In 2016, the National Science Foundation (NSF) unveiled a set of "Big Ideas," 10 bold, long-term research and process ideas that identify areas for future investment at the frontiers of science and engineering. The Big Ideas represent unique opportunities to position our Nation at the cutting edge of global science and engineering leadership by bringing together diverse disciplinary perspectives to support convergence research.
The Mid-scale Research Infrastructure Big Idea is intended to provide NSF with an agile, Foundation-wide process to fund experimental research capabilities in the mid-scale range between the MRI and Major Research Equipment and Facilities Construction (MREFC) thresholds.
The NSF Mid-scale Research Infrastructure-2 Program (Mid-scale RI-2) supports implementation of projects that comprise any combination of equipment, instrumentation, computational hardware and software, and the necessary commissioning and human capital in support of implementation of the same. The total cost for Mid-scale RI-2 projects ranges from $20 million to below the minimum award funded by the Major Research Equipment and Facilities Construction (MREFC) Program, currently $70 million. Mid-scale RI-2 projects will directly enable advances in any of the research domains supported by NSF, including STEM education. Projects may also include upgrades to existing research infrastructure.
The Mid-scale RI-2 Program emphasizes strong scientific merit and response to an identified need of the research community, technical and managerial readiness for implementation, and a well-developed plan for student training and involvement of a diverse workforce in mid-scale facility development, and/or associated data management.
For more details, please refer to the program solicitation.
DEADLINE
- Preliminary Proposals: March 11, 2019 (due by 5 p.m. submitter's local time)
- Full Proposals: August 2, 2019 (due by 5 p.m. submitter's local time)
