Office of Research, UC Riverside
Search Funding

Program TitleNSF 23-538: Partnerships for Innovation (PFI): PFI-RT track
Program WebsiteLink
AgencyNSF
Number of Submissions Allowed1
Internal UCR Deadline11/1/2023
Agency Final Deadline1/2/2024

The Partnerships for Innovation (PFI) Program within
the Division of Translational Impacts (TI) offers researchers from all
disciplines of science and engineering funded by NSF the opportunity to
perform translational
research and technology development, catalyze partnerships and
accelerate the transition of discoveries from the laboratory to the
marketplace for societal benefit.
The intended
outcomes of both PFI-TT and PFI-RP tracks are: a) the commercialization
of new intellectual property derived from NSF-funded research outputs;
b) the creation of new or broader collaborations with industry
(including increased corporate sponsored research); c) the licensing of
NSF-funded research outputs to third party corporations or to start-up
companies funded by a PFI team; and d) the training of future innovation
and entrepreneurship leaders.
The solicitation offers two broad tracks.
1. The Technology Translation (PFI-TT) track offers
the opportunity to translate prior NSF-funded research results in any
field of science or engineering into technological innovations with
promising commercial potential and societal impact. PFI-TT supports
commercial potential demonstration projects for academic research
outputs in any NSF-funded science and engineering discipline. This
demonstration is achieved through proof-of-concept, prototyping,
technology development and/or scale-up work. Concurrently, students and
postdoctoral researchers who participate in PFI-TT projects receive
education and leadership training in innovation and entrepreneurship.
Successful PFI-TT projects generate technology-driven commercialization
outcomes that address societal needs. There is no limit on the
number of applications for this track and researchers do not need to
apply through the limited submission process.
2.The Research Partnerships (PFI-RP) track seeks
to achieve the same goals as the PFI-TT track by supporting instead
complex, multi-faceted technology development projects that are
typically beyond the scope of a single researcher or institution and
require a multi-organizational, interdisciplinary, synergistic
collaboration. A PFI-RP project requires the creation of partnerships
between academic researchers and third-party organizations such as
industry, non-academic research organizations, federal laboratories,
public or non-profit technology transfer organizations or other
universities. Such partnerships are needed to conduct use-inspired
research on a stand-alone larger project toward commercialization and
societal impact. In the absence of such synergistic partnership, the
project’s likelihood for success would be minimal. Researchers must apply through the limited submission process for the PFI-RP track.
Anticipated funding: PFI-TT projects will be funded for up to $550,000
for 18-24 months per award; approximately 15-35 awards are anticipated.
PFI-RP projects will be funded for up to $1,000,000 for 36 months; approximately 10-20 awards are anticipated.
Cost Sharing Requirements: Inclusion of voluntary committed cost sharing is prohibited.

Database Key: 2126966055