National Science Foundation - Where Discoveries Begin

An organization may only submit 1 proposal as the lead. There is no limit on the number of proposals on which an organization can be included as a subawardee.

Organizations are restricted to submitting only one proposal for this solicitation.

Eligible institutions may submit only one TEA Center proposal per year but may receive and administer concurrent awards. Preparing for TCUP Implementation (Pre-TI) awards are designed to support TCUP development activities for TCUP-eligible institutions that have received no prior TCUP support, no TCUP support within the previous five years, or are embarking on a significantly novel STEM strategic plan. No other restrictions apply.

Only 1 proposal may be submitted by a single organization.

An eligible EPSCoR jurisdiction may submit only one Research Infrastructure Improvement Track-1 (RII Track-1) proposal in response to this solicitation. In addition, only the designated fiscal agent/proposing organization, acting on behalf of a jurisdiction's EPSCoR steering committee, may submit the RII Track-1 proposal.

Each performing organization is limited to one (1) proposal per annual SFS competition. Potential PIs are advised to contact their institutional office of research regarding processes used to select proposals for submission.

• Although there is no limit on the number of proposals per organization, an organization will only be allowed to receive one ANSWERS award as the lead organization. The organization may also participate in one additional award as a subawardee organization.

per Phase I award. 

per Phase I award.

An organization may submit only one invited STTR Phase I proposal per quarterly submission window (e.g., March 5 - June 3, 2021). An organization must wait for a determination from NSF (e.g., Award, Declination, or Return without Review) on any NSF SBIR/STTR Phase I pending proposal before submitting a new proposal in the next quarterly window. This eligibility constraint will be strictly enforced. In the event that an organization exceeds this limit, the first proposal received will be accepted, and the remainder will be Returned without Review. Declined proposals require a new invited Pitch while proposals Returned without Review may be submitted using the same invited Pitch (within the one-year eligibility from date of the original proposal invitation). Submission of an invited STTR Phase I full proposal in a given submission window precludes that organization from submitting a proposal to the concurrent SBIR Phase I solicitation.

An organization may submit only one invited SBIR Phase I proposal per quarterly submission window (e.g., March 5 - June 3, 2021). An organization must wait for a determination from NSF (e.g., Award, Declination, or Return without Review) on any NSF SBIR/STTR Phase I pending proposal before submitting a new proposal in the next quarterly window. This eligibility constraint will be strictly enforced. In the event that an organization exceeds this limit, the first proposal received will be accepted, and the remainder will be Returned without Review. Declined proposals require a new invited Pitch while proposals Returned without Review may be submitted using the same invited Pitch (within the one-year eligibility from date of the original proposal invitation). Submission of an invited SBIR Phase I full proposal in a given submission window precludes that organization from submitting a proposal to the concurrent STTR Phase I solicitation.

For RII Track-4:NSF:  3

Only three proposals may be submitted in response to this solicitation by any single organization in a RII-eligible jurisdiction. If more than three proposals are received from any single institution for the competition, all proposals from that institution are subject to return without review. 

For RII Track-4:FAST:  6

Only six proposals may be submitted in response to this solicitation by any single organization in a RII-eligible jurisdiction.  If more than six proposals are received from any single institution for the competition, all proposals from that institution are subject to return without review.

An institution may submit one proposal (either as a single institution or as subawardee or a member of an Interinstitutional Consortia project) from each constituent school or college that awards degrees in an S-STEM eligible discipline. The reasoning behind this restriction is that any eligible student must have a clear single S-STEM program where the student can apply for a scholarship. See Additional Eligibility Information below for more details (see IV. Eligibility Information). Institutions with a current S-STEM award should wait at least until the end of the third year of execution of their current award before submitting a new S-STEM proposal focused on students pursuing the same discipline(s).

There is no limit on the number of preliminary proposals an organization may submit as the lead organization. Full proposals are to be submitted only if/when invited by NSF. There is no limit to participation as a partner organization or subawardee.

Although more than one organization may participate in a proposal, a single organization must accept overall management responsibility for the project. The proposal must be submitted by one organization, with funding provided to any other organization through subawards. The use of the separately submitted collaborative proposal method is not permitted.

An eligible organization may participate in only two (2) proposals per NRT competition as lead or collaborative non-lead. All Track 1 and/or Track 2 NRT proposals will be counted toward this total limit of two proposals per organization.

Participation includes serving as a lead organization or non-lead organization on any proposal. Organizations participating only as evaluators on projects are excluded from this limitation. Proposals that exceed the organizational eligibility limit will be returned without review regardless of whether the organization on such a proposal serves as lead or non-lead collaborative organization. Only US IHEs are eligible to submit as a lead or non-lead organization. Potential PIs are advised to contact their institutional office of research regarding processes used to select proposals for submission.

Institutions that have received an NSF award in the CISE programs listed in this solicitation are ineligible (See Section II. Program Description.)

• Planning or Pilot Projects (PPP) track: An eligible institution cannot have more than two active PPP awards. A new PPP proposal can be submitted by an institution with two active PPP awards if at least one of the awards has had its final report submitted before the submission deadline for HSI proposals. Institutions with an active HSI Track 1: Building Capacity award under the previous solicitations 18-524 and 19-540 are not eligible to submit PPP proposals or receive a PPP award until the prior HSI award’s final report is submitted.
• Implementation and Evaluation Projects (IEP) track: An eligible institution cannot have more than two active IEP awards. A new IEP proposal can be submitted by an institution with two active IEP awards if at least one of the awards has had its final report submitted prior to the HSI proposal submission deadline. A collaborative award counts as an HSI IEP award for all institutions. For institutions with a current Track 1: Building Capacity award under the previous solicitations 18-524 and 19-540, each award is considered an IEP award for the purpose of calculating active awards for this track.
• Institutional Transformation Projects (ITP) track: One submission per institution is allowed. Previous ITP awardees are not eligible to submit a proposal in the ITP track.

An eligible organization may participate in two Innovations in Graduate Education proposals per competition.  Participation includes serving as a lead organization on a non-collaborative proposal or as a lead organization, non-lead organization, or subawardee on a collaborative proposal.  Organizations participating solely as evaluators on projects are excluded from this limitation.  Proposals that exceed the institutional eligibility limit (beyond the first two submissions based on timestamp) will be returned without review regardless of the institution's role (lead, non-lead, subawardee) in the returned proposal.

Alliances: Only one proposal may be submitted by an eligible (lead) institution. Alliances may hold only one active alliance award at a time.  Institutions partnering in an alliance may not be a formal partner in more than one alliance at the same time.  Formal partners are IHEs participating in an alliance that report enrollment and degree data and receive funding from the project.  This eligibility applies to proposals for STEM Pathways Implementation-Only Alliances, Bridge to the Baccalaureate Alliances and Louis Stokes STEM Pathways and Research Alliances.

Bridge to the Doctorate (BD) Activity Projects:  One proposal for BD support may be submitted by an eligible alliance institution.  An institution may have only one active BD award.  New proposals for additional cohorts may be submitted once the current award has expired.

Regional Foundational and Forward-Thinking Educational Research Conferences:  Only one proposal per year may be submitted by an eligible institution or organization. 

There is no limit to the number of proposals an eligible organization may submit to this program as long as each proposal pertains to a different IUCRC.

An organization may serve as a lead organization on only one proposal. Proposals that exceed the organizational limit (beyond the first submission based on timestamp) will be returned without review. No exceptions will be made. 

Full proposals involving multiple organizations may be submitted two ways:

• a single submission from a lead organization, with other collaborating organizations included as subawardees,  OR
• separate submissions from a lead organization and ONE collaborating organization, with any additional collaborating organizations included as subawardees.

See PAPPG Chapter II.D.3 for additional information on collaborative proposals.

HBCU-UP Proposals:

• An eligible institution can submit only one Implementation Project or ACE Implementation Project proposal per year. An institution may have only one active Implementation Project or ACE Implementation Project award. However, a new proposal can be submitted by an institution with an active project if that project is due to expire before new awards will be made. Also, an institution can be awarded, at most, three Implementation Projects and one ACE Implementation Project over time.
• An eligible institution can submit only one Broadening Participation Research Center proposal and can have only one active center. The lead institution of the center proposal must have been awarded three rounds of an Implementation or ACE Implementation Project and must demonstrate the capacity to conduct broadening participation research.
• An eligible institution can submit no more than two Broadening Participation Research proposals per year.
• An eligible institution can submit no more than two Targeted Infusion Project proposals per year and can only have one active Targeted Infusion Project for any given department or unit.
• An eligible institution can submit no more than two Research Initiation Award proposals per year.

• Eligible IHEs can submit one proposal to IT-Preliminary, Adaptation, OR Catalyst. IHEs can also be a partner on one or more Partnership proposals.
• Eligible Non-profit, non-academic organizations can submit one proposal to the Adaptation competition and be a partner on one or more Partnership proposals.
• IHEs and non-profit, non-academic organizations may be partners on multiple ADVANCE Partnership proposals in the same competition but can be the lead organization only on one Partnership proposal in the same competition.

Only one proposal may be submitted by an eligible organization, as defined above, in which a member of their organization serves as the PI. Potential PIs are advised to contact their organizational office of research regarding processes used to select proposals for submission. Organizations submitting more than one proposal will be notified and given one week from notification to select one proposal for consideration. If one is not selected in that period, all of those proposals will be returned without review. There is no limit on the number of proposals under which an organization may be included as a non-lead collaborator or subawardee.

None Specified

There are no restrictions or limits on the number of proposals per organization except for the following: NSF Centers or National Facilities managed by NSF's Division of Materials Research (DMR) that have an active REU Site may not request additional support for a new Site or an expansion of their existing Site. (For questions, e-mail reu.dmr@nsf.gov.)

There is no limit on the number of PFI-TT proposals an organization may submit to a deadline of this solicitation. However, an organization may not submit more than one (1) new or resubmitted PFI-RP proposal to a deadline of this solicitation. This eligibility constraint will be strictly enforced. If an organization exceeds this limit, the first PFI-RP proposal received will be accepted, and the remainder will be returned without review. An organization may not receive more than two (2) awards from a submission deadline of this solicitation.

Only one preliminary CREST Center proposal may be submitted per eligible institution. Full CREST Center proposals are to be submitted only when invited by NSF.  An institution may have only one active CREST Center award, irrespective of focus area. Centers that have completed two prior, consecutive 5-year CREST Center awards may recompete in disciplinary areas that are significantly different from those of the previous award(s).

Only three (3) individuals per active CREST Center may submit a CREST-PRF application per competition.  Only one individual can be awarded a CREST-PRF at an active CREST Center per year.

Only one HBCU-RISE proposal may be submitted per eligible institution. An institution may have only one active HBCU-RISE award.

For each active SBIR/STTR Phase II grant, only one SBIR/STTR collaboration with a CREST Center may be submitted.  For each CREST center, only one SBIR/STTR collaboration can be active at any given time.