Research Partnerships

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Research Partnerships

Addressing challenges that require collaboration and fresh perspectives.

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We cultivate partnerships between academia, industry, nonprofits, government, civil society and other sectors so they can pursue transformative research, solve societal problems, fuel economic progress and build a future-ready workforce.

Whether it's exploring the universe, studying how to respond to natural disasters, developing clean energy technologies, or pushing the envelope in artificial intelligence, NSF-supported partnerships advance discovery and innovation in critical areas of science and engineering.

While NSF encourages collaboration between researchers across almost all our funding opportunities, some of our programs explicitly fund partnerships, especially those between universities and other organizations.

You can explore many of these programs on this page, or visit NSF's Funding Search（https://new.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities?query=partnerships&sort=search_api_relevance_DESC） to explore all partnership opportunities.

On this page

This page focuses on NSF programs that encourage researchers to partner with industry, nonprofits and other organizations.

Visit the Partnering with NSF（https://www.nsf.gov/node/95614） page to learn about working directly with NSF to invest in programs that support research and education.

Establishing world-class research centers

We support interdisciplinary research centers that pursue potentially transformative research across science and engineering.

Engineering Research Centers

NSF's Engineering Research Centers（https://www.nsf.gov/eng/engineering-research-centers） program supports high-risk, high-payoff research focused on advancing engineered systems technology and education through cross-sector partnerships.

Industry-University Cooperative Research Centers

NSF's Industry-University Cooperative Research Centers（https://iucrc.nsf.gov/） program catalyzes breakthrough pre-competitive research by enabling close and sustained engagement between industry innovators, world-class academic teams and government agencies.

Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers

NSF's Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers（https://www.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/mrsec-materials-research-science-engineering-centers） program supports university-based centers that collaborate with industry and other sectors on multidisciplinary materials research and education.

Science and Technology Centers

NSF's Science and Technology Centers（https://www.nsf.gov/od/oia/stc） conduct world-class research through partnerships among academic institutions, national laboratories, industrial organizations and other entities, both domestically and internationally.

Moving ideas from the lab to society

We support partnerships between researchers, practitioners and innovators to pursue translational research and technology development.

America's Seed Fund

America's Seed Fund（https://seedfund.nsf.gov/） powered by NSF supports startups performing early-stage research and development. It funds partnerships between startups and academic organizations through its Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program, and partnerships between startups and industry and investors through its Technology Enhancement for Commercial Partnerships supplements（https://www.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/dcl-technology-enhancement-commercial-partnerships-tecp）.

Convergence Accelerator

NSF's Convergence Accelerator（https://www.nsf.gov/funding/initiatives/convergence-accelerator） funds transdisciplinary teams of researchers, innovators and other partners from academia, industry, nonprofits, government, civil society and other sectors to co-design and co-create technology advances that solve societal and economic challenges.

Grant Opportunities for Academic Liaison with Industry

NSF's Grant Opportunities for Academic Liaison with Industry (GOALI)（https://www.nsf.gov/policies/pappg/23-1/ch-2-proposal-preparation#2F5） supports research that addresses shared interests by academic researchers and industrial partners.

You can submit a GOALI proposal in conjunction with a regular proposal you're submitting to an NSF program, as an unsolicited proposal, or as a supplemental funding request for an existing NSF-funded award.

With GOALI funding, NSF is especially interested in supporting:

Interdisciplinary university–industry teams to conduct collaborative research.

Faculty, postdoctoral scholars and students to conduct research and gain experience in an industry setting.

Industry scientists and engineers to bring industry perspectives and integrative skills to university settings.

If you're interested in submitting a GOALI proposal, contact the program officer listed on the relevant funding opportunity before you submit.

NSF Innovation Corps (I-Corps™️)

NSF's I-Corps Teams（https://www.nsf.gov/funding/initiatives/i-corps/about-teams） program supports researchers interested in entrepreneurial education and mentoring, with the goal of reducing the time it takes to bring technologies from the laboratory to the marketplace.

Translation to Practice

NSF's Translation to Practice（https://www.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/nsf-ttp-national-science-foundation-translation-practice） program supports use-inspired research, translational activities and partnerships that turn scientific discoveries into real-world solutions. Researchers can gain market insights, launch commercial applications and facilitate industry adoption.

Explore other translational research opportunities（https://www.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities?