collaborative Distribution Networks: Methods for standardization, automation, and democratization of complex procedures 5 including, but not limited to, histopathology, rare disease diagnosis and treatment, and surgical interventions to ensure access and delivery to populations diverse in demographics, geographies, and resources at scale. Approaches to enhance delivery of effective healthcare solutions in rural or low resource settings, including but not limited to "last mile delivery, at-home monitoring, imaging, drug delivery, telehealth augmentation, and support for remote medical procedures with limited need for specialized training. Technologies to enable the deployment of critical healthcare resources rapidly, equitably, and securely at scale to the point of need in permissive and non-permissive (i.e., damaged infrastructure, cyber-denied) environments during a public health crisis or natural disaster. Solutions to scale education and training of critical healthcare resources for health care providers and patients to ensure information integrity to prevent negative impacts to resource use/uptake. Innovative information technology, data and analytic products and technologies to enable ordering, inventory management, situational awareness, allocation planning and demand forecasting of critical healthcare resources during a public health crisis or natural disaster.Biomanufacturing Innovations*: Innovative manufacturing technologies and approaches that reduce cost, shorten the timeline for production, advance domestic competitiveness and reduce supply chain risk of biologics, cellular and gene therapies, pharmaceuticals, medical devices and personal protective equipment. New approaches to support predictable, programable biological production of conventional and novel materials reliability at scale in a cost-effective sustainable manner. Novel solutions to reduce the reliance on specialized handling and cold chain management of pharmaceuticals and biologics. Scalable innovations to advance and strengthen biomanufacturing supply chain and resolve bottlenecks including:o Advances in production of active pharmaceutical ingredients, process consumables, and other critical materials (i.e., enzymes, cell lines, etc);o Novel biomanufacturing-related data products, technologies or models to integrate into supply chain situational awareness systems;o Alternative materials and new manufacturing capabilities for personal protective equipment; ando Improvement of capabilities sustainably re-shore manufacturing and utilize a broad array of readily accessible and cost-efficient feedstocks as part of strengthening the local and national industry base. Analytics and novel sensor systems to precisely manage bioproduction, real-time release assays, and predictive capabilities to inform tuning of biological chassis for efficient and effective scale-up of manufacturing to industrial scale.*ARPA-H is not interested in approaches that merely increase capacity reservation.Other high-quality submissions that propose revolutionary technologies that meet the goals of SSO will be considered even if they do not address the topics listed above.Proposals are expected to use innovative approaches to enable revolutionary advances in medicine and healthcare, and the science and technology underlying these areas. While approaches that are disease agnostic are encouraged, ARPA-H welcomes proposals that bring radically new insights to address specific diseases including, but not limited to, cancer, diabetes, neurological diseases, pediatric and maternal/fetal health, infectious diseases, and cardiovascular disease.Specifically excluded are proposals that represent an evolutionary or incremental advance in the current state of the art or technology that has reached the clinical trial stage. An example of this type of proposal might include the request to fund clinical trials of an otherwise developed product. Additionally, proposals directed towards policy changes, traditional education and training, or center coordination, formation, or development, and construction of physical infrastructure are outside the scope of the ARPA-H mission.

This funding is designed to help attract and support high-quality amateur and professional sports and e-sports events in Pennsylvania, boosting tourism and economic growth throughout the state.

This program provides financial guarantees to support local governments and developers in revitalizing underutilized properties and stimulating economic growth in communities across the Commonwealth.

This program provides up to $1 million annually to promote and support the growth of Pennsylvania's malt and brewed beverage industries through marketing, research, and training initiatives.

This program provides funding to support marketing and research initiatives that enhance wine production and promote the Pennsylvania wine industry.

This program provides funding for potato farmers in Pennsylvania who cultivate five or more acres, supporting research to improve potato production and address challenges like Verticillium wilt.

This program provides funding to Pennsylvania vegetable producers for marketing and research initiatives to improve vegetable cultivation and sales.

07 March 2024 Update: Please see instructions for full proposal instructions and general submission instructions within the attached documents to this announcement.****CURRENTLY ACCEPTING WHITE PAPER SUBMISSIONS ONLY - DEADLINE FOR WHITE PAPER SUBMISSIONS is 12 DEC 2023*********The pre-proposal (a.k.a. white paper) form and submission instructions is available at the hyperlink below:https://www.acq.osd.mil/eie/afpmb/docs/dwfp/FY24_DWFP_Form.pdf.Applicants should follow the instructions in the pre-proposal form to complete both the form and a separate project summary slide (quad chart). The pre-proposal form and quad chart are submitted as two separate files and also as one combined file, for a total of 3 PDF files. Submissions are due to the AFPMB Webmaster no later than December 12, 2023 (11:59pm EDT). Late submissions will not be considered.Full details are available at related documents tab see downloadable PDF file entitled "BAA Version 1 dated 19 Oct 2023". Note: This document references 3 pages for a white paper/preproposal submission however this should instead reference 3 PDF files make up a preproposal/white paper submission.The U. S. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground Edgewood Contracting Division, Fort Detrick, invites applications for funding opportunities for the Fiscal Year 2024 Deployed War Fighter Protection (DWFP) Research Program, renewable for up to 3 years, administered by the Armed Forces Pest Management Board (AFPMB). The AFPMB is soliciting pre-proposals for original, innovative research designed to develop new interventions to protect deployed U. S. Department of Defense (DoD) personnel from medically relevant pests, including arthropod disease vectors of mosquito-borne arboviruses and tick-borne pathogens, as well as fly-borne bacterial pathogens. The DWFP Program supports the development of: new toxicants or the adaptation of existing toxicants to medically relevant pests; new insecticide application techniques; new personal protection tools that prevent human-vector contact; new decision support tools; and new vector surveillance tools that focus on improving vector control outcomes. The proposed research should: support the Advanced Technology Development of new insecticides, or improved formulations of existing insecticides for vector control, new technology or enhanced modalities of personal protection from biting arthropods, or improved efficacy and sustainability of equipment for application of pesticides (for more information, see Budget Activity 3 in the DoD Financial Management Regulation Volume 2B, Chapter 5); be product-oriented, consisting of advanced research related to a particular technology or new capability, field evaluation of products, or research directed towards the development of an existing prototype product for commercialization; include semi-field or field evaluation of prototype products; be applicable for both military and civilian uses, including military operational environments with limited logistical support; focus on multiple target vectors; and outline a strategy for subsequent registration by the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the development of products containing a pesticide(s).The program does not support: basic research; vector pathogen research; clinical, diagnostic, therapeutic or vaccine research in humans; testing to measure acute oral, dermal and/or inhalation toxicity; EPA registration costs; testing and evaluation of products previously registered with the EPA, unless they are being developed for a new use; testing and evaluation of commercial products, unless they are tested in comparison with prototype products; or manufacturing, packaging and production costs.Up to $4,500,000 may be awarded in FY24, with future years subject to the availability of funds. The total proposed cost cannot exceed $975,000, i.e. a maximum of $325,000 per year for up to 3 years, inclusive of all direct and indirect costs. Funding is intended to be provided during August-October 2024. Projects will be selected on the basis of peer-reviewed scientific merit and programmatic relevance. Pre-proposals will be accepted from investigators who are employed by or affiliated with an eligible institution. Eligible institutions include for-profit, non-profit, public, and private organizations. Examples include universities, hospitals, laboratories, companies, and agencies of local, state government. Federal Agencies may also respond to this request; however, federal submissions will be processed in accordance with applicable regulations. Funding for federal agencies is provided subject to an appropriate interagency agreement.The estimated timeline for the FY24 DWFP Program is as follows: December 12, 2023 Deadline for pre-proposal submissions Mid-January 2024 Invitation to submit full proposals Mid-March 2024 Deadline for full proposal submissions Late April/early May 2024 Notification of full proposal selections August/September 2024 Awards funded

This program provides funding to establish community-based telehealth resources that connect rural veterans with healthcare providers, improving their access to essential medical services.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is soliciting innovative and revolutionary computational approaches that measure the feasibility of technical claims to enable accurate assessments of scientific content. This publication constitutes a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) as contemplated in Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.102(d)(2) and 35.016 and 2 C.F.R. § 200.203. Any resultant award negotiations will follow all pertinent laws and regulations, and any negotiations and/or awards for procurement contracts will use procedures under FAR 15.4, Contract Pricing, as specified in the BAA. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is soliciting innovative proposals in the following areas of interest: feasibility assessment of scientific content and testing and evaluation of feasibility assessment methods. Proposed research should investigate innovative approaches that enable revolutionary advances in science or systems. Specifically excluded is research that primarily results in evolutionary improvements to the existing state of practice. Multiple awards are anticipated. The amount of resources made available under this BAA will depend on the quality of the proposals received and the availability of funds.

Amendment 2 to the NASA ARMD Research Opportunities in Aeronautics (ROA) 2024 NRA has been posted on the NSPIRES web site. University Leadership Initiative (ULI) provides the opportunity for university teams to exercise technical and organizational leadership in proposing unique technical challenges in aeronautics, defining multi-disciplinary solutions, establishing peer review mechanisms, and applying innovative teaming strategies to strengthen the research impact.Research proposals are sought in six ULI topic areas in Appendix D.4.Topic 1: Safe, Efficient Growth in Global Operations (Strategic Thrust 1)Topic 2: Innovation in Commercial High-Speed Aircraft (Strategic Thrust 2)Topic 3: Ultra-Efficient Subsonic Transports (Strategic Thrust 3) Topic 4: Safe, Quiet, and Affordable Vertical Lift Air Vehicles (Strategic Thrust 4)Topic 5: In-Time System-Wide Safety Assurance (Strategic Thrust 5)Topic 6: Assured Autonomy for Aviation Transformation (Strategic Thrust 6)This NRA will utilize a two-step proposal submission and evaluation process. The initial step is a short mandatory Step-A proposal due May 29, 2024. Those offerors submitting the most highly rated Step-A proposals will be invited to submit a Step-B proposal. All proposals must be submitted electronically through NSPIRES at https://nspires.nasaprs.com.An Applicants Workshop will be held on Thursday Apr 3, 2024; 1:00-3:00 p.m. ET (https://uli.arc.nasa.gov/applicants-workshops/workshop8).An interested partners list for this ULI is at https://uli.arc.nasa.gov/partners. To be listed as an interested lead or partner, please send electronic mail to [email protected] with "ULI Partnerships" in the subject line and include the information required for the table in that web page.

This solicitation is offered for support of two types of projects, a TCUP Hub and faculty-led topical interest groups (TIGs). The TCUP Hub will serve the entire TCUP-eligible community with activities such as convening workshops (including the TCUP Leaders' Forum), coordinating faculty/student exchanges, organizing professional development opportunities, and overseeing TCUP Fellowship opportunities with eligible agencies. The Hub will connect people and organizations to facilitate relationships, expand and diversify networks, and support TCUP faculty and staff in building capacity in areas they identify. It will curate shared resources, expertise, and experiences to build the capacity of TCUP institutions. Also, it will build and support a sense of community among all TCUP institutions and elevate the voices within them. Only one Hub will be supported, either to a single institution or to a collaborative submission from multiple institutions. Interested parties may find that a collaborative submission from multiple institutions is more feasible, engaging two or more TCUP institutions to synergistically leverage their different strengths in realizing the Hub's mission. Multiple institutions submitting collaboratively may better address the multiplicity of TCUP institutions, which vary geographically, administratively, and in modes of governance. Clearly, some activities may be best pursued by enlisting specialists as consultants. Two types of collaborative proposals are acceptable: simultaneous submission of proposals from multiple organizations submitting a unified set of certain proposal sections, as well as information unique to each organization, such as unique budgets, key personnel, and activities; or submission of a collaborative proposal from one organization, with collaborating institutions included through subawards (subawards are permitted only to TCUP-eligible institutions; proposers should confer with the TCUP program staff prior to submission). All collaborative proposals submitted from multiple organizations must be submitted via Research.gov. Additionally, this solicitation is offered for support of independent, faculty-led topical interest groups (TIGs) that focus on professional development of faculty and formation of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) discipline networks (e.g., engineering, genomics, Indigenous research, environmental science). Up to two new TIGs may be supported. [1] Executive Order 13021 defines Tribal Colleges and Universities ("tribal colleges") as those institutions cited in section 532 of the Equity in Educational Land-Grant Status Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 301 note), and other institutions that qualify for funding under the Tribally Controlled Community College Assistance Act of 1978, (25 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), as well as Navajo Community College as authorized in the Navajo Community College Assistance Act of 1978, Public Law 95-471, Title II (25 U.S.C. 640a note). The term "Alaska Native-serving institution" means an institution of higher education that is an eligible institution under section 1058(b) of the Higher Education Act; and that, at the time of submission, has an undergraduate enrollment that is at least 20 percent Alaska Native students. The term "Native Hawaiian-serving institution" means an institution of higher education that is an eligible institution under section 1058(b) of the Higher Education Act; and that, at the time of submission, has an undergraduate enrollment that is at least 10 percent Native Hawaiian students. Most TCUP-eligible institutions of higher education are two-year or community colleges. See the Who May Submit Proposals section in this solicitation for further details.

The National Science Foundation's Directorates for Engineering (ENG), Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE), Mathematical Physical Sciences (MPS), and Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE) are coordinating efforts to create fundamental understanding that will enablecontinued effective use of an essential common resource, the electromagnetic spectrum. Existing approaches to spectrum management and regulationhave struggled with the ever-increasing demands for spectrum created by continual emergence of new scientific, military, and commercial applications, powered by steady advances in wireless technologies. Development of fundamentally new models and paradigms of spectrum access and management, along with enabling technologies, is needed before it becomes too costly to accommodate new innovations and essential services, or too late to sustain the digital transformation and growth of key industries and public services. This program seeks to develop the intellectual capital enabling the U.S. to smoothly and quickly transition to effective new ways of using and managing the radio and optical spectrum after the end of the current spectrum era of long-term exclusive-use license auctions, thereby sustaining and advancing the social, economic, scientific, and U.S. national leadership benefits derived from the electromagnetic spectrum.