NSF Regional Innovation Engines — Competition 3
Funds regional innovation ecosystems in the United States to build practical manufacturing and technology pathways.
The NSF Regional Innovation Engines program, administered by the NSF Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (TIP), funds the construction of new regional innovation ecosystems across the United States in areas that have not fully benefited from recent technology growth. The program is authorized under the CHIPS and Science Act and carries an anticipated total investment of approximately $1.6 billion over the next decade. It targets critical and emerging technology sectors including semiconductors, artificial intelligence, wireless communications, and biotechnology, with a statutory mandate to stimulate economic growth and expand the geographic footprint of American innovation.
Awards are structured in two phases: an initial cooperative agreement of $15 million over two years, scaling to a long-term potential of up to $160 million per awardee across the decade. Competition #1 produced 10 Engine awards announced January 29, 2024. Competition #2 advanced 29 semifinalists in July 2025 and named 15 finalists on September 22, 2025 under solicitation NSF 24-565 (full proposals due April 15, 2025, now closed). Competition #3 has not yet been solicited as of June 2026. Lead organizations must be higher education institutions, nonprofits, nonacademic organizations, or for-profit entities — federal agencies are excluded by statute.
Winning applications require broad cross-sector coalitions spanning industry, higher education, nonprofits, tribal nations, and state or local governments anchored in a defined U.S. geographic region. The program places a premium on teams that can demonstrate both technological depth in a priority sector and the organizational breadth to sustain a self-reinforcing regional ecosystem. Prospective applicants for Competition #3 should monitor NSF TIP for a new solicitation and use Competition #2's solicitation (NSF 24-565) as the primary structural reference for letter-of-intent and preliminary proposal format.
Regional coalition-led innovation ecosystem development in critical and emerging technology sectors — semiconductors, AI, wireless, and biotechnology — targeting under-resourced U.S. regions for long-term economic and technological growth.
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