Resources and Events

FAQs

Review the NSF Regional Innovation Engines, or NSF Engines, frequently asked questions FAQ (PDF download) .

Videos and Presentations

Videos

In the video below, the NSF Engines program team discusses the NSF Engines program model, including program goals, phases of NSF Engine development, proposal and award requirements, and award types.

Learn more about NSF Engines by watching recordings of our outreach events, including the roadshows series, program overview, and Q&A sessions. Learn more.

Presentation slides

The slide deck used in the overview video below can be downloaded here: TIP and NSF Engines overview slides (PDF, 1.33 MB).

NSF Engines Interest Form

The NSF Engines team has created an interest form to help members of the innovation community connect with and support the NSF Engines Development Awardees and NSF Engines Awardees. NSF recognizes that building robust innovation ecosystems across the country requires identifying and working with new sources of talent and building diverse collaborations. The goal of this interest form is to create an entry point for individuals, organizations, and funders who are interested in supporting our portfolio of NSF Engine awardees and/or working within an NSF Engine to share their information.

Fill out the interest form.

Ways to Stay Connected

Sign up for the NSF Engines email list

Subscribe to the NSF Engines email list to receive information program updates, announcements, funding opportunities, webinars and more.

Contact

Email the NSF Engines Program Team with questions about the program. Most emails are answered within one business day.

Questions about an NSF BAA can be directed to nsf-solicitation@nsf.gov.

Glossary

As the U.S. National Science Foundation continues to support and invest in America's innovation economy, we also seek to foster collaboration, encourage knowledge sharing, and facilitate meaningful discussions to drive innovation forward. For your knowledge, TIP developed a glossary of shared vocabulary used in the dynamic and ever-evolving innovation ecosystem space. Review the glossary to understand terminology frequently used at NSF to describe key terms, ideas and concepts to aid in navigating through and communication about innovation, entrepreneurship and ecosystem building.

View the Glossary.

Download the Glossary (PDF, 210.23 KB)

Past Events & Activities

Learn about how NSF launched and generated interest in the NSF Engines program.

Region of service map

The Region of Service Map was a required document for Type-2 NSF Regional Innovation Engines (NSF Engines) proposals. NSF requested this information to gain a more detailed and precise description of each applicant’s region of service and a more detailed view of the geographic distribution of the NSF Engines applicant pool. To facilitate a uniform process and comparable maps, the NSF Engines team compiled a set of resources and a map builder tool to help proposers build out this Region of Service document for their proposals.

Use the step-by-step how-to-guide.
Watch the video tutorial.
Create the Region of Service mapping tool using the Excel spreadsheet.

As a supplemental document, each proposing team was required to provide a Region of Service Map that defined their region of service by state(s) and counties covered in a list format. Counties were identified by both name and five-digit FIPS code. Following the step-by-step instructions on how to use the map builder tool will automatically populate the Excel template with the requested data. In order to submit created map, the Excel file needed to be converted to a PDF to be submitted in the supplemental document section of proposals within research.gov.

Concept Outlines

NSF Engines will create regional-scale innovation ecosystems nationwide. To get started, organizations were required to submit a concept outline with information on their proposed topic areas, partners and geographic footprints. NSF published nearly 700 accepted concept outlines.

Explore the map

The NSF Engines program required that teams submit a Letter of Intent and a full proposal as a region. Use this interactive map to view proposed topic areas, partners and geographic footprints submitted in the Letters of Intent.

Watch our how-to-video to learn how to explore the map.

Explore

Use the data to find regional partners

Regions benefit from proactive teaming and collaboration. Use the published data about concept outlines to reach out to potential partners and build strong, collaborative teams. 

Watch our brief how-to video to learn how best to read the accepted concept outlines.

Connect

Why did NSF publish concept outline data?

Place-based

The NSF Engines program requires applicant teams to define their geographic region of service and lead their application submission with that information.  Concept outline submitters should know about and connect with others within their regions and topic areas. By publishing the accepted concept outlines, NSF hoped to connect applicants before the proposal deadline.

Unlocking new partnerships

As soon as NSF announced the NSF Engines program, nonprofits, foundations, investors, state and local government officials, community organizations and others expressed interest in getting involved. By publishing the concept outline data, NSF is creating opportunities for everyone to connect with submitters (within one's community and beyond) to offer ideas, capital, expertise and more. We hope this process leads to stronger teams with a more diverse set of partners.  

Power in the data

As a leading science and technology agency, NSF believes in the power of transparently sharing data. Given other federal and state government efforts to build regional ecosystems and capacity, NSF saw the value in sharing data early, rather than waiting until awards are made. We encourage you to build tools and visualizations on top of our data.

NSF Engines Proposers’ Day

The NSF Engines Proposers’ Day was a virtual workshop held on August 1, 2022, for regional teams that submitted concept outlines and advanced to the next step as outlined in the program's funding opportunity. More than 2,700 team members attended the event, which was designed to help regional teams spanning all 50 states and four U.S. territories develop compelling proposals.

General Session

Download the slides for the general session. (PDF, 3.86 MB)

Welcome to Proposers’ Day
Dmitri Perkins, Lead Program Director, Regional Innovation Engines Program, NSF
Erwin Gianchandani, Assistant Director for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships, NSF

Analysis of Concept Outlines
Daniel Goetzel, Entrepreneurial Lead, Regional Innovation Engines Program, NSF
Dmitri Perkins, Lead Program Director, Regional Innovation Engines Program, NSF

Demo of Visualization Platform
Grace Yuan, Staff Associate for Data and Analytics, Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships, NSF

Accelerating a Life Sciences Innovation Ecosystem: A Case Study in Public-Private Partnership
Dr. Susan Windham-Bannister, President and CEO of Biomedical Growth Strategies; Former President and CEO of the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC)—a state-funded investment organization charged with administering a $1 billion Life Sciences investment fund

Understanding How the Proposals Will Be Reviewed: The Review Criteria
Michal Ziv-El, Program Director, Regional Innovation Engines Program, Civic Innovation Challenge (CIVIC), Cyber-Physical Systems, Smart and Connected Communities, NSF

Understanding How the Proposals Will Be Reviewed: The Process
Rebecca Shearman, Program Director, Regional Innovation Engines Program, NSF
Michal Ziv-El, Program Director, Regional Innovation Engines, Civic Innovation Challenge (CIVIC), Cyber-Physical Systems, and Smart and Connected Communities Programs, NSF

Developing Impactful DEIA Plans
Rebecca Shearman, Program Director, Regional Innovation Engines Program, NSF
Monya Ruffin, Program Director, Directorate for Education and Human Resources, NSF

Breakout Sessions

Governance Models and Leadership Structure
Daniel Goetzel, Entrepreneurial Lead, Regional Innovation Engines Program, NSF
Randy Duran, Program Director, Engineering Research Centers Program, NSF
Download the slides for Governance Models and Leadership Structure breakout session. (PDF, 1.06 MB)

Budgeting and Use of NSF Funds
Geoffrey Brown, Program Director, Regional Innovation Engines Program, NSF
Francesmary Modugno, Program Director, Directorate for Education and Human Resources, NSF
Download the slides for the Budgeting and Use of NSF Funds breakout session. (PDF, 1.29 MB)

Type-1 and Type-2 Review Criteria
Michal Ziv-El, Program Director, Regional Innovation Engines Program, Civic Innovation Challenge (CIVIC), Cyber-Physical Systems, and Smart and Connected Communities Programs, NSF
Rebecca Shearman, Program Director, Regional Innovation Engines Program, NSF
No slides were used for this breakout session.

NSF Engines roadshow

The NSF Engines roadshow was a series of five regionally focused virtual events held during the spring of 2022 that served as jumping-off points for NSF Engine application discussion development. Each roadshow included an overview of the NSF Engines program, a panel discussion with leading innovation and technology ecosystem builders from across the country, and interactive breakout rooms for regional collaboration. Over 1500 people attended these events that covered all 50 states and U.S. territories.

Stop 1 (CO, KS, MO, ND, NE, NM, OK, SD, TX, WY):
May 19, 2022