NSF Boosting Research Ideas for Transformative and Equitable Advances in Engineering | 25 512

Opportunity Information: Apply for 25 512

NSF Boosting Research Ideas for Transformative and Equitable Advances in Engineering (BRITE) is a National Science Foundation grant opportunity housed in the Division of Civil, Mechanical and Manufacturing Innovation (CMMI). The program is designed around NSF-wide priorities to expand knowledge while strengthening a diverse and inclusive science and engineering workforce, and it explicitly encourages intellectual risk taking that is often difficult to justify in standard, core-program proposals. At its core, BRITE is meant to create space for experienced, tenured researchers to either make a serious research pivot into an area where they do not yet have an established track record, or to rebuild momentum after a gap in research activity, with the expectation that fresh directions, new skills, and cross-disciplinary immersion will lead to new fundamental discoveries and longer-term innovation.

BRITE supports fundamental research that creates new knowledge in one or more CMMI program areas. Proposals need to be clearly within CMMI scope; submissions that fall outside those bounds will be returned without review. The solicitation emphasizes that the work should not be a minor extension of an existing line of research. Instead, it should reflect a deliberate shift: learning unfamiliar tools or methodologies, entering a new domain, or otherwise pursuing a path that is higher-risk and potentially higher-reward than what is typically competitive in standard programs. Each proposal is expected to identify key research outcomes and lay out a credible plan for the requested funding period, showing how the PI will use the award to create a foundation for new directions and lasting impact.

There are two tracks. The BRITE Pivot track targets researchers who are currently active and want to move quickly into a new research area where they do not have a proven track record, or who want to bring in techniques, perspectives, or methods from another discipline to open up new research directions in their home area. The BRITE Relaunch track targets experienced researchers who have had a hiatus in research activity and need support to reestablish sustained productivity and broader impacts, anchored by a research idea with strong potential to advance knowledge. In both tracks, NSF strongly encourages prospective PIs to contact the relevant Program Officer before submission to confirm that the idea is responsive to the solicitation.

The program has strict rules about who leads the work and how teams are structured. The PI must be tenured (Associate or Full Professor, or equivalent) at an eligible U.S. organization. Co-PIs are not allowed, and separately submitted collaborative proposals are not permitted and will be returned without review. However, the PI may include a collaborator as senior personnel, as long as that role is limited and consistent with the program intent that the primary investment is in the PI and their transition or relaunch. In addition, an investigator can hold only one active BRITE award at a time.

Eligible submitting organizations include U.S.-based institutions of higher education (two- or four-year, including community colleges, accredited and with a U.S. campus) and certain U.S. non-profit, non-academic organizations such as independent museums, observatories, research labs, and professional societies that are directly tied to education or research activities. If a proposal includes funding for an international branch campus of a U.S. IHE (including via subawards or consultants), the submission must explain why the international location benefits the project and why the work cannot be performed at the U.S. campus.

Funding is expected to be in the range of $100,000 to $200,000 per year for a standard three-year duration. The award period cannot exceed 36 months, and total funding cannot exceed $600,000. All funded projects will be organized into an NSF BRITE cohort, and investigators must attend an annual PI meeting and may be invited to additional cohort activities, reinforcing the program goal of shared learning and community building among awardees pursuing nontraditional research moves.

The proposal format includes a specific requirement for the Project Description: within the 15-page limit, applicants must include five clearly labeled sections titled Past Contributions, Research Approach and Research Plan, Track Relevance, Outcomes, and Broadening Participation Plan. This structure signals what NSF wants to see: evidence of the PI's prior impact, a realistic plan for executing the new direction, a direct explanation of why the chosen track fits, concrete expected outcomes, and a thoughtful plan to broaden participation in engineering research. The opportunity is listed as NSF Funding Opportunity Number 25-512, and the original closing date is 2025-03-03.

• The National Science Foundation in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "NSF Boosting Research Ideas for Transformative and Equitable Advances in Engineering" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 47.041.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-11-26.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-03-03. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for 25 512

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