National Science Foundation - Where Discoveries Begin

An organization may submit only one proposal but may be a subawardee on other proposals responding to this solicitation. The restriction to no more than one submitted proposal as lead institution is to help ensure that there is appropriate institutional commitment necessary for responsible oversight, by the potential awardee institution, of a national resource.

Collaborative projects may only be submitted as a single proposal in which a single award is being requested (PAPPG Chapter II.D.3.a). The involvement of partner organizations should be supported through subawards administered by the submitting organization.

These eligibility constraints will be strictly enforced in order to treat everyone fairly and consistently. In the event that an organization exceeds this limit, the proposal received within the limit will be accepted based on the earliest date and time of proposal submission (i.e., the first proposal received will be accepted and the remainder will be returned without review). No exceptions will be made.

Thematic Clusters: 3 proposals per organization

Coordinating Hub: 1 proposal per organization

An organization may submit a total of 4 proposals to this competition, 1 for the Coordinating Hub and 3 for the Thematic Clusters.

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.)

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.

A single organization may submit a maximum of three preliminary proposals as the lead institution.  Full proposals are to be submitted only when invited by NSF.  There is no limit on the number of proposals in which an organization participates as a partner institution.  The STC program will not support more than one Center from any one lead institution in this competition.

There are no limits.

• 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. 

There is no limit on the number of proposals an organization may submit.  Simultaneously submitted collaborative proposals are not allowed; funding to partner institutions must be through subawards.

• For Track 1 (Building Capacity), an institution can submit only one proposal.
• For Track 2 (HSIs New to NSF), there are no restrictions or limits.

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

Only one MRSEC preliminary proposal may be submitted by any one organization as the lead institution in this competition. An institution proposing research in several groups should submit a single MRSEC proposal with multiple Interdisciplinary Research Groups (IRGs). A MRSEC proposal must contain a minimum of 2 IRGs and a maximum of 3 IRGs. The IRGs in a center may be thematically related, or they may address different aspects of materials science typically supported by DMR. A single center at an organization allows efficient usage of resources, including common infrastructure, and better coordination of education and other activities of the center.

Institutions that were awarded a MRSEC in the FY 2017 competition as the lead institution are not eligible to submit a MRSEC proposal as a lead institution in this competition.

MRSEC full proposals may be submitted by invitation only.

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 individuals may submit proposals. There is no limit on the number of fellows that an institution may host.

Eligible institutions may receive consecutive, but not concurrent, Instructional Capacity Excellence in TCUP Institutions awards. Eligible institutions may participate in only one SEA-PHAGES in TCUs awards concurrently. Eligible institutions may participate in only one Partnerships for Geoscience Education award concurrently, but participation is not prevented by the institution having other TCUP awards. Eligible institutions may submit only one TEA Center proposal per year. There is no limit on the number of Targeted STEM Infusion Projects or Small Grants for Research projects per TCUP-eligible institution. Institutions may receive only one Preparing for TCUP Implementation award.

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 institutional 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 time 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 sub-awardee.

Only three RII Track-4 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 RII Track-4 competition, all proposals from that institution are subject to Return Without Review.

HBCU-UP Proposals:

• There is no limit on the number of Excellence in Research proposals that may be submitted by an eligible institution.
• 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.

Three (3) as described below. Potential PIs are advised to contact their institutional office of research regarding processes used to select proposals for submission.

The MRI program requires that an MRI-eligible organization may, as a performing organization, submit or be included as a significantly funded[3] subawardee in no more than three MRI proposals. Beginning with this competition, each performing organization is now limited to a maximum of three proposals in revised “Tracks” as defined below, with no more than two submissions in Track 1 and no more than one submission in Track 2. Any MRI proposal may request support for either the acquisition or development of a research instrument. Within their submission limit, NSF strongly encourages organizations to submit proposals for innovative development projects.

Any MRI proposal may request support for either the acquisition or development of a research instrument.

• Track 1: Track 1 MRI proposals are those that request funds from NSF greater than or equal to $100,000¹ and less than $1,000,000.
• Track 2: Track 2 MRI proposals are those that request funds from NSF greater than or equal to $1,000,000 up to and including $4,000,000.

Note: The 30% cost-sharing requirement applies to only the portion of the total project cost budgeted to non-exempt organizations, including those participating through subawards. When required, cost-sharing must be precisely 30%. Cost sharing is required for Ph.D.-granting institutions of higher education and for non-degree-granting organizations. Non-Ph.D.-granting institutions of higher education are exempt from cost-sharing and cannot provide it. National Science Board policy is that voluntary committed cost sharing is prohibited. See section V.B. for specific information on cost-sharing calculations and the solicitation text for definitions of organizational types used for the MRI program.

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.

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.  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:  One proposal for BD support may be submitted annually by an eligible alliance institution.  Beginning in FY2018, an institution may have only one active BD award.  New proposals for additional cohorts may be submitted in the competition closest to the active BD award's expiration date.

Louis Stokes Regional Centers of Excellence in Broadening Participation (LSRCE):  One proposal may be submitted by eligible lead institutions/organizations annually.  Organizations may have only one active center award.  All active alliances are eligible to submit LSRCE proposals as lead organizations.

Pre-Alliance Planning: Only one proposal may be submitted by an eligible institution.

Three Site proposals may be submitted per competition by a U.S. academic institution, including a College/Department of Engineering, Engineering Technology, or Computer and/or Information Science as the lead institution. No more than two of the three proposals may have an engineering focus and only one of the three proposals may have a computer and/or information science focus.

Potential PIs are advised to contact their institutional office of research regarding processes used to select proposals for submission.

An institution or organization may serve as lead on no more than three (3) proposals submitted to the November deadline. However, an institution or organization may partner as a subaward on other proposals submitted.

An Institution may submit one proposal (either as a single institution or as subawardee or a member of a Collaborative Research project) from each constituent school or college that awards degrees in an eligible field. See Additional Eligibility Information below for more details.

There is no limit to the number of proposals an eligible Institution may submit to this program, as long as each proposed Site belongs to a different IUCRC.  

Only one Thematic Collections Networks (TCN) proposal may be submitted by any one organization as the lead organization. Organizations may be involved in more than one collaborative effort as a non-lead proposal.