Engineering for the Built Environment (EBE)

NSF's implementation of the revised 2 CFR

NSF Financial Assistance awards (grants and cooperative agreements) made on or after October 1, 2024, will be subject to the applicable set of award conditions, dated October 1, 2024, available on the NSF website. These terms and conditions are consistent with the revised guidance specified in the OMB Guidance for Federal Financial Assistance published in the Federal Register on April 22, 2024.

Important information for proposers

All proposals must be submitted in accordance with the requirements specified in this funding opportunity and in the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) that is in effect for the relevant due date to which the proposal is being submitted. It is the responsibility of the proposer to ensure that the proposal meets these requirements. Submitting a proposal prior to a specified deadline does not negate this requirement.

Updates to NSF Research Security Policies

On July 10, 2025, NSF issued an Important Notice providing updates to the agency's research security policies, including a research security training requirement, Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Program annual certification requirement, prohibition on Confucius institutes and an updated FFDR reporting and submission timeline.

Synopsis

Supports fundamental research on civil infrastructure and civil infrastructure systems, from materials to global networks, for prosperous, resilient and safe communities.

People rely on the built environment for water, energy, and other essential services. The built environment comprises human-made or modified structures, infrastructure and infrastructure systems, and landscapes. The engineering of such a complex environment can focus on single components or structures, as well as on integrated and interdependent networks and systems.

The prosperity, health, and security of the nation depend on an efficient and effective built environment. Communities rely on the built environment to perform well under all operational conditions. Aging, poor planning, and unexpected interactions with people among interconnected systems can hinder performance or risk lives. Extreme events can cause severe damage, harm people and disrupt the economy.

The Engineering for the Built Environment (EBE) program aims to enhance the adaptability, sustainability, and resilience of the built environment. EBE supports fundamental research on engineered and natural infrastructure elements, systems, and systems-of-systems. The program’s scope spans a wide range of scales, from material formulation to response to global networks. The program considers research on the performance, design, and operation of infrastructure in urban, suburban, and rural communities. Operating conditions may include hazards, extreme events, and cascading effects.

The EBE program supports research that advances engineering science. EBE research includes the creation of innovative frameworks, theories, or methods. These advances improve the design, operation, and resilience of the built environment and its interactions with people. Research may be experimental, analytical, computational, and/or based on artificial intelligence. The program supports research on coupled multi-physics, multi-scale (spatial and temporal), and multi-functional response.

The EBE program supports research that contributes to NSF’s statutory role in the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program (NEHRP), the National Windstorm Impact Reduction Program (NWIRP), and the National Landslide Preparedness Act.

Principal Investigators are encouraged to use NSF Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure (NSF NHERI) resources (https://www.designsafe-ci.org/).

Partnerships: To speed discovery and innovation, NSF partners with federal agencies, industry, international groups, and others. Current opportunities are at NSF ENG Partnerships.

This program advances NSF’s mission as given in the NSF organic statute (42 U.S.C. 1861, et seq.).