EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Improvement Program: EPSCoR Collaborations for Optimizing Research Ecosystems | 25 523

Opportunity Information: Apply for 25 523

The NSF EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Improvement Program solicitation called EPSCoR Collaborations for Optimizing Research Ecosystems (E-CORE) is a capacity-building grant opportunity designed to strengthen the long-term research competitiveness of EPSCoR-eligible U.S. jurisdictions, including certain states, territories, and commonwealths. Instead of funding a single research project in isolation, E-CORE is aimed at improving the broader conditions that make strong research possible: the people, organizations, systems, partnerships, and shared resources that together form a jurisdiction's "research ecosystem." In NSF's framing, that ecosystem includes not just universities and laboratories, but also trainees, administrators, community stakeholders, industry, government partners, and the infrastructure and pathways that connect discovery to real-world benefit.

A central idea in E-CORE is the creation or strengthening of targeted capacity areas called "cores." These cores are the foundational components a jurisdiction needs in order to do high-quality research consistently and competitively over time. E-CORE supports jurisdictions in identifying their own needs using evidence (for example, gaps in research administration support, limited access to modern facilities, weak talent pipelines, or insufficient cross-sector partnerships) and then building cores that directly address those needs. The solicitation lists a wide range of possible cores, such as research administration capacity; research facilities and physical infrastructure; cyberinfrastructure; STEM education pathways (including K-12); higher education pathways; early-career investigator pathways; broadening participation; workforce development; national and global partnerships; community engagement and outreach; technology transfer; economic development; and pathways that link use-inspired research to practical outcomes. The list is intentionally broad, signaling that E-CORE is meant to be adaptable to what a particular jurisdiction genuinely needs to improve its research environment.

A major expectation is sustainability. E-CORE projects are not meant to create temporary programs that fade when the grant ends. Proposals are expected to show how the supported cores will remain viable beyond the award period, whether through institutional commitments, shared-service models, policy changes, durable partnerships, diversified funding strategies, or other mechanisms that keep the infrastructure and capabilities functioning long term. Alongside sustaining cores, projects are also expected to strengthen connections across the jurisdiction by building new collaborations and leveraging existing ones so that research and innovation efforts become more coordinated, more inclusive, and more impactful across the entire ecosystem rather than concentrated in one place.

Eligibility to submit is limited to organizations located in EPSCoR-eligible jurisdictions under NSF's EPSCoR criteria. The lead applicant can be an accredited U.S. institution of higher education (including both PhD- and non-PhD-granting institutions) that operates a campus in the United States or its territories/possessions. Distinct campuses within a multi-campus system can qualify as separate submission-eligible institutions if they award their own degrees and have independent administrative structures and related functions. Non-profit, non-degree-granting U.S. organizations can also apply, including entities such as museums and science centers, observatories, research labs, and professional societies, as long as they have an independent, permanent U.S.-based administrative structure (like an office of sponsored research) and 501(c)(3) status. Jurisdictional or state governments (or their agencies/commissions) may apply when they are coordinating multi-organization efforts within the jurisdiction. Tribal Governments are also eligible, including federally recognized tribes and Indigenous communities not recognized under the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act, as described in the opportunity.

The competition is structured to encourage genuinely collaborative, jurisdiction-wide approaches. E-CORE submissions are expected to be multi-organizational, with a lead organization and additional partners, and those partners can be academic or non-academic. The collaboration should clearly reflect the goal of building or developing cores and creating an interconnected network that links research activities to the people and organizations that make up the jurisdiction's research ecosystem. NSF also explicitly encourages participation by Emerging Research Institutions as leads and/or partners, using the federal definition that generally captures institutions with established undergraduate or graduate programs and less than $50 million in federal research expenditures in the most recently available data year.

There are also important restrictions related to overlapping leadership. An organization generally cannot submit an E-CORE proposal as the lead if it already serves as the lead on an active E-CORE or EPSCoR RII Track-1 award, unless that existing award is in its final year or in a no-cost extension and will not be renewed. However, individuals from such organizations may still participate on an E-CORE proposal led by another organization in roles other than PI or co-PI, as long as their proposed work is not duplicative of ongoing, EPSCoR-funded activities.

From the funding notice details provided, this is a discretionary NSF grant in the science and technology/research and development category (CFDA 47.083). The funding opportunity number is 25-523, and the listed original closing date is July 15, 2025. The overall message of the opportunity is that NSF EPSCoR is looking for coordinated, evidence-driven, cross-sector plans that materially improve a jurisdiction's ability to conduct, manage, sustain, and translate research, with lasting infrastructure and network effects that endure beyond the award itself.

• The National Science Foundation in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Improvement Program: EPSCoR Collaborations for Optimizing Research Ecosystems" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 47.083.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-12-14.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-07-15. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for 25 523

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