NSF invests in expanded technical support for emerging innovation ecosystems

NSF invests in U.S. Ignite to launch a program designed to sustain momentum in high-potential innovation ecosystems that participated in the NSF Regional Innovation Engines competition and other similar place-based innovation grant competitions

The U.S. National Science Foundation Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (NSF TIP) announced a $3.9 million investment over three years to U.S. Ignite to accelerate regional economic innovation. Through this investment, U.S. Ignite will provide critical technical assistance and support for innovation ecosystems as part of its new Supporting U.S. Regional Growth and Entrepreneurship (SURGE) program.

SURGE builds on momentum generated by the NSF Regional Innovation Engines (NSF Engines), an NSF TIP program catalyzing place-based ecosystems to accelerate technology development and translation, workforce development and economic growth. While NSF Engines and other place-based investment programs made large-scale awards to select top-performing regions, many other competitive regions proposed strong visions demonstrating high potential but were not ultimately selected due to limited resources. SURGE is launching a platform to help these emergent innovation ecosystems sustain their momentum and economic growth by providing structured resources and tools, technical expertise and a strong national network of peer connections.

"The NSF Regional Innovation Engines program has demonstrated that there is latent innovation capacity and potential in communities all across the nation," said Erwin Gianchandani, assistant director for NSF TIP. "That's why we're excited to support U.S. Ignite's work to expand pathways and create opportunities for communities looking to leverage and scale their regional innovation ecosystems to drive research leading to economic growth and national prosperity."

Through SURGE, U.S. Ignite and its network of partners will strengthen regional coalitions committed to innovation, expand growth in artificial intelligence and other emerging technology fields, and foster collaborations across industry, academia and local government, positioning communities for sustainable funding and long-term competitiveness. U.S. Ignite will launch the SURGE platform for communities in early 2026.

About NSF TIP

The NSF Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (NSF TIP) seeks to engage all Americans in accelerating critical and emerging technologies to advance U.S. competitiveness. The directorate partners across sectors to advance three strategies — accelerating critical and emerging technology, expanding the geography of American innovation and building a competition-ready workforce. For more information about NSF TIP, visit nsf.gov/tip/latest. 

About U.S. Ignite

U.S. Ignite works closely with communities, military bases, startups and researchers to solve their toughest economic development and technology innovation challenges. Operating like a high-tech startup, the nonprofit organization delivers customized results through stakeholder engagement, technical expertise and targeted tools. In collaboration with partners, U.S. Ignite delivers project outcomes that include breakthrough technologies while creating innovative new jobs, startups and services. Learn more at us-ignite.org.