Lewis-Burke Associates LLC – May 4, 2022
The National Science Foundation (NSF) released the long-awaited Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for its signature Regional Innovation Engines (NSF Engines) program of the new Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (TIP) Directorate. With maximum funding at $160 million over 10 years, the Engines will be NSF’s largest centers to date. NSF hopes that these will transform innovation ecosystems in regions without strong existing ecosystems to drive use-inspired research on critical emerging technologies and address societal and economic challenges; catalyze technology commercialization, new start-ups, capital influx, and industry growth; and foster broad and diverse workforce development.
NSF Engines will follow a new program model, which is reflected in many aspects of the BAA. This new model includes the release of a BAA instead of a traditional NSF solicitation; broad eligibility for non-academic institutions to both partner and lead proposals; requirements to raise funding and resources over the lifetime of the award with the expectation of eventual full self-sustainability; expectation of a full time CEO to lead each Engine; the diverse core functions of the Engine encompassing research, translation, entrepreneurship, and workforce development; major partnership requirements encompassing many regional entities and stakeholders; the robust budget and ability to use it on infrastructure and other nontraditional research costs; and the high level of post-award oversight with regular reviews that can result in loss of funding if metrics are not met.
NSF expects Engines to progress along five phases from “development to mature” and the BAA describes funding for two types of awards – $1 million per Type-1 award for Engines in the development phase to prepare for a Type-2 award; and up to $160 million per Type-2 award for Engines ready for Phase 2. Type-2 awards are expected to carry Engines ten years through remaining phases: nascent, emergent, growth, and mature. Receiving a Type-1 award is NOT required to apply for Type-2 awards and NSF encourages teams ready to pursue a Type-2 award to do so directly.
Proposers will identify the topic areas for their Engine, which must:
- Tackle relevant national, societal, or economic issues;
- Facilitate the advancement of emerging technologies;
- Accelerate revolutionary Research & Development (R&D) while making “tangible progress” and creating startups or small businesses;
- Drive innovation in areas of need, capability, or application relevant to the local regional economy; and
- Leverage other existing large-scale efforts in the region.
Engines are not required to address the entire range of its chosen topic area but must have a definitive scope and goals. The BAA states “proposing teams should consider topic areas that are well-defined, yet ambitious, cannot be achieved by a small group of stakeholders acting alone, and uniquely require the mix of cross-sector collaboration, agility, and significant seed funding offered by the NSF Engine Model.” Along with striving to achieve the goals of its given topic area, all Engines must also seek to achieve the following goals:
- Develop and maintain a network of partners;
- Drive innovation informed by national or societal challenges, or the needs of stakeholders;
- Create startups and small businesses, or broaden the capabilities of existing businesses in the region;
- Cultivate the regional workforce;
- Promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA);
- Create an Engine that is self-sustainable beyond the NSF award period; and
- Prioritize inclusive economic growth that fosters “communities of wealth” within the region.
A primary goal of NSF Engines is to create synergy across a wide breadth of partners to develop thriving, diverse, and sustainable innovation ecosystems that deliver tangible economic growth in the Engine’s region. Engines should create a “culture of innovation” by mitigating broad societal or economic challenges, forming intentional, lasting partnerships, developing the workforce of the future, creating meaningful DEIA plans, and establishing an evaluation framework with measurable checkpoints. Engines will be expected to serve three core functions:
- User-Inspired R&D: Engines should consider the needs of regional partners and stakeholders when generating new ideas and projects;
- Translation of Innovations to Practice: Engines should drive tangible, translational outcomes such as products or services that can inform the development of new policies or regulations; and
- Workforce Development to Grow and Sustain Regional Innovation: Engines should cultivate a diverse, highly- skilled workforce through education, training, retention, and workforce development programs that bolster the innovation ecosystem.
Funding for NSF Engines will prioritize national regions without well-established innovation hubs and promote comprehensive, well-rounded solutions that create a culture of DEIA. NSF encourages partnership between these regions and those with more mature ecosystems to create mentorship and other opportunities that promote an exchange of expertise from the mature ecosystem to the less mature region to facilitate economic growth. Regions are not strictly defined in the BAA but can range in scale from a metropolitan area to an area spanning multiple states.
Eligibility: U.S. based non-profits, non-academic organizations, for-profits, and institutions of higher education (IHEs) are eligible to apply. Non-profit and non-academic organizations, for-profit organizations, and IHEs are also eligible to receive subawards under this BAA, along with federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs), national laboratories, and state, local, and tribal governments. An organization can only submit one proposal as a lead organization under this BAA. Project directors must be senior members of the lead organization’s leadership and will serve as the full-time CEO of the Engine.
Award Information: Under this BAA, NSF anticipates releasing Type-1 and Type-2 awards. Type-1 awards serve as foundational grants to establish a successful Type-2 proposal and eventually launch a full-scale NSF Engine. NSF anticipates funding up to 50 Type-1 awards with a maximum budget of $1 million per award over a 24-month period. Type-1 awardees are required to independently reapply for Type-2 awards, however receiving a Type-1 award is not necessary to apply for a Type-2 award.
Type-2 awards may be granted to regions or promising teams that will be ready to launch a full-scale NSF Engine by the expected award date. Contingent on FY 2023 appropriations, NSF anticipates funding five Type-2 awards at a $160 million each, for up to 10 years. The initial two years of support for Type-2 awards will sustain a “ramp-up” period, in which an engine can be funded at $7.5 million per year over both years. Further funding will depend on the Engine’s performance. Funding can reach up to $15 million per year in years three through five and up to $20 million per year in years six through ten. Any Engine funded beyond the first year will be subject to an annual assessment of performance, which will inform further funding. In addition, NSF will conduct reviews to assess each Engine’s tangible accomplishments and future goals, which will involve program directors and a site visit team. The final evaluation plan will be negotiated with awardees within six months of the award date.
Deadlines: Proposers are required to submit Concept Outlines prior to applying. Concept Outlines are due by June 30, 2022. Concept Outlines will be reviewed internally by NSF program directors and approved to proceed to proposal. Information on approved concept outlines will be publicly posted to foster teaming and partnerships among potential interested collaborators. For those approved, Letters of Intent (LOIs) will be required for both types of awards. LOIs for Type-1 proposals are due by August 31, 2022, and full proposals are due by September 29, 2022. Type-2 LOIs and full proposals will be due in FY 2023, dates have yet to be announced. For further information, NSF will host several events for potential proposers to provide insight into the program’s objectives.
Sources and Additional Information:
More Information on NSF Engines can be found at https://beta.nsf.gov/funding/initiatives/regional-innovation-engines.
The full BAA can be found at https://sam.gov/opp/67236a938b4f49c5a582e6c57921e3bc/view.