OpenResearch announcementOpportunity 25-549

National Science Foundation National Innovation Corps Teams (NSF National I-CorpsTM Teams) Program

At a glance

National Science Foundation National Innovation Corps Teams (NSF National I-CorpsTM Teams) Program is an open federal grant opportunity from U.S. National Science Foundation. Applications are due October 6, 2076. Individual awards are listed as from $50K, with $12M in total estimated funding. Applicant types listed as eligible include others (see notice). Cost sharing is not required. It is funded under Assistance Listing 47.041 (Engineering) and 10 other listings.

Summary assembled from the official notice's fields. The official notice governs.

Key facts

Sep 26, 2025Posted
Oct 6, 2076Application deadlinenext date

Posted: Sep 26, 2025
Close date: Oct 6, 2076
Award floor: $50,000
Award ceiling: Not specified
Est. total funding: $12,000,000
Expected awards: Not specified
Cost sharing: Not required
Funding instrument: Grant
Opportunity category: Discretionary

Who can apply

Others (see notice)

Additional information on eligibility (from the notice)

*Who May Submit Proposals: Proposals may only be submitted by the following: -Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs): Two- and four-year IHEs (including community colleges) accredited in, and having a campus located in the US, acting on behalf of their faculty members. Special Instructions for International Branch Campuses of US IHEs: If the proposal includes funding to be provided to an international branch campus of a US institution of higher education (including through use of sub-awards and consultant arrangements), the proposer must explain the benefit(s) to the project of performance at the international branch campus, and justify why the project activities cannot be performed at the US campus. *Who May Serve as PI: Multiple awards based on the same core technology generally will not be supported.

Also named in the notice's eligibility text

Public colleges & universities
Private colleges & universities

Matched from the wording above by GrantsJunction — confirm in the full announcement.

Can your organization apply?

A quick check against the listed applicant types — other requirements in the notice still apply.

Based on the published notice. Review the official notice for complete eligibility requirements.

What it funds

Official synopsis as published by the agency, formatted for readability.

The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) continues to develop and nurture a national innovation ecosystem that guides the output of scientific discoveries closer to the development of technologies, products, processes, and services that benefit all Americans. The goals of the NSF I-Corps™ program are to spur translation of foundational research to the marketplace, to encourage collaboration between academia and industry, and to train NSF-funded faculty, students and other researchers in innovation and entrepreneurship skills.

The NSF National I-Corps program utilizes experiential learning of customer and industry discovery, coupled with first-hand investigation of industrial processes, to quickly assess the translational potential of inventions. The NSF National I-Corps program is designed to support the commercialization of "deep technologies,” those revolving around foundational discoveries in science and engineering. The NSF National I-Corps program addresses the skill and knowledge gaps associated with the transformation of basic research into deep technology ventures (DTVs).

The purpose of the NSF National I-Corps Teams program is to provide NSF-funded researchers additional support in the form of entrepreneurial education, mentoring, and funding to accelerate the translation of knowledge derived from foundational research into emerging products, processes, and services that may attract subsequent third-party funding. The outcomes of NSF National I-Corps Teams' projects are threefold: 1) a decision on a clear path forward based on an assessment of the business model, 2) substantial first-hand evidence for or against product-market fit, with the identification of customer segments and corresponding value propositions, and 3) a narrative of a technology demonstration for potential partners.

Additional information from the agency ↗

How to apply

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Read the full announcement (NOFO)Eligibility, evaluation criteria, page limits and required attachments are in the full notice on Grants.gov. Open ↗
Confirm eligibility and fitCheck your organization type above; no cost sharing is required.
Register (or renew) in SAM.gov and get a UEIFree. New registrations can take several weeks; registrations must be renewed every year. Open ↗
Set up Grants.gov accessCreate a Grants.gov account and make sure someone has the Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) role. Open ↗
Open the application packageUse opportunity number 25-549 on Grants.gov (Grants.gov Workspace). Open ↗
Prepare narrative, budget and attachmentsFollow the notice's format exactly — page limits and required forms are common reasons applications are rejected.
Ask the agency contact any questions earlyU.S. National Science Foundation · grantsgovsupport@nsf.gov Open ↗
Submit before October 6, 2076Proposals accepted anytime Submit a few days early and keep your Grants.gov confirmation and validation emails.

Assistance Listings

What is an ALN?

Reported obligations under ALN 47.041

Historical data · not a prediction

FY24

$752M

FY25

$728M

FY26

$182M est.

Source: SAM.gov Assistance Listing 47.041. Program-wide totals, not awards from this specific opportunity.

Who was funded under ALN 47.041

Historical data · not a prediction

Since October 1, 2023, 6,895 grant awards had funding actions under Engineering, with 1,418 sub-awards passed on to other organizations. These are program-wide awards, not awards from this specific notice.

GEORGIA TECH RESEARCH CORP$48.2M
REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN$47.5M
NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY$46.5M
TRUSTEES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA, THE$45.4M
PURDUE UNIVERSITY$43.2M

Recipients, states, recent awards and sub-awards →Source: USAspending.gov.

Agency contact (as published)

U.S. National Science Foundation
grantsgovsupport@nsf.gov
703-292-4203

Quick answers

When is the deadline for this opportunity?

According to the official notice, applications are due October 6, 2076. The notice adds: “Proposals accepted anytime” Confirm the deadline and submission time on Grants.gov before applying.

Who is eligible to apply for this opportunity?

The official notice names these applicant types as eligible: Others (see notice). Additional restrictions may apply; review the full notice.

How much funding is available through this opportunity?

Per the notice, individual awards are listed as from $50k and total estimated program funding is $12,000,000.

How do I apply for this opportunity?

Applications are submitted through the official source, not through GrantsJunction. Open the official notice on Grants.gov (opportunity 25-549), and review the full announcement and application package. Organizations applying through Grants.gov generally need an active SAM.gov registration and a Grants.gov account, which can take several weeks to set up.

Matched on shared Assistance Listings, agency, categories and eligible applicant types.

Closes in 11 daysDeadline extendedResearchALN 47.041, 47.049…