Industry/University Cooperative Research Centers Program | Apply Online

Opportunity Summary:

The National Science Foundation's Industry/University Cooperative Research Centers (I/UCRC) Program is designed to build long-term, durable partnerships that bring together industry, universities, and government around shared research needs. The basic model is that NSF provides a relatively small catalytic investment to help launch and shape a center, while the ongoing core support largely comes from industry members who join the center. In practice, this means the center's research agenda is driven by problems that matter to participating companies and other member organizations, while also aligning with the academic strengths of the faculty involved. NSF plays more of a supporting and guiding role as the center develops and matures, rather than acting as the primary, long-term source of funding.

A key purpose of the program is to strengthen the nation's research infrastructure and expand the talent pipeline in engineering and science by integrating research and education. Centers are expected to create an environment where graduate education and cutting-edge applied research reinforce each other, helping train a workforce that can move between academic and industrial settings with ease. Where it makes sense for the center's goals, international collaborations can be used to broaden impact and ensure the work stays relevant in a global research and innovation landscape.

This opportunity was offered as a discretionary grant program under the broader category of science and technology research and development. The funding opportunity number is 13-594, and the estimated total funding amount listed is $12,000,000, with an expected eight awards. Individual awards range from a floor of $10,000 to a ceiling of $200,000. Cost sharing or matching is required, reflecting the program's central premise that industry membership and other non-NSF contributions are essential to sustaining the center.

The program spans many NSF disciplinary areas, as shown by the associated CFDA numbers, including engineering, mathematical and physical sciences, geosciences, computer and information science and engineering, biological sciences, social/behavioral/economic sciences, education and human resources, and international science and engineering. That breadth signals that I/UCRCs are not limited to a single technical domain; instead, the model can be applied wherever a strong, ongoing industry-university research relationship can be built around a coherent theme and a membership-driven portfolio of projects.

Eligibility is limited to U.S. academic institutions that have graduate research programs. Leadership requirements are specific: the principal investigator at any institution participating in an I/UCRC proposal must be a tenured faculty member, although waivers may be requested when formally petitioned by the PI's supervisor (such as a department chair or dean). The center or site director must serve as the PI, emphasizing that the person accountable for the center's direction is also accountable for the award. The solicitation also restricts repeat participation at the Phase I level: PIs who already hold an active NSF I/UCRC research center award are not eligible to apply for another Phase I award.

The pathway to forming a new center includes structured preparation steps. Prospective center leaders may need to engage in NSF-defined readiness activities before submitting a full proposal, such as participating in an NSF-sponsored boot camp (with travel reimbursement for the center/site director) and/or submitting a letter of intent and meeting the requirements tied to a planning grant. For new centers, awardees of planning grants must complete planning grant workshops with NSF program director participation before moving forward with a full proposal, and eligibility to submit a full proposal is tied to completion of those required preparatory steps. This structure is meant to ensure that proposed centers have a viable membership plan, clear governance, and a research theme that can attract sustained industry support.

Administratively, the opportunity was posted on June 18, 2015, with an original and current closing date of September 25, 2015, and it was later archived on October 28, 2018. The official reference for full details is NSF Publication 13-594. For access issues related to the announcement through Grants.gov, the listed support contact is grantsgovsupport@nsf.gov.

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