December 20, 2016

Dear Colleague:

The National Science Foundation Directorate for Engineering (NSF/ENG) Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation (EFRI) program invites supplemental funding requests from PIs with active Origami Design for Integration of Self-assembling Systems for Engineering Innovation (ODISSEI) awards for translational research efforts to foster innovation and maximize the technological impact of their project. The ODISSEI program is a partnership between NSF/ENG and the Air Force Office of Scientific Research.

This opportunity for supplemental funding is aimed at enabling current ODISSEI PIs to begin or accelerate the translation of their cutting edge research into advanced technologies — thus transforming innovative research to real-world innovation. Through this Dear Colleague Letter (DCL), PIs with active ODISSEI awards are encouraged to partner with industry in an effort to move their discoveries towards practical applications with proof of concept demonstrations. The inclusion of an industrial partner will help define appropriate use-inspired research and develop new technological directions, along with sustaining and advancing the ODISSEI field.

The activities supported by this supplemental funding may vary in the scope and nature of their collaborations with industry or end-users. For example, supported activities may focus on:

• Furthering the scientific and engineering foundations of the associated fundamental research to enable future breakthroughs aligned with real world needs
• Defining appropriate use-inspired research objectives that lead to proof-of-concept demonstration
• Accelerating the integration of ODISSEI research results into new and advanced applications

SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDING REQUEST DEADLINE

February 15th, 2017 by 5:00 PM, submitter's local time.

EFRI ODISSEI-INDUSTRY SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDING REQUEST PREPARATION INSTRUCTIONS

PIs with active EFRI ODISSEI awards may submit one request for supplemental funding up to $400,000 and up to two years, subject to the availability of funds. The supplemental funding request in response to this DCL plus any supplemental funding previously awarded may not exceed 20% of the original ODISSEI award. The EFRI program intends to fund approximately 4 awards.

Proposals should not be submitted to this Dear Colleague Letter. Requests for EFRI ODISSEI-Industry supplemental funding must be submitted electronically via FastLane and be prepared in accordance with the guidance for requesting supplemental support contained in Chapter VI.E.4 of the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG).

In addition to the requirements listed in the PAPPG, at least one industrial participant must be included in the activity. An "Industrial participant" can be a Government, university or commercial entity external to the PI's research group who can help define user needs for the technology and would have an interest in using any eventual technological development based on this work. However, PIs are reminded that the industrial participant cannot use or receive any NSF funds.

Requests for EFRI ODISSEI-Industry supplemental funding must also include the following:

• The academic-industry collaboration, the names of those involved in the collaboration (industrial and academic participants) and role of this collaboration in shaping future directions must be explained in the Summary of the Proposed Work. For example:
• What are the objectives of this partnership?
• How will the results of the collaboration be greater than the sum of the efforts acting alone?
• What new knowledge could the proposed work generate that could enable technology creation?
• What is the anticipated longer term societal impact coming forth from the research project if successful?
• The proposed activity should be focused on maximizing the technological impact of the current EFRI-ODISSEI project by moving discoveries towards practical applications with proof of concept demonstrations.
• A letter of collaboration from each industrial partner confirming their participation and detailing their interaction or involvement in the proposed activity.
• Academic and industry partners should agree in advance as to how intellectual property (IP) rights will be handled. A signed university-industry agreement on IP (including publication and patent rights) must be submitted before an award is issued. NSF is responsible neither for the agreement reached nor the IP information exchanged between the academic institution and the industry partner. However, any IP agreement between the awardee and the industrial participant must be consistent with the Intellectual Property terms and conditions imposed by the original award, as those terms and conditions also apply to supplements that may be awarded.

Letters of collaboration, academic-industry agreement letters on IP, and any other documentation of significant collaborative arrangements regarding the proposed activity should be uploaded in the "Other Supplementary Documents" section of the FastLane Supplemental Request module.

REVIEW PROCESS

EFRI ODISSEI-Industry supplemental funding requests will be subject to the NSF Merit Review process.

Award decisions will be based on reviews from a panel of external experts from academia and industry, and upon availability of funds.

SPECIAL REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

The annual and final project reports of the associated EFRI ODISSEI award must discuss the impact of the supplemental funding on accelerating the supported fundamental research towards proof of concept and into advanced technologies and applications.

Principal Investigators with questions pertaining to this DCL should contact the EFRI Program Officer associated with their ODISSEI award.

Sincerely,

Grace Wang
Acting Assistant Director
Directorate for Engineering (ENG)