The NSF Directorate for Engineering (ENG) continuously seeks to identify and develop bold engineering research directions that will benefit society. These inspiring visions can catalyze the engineering research community's pursuit of innovative, high-impact research.

Stakeholders in engineering research are diverse. They include academia, industry, non-profit and professional organizations, as well as the public. This broad community can play a role in developing compelling research visions that align with national and global challenges.

Community-driven vision

To facilitate the articulation of future research visions with full engagement of the engineering research community, ENG called on the community to establish and participate in a new organization, the Engineering Research Visioning Alliance (ERVA).

In April 2021, ENG funded a new ERVA organization to engage with these goals and drive engineering-led societal benefits. ERVA will obtain and integrate input on research directions from all engineering stakeholder groups; generating new visions of engineering research and strengthening connections across engineering.

Get involved at www.ERVAcommunity.org

Community origin

The ERVA concept was developed with ideas from engineering stakeholders.

At the ENG-funded Engineering Research Framework Visioning Summit, held in July 2019, engineering research stakeholders explored potential models for identifying and advancing priorities in future engineering research. Read a summary of the Visioning Summit.

In March 2020, ENG invited the community to submit proposals to the ERVA solicitation. See Engineering Research Visioning Alliance (ERVA): Future Research Directions for the Engineering Research Community (NSF 20-551).

Contact

For more information, please contact program director Dr. Louise R. Howe (lhowe@nsf.gov).