Infrastructure Capacity for Biological Research
NSF funds U.S.-based IHEs and certain nonprofit research organizations to build or improve broadly shared biological research infrastructure, including cyberinfrastructure, biological collections, and field stations/marine laboratories, plus related planning or coordination activities.
⚑ Not for instrumentation; those should go to NSF MRI. · Not for infrastructure tied to a specific research project, laboratory, or single institution. · Must serve a broad community beyond the proposing team and be openly accessible. · International branch campus funding requires additional justification.
Unit fits — one characterization, each unit's own rules
| Physical Sciences & Engineering (demo) | 80 strong | technical depth: substantial; funds data infrastructure |
| IPPRA | 45 partial | peripheral portfolio topic: environment; social/behavioral work is none; funds data/survey infrastructure; biomedical core — IPPRA health lane is communication/crisis/policy (capped); capped at 45 (limited social-science role) |
| Tom Love Innovation Hub | 30 weak | prototyping/demonstration stage; deep-tech content |
Description
The Infrastructure Capacity for Biological Research (Capacity) Program supports the implementation of, scaling of, or major improvements to research tools, products, and services that advance contemporary biology in any research area supported by the Directorate forBiological Sciences at NSF. The Capacity Program focuses on building capacity in research infrastructure that is broadly applicable to a wide range of researchers in three programmatic areas: Cyberinfrastructure, Biological Collections, and Biological Field Stations and Marine Laboratories. This program will also accept proposals for planning activities or workshops to facilitate coordination that may be necessary in building capacity in infrastructure that meets the needs of a research community. Areas not included in this program are instrumentation (PIs should submit to the MRI program) and, projects that develop infrastructure for a specific research project, laboratory, or institution (PIs should submitted to the relevant BIO programs that would normally support that research). Projects are expected to produce quality products, result in important science outcomes that will be achieved by the users of the resource, be openly accessible to a broad scientific and education community, and serve a community of researchers beyond a single research team.
Eligibility
*Who May Submit Proposals: Proposals may only be submitted by the following: -Non-profit, non-academic organizations: Independent museums, observatories, research laboratories, professional societies and similar organizations located in the U.S. that are directly associated with educational or research activities. -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.
Apply
View on Grants.gov → CONTACT: U.S. National Science Foundation <grantsgovsupport@nsf.gov>
Proposal brief SEE AN EXAMPLE →
A one-page internal memo: fit assessment, submission requirements, document scaffold, and next steps dated back from the deadline — tailored to your project idea if you add one.
Proposal shell · National Science Foundation conventions SEE AN NSF EXAMPLE →
Funder-faithful document skeletons — National Science Foundation's document set with section headings, page limits, reviewer guidance, and writing prompts; add a project idea to get [DRAFT] starter bullets. Download as .md for Word or Overleaf.