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NSF 25-546: Foundations for Operating the National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource: the NAIRR Operations Center (NAIRR-OC)

Program Solicitation

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Document History

  • Posted: September 2, 2025

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U.S. National Science Foundation

Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering
     Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure

Letter of Intent Due Date(s) (required) (due by 5 p.m submitting organization's local time):

     December 15, 2025

Full Proposal Deadline(s) (due by 5 p.m. submitting organization's local time):

     February 04, 2026

Important Information And Revision Notes

Any proposal submitted in response to this solicitation should be submitted in accordance with the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) that is in effect for the relevant due date to which the proposal is being submitted. The NSF PAPPG is regularly revised and it is the responsibility of the proposer to ensure that the proposal meets the requirements specified in this solicitation and the applicable version of the PAPPG. Submitting a proposal prior to a specified deadline does not negate this requirement.

Summary Of Program Requirements

General Information

Program Title:

Foundations for Operating the National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource: the NAIRR Operations Center (NAIRR-OC) (NAIRR-OC)

Synopsis of Program:

The National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource (NAIRR) Pilot is a pioneering public-private initiative to catalyze a competitive national artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem for discovery and innovation by connecting U.S. researchers and educators to the most advanced public and private-sector computational and data platforms, datasets, software, AI models, and technological expertise necessary to accelerate AI-driven discovery and innovation. Beginning in January 2024, U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) – together with 14 other federal agencies and 28 private sector partners – established the NAIRR Pilot, which has immediately advanced innovative AI and science research and accelerated AI workforce training and education. As recommended by America's AI Action Plan, the NAIRR Operations Center (NAIRR-OC) will serve as a lean and sustainable operations capability and be the focal point for operational transition from the current Pilot towards a sustainable long-term NAIRR.

This solicitation seeks proposals to establish a community-based organization that will be responsible for the foundational visioning, coordination, operations, and development activities in support of an integrated national infrastructure for AI research and education. The resulting award would advance the National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource (NAIRR) vision for a public-private partnership to accelerate AI innovation and national competitiveness. This NAIRR Operations Center (NAIRR-OC) will be responsible for the following overarching goals and responsibilities:

  • Organizational leadership: Establishing the operational framework, organizational management, and success metrics for the NAIRR and its successful operations according to the vision, goals, and requirements established by the NSF and other federal partners.
  • Building NAIRR capabilities and community: Undertaking specific development activities in support of NAIRR stakeholders, including interfacing with partner organizations and resources, deploying a unified web portal, integrating data-focused and other resources into the NAIRR, and conducting outreach and community building activities.
  • Interfacing with Pilot Operations: Coordinating with existing NAIRR Pilot contributing partners and interfacing with the independently supported teams conducting NAIRR Pilot operational functions, while developing tailored plans to execute such functions via the NAIRR-OC in the future.

NSF anticipates making a single award for this competition. NSF will provide oversight of award activities via the NAIRR Program Management Office (PMO) which may include representatives from partnering agencies. The awardee from this competition may be eligible for expansion of operational responsibilities and duties in a future phase, depending on NAIRR priorities, awardee performance and availability of funds.

Cognizant Program Officer(s):

Please note that the following information is current at the time of publishing. See program website for any updates to the points of contact.

Applicable Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number(s):

  • 47.070 --- Computer and Information Science and Engineering

Award Information

Anticipated Type of Award: Cooperative Agreement

Estimated Number of Awards: 1

Anticipated Funding Amount: $35,000,000

NSF Expects to make one (1) award at up to $35,000,000 for a period of up to 5 years.

Eligibility Information

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.
  • Non-profit, non-academic organizations: Independent museums, observatories, research laboratories, professional societies and similar organizations located in the U.S. that are directly associated with educational or research activities.
  • For-profit organizations: U.S.-based commercial organizations, including small businesses, with strong capabilities in scientific or engineering research or education and a passion for innovation.
  • Other Federal Agencies and Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs): Prospective proposers from other Federal Agencies and FFRDCs, including NSF sponsored FFRDCs, must follow the guidance in PAPPG Chapter I.E.2 regarding limitations on eligibility.

Who May Serve as PI:

There are no restrictions or limits.

Limit on Number of Proposals per Organization: 1

An organization may only serve as the submitting organization for one proposal to this competition.

Limit on Number of Proposals per PI or co-PI: 1

An individual may participate as PI, co-PI, or other Senior Personnel on at most one proposal for this competition. Note that any individual whose biographical sketch is provided as part of the proposal will be considered as Senior Personnel in the proposed activity, with or without financial support from the project.

Other staff funded under the budget of a NAIRR-OC proposal are not subject to this restriction.

Proposal Preparation and Submission Instructions

A. Proposal Preparation Instructions

  • Letters of Intent: Submission of Letters of Intent is required. Please see the full text of this solicitation for further information.
  • Preliminary Proposal Submission: Not required
  • Full Proposals:

B. Budgetary Information

  • Cost Sharing Requirements:

    Inclusion of voluntary committed cost sharing is prohibited.

  • Indirect Cost (F&A) Limitations:

    Not Applicable

  • Other Budgetary Limitations:

    Not Applicable

C. Due Dates

  • Letter of Intent Due Date(s) (required) (due by 5 p.m. submitting organization's local time):

         December 15, 2025

  • Full Proposal Deadline(s) (due by 5 p.m. submitting organization's local time):

         February 04, 2026

Proposal Review Information Criteria

Merit Review Criteria:

National Science Board approved criteria. Additional merit review criteria apply. Please see the full text of this solicitation for further information.

Award Administration Information

Award Conditions:

Additional award conditions apply. Please see the full text of this solicitation for further information.

Reporting Requirements:

Additional reporting requirements apply. Please see the full text of this solicitation for further information.

I. Introduction

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly expanding from the research lab to everyday life. Its impact can be seen in nearly every discipline, from health care to transportation, finance to education. Maintaining unchallenged U.S. leadership in AI requires investment in foundational research, fundamental advances and new applications that can rapidly translate to economic growth and output. To drive innovation, discovery, and national competitiveness in AI, U.S. researchers, educators, and developers must be empowered with the state-of-the-art AI capabilities and tools to maintain and accelerate progress, and to grow the next generation of AI talent.

Many researchers and educators, however, lack the necessary access to the capabilities and tools to fully conduct their work and to train the rapidly expanding AI workforce. The NSF-led National AI Research Resource (NAIRR) is a vision for a national infrastructure that aims to connect U.S. researchers and educators to advanced public and private-sector AI resources to overcome these access barriers and thereby accelerate AI-driven discovery and innovation. The overarching goals for the NAIRR are to:

  • accelerate AI and AI-powered discovery and innovation;
  • expand the AI workforce and train the next generation of AI researchers and educators;
  • increase capacity, integration, and use of world-class public and private-sector AI resources; and
  • advance AI interpretability, security, and trust.

The NAIRR Pilot is a major initiative to jump-start the path to a sustainable long-term NAIRR. The Pilot was launched in January 2024 (https://www.nsf.gov/focus-areas/artificial-intelligence/nairr) and is led by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) with a consortium of 14 other agencies and 28 private sector partners who are contributing in-kind state-of-the-art AI resources and classroom tools including computing, data, foundation models, licensed tools and other resources as well as expertise. In its first 18 months, the NAIRR Pilot has successfully connected over 400 research teams and educators across 48 states to this unique array of critical AI resources.

NSF leads the NAIRR Pilot public-private consortium through light-weight governance structures, providing guidance and active oversight of Pilot operations in coordination with other federal partners. NSF has leveraged and expanded many existing investments in high-performance computing, distributed cyberinfrastructure, and associated coordinated user services, which, in the ensemble, have allowed the Pilot to rapidly integrate the resources contributed by partners and make them available to researchers and educators through a central Pilot Portal (https://nairrpilot.org). NSF has also made parallel investments to nurture the emerging NAIRR Pilot user community. These efforts include supporting workshops (https://nairrpilot.org/news/community-workshops) and providing outreach, training, and education opportunities (https://www.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/dcl-nairr-pilot-expansion-researcher-training-community-outreach) to expand NAIRR Pilot participation; supporting demonstration projects that explore novel AI research pathways that innovatively use — or contribute to — NAIRR capabilities (https://www.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/dcl-national-artificial-intelligence-research-resource-nairr/nsf24-093), including secure environments for sensitive data; and to opportunities for the research and education community to contribute datasets to the Pilot (https://www.nsf.gov/funding/information/dcl-national-ai-research-resource-nairr-pilot-seeks-datasets).

The rapid success and growth of the NAIRR Pilot in terms of resources offered, national user base, and scientific and educational impact has catalyzed the need for a sustainable approach to both current Pilot operations and the transition to the envisioned long-term NAIRR. As recommended by America's AI Action Plan (https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Americas-AI-Action-Plan.pdf), this solicitation aims to address this need by supporting the establishment of a community-based organization (the NAIRR Operations Center, NAIRR-OC) that will be responsible for unified foundational operations of the NAIRR and potential transition to a long-term national capability.

Key definitions for this solicitation:

NAIRR-OC

National AI Research Resource Operations Center

NAIRR Project Management Office (PMO)

The NAIRR Project Management Office represents the programmatic staff that will provide federal government oversight of the NAIRR-OC. The NAIRR PMO will be administratively housed in NSF's Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure and may include participation from NAIRR partner agencies. The NAIRR-OC will be expected to work closely with and carry out certain activities on behalf of the NAIRR PMO.

Cooperative Agreement

The expected award mechanism for the NAIRR-OC. More information can be found in the PAPPG Introduction, Section D.

NAIRR-OC Director

The Principal Investigator of the NAIRR-OC award

NAIRR-OC Leadership Team

The team that will oversee activities of the NAIRR-OC, as well as provide vision and strategy in conjunction with the NAIRR PMO. NAIRR-OC leadership team members include the PI, co-PIs and senior investigators on the NAIRR-OC award.

NAIRR Pilot

The Pilot phase of the NAIRR, launched in January of 2024 and providing initial resources to research and education communities while demonstrating the feasibility of a NAIRR. Details about NAIRR Pilot services can be found at https://nairrpilot.org/about.

Federal Agency Partner

A federal agency that has representation on the NAIRR Steering Committee and can provide input into the strategic direction of the NAIRR.

Private Sector Partner

A non-government entity (such as a for-profit, non-profit, or philanthropic organization) that is contributing resources to the NAIRR.

Resource

Resources made available to the research and education community via the NAIRR, including:

  • Computational resources, including on-premises advanced computing, cloud computing, and emergent resources;
  • Data resources, including search and discovery services, data commons, access to data repositories and curated data sets, models, and software relevant to NAIRR communities;
  • Educational tool and services;
  • AI Testbeds; and
  • Other resources deemed useful and relevant to NAIRR communities.

Such resources may be private sector or agency funded.

Resource Provider

A private sector or federally funded organization that operates or maintains infrastructure resources made available as part of the NAIRR.

Federally Supported Resource

A resource of the NAIRR supported by a federal government agency.

Private Sector Resource

A resource of the NAIRR supported by non-government contributors, such as private corporations, non-profits, or philanthropic organizations.

II. Program Description

This solicitation seeks proposals for an Operations Center (NAIRR-OC) to lead and implement the foundational day-to-day operations for the NAIRR, a public-private partnership to accelerate AI innovation and national competitiveness. The NAIRR-OC is expected to be awarded via a cooperative agreement between NSF and the awardee institution, with continued funding contingent on NAIRR priorities, awardee performance including achievement of agreed-upon milestones, and availability of funds. The awardee will work closely and cooperatively with NSF on NAIRR operational activities and will have the opportunity to provide thought leadership and collaborative visioning for future directions of the NAIRR and its operations.

The NAIRR is being developed in stages as a partnership between NSF, federal, and private sector partners. The NAIRR-OC will be responsible for day-to-day strategic leadership on and technical implementation of NAIRR operations. The NAIRR will capitalize on the capabilities and successes of the NAIRR Pilot, while expanding the capabilities, scale, and integration to achieve its overarching goals. NAIRR-OC activities will include establishing appropriate security requirements for users, partners, and resources interacting with the NAIRR while emphasizing research integrity principles of openness, reciprocity, and transparency.

The NAIRR-OC will NOT be funded to carry out research projects itself, but to enable the U.S. research and education community to best utilize the resources of the NAIRR. The NAIRR-OC will NOT be funded to acquire or operate the physical hardware or other cyberinfrastructure resources supporting the project work of researchers and educators but may operate ancillary supporting hardware or services in support of serving said resources to relevant communities. The NAIRR-OC will also NOT be funded to run competitions for selecting and funding resources that would be made available via the NAIRR.

The awardee is expected to accomplish the following overarching goals and functions during its initial 24 months of operations:

  • Organizational leadership: Establishing the operational framework, organizational management, and success metrics for the NAIRR and its successful operations according to the vision, goals, and requirements established by the NSF and other federal partners.
  • Building NAIRR capabilities and community: Undertaking specific development activities in support of NAIRR stakeholders, including interfacing with partner organizations and resources, deploying a unified web portal, integrating data-focused and other resources into the NAIRR, and conducting outreach and community building activities.
  • Interfacing with Pilot Operations: Coordinating with existing NAIRR Pilot contributing partners and interfacing with the independently supported teams conducting NAIRR Pilot operational functions, while developing tailored plans to execute such functions via the NAIRR-OC in the future.

The awardee will be reviewed for performance 24 months into the award at which time, additional milestones will be developed and agreed to in collaboration with the NAIRR Program Management Office (PMO). A successful awardee may be renewed for an additional 5 years via consideration of a renewal proposal, subject to NAIRR priorities, continued awardee performance, and availability of funds.

II.A. Organizational Leadership

Submissions to this solicitation must include a proposed operational strategy, organizational management, and execution plan for the successful day-to-day operation of the NAIRR and continual engagement with the research community to improve NAIRR services and capabilities. This plan should align with the overarching vision and goals of the NAIRR described in Section I. Introduction. The plan is expected to be refined post-award in collaboration with the NAIRR PMO according to the vision, goals, and requirements established by the NSF and the NAIRR Federal partners.

II.A.i. Leadership Team Organizational Structure

The NAIRR-OC shall be led by a robust leadership team with a management structure and operating model to successfully implement and operate the NAIRR-OC components. This solicitation requires that the Principal Investigator (PI) of the award serve as the NAIRR-OC Director. If awarded, the NAIRR-OC Director must devote the majority (>50%) of their time to the position and oversee a leadership team that encompasses the broad set of skills necessary to manage the breadth of NAIRR-OC functions.

The proposal shall identify co-PIs and/or senior personnel who will work closely with the NAIRR-OC Director and make up the NAIRR-OC leadership team. All proposed members of the leadership team shall be included as co-PIs or senior personnel. It is expected that senior personnel will devote a significant fraction of their time to NAIRR-OC activities. The proposal should identify which leadership team members will be responsible for leading key areas of the NAIRR-OC.

The leadership team (as defined in Section I. Introduction) shall be affiliated with a single submitting organization to the maximum extent possible. Strong central leadership and management via the submitting institution is expected. If a skill set gap exists within the submitting institution, leadership from one additional institution may be added. Proposals that include substantial use of sub-awarded partners or affiliate appointments at the leadership level will be considered contrary to the stated goals of the NAIRR-OC.

The PI and leadership team shall collectively demonstrate skills and experience consistent with leading a high-visibility national activity with technical operational components. Such skill and experience include, but are not limited to:

  • Demonstrated experience with management and coordination of high-level partnerships and collaborative initiatives involving the private and non-profit sectors;
  • Demonstrated experience interacting with and convening scientific communities, -- including emerging communities, both in fundamental AI research and in disciplinary research benefiting from AI infrastructure;
  • Technical expertise with AI research and the required cutting-edge technology, infrastructure, skills, and tools;
  • Data infrastructure skills in support of AI workflows; and
  • Cybersecurity and research security experience necessary to establish appropriate requirements for the NAIRR, its resources, and its userbase.

II.A.ii. Stakeholder Engagement Strategy

Interacting with relevant stakeholders will be paramount for the NAIRR-OC to determine user requirements, usage modes, services and tools for user-facing NAIRR services, feedback from partners and associated Resource Providers, and feedback on operational performance. Stakeholder groups that will be engaged by the NAIRR-OC, include, but are not limited to:

  • federally supported Resource Providers to the NAIRR;
  • private sector partners and associated Resource Providers; and
  • a User Forum representing the NAIRR userbase.

More details on how the NAIRR-OC shall interact with each of these stakeholder groups are provided below.

Resource Providers

The NAIRR-OC shall regularly engage with the federally supported Resource Providers contributing to the NAIRR to understand and track Resource availability, end-to-end user experiences, emerging AI infrastructure requirements, and technology trends; operational challenges and pain points; and other information important to successful NAIRR operations.

For similar purposes as with federally supported Resource Providers, the NAIRR-OC shall regularly engage with representatives of private sector partners who are contributing NAIRR resources, including by attending a NAIRR partner forum also attended by NSF, and by engaging with the partners' technical representatives who are directly involved in the allocation and utilization of their respective resources. The NAIRR partner forum is an ongoing self-organized venue for private sector partners to share best practices with each other and provide individual feedback relevant to their resources and their user communities back to the NAIRR PMO and NAIRR-OC.

User Forum

The NAIRR-OC shall convene and maintain a User Forum comprised of NAIRR users. The NAIRR-OC will determine the initial governance structure of the forum, and will enable the User Forum to elect a chair and board from the NAIRR user community and have independence from the NAIRR-OC. The User Forum will be a venue for users to share best practices with each other about how they use NAIRR capabilities and to collect and provide feedback to the NAIRR-OC on operational efficiencies and user needs.

II.A.iii. Communications

The NAIRR-OC shall serve as the "voice' of the NAIRR to the public, existing and prospective users, as well as other relevant stakeholders. The NAIRR-OC communications activities shall include:

  • disseminating new or modified NAIRR capabilities, processes, policies, and resources;
  • collecting and publicly describing science, innovation, education, and resource highlights;
  • significant outreach to communities not yet informed of or affiliated with the NAIRR;
  • presentations highlighting NAIRR resources, use cases, outcomes, and more; and
  • other innovative ways to inform, excite, and foster communities relevant to the NAIRR.

II.A.iv. Metrics and Outcomes for Operational Success

The awardee shall develop and maintain a set of operational metrics and outcomes of the NAIRR-OC strategically tied to the four key goals of the NAIRR enumerated in Section I. Introduction. NSF expects the development of operational success metrics and tracking of outcomes over time to be a significant activity for the NAIRR-OC. Such data should inform decisions on NAIRR-OC activities, future NAIRR offerings, and evaluation of the NAIRR investments as a whole. The operational metrics and collected outcomes will be refined in collaboration with the NAIRR PMO and will inform the performance of the NAIRR-OC.

Proposed metrics may include (but are not limited to): activity metrics for NAIRR users and Resource Providers, students and researchers served, and US geographic reach. Longer term outcome and impact metrics may include (but are not limited to): key innovations, patents or discoveries from researchers using the NAIRR, startups launched based on research supported by the NAIRR, regional innovation activity and job impacts, and the increase in percentage of publications at top AI conferences acknowledging NAIRR resources amongst others.

In addition, NSF may separately support an evaluation entity, form an advisory board, or establish other mechanisms to examine and advise on the entire NAIRR program. The NAIRR-OC will be expected to collaborate with these entities, including by sharing information with them as appropriate.

II.B. Building NAIRR Capabilities and Community

II.B.i The NAIRR Portal

The NAIRR-OC is expected to develop and operate (via the submitting organization or via a contract/sub-award) a NAIRR Portal that will be the landing page and "one stop shop' for all communities interested in the NAIRR and NAIRR services. Once live, the NAIRR PMO will effectuate replacing the Pilot portal hosted at https://nairrpilot.org with this new Portal. The NAIRR Portal is expected to have an integrated look and feel across all operational areas of the NAIRR and have an extensible structure such that new features and functionality can be added over time.

Other foundational capabilities of the NAIRR Portal should include (but are not limited to):

  • a platform to request access to allocatable NAIRR capabilities and services, as well as enable access to open resources (including computing, data, model, software, tools, platforms, services and educational and training resources);
  • documentation and/or tools regarding available resources and which resources are best suited for a given researcher or educator;
  • mechanisms for stakeholders to view information about NAIRR usage and statistics, such as user research abstracts, science fields and institutions;
  • highlights of NAIRR supported research projects in line with communications and outreach efforts;
  • interactive interfaces for educational and introductory usage of certain resources;
  • system safeguards, user access controls, and cybersecurity practices across the Portal, as appropriate; and
  • feedback mechanisms for future improvement of NAIRR Portal functionality.

The NAIRR-OC shall finalize their plans for website development within the first 3 months of the award and must work with the maintainers of http://nairrpilot.org to allow for a smooth and well-communicated transition to the NAIRR Portal within the first 12 months of the award period.

II.B.ii. Integration of Data, Models, and Tools

Access to innovative and performant data infrastructure, as well as sufficient and impactful datasets, models, and related tools, are critical to AI research and education. Data management, access, quality, and curation remain key challenges for the AI and broader scientific research and education communities. The NAIRR-OC will be uniquely positioned to inform the vision for NAIRR data infrastructure, including understanding user requirements and usage modes; findability and accessibility of existing datasets and data repositories; related models, tools, and services; and more. The NAIRR-OC will initially be responsible for the following areas of data and data infrastructure:

  • determining user requirements, usage modes, services and tools for user-facing data services;
  • assessing researcher data and workflow pain points, challenges and needs and bringing forth community requirements for new data, models or other resources and services that could be integrated into the NAIRR;
  • in consultation with the NAIRR PMO and other relevant stakeholder communities, determining criteria for datasets to be included in the NAIRR, such as metadata standards, documentation, use cases and other criteria; and
  • interfacing with externally funded or contributed data infrastructure resources and service providers and integrating those resources into the NAIRR to be made available to the research community.

The NAIRR-OC will initially be expected to leverage existing external resources and services for many of the above activities, rather than directly developing or funding AI-related data repositories, data discovery services, or other data infrastructure.

II.B.iii. Outreach, User engagement, and Requirements gathering

Continuous engagement with the researcher and educator communities shall be critical components of the NAIRR-OC's responsibilities. Such activities include:

  • promulgating information about available NAIRR offerings to communities not yet informed or affiliated with the NAIRR;
  • collecting emerging user requirements, pain points, and methods to address them; and
  • collecting information on AI technology trends relevant to NAIRR communities and how they could inform future NAIRR offerings.

These activities are expected to complement the Communications activities enumerated in Section II.A.iii. Communications.

II.C. Interfacing with NAIRR Pilot Operations

The NAIRR-OC shall initially be responsible for interfacing with existing separately supported NAIRR Pilot operational teams. These currently include:

  • NAIRR Pilot Portal activities – providing the primary web presence of the NAIRR Pilot at http://nairrpilot.org, including:
    • announcing resource opportunities for researchers and educators to request allocatable resources;
    • maintaining a catalog of openly available resources including datasets, models, software and access to other platforms;
    • promulgating training events and webinars;
    • listing of NAIRR Pilot awards, principal investigators, and abstracts; and
    • providing highlights of science outcomes and researcher statistics.
  • Communications and Outreach activities – reaching new and prospective users through webinars and newsletters.
  • Opportunities, allocations, user support, metrics collection, and other core NAIRR Pilot Activities – coordination services for integrating and allocating existing NAIRR resources, including:
    • maintaining a catalog of federally supported and private sector resources;
    • managing the review and allocation of resource requests, including maintaining a resource request system and a database of allocated projects;
    • onboarding and supporting users, via user experience teams, support ticketing systems, and office hours;
    • conducting educational trainings and webinars; and
    • reporting operational metrics.

Currently, these NAIRR Pilot operations teams coordinate closely with the NAIRR PMO and with each other to fulfill NAIRR Pilot operational roles. Transition of the Pilot portal activities is further described in section II.B.i The NAIRR Portal, while transition of communications activities is further described in section II.A.iii. Communications.

Within the first 12 months of the award period, the NAIRR-OC awardee shall submit a plan for how it proposes to execute the scope of work handled by remaining operational teams. The plan could: propose new, enhanced, or differently focused operational areas using new methods and team structures; propose a continued relationship with existing Pilot operational teams; or a combination of the two. Any proposed transition of remaining Pilot services under new methods or team structures shall happen over the course of at least 6 months after NAIRR PMO approval to allow for a well-communicated and orderly transition.

II.E. Summary of Milestones

The NAIRR-OC awardee shall adhere to the following primary milestones throughout the award period, subject to confirmation or revisions coordinated with the NAIRR PMO.

  • 3 months post award: Submission of a Project Execution Plan to NSF with finalized plans and milestones for all activities taking place in the first 24 months of the award, including:
    • a Strategic Operations Plan;
    • an updated Stakeholder Engagement Plan;
    • an updated Communications Engagement Plan; and
    • an updated Pilot Portal Development Plan
  • 6 months post award: Submission of an updated operational metrics and outcomes collection plan.
  • 12 months post award: Complete the transition of nairrpilot.org to NAIRR-OC maintained web presence.
  • 12 months post award: Submission of a plan for how the NAIRR-OC will execute the allocations and user support scope of work handled by the Pilot operations teams.
  • 24 months post award: Complete transition (as applicable) of NAIRR Pilot operational activities to NAIRR-OC execution in association with operational partners.
  • 24 months post award: NSF-conducted site visit review, reverse site visit review, or other review of project performance and out year milestones.

III. Award Information

Estimated program budget, number of awards and average award size/duration are subject to the availability of funds.

IV. Eligibility Information

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.
  • Non-profit, non-academic organizations: Independent museums, observatories, research laboratories, professional societies and similar organizations located in the U.S. that are directly associated with educational or research activities.
  • For-profit organizations: U.S.-based commercial organizations, including small businesses, with strong capabilities in scientific or engineering research or education and a passion for innovation.
  • Other Federal Agencies and Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs): Prospective proposers from other Federal Agencies and FFRDCs, including NSF sponsored FFRDCs, must follow the guidance in PAPPG Chapter I.E.2 regarding limitations on eligibility.

Who May Serve as PI:

There are no restrictions or limits.

Limit on Number of Proposals per Organization: 1

An organization may only serve as the submitting organization for one proposal to this competition.

Limit on Number of Proposals per PI or co-PI: 1

An individual may participate as PI, co-PI, or other Senior Personnel on at most one proposal for this competition. Note that any individual whose biographical sketch is provided as part of the proposal will be considered as Senior Personnel in the proposed activity, with or without financial support from the project.

Other staff funded under the budget of a NAIRR-OC proposal are not subject to this restriction.

Additional Eligibility Info:

The Principal Investigator (PI) must serve as the Director of the NAIRR Operations Center.

The leadership team (as defined in Section I. Introduction) shall be affiliated with a single submitting organization to the maximum extent possible. Strong central leadership and management via the submitting institution is expected. If a skill set gap exists within the submitting institution, leadership from one additional institution may be added. Proposals that include substantial use of sub-awarded partners or affiliate appointments at the leadership level will be considered contrary to the stated goals of the NAIRR-OC.

Prospective submitters from organizational categories enumerated in PAPPG Chapter I.E.2 with questions about their eligibility should contact a cognizant NSF program officer prior to preparing and submitting a proposal.

V. Proposal Preparation And Submission Instructions

A. Proposal Preparation Instructions

Letters of Intent (required):

A compliant Letter of Intent (LOI) must be submitted by the lead institution via Research.gov (even if full proposals will be submitted via Grants.gov) no later than the deadline. A full proposal for which a Letter of Intent was not submitted will be returned without review.

LOIs will be used to inform planning for merit review. They will not be used as pre-approval mechanisms for the submission of full proposals, and no feedback will be provided to the submitters. However, the LOI is specific to the project, project title and PI. A single LOI must be submitted for the whole project; this solicitation requires that a single full proposal be submitted for a project; collaborative projects are not permitted (see below).

The LOI must contain the following information:

  • Project Title: The title must begin with "NAIRR-OC: ".
  • Project Summary (up to 2500 characters including project organization structure): Provide a brief overview of the project, its organizational structure, and why the proposing team is uniquely positioned to lead the NAIRR-OC.
  • OTHER COMMENTS (up to 2500 characters) section must list the name(s) and affiliation(s) of all senior personnel, including those of the Principal Investigator (PI) and co-PIs. Be aware of the expectations provided in Section II.A.i. Leadership Team Organizational Structure and the definition of the NAIRR-OC leadership team provided in Section I. Introduction.
  • PARTICIPATING ORGANIZATIONS section must list the names(s) of any other (non-lead) participating institutions or organizations, including all sub-awardees. Please note the expectations provided in Section II.A.i. Leadership Team Organizational Structure.

Letter of Intent Preparation Instructions:

When submitting an LOI through Research.gov in response to this Program Solicitation please note the conditions outlined below:

  • Submission by an Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR) is required when submitting Letters of Intent.
  • Submission of multiple LOIs for a single project is not allowed and each LOI is specific to the project, project title, and PI.

Letter of Intent Preparation Instructions:

When submitting a Letter of Intent through Research.gov in response to this Program Solicitation please note the conditions outlined below:

  • Submission by an Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR) is required when submitting Letters of Intent.
  • A Minimum of 1 and Maximum of 4 Other Senior Project Personnel are permitted
  • A Minimum of 0 and Maximum of 1 Other Participating Organizations are permitted
  • Submission of multiple Letters of Intent is not permitted

Full Proposal Preparation Instructions: Proposers may opt to submit proposals in response to this Program Solicitation via Research.gov or Grants.gov.

  • Full Proposals submitted via Research.gov: Proposals submitted in response to this program solicitation should be prepared and submitted in accordance with the general guidelines contained in the NSF Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG). The complete text of the PAPPG is available electronically on the NSF website at: https://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=pappg. Paper copies of the PAPPG may be obtained from the NSF Publications Clearinghouse, telephone (703) 292-8134 or by e-mail from nsfpubs@nsf.gov. The Prepare New Proposal setup will prompt you for the program solicitation number.
  • Full proposals submitted via Grants.gov: Proposals submitted in response to this program solicitation via Grants.gov should be prepared and submitted in accordance with the NSF Grants.gov Application Guide: A Guide for the Preparation and Submission of NSF Applications via Grants.gov. The complete text of the NSF Grants.gov Application Guide is available on the Grants.gov website and on the NSF website at: (https://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=grantsgovguide). To obtain copies of the Application Guide and Application Forms Package, click on the Apply tab on the Grants.gov site, then click on the Apply Step 1: Download a Grant Application Package and Application Instructions link and enter the funding opportunity number, (the program solicitation number without the NSF prefix) and press the Download Package button. Paper copies of the Grants.gov Application Guide also may be obtained from the NSF Publications Clearinghouse, telephone (703) 292-8134 or by e-mail from nsfpubs@nsf.gov.

In determining which method to utilize in the electronic preparation and submission of the proposal, please note the following:

Collaborative Proposals. All collaborative proposals submitted as separate submissions from multiple organizations must be submitted via Research.gov. PAPPG Chapter II.E.3 provides additional information on collaborative proposals.

See PAPPG Chapter II.D.2 for guidance on the required sections of a full research proposal submitted to NSF. Please note that the proposal preparation instructions provided in this program solicitation may deviate from the PAPPG instructions.

Note on Collaborative Proposals

Submission of a collaborative proposal from multiple organizations (see PAPPG policy on Collaborative Proposals) is not allowed and such submissions will be returned without review. Submissions may only be submitted as a single proposal where an award to a single institution is being requested. Additional organizations involved in the project may be listed as sub-awards to the submitting organization. Proposers are reminded that strong central leadership and management via the submitting institution is expected.

Full Proposal Set-Up: Select "Prepare New Full Proposal" in Research.gov. Search for and select this solicitation title in Step One of the Full Proposal wizard. In the proposal details section, select "Single proposal (with or without sub-awards)." Separately submitted collaborative proposals will be returned without review.

Full proposals must include the following sections and information:

  1. Cover Sheet:
    1. Related Letter of Intent (LOI): Enter the LOI ID number that was issued upon submission of the related LOI.
  2. Project Summary (1-page limit): The Project Summary must include three separate sections with the following headers: Overview, Intellectual Merit, and Broader Impacts. To be valid, a heading must be on its own line with no other text on that line. Additional instructions for preparation for the Project Summary are available in Research.gov.
  3. Project Description (20-page limit *NOTE DEVIATION FROM STANDARD*): The Project Description must include the following section and subsection headings:
    1. Organizational Leadership
      1. Leadership Team and Organizational Structure. This section should include a brief high-level organizational chart for the project and describe the members of the proposed NAIRR-OC leadership team and why they are uniquely positioned to lead the NAIRR-OC. This can include qualifications, relevant experiences with specific examples, and relevant outcomes demonstrating their capabilities. This section should include plans for how the PI, co-PIs, and other members of the leadership team, if selected, would transition existing projects and workloads to dedicate sufficient time to the NAIRR-OC.
      2. Stakeholder Engagement Strategy
      3. Communications Strategy
      4. Metrics and Outcomes Strategy. This section should include a proposed initial set of operational success metrics in line with the proposed scope of work and strategically tied to the four key goals of the NAIRR enumerated in the Program Description.
    2. Building NAIRR Capabilities and Community
      1. NAIRR Portal Implementation
      2. Data, Model, and Tool Resource Integrations
      3. Outreach, User Engagement, and Requirements Gathering
    3. Interfacing with NAIRR Pilot Operations
    4. Broader Impacts. The Project Description also must contain, as a separate section within the narrative, a section labeled "Broader Impacts", and "Broader Impacts" must appear as a heading on its own line, with no other text on the line, including heading number. This section should provide a discussion of the broader impacts of the NAIRR-OC.
    5. Consolidated schedule and milestones: This section should include a consolidated schedule of activities over the 5-year award, including milestones enumerated in section II.E.
  4. References Cited: List only references cited in the Project Description. See PAPPG Chapter II.D.2.e for instructions.
  5. Budget and Budget Justification: The PI who is also the Director of the NAIRR-OC is required to devote a majority of their time to successful management of the project. NSF recognizes that to fully effectuate the NAIRR-OC goals, compensation for other senior/key personnel may also require funding beyond the general NSF limit of two months of regular salary in any one year. NSF strongly encourages proposing teams to incorporate such needs within their budgets and activities, with adequate information about the reasoning in the budget justification.
  6. Facilities, Equipment and Other Resources
  7. Senior/Key Personnel Documents:
    1. Biographical Sketches: A biographical sketch must be provided separately for each individual designated as a senior/key person through use of SciENcv (Science Experts Network Curriculum Vitae). SciENcv will produce an NSF-compliant PDF version of the biographical sketch. Senior/key personnel must prepare, save, certify, and submit these documents as part of their proposal. See PAPPG instructions in Chapter II.D.2.h(i) for more detailed information, including instructions requiring individuals are required to disclose contracts associated with participation in programs sponsored by foreign governments, instrumentalities, or entities, including foreign government-sponsored talent recruitment programs.
    2. Current and Pending (Other) Support: Current and pending (other) support information must be provided separately for each individual designated as a senior/key person through use of SciENcv (Science Experts Network Curriculum Vitae). SciENcv will produce an NSF-compliant PDF version of current and pending (other) support. Senior/key personnel must prepare, save, certify, and submit these documents as part of their proposal. Proposers must follow the instructions in Chapter II.D.2.h(ii) of the NSF PAPPG.
    3. Collaborators and Other Affiliations Information: Collaborators and other affiliations (COA) must be separately provided for each individual identified as a senior/key person on the project. The COA information must be provided through use of the COA template. Proposers must follow the guidance specified in Chapter II.D.2.h(iii) of the NSF PAPPG.
    4. Synergistic Activities: Each individual identified as a senior/key person must provide a document of up to one-page that includes a list of up to five distinct examples that demonstrates the broader impact of the individual's professional and scholarly activities that focus on the integration and transfer of knowledge as well as its creation. Proposers should follow the guidance specified in Chapter II.D.2.h(iv) of the NSF PAPPG.
    5. Data Management and Sharing Plan (2 page limit): Within the Data Management and Sharing Plan, proposers must address their plans for data-sharing across NAIRR-OC functional areas, with the NAIRR user community, and with the public, during the project and after its completion. See PAPPG Chapter II.D.2.i(ii) for additional guidance.
    6. Mentoring Plan: (if applicable, 1 page limit) As described in PAPPG Chapter II.D.2.i(i), each proposal that requests funding to support postdoctoral scholars or graduate students must upload a description of the mentoring activities that will be provided for such individuals.

B. Budgetary Information

Cost Sharing:

Inclusion of voluntary committed cost sharing is prohibited.

C. Due Dates

  • Letter of Intent Due Date(s) (required) (due by 5 p.m submitting organization's local time):

         December 15, 2025

  • Full Proposal Deadline(s) (due by 5 p.m. ubmitting organization's local time):

         February 04, 2026

D. Research.gov/Grants.gov Requirements

For Proposals Submitted Via Research.gov:

To prepare and submit a proposal via Research.gov, see detailed technical instructions available at: https://www.research.gov/research-portal/appmanager/base/desktop?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=research_node_display&_nodePath=/researchGov/Service/Desktop/ProposalPreparationandSubmission.html. For Research.gov user support, call the Research.gov Help Desk at 1-800-381-1532 or e-mail rgov@nsf.gov. The Research.gov Help Desk answers general technical questions related to the use of the Research.gov system. Specific questions related to this program solicitation should be referred to the NSF program staff contact(s) listed in Section VIII of this funding opportunity.

For Proposals Submitted Via Grants.gov:

Before using Grants.gov for the first time, each organization must register to create an institutional profile. Once registered, the applicant's organization can then apply for any federal grant on the Grants.gov website. Comprehensive information about using Grants.gov is available on the Grants.gov Applicant Resources webpage: https://www.grants.gov/applicants. In addition, the NSF Grants.gov Application Guide (see link in Section V.A) provides instructions regarding the technical preparation of proposals via Grants.gov. For Grants.gov user support, contact the Grants.gov Contact Center at 1-800-518-4726 or by email: support@grants.gov. The Grants.gov Contact Center answers general technical questions related to the use of Grants.gov. Specific questions related to this program solicitation should be referred to the NSF program staff contact(s) listed in Section VIII of this solicitation.

Submitting the Proposal: Once all documents have been completed, the Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR) must submit the application to Grants.gov and verify the desired funding opportunity and agency to which the application is submitted. The AOR must then sign and submit the application to Grants.gov. The completed application will be transferred to Research.gov for further processing.

The NSF Grants.gov Proposal Processing in Research.gov informational page provides submission guidance to applicants and links to helpful resources including the NSF Grants.gov Application Guide, Grants.gov Proposal Processing in Research.gov how-to guide, and Grants.gov Submitted Proposals Frequently Asked Questions. Grants.gov proposals must pass all NSF pre-check and post-check validations in order to be accepted by Research.gov at NSF.

When submitting via Grants.gov, NSF strongly recommends applicants initiate proposal submission at least five business days in advance of a deadline to allow adequate time to address NSF compliance errors and resubmissions by 5:00 p.m. submitting organization's local time on the deadline. Please note that some errors cannot be corrected in Grants.gov. Once a proposal passes pre-checks but fails any post-check, an applicant can only correct and submit the in-progress proposal in Research.gov.

Proposers that submitted via Research.gov may use Research.gov to verify the status of their submission to NSF. For proposers that submitted via Grants.gov, until an application has been received and validated by NSF, the Authorized Organizational Representative may check the status of an application on Grants.gov. After proposers have received an e-mail notification from NSF, Research.gov should be used to check the status of an application.

VI. NSF Proposal Processing And Review Procedures

Proposals received by NSF are assigned to the appropriate NSF program for acknowledgement and, if they meet NSF requirements, for review. All proposals are carefully reviewed by a scientist, engineer, or educator serving as an NSF Program Officer, and usually by three to ten other persons outside NSF either as ad hoc reviewers, panelists, or both, who are experts in the particular fields represented by the proposal. These reviewers are selected by Program Officers charged with oversight of the review process. Proposers are invited to suggest names of persons they believe are especially well qualified to review the proposal and/or persons they would prefer not review the proposal. These suggestions may serve as one source in the reviewer selection process at the Program Officer's discretion. Submission of such names, however, is optional. Care is taken to ensure that reviewers have no conflicts of interest with the proposal. In addition, Program Officers may obtain comments from site visits before recommending final action on proposals. Senior NSF staff further review recommendations for awards. A flowchart that depicts the entire NSF proposal and award process (and associated timeline) is included in PAPPG Exhibit III-1.

A comprehensive description of the Foundation's merit review process is available on the NSF website at: https://www.nsf.gov/funding/overview.

A. Merit Review Principles and Criteria

The National Science Foundation strives to invest in a robust and diverse portfolio of projects that creates new knowledge and enables breakthroughs in understanding across all areas of science and engineering research and education. To identify which projects to support, NSF relies on a merit review process that incorporates consideration of both the technical aspects of a proposed project and its potential to contribute more broadly to advancing NSF's mission "to promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national defense; and for other purposes." NSF makes every effort to conduct a fair, competitive, transparent merit review process for the selection of projects.

1. Merit Review Principles

These principles are to be given due diligence by PIs and organizations when preparing proposals and managing projects, by reviewers when reading and evaluating proposals, and by NSF program staff when determining whether or not to recommend proposals for funding and while overseeing awards. Given that NSF is the primary federal agency charged with nurturing and supporting excellence in basic research and education, the following three principles apply:

  • All NSF projects should be of the highest quality and have the potential to advance, if not transform, the frontiers of knowledge.
  • NSF projects, in the aggregate, should contribute more broadly to achieving societal goals. These "Broader Impacts" may be accomplished through the research itself, through activities that are directly related to specific research projects, or through activities that are supported by, but are complementary to, the project. The project activities may be based on previously established and/or innovative methods and approaches, but in either case must be well justified.
  • Meaningful assessment and evaluation of NSF funded projects should be based on appropriate metrics, keeping in mind the likely correlation between the effect of broader impacts and the resources provided to implement projects. If the size of the activity is limited, evaluation of that activity in isolation is not likely to be meaningful. Thus, assessing the effectiveness of these activities may best be done at a higher, more aggregated, level than the individual project.

With respect to the third principle, even if assessment of Broader Impacts outcomes for particular projects is done at an aggregated level, PIs are expected to be accountable for carrying out the activities described in the funded project. Thus, individual projects should include clearly stated goals, specific descriptions of the activities that the PI intends to do, and a plan in place to document the outputs of those activities.

These three merit review principles provide the basis for the merit review criteria, as well as a context within which the users of the criteria can better understand their intent.

2. Merit Review Criteria

All NSF proposals are evaluated through use of the two National Science Board approved merit review criteria. In some instances, however, NSF will employ additional criteria as required to highlight the specific objectives of certain programs and activities.

The two merit review criteria are listed below. Both criteria are to be given full consideration during the review and decision-making processes; each criterion is necessary but neither, by itself, is sufficient. Therefore, proposers must fully address both criteria. (PAPPG Chapter II.D.2.d(i). contains additional information for use by proposers in development of the Project Description section of the proposal). Reviewers are strongly encouraged to review the criteria, including PAPPG Chapter II.D.2.d(i), prior to the review of a proposal.

When evaluating NSF proposals, reviewers will be asked to consider what the proposers want to do, why they want to do it, how they plan to do it, how they will know if they succeed, and what benefits could accrue if the project is successful. These issues apply both to the technical aspects of the proposal and the way in which the project may make broader contributions. To that end, reviewers will be asked to evaluate all proposals against two criteria:

  • Intellectual Merit: The Intellectual Merit criterion encompasses the potential to advance knowledge; and
  • Broader Impacts: The Broader Impacts criterion encompasses the potential to benefit society and contribute to the achievement of specific, desired societal outcomes.

The following elements should be considered in the review for both criteria:

  1. What is the potential for the proposed activity to
    1. Advance knowledge and understanding within its own field or across different fields (Intellectual Merit); and
    2. Benefit society or advance desired societal outcomes (Broader Impacts)?
  2. To what extent do the proposed activities suggest and explore creative, original, or potentially transformative concepts?
  3. Is the plan for carrying out the proposed activities well-reasoned, well-organized, and based on a sound rationale? Does the plan incorporate a mechanism to assess success?
  4. How well qualified is the individual, team, or organization to conduct the proposed activities?
  5. Are there adequate resources available to the PI (either at the home organization or through collaborations) to carry out the proposed activities?

Broader impacts may be accomplished through the research itself, through the activities that are directly related to specific research projects, or through activities that are supported by, but are complementary to, the project. NSF values the advancement of scientific knowledge and activities that contribute to achievement of societally relevant outcomes. Such outcomes include, but are not limited to: improved STEM education and educator development at any level; increased public scientific literacy and public engagement with science and technology; improved well-being of individuals in society; development of a globally competitive STEM workforce; increased partnerships between academia, industry, and others; improved national security; increased economic competitiveness of the United States; and enhanced infrastructure for research and education.

Proposers are reminded that reviewers will also be asked to review the Data Management and Sharing Plan and the Mentoring Plan, as appropriate.

Additional Solicitation Specific Review Criteria

  • To what extent does the proposal present strong and achievable goals and strategy for establishing and operating the foundational elements of a NAIRR-OC?
  • To what extent does the proposed leadership team have the demonstrated strategic, operational and leadership experience to successfully establish and execute to the proposed vision and plan and accomplish the NAIRR-OC scope of responsibilities and activities described in the Program Description?
  • To what extent does the proposal describe the roles and responsibilities of the named individuals and will each of the leadership team members have adequate time to dedicate to the NAIRR-OC?
  • To what extent does the organization and detailed plan for establishing and operating the NAIRR-OC address each of the organizational leadership, building NAIRR capabilities and community, and interfacing with Pilot operations activities?
  • Is the proposed budget well-articulated, aligned with, and clearly mapped to the proposed vision, strategy, plan, organizational structure, management roles and responsibilities, and proposed strategic, governance, organizational, operational, and technical activities?
  • Is the list of milestones, including timeline, well-described and appropriate?

B. Review and Selection Process

Proposals submitted in response to this program solicitation will be reviewed by Ad hoc Review and/or Panel Review, or Reverse Site Review.

Proposals submitted in response to this program solicitation will be reviewed by Ad hoc Review and/or Panel Review and possibly followed by a Reverse Site Visit.

Reviewers will be asked to evaluate proposals using two National Science Board approved merit review criteria and, if applicable, additional program specific criteria. A summary rating and accompanying narrative will generally be completed and submitted by each reviewer and/or panel. The Program Officer assigned to manage the proposal's review will consider the advice of reviewers and will formulate a recommendation.

After scientific, technical and programmatic review and consideration of appropriate factors, the NSF Program Officer recommends to the cognizant Division Director whether the proposal should be declined or recommended for award. NSF strives to be able to tell proposers whether their proposals have been declined or recommended for funding within six months. Large or particularly complex proposals or proposals from new recipients may require additional review and processing time. The time interval begins on the deadline or target date, or receipt date, whichever is later. The interval ends when the Division Director acts upon the Program Officer's recommendation.

After programmatic approval has been obtained, the proposals recommended for funding will be forwarded to the Division of Grants and Agreements or the Division of Acquisition and Cooperative Support for review of business, financial, and policy implications. After an administrative review has occurred, Grants and Agreements Officers perform the processing and issuance of a grant or other agreement. Proposers are cautioned that only a Grants and Agreements Officer may make commitments, obligations or awards on behalf of NSF or authorize the expenditure of funds. No commitment on the part of NSF should be inferred from technical or budgetary discussions with a NSF Program Officer. A Principal Investigator or organization that makes financial or personnel commitments in the absence of a grant or cooperative agreement signed by the NSF Grants and Agreements Officer does so at their own risk.

Once an award or declination decision has been made, Principal Investigators are provided feedback about their proposals. In all cases, reviews are treated as confidential documents. Verbatim copies of reviews, excluding the names of the reviewers or any reviewer-identifying information, are sent to the Principal Investigator/Project Director by the Program Officer. In addition, the proposer will receive an explanation of the decision to award or decline funding.

VII. Award Administration Information

A. Notification of the Award

Notification of the award is made to the submitting organization by an NSF Grants and Agreements Officer. Organizations whose proposals are declined will be advised as promptly as possible by the cognizant NSF Program administering the program. Verbatim copies of reviews, not including the identity of the reviewer, will be provided automatically to the Principal Investigator. (See Section VI.B. for additional information on the review process.)

B. Award Conditions

An NSF award consists of: (1) the award notice, which includes any special provisions applicable to the award and any numbered amendments thereto; (2) the budget, which indicates the amounts, by categories of expense, on which NSF has based its support (or otherwise communicates any specific approvals or disapprovals of proposed expenditures); (3) the proposal referenced in the award notice; (4) the applicable award conditions, such as Grant General Conditions (GC-1)*; and (5) any announcement or other NSF issuance that may be incorporated by reference in the award notice. Cooperative agreements also are administered in accordance with NSF Cooperative Agreement Financial and Administrative Terms and Conditions (CA-FATC) and the applicable Programmatic Terms and Conditions. NSF awards are electronically signed by an NSF Grants and Agreements Officer and transmitted electronically to the organization via e-mail.

*These documents may be accessed electronically on NSF's Website at https://www.nsf.gov/awards/managing/award_conditions.jsp?org=NSF. Paper copies may be obtained from the NSF Publications Clearinghouse, telephone (703) 292-8134 or by e-mail from nsfpubs@nsf.gov.

More comprehensive information on NSF Award Conditions and other important information on the administration of NSF awards is contained in the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) Chapter VII, available electronically on the NSF Website at https://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=pappg.

Administrative and National Policy Requirements

Build America, Buy America

As expressed in Executive Order 14005, Ensuring the Future is Made in All of America by All of America's Workers (86 FR 7475), it is the policy of the executive branch to use terms and conditions of Federal financial assistance awards to maximize, consistent with law, the use of goods, products, and materials produced in, and services offered in, the United States.

Consistent with the requirements of the Build America, Buy America Act (Pub. L. 117-58, Division G, Title IX, Subtitle A, November 15, 2021), no funding made available through this funding opportunity may be obligated for infrastructure projects under an award unless all iron, steel, manufactured products, and construction materials used in the project are produced in the United States. For additional information, visit NSF's Build America, Buy America webpage.

Special Award Conditions:

The award made via this competition is expected to be in the form of a cooperative agreement, which will include the most recent Cooperative Agreement Financial and Administrative Terms available at time of award. Current terms and conditions for cooperative agreements are available at: https://www.nsf.gov/awards/terms-conditions#cooperative-agreement-conditions-370. In addition, the award made via this competition will include additional conditions relating to the period of performance, awardee delivery of a Project Execution Plan within 3 months of award (including at minimum the items referenced in II. Program Description), recipient responsibilities, NSF responsibilities, reporting requirements, key personnel, and other conditions. NSF has responsibility for providing general oversight and monitoring of the award to help ensure effective performance and administration, as well as facilitating any coordination among the recipient as necessary to further the objectives of the program.

24 months into the award period NSF anticipates conducting a site visit review, reverse site visit review, or other review of project performance and out year milestones. The outcome of this review will inform the level of support for the project during its remaining period of performance.

In addition to the 5-year performance period for the award made by this competition, there is a possibility for a renewal award for an additional 5 years via subject to NAIRR priorities, continued awardee performance, merit review of an invited renewal proposal, and availability of funds.

C. Reporting Requirements

For all multi-year grants (including both standard and continuing grants), the Principal Investigator must submit an annual project report to the cognizant Program Officer no later than 90 days prior to the end of the current budget period. (Some programs or awards require submission of more frequent project reports). No later than 120 days following expiration of a grant, the PI also is required to submit a final annual project report, and a project outcomes report for the general public.

Failure to provide the required annual or final annual project reports, or the project outcomes report, will delay NSF review and processing of any future funding increments as well as any pending proposals for all identified PIs and co-PIs on a given award. PIs should examine the formats of the required reports in advance to assure availability of required data.

PIs are required to use NSF's electronic project-reporting system, available through Research.gov, for preparation and submission of annual and final annual project reports. Such reports provide information on accomplishments, project participants (individual and organizational), publications, and other specific products and impacts of the project. Submission of the report via Research.gov constitutes certification by the PI that the contents of the report are accurate and complete. The project outcomes report also must be prepared and submitted using Research.gov. This report serves as a brief summary, prepared specifically for the public, of the nature and outcomes of the project. This report will be posted on the NSF website exactly as it is submitted by the PI.

More comprehensive information on NSF Reporting Requirements and other important information on the administration of NSF awards is contained in the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) Chapter VII, available electronically on the NSF Website at https://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=pappg.

Additional reporting requirements will be negotiated with the recipient prior to award and will be incorporated into the special terms and conditions of the award. Such requirements may include, for example, monthly and quarterly reports reverse-/site visits, and other requirements to enable NSF oversight of the award.

VIII. Agency Contacts

Please note that the program contact information is current at the time of publishing. See program website for any updates to the points of contact.

General inquiries regarding this program should be made to:

For questions related to the use of NSF systems contact:

  • NSF Help Desk: 1-800-381-1532
  • Research.gov Help Desk e-mail: rgov@nsf.gov

For questions relating to Grants.gov contact:

  • Grants.gov Contact Center: If the Authorized Organizational Representatives (AOR) has not received a confirmation message from Grants.gov within 48 hours of submission of application, please contact via telephone: 1-800-518-4726; e-mail: support@grants.gov.

IX. Other Information

The NSF website provides the most comprehensive source of information on NSF Directorates (including contact information), programs and funding opportunities. Use of this website by potential proposers is strongly encouraged. In addition, "NSF Update" is an information-delivery system designed to keep potential proposers and other interested parties apprised of new NSF funding opportunities and publications, important changes in proposal and award policies and procedures, and upcoming NSF Grants Conferences. Subscribers are informed through e-mail or the user's Web browser each time new publications are issued that match their identified interests. "NSF Update" also is available on NSF's website.

Grants.gov provides an additional electronic capability to search for Federal government-wide grant opportunities. NSF funding opportunities may be accessed via this mechanism. Further information on Grants.gov may be obtained at https://www.grants.gov.

About The National Science Foundation

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent Federal agency created by the National Science Foundation Act of 1950, as amended (42 USC 1861-75). The Act states the purpose of the NSF is "to promote the progress of science; [and] to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare by supporting research and education in all fields of science and engineering."

NSF funds research and education in most fields of science and engineering. It does this through grants and cooperative agreements to more than 2,000 colleges, universities, K-12 school systems, businesses, informal science organizations and other research organizations throughout the US. The Foundation accounts for about one-fourth of Federal support to academic institutions for basic research.

NSF receives approximately 55,000 proposals each year for research, education and training projects, of which approximately 11,000 are funded. In addition, the Foundation receives several thousand applications for graduate and postdoctoral fellowships. The agency operates no laboratories itself but does support National Research Centers, user facilities, certain oceanographic vessels and Arctic and Antarctic research stations. The Foundation also supports cooperative research between universities and industry, US participation in international scientific and engineering efforts, and educational activities at every academic level.

Facilitation Awards for Scientists and Engineers with Disabilities (FASED) provide funding for special assistance or equipment to enable persons with disabilities to work on NSF-supported projects. See the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide Chapter II.F.7 for instructions regarding preparation of these types of proposals.

The National Science Foundation has Telephonic Device for the Deaf (TDD) and Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) capabilities that enable individuals with hearing impairments to communicate with the Foundation about NSF programs, employment or general information. TDD may be accessed at (703) 292-5090 and (800) 281-8749, FIRS at (800) 877-8339.

The National Science Foundation Information Center may be reached at (703) 292-5111.

The National Science Foundation promotes and advances scientific progress in the United States by competitively awarding grants and cooperative agreements for research and education in the sciences, mathematics, and engineering.

To get the latest information about program deadlines, to download copies of NSF publications, and to access abstracts of awards, visit the NSF Website at https://www.nsf.gov.

  • Location:

2415 Eisenhower Avenue, Alexandria, VA 22314
  • For General Information
    (NSF Information Center):

(703) 292-5111
  • TDD (for the hearing-impaired):

(703) 292-5090
  • To Order Publications or Forms:
  

Send an e-mail to:

nsfpubs@nsf.gov

or telephone:

(703) 292-8134
  • To Locate NSF Employees:

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Privacy Act And Public Burden Statements

The information requested on proposal forms and project reports is solicited under the authority of the National Science Foundation Act of 1950, as amended. The information on proposal forms will be used in connection with the selection of qualified proposals; and project reports submitted by proposers will be used for program evaluation and reporting within the Executive Branch and to Congress. The information requested may be disclosed to qualified reviewers and staff assistants as part of the proposal review process; to proposer institutions/recipients to provide or obtain data regarding the proposal review process, award decisions, or the administration of awards; to government contractors, experts, volunteers and researchers and educators as necessary to complete assigned work; to other government agencies or other entities needing information regarding proposers or nominees as part of a joint application review process, or in order to coordinate programs or policy; and to another Federal agency, court, or party in a court or Federal administrative proceeding if the government is a party. Information about Principal Investigators may be added to the Reviewer file and used to select potential candidates to serve as peer reviewers or advisory committee members. See System of Record Notices, NSF-50, "Principal Investigator/Proposal File and Associated Records," and NSF-51, "Reviewer/Proposal File and Associated Records." Submission of the information is voluntary. Failure to provide full and complete information, however, may reduce the possibility of receiving an award.

An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, an information collection unless it displays a valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number. The OMB control number for this collection is 3145-0058. Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 120 hours per response, including the time for reviewing instructions. Send comments regarding the burden estimate and any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to:

Suzanne H. Plimpton
Reports Clearance Officer
Policy Office, Division of Institution and Award Support
Office of Budget, Finance, and Award Management
National Science Foundation
Alexandria, VA 22314

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