Infrastructure Innovation for Biological Research

The Infrastructure Innovation for Biological Research Program, also known as the Innovation Program, is a grant offered by the Directorate for Biological Sciences at NSF. This program aims to encourage research to develop new or significantly improved research tools and methods that contribute to modern biology. The research fields that can be advanced by this program include Bioinformatics, Instrumentation, and Research Methods.

The focus of the Innovation Program is the development of a widely applicable research infrastructure that can enhance biological understanding. This enhanced understanding can be achieved by strengthening scientists' abilities to better manipulate, control, analyze, or measure crucial aspects of biological systems. This can be key in addressing significant fundamental research questions.

There are three ways in which proposals can advance or transform biology research. They can build novel infrastructure, redesign existing infrastructure significantly, or adapt existing infrastructure in new ways. These projects should contribute to answering one or more biological science questions and should be usable by more than just one research team.

For detailed guidance on what this solicitation supports, please refer to the descriptions of individual programmatic areas provided in the links below.