U.S. National Science Foundation · United States

National Science Foundation Translation to Practice (NSF TTP)

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U.S. National Science Foundation expects to make awards of $600,000 – $2 million each, from a total budget of $30 million. Applications close on 17 Nov 2026. Eligible applicant types include others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification).

Deadline: 17 Nov 2026 (in 2 days)
Grant amount: $600,000 – $2 million per project
Total budget: $30 million
Funding rate: No mandatory cost sharing stated; funding percentage not stated
Total budget: $30 million
Cost sharing: Not required
Funder: U.S. National Science Foundation
Reference: 25-540
Assistance listing: 47.041 Engineering; 47.049 Mathematical and Physical Sciences; 47.050 Geosciences; 47.070 Computer and Information Science and Engineering; 47.074 Biological Sciences; 47.075 Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences; 47.076 STEM Education (formerly Education and Human Resources); 47.078 Polar Programs; 47.079 Office of International Science and Engineering; 47.083 Integrative Activities; 47.084 NSF Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships
Last checked: 13 Nov 2026

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About this call

The U.S. NSF Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (NSF TIP) partners across sectors to advance three primary focus areas – accelerating technology translation and development, fostering regional innovation and economic growth, and preparing the American workforce for future high-wage jobs in STEM fields.

The translation of research to practice ensures that the insights and innovations developed through scientific study and experimentation have tangible, positive impacts for the Nation. These impacts include improving the quality of life, promoting economic and job growth, ensuring national security, and maintaining global competitiveness. Indeed, scientific and engineering breakthroughs have the potential to address critical societal challenges in industries such as aerospace, agriculture, communications, education, energy, healthcare, national security, and transportation – but the translation of discoveries and innovations from the laboratory to society often takes many forms including non-linear pathways.

Read the full text

The NSF TTP program was developed with several goals in mind:

• To identify and support use-inspired research and translational activities enabling a continuum from foundational research to practice;

• To develop partnerships and collaborations between institutions of higher education and other entities (e.g., industry, state/local/national government agencies, philanthropies, open-source ecosystems, for-benefit, for-profit and non-profit organizations, international organizations, etc.);

• To promote and advance the education and training of students and postdoctoral researchers, encouraging the participation of all Americans in STEM including innovation and entrepreneurship; and

• To identify future customer needs and opportunities and bring these to the forefront in the conduct of use-inspired research and translational activities.

The NSF TTP program offers three tracks that represent different starting points or stages in moving discoveries and innovations from the laboratory to practice:

• NSF TTP-Explore (NSF TTP-E) is a pilot track that is likely to be the first step for researchers seeking to translate their basic research to practice. To be eligible for the NSF TTP-E track, proposers must have an active, eligible, NSF research award (see Eligibility Information for further details). TTP-E is designed to encourage current, eligible NSF awardees to intentionally pursue applications of their research with the potential for societal impact. The NSF TTP-E track provides the opportunity to obtain an extension of the initial award period of a current NSF award for up to two years in order to offer investigators an opportunity to explore adventurous, high-risk, use-inspired research and initial translational activities as the starting point for translation that was not covered by the original research award.

• NSF TTP-Translate (NSF TTP-T) starts with use-inspired research and initial translational activities and further matures the idea(s), iterates and improves the solution(s), and lowers the barrier(s) to effective translation of research from lab to practice.

• NSF TTP-Partner (NSF TTP-P) supports translational efforts that demand one or more partnerships for technology development and deployment. Here, strategic partnerships with stakeholders beyond U.S. institutions of higher education are essential ingredients for success and may include industry partners, government entities at all levels, philanthropies, international organizations, or other groups associated with large scale productization and distribution. The NSF TTP-P track requires an NSF-Catalyzed Partnership with an organization that will assist in the translation to practice. In addition to the Principal Investigator (PI), NSF TTP-P proposals must include a co-PI or Senior/Key Personnel who is a member or employee of the NSF-Catalyzed Partner. Partnerships with U.S. institutions of higher education are valued, but NSF TTP strongly…

Who can apply

Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification)

*Who May Serve as PI:

By the submission deadline, a PI must hold either:A tenured or tenure-track position, orA primary, full-time, paid appointment in a research or teaching position (with exceptions granted for family or medical leave), as determined by the submitting institution.The NSF TTP-E track requires the proposers to have an active, eligible, NSF research award. NSF TTP-E proposers should have at least one year remaining on their NSF award and should have submitted (and had approved) 1-2 annual reports to date. As part of this track, EAGER, RAPID, or RAISE awards are not eligible to receive NSF TTP-E funds. TTP-E proposers MUST provide a 3- to 5-page description of future translational activities to their cognizant NSF Program Officer (PO) via email and gain their approval via email, before submission of an NSF TTP-E proposal.For the NSF TTP-P track, in addition to the PI, proposals must include a co-PI or Senior/Key Personnel who is a member or employee of an NSF-Catalyzed Partner. Partnerships with U.S. institutions of higher education are valued, but NSF TTP strongly prioritizes NSF-Catalyzed Partnerships that are able to help bring the product, process, or service to the market, potentially through licensing agreements, startup or small business formation, incorporation into an existing open-source ecosystem, development into standards setting arrangements, etc.

Applicant categories are a starting point. The official call decides eligibility.

Topics

Science and Technology and other Research and Development

Timing

NSF TTP-T and TTP-P Tracks

How to apply

Apply through the funder’s official page (link below); it states the procedure, documents and deadline.

From the call text

Who can apply: Not stated in the call text we hold — check the official page
Company stage: Partnerships with U.S. institutions of higher education are valued, but NSF TTP strongly prioritizes NSF-Catalyzed Partnerships that are able to help bring the product, process, or service to the market, potentially through licensing agreements, startup or small business formation, incorporation into an existing open-source ecosystem, development into standards setting arrangements, etc.
Single applicant or consortium: Not stated in the call text we hold — check the official page
Where applicants must be based: Not stated in the call text we hold — check the official page
Where to apply: Not stated in the call text we hold — check the official page

Contact

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

Where these facts come from

Fact	Value	How we know	Taken from the source
Deadline	17 November 2026	official data field	15 Nov 2026
Amount per applicant	$600,000 – $2 million	official data field	15 Nov 2026
Total budget	$30 million	official data field	15 Nov 2026
Funding rate	No mandatory cost sharing stated; funding percentage not stated	read from the official text	15 Nov 2026
Who can apply	Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification)	official data field	15 Nov 2026
Where to apply	Unknown — not stated in the source we hold	unknown	—

Official sources

Official call page · Funder's programme page

Facts on this page come from the funder’s official data, taken on 13 Nov 2026. The funder's own documents, including later amendments, always take precedence.