If you are interested in submitting a NSF 15-570 Partnerships for Innovation: Accelerating Innovation Research-Technology Translation (PFI: AIR-TT) proposal, submit your proposal by the Friday, October 9, 2015 deadline.

•Letter of Intent: Due Tuesday, September 8, 2015

•Full Proposal Deadline Date: Friday, October 9, 2015

•Lineage Requirement: The Principal Investigator (PI) or a co-PI must have had a National Science Foundation (NSF) award that ended no more than six years prior to the chosen submission window’s full proposal deadline date or be a current NSF award recipient. The proposed proof-of-concept or prototype/ scale-up must be derived from the research results and/or discoveries from this underlying NSF award. Note: a proposal describing sole lineage to any of the following programs is not allowed and may be returned without review: Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU), Research Experiences for Teachers (RET), the Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP), PFI: AIR-TT, PFI: AIR-RA, I-CorpsTM, and SBIR/STTR.

In addition to the PI, there must be at least one other participant on the project (e.g., someone listed as a co-PI, senior personnel, other professional, subawardee, consultant, collaborator, etc.) with explicit business experience (for example, someone from the technology transfer office, the business school, a local/regional development office, a business entity, etc.). This person must have an active role that is explicitly described along with the specification of a time commitment on the project.

•Limit on Number of Proposals per PI or Co-PI: One

No person may participate as the PI for more than one proposal submitted to any submission window of this PFI: AIR-TT solicitation. A PI may submit to consecutive submission windows; however, a resubmitted proposal that has not clearly taken into account the major comments or concerns resulting from the prior NSF review may be returned without review. The foundation will treat the revised proposal as a new proposal, subject to the standard review procedures.

Synopsis of program:

The NSF Partnerships for Innovation (PFI) program within the Division of Industrial Innovation and Partnerships (IIP) is an umbrella for two complementary subprograms, Accelerating Innovation Research (AIR) and Building Innovation Capacity (BIC). Overall, the PFI program offers opportunities to connect new knowledge to societal benefit through translational research efforts and/or partnerships that encourage, enhance and accelerate innovation and entrepreneurship. The subject of this solicitation is PFI: AIR-Technology Translation (PFI: AIR-TT). The PFI: AIR-TT solicitation serves as an early opportunity to move previously NSF-funded research results with promising commercial potential along the path toward commercialization. Projects are supported to demonstrate proof-of-concept, prototype, or scale-up while engaging faculty and students in entrepreneurial/innovative thinking.

Webinar: A webinar will be held within six weeks of the release date of this solicitation to answer any questions about this solicitation. Details will be posted on the IIP website as they become available.
***
Per IIT policy, all grant applications (federal and non-federal) must be reviewed, signed and submitted by the Office of Sponsored Research and Programs regardless of the amount of the request. Contact osrp@iit.edu or call at 312.567.3035 for more information on submitting a proposal.