Partnerships for Innovation | 19 506

Opportunity Information: Apply for 19 506

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Partnerships for Innovation (PFI) program is a grant opportunity designed to help move NSF-funded research out of the lab and closer to real-world use. Run through NSF's Division of Industrial Innovation and Partnerships (IIP), PFI focuses on translational research and technology development, meaning it supports the practical steps needed to turn scientific and engineering discoveries into products, processes, or services with clear societal and commercial value. The overall purpose is to speed up commercialization by encouraging stronger ties between researchers, universities, and external partners like companies and technology transfer organizations.

PFI is built around five main goals established in the American Innovation and Competitiveness Act of 2017. First, it aims to identify NSF-supported discoveries that are promising candidates for faster commercialization. Second, it supports proof-of-concept work, including prototype development, for technologies derived from NSF-funded research, particularly when a university and/or a nonprofit organization (partnering with a university) is positioned to demonstrate that the technology has market value. Third, it works to create sustainable partnerships among NSF-funded institutions, industry, and other public or private organizations to accelerate technology transfer. Fourth, it encourages the growth of multidisciplinary innovation ecosystems that respond to both academic research strengths and real industry needs. Fifth, it emphasizes workforce and leadership development by providing mentoring and professional training in entrepreneurship, project management, and business and technology development so that researchers and trainees can better navigate the path from invention to impact.

A notable feature of PFI is that it also addresses a Congressional mandate to fund follow-on prototype or proof-of-concept efforts for very early-stage innovations that are not yet ready for Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) or Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. This makes PFI especially relevant for teams who have validated a scientific result but still need additional development work before forming a company, licensing a technology, or competing for small business-oriented federal commercialization funds. The solicitation also aligns with NSF's broader impacts priorities by strengthening U.S. academia-industry partnerships and expanding participation in innovation and entrepreneurship, with specific attention to women and individuals from underrepresented groups.

This solicitation offers two main proposal tracks. The Technology Translation track (PFI-TT) supports projects that translate prior NSF-funded research results into technological innovations with strong commercial promise and societal benefit. In practical terms, this track funds activities like proof-of-concept experiments, prototyping, technology development, scaling work, and other demonstrations that help show a technology can perform outside of a basic research setting and could succeed in a market context. A key element of PFI-TT is the training component: students and postdoctoral researchers involved in these projects receive education and leadership development in innovation and entrepreneurship, helping build a pipeline of future technology leaders.

The Research Partnerships track (PFI-RP) is aimed at larger or more complex projects where commercialization-focused development is not realistic for a single lab or institution to tackle alone. PFI-RP requires interdisciplinary, multi-organizational collaboration and formal partnerships with third-party organizations such as industry, federal laboratories, non-academic research organizations, technology transfer organizations, or other universities. The idea is that certain applied research and development challenges require complementary expertise, facilities, validation pathways, or market access that only a well-structured partnership can provide. The solicitation emphasizes that without such synergistic partnerships, the likelihood of success would be low, making the partnership itself a core part of the project rationale.

Across both tracks, NSF is looking for concrete, commercialization-oriented outcomes. These include the commercialization of new intellectual property built on NSF-funded research, the formation or expansion of collaborations with industry (including more corporate-sponsored research), licensing of research outputs to established companies or to startups connected to the PFI team, and the training of researchers who can lead future innovation and entrepreneurship efforts. NSF also notes that webinars are offered to help applicants understand the solicitation and expectations, with registration hosted on the NSF PFI website.

Key administrative details from the opportunity listing include that it is a discretionary NSF grant in the science and technology research and development category. The funding opportunity is titled Partnerships for Innovation (opportunity number 19-506). The posted award ceiling is $550,000, and NSF anticipated making about 65 awards under this solicitation. The original closing date listed was January 17, 2019, and the opportunity is associated with multiple NSF CFDA program numbers (including 47.041, 47.049, 47.050, 47.070, 47.074, 47.075, 47.076, 47.079, 47.083). Eligibility is listed as "Others" with additional clarification provided in the full eligibility text, but the program description makes clear the core audience is prior or current NSF-funded researchers and their institutions, often working in partnership with external organizations to advance technology toward market readiness.

• The National Science Foundation in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Partnerships for Innovation" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 47.041, 47.049, 47.050, 47.070, 47.074, 47.075, 47.076, 47.079, 47.083.
• This funding opportunity was created on Oct 19, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jan 17, 2019. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $550,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 65 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for 19 506

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