Engineering Research Initiation (ERI)
Apply on Grants.gov →Application closes September 16, 2027
- Posted
- July 17, 2026
- Closes
- September 16, 2027
- Award floor
- $200,000
- Program funding
- $11,000,000
- Cost sharing
- No
- Instrument
- Grant
- Assistance listing
- 47.041
- Archives
- October 16, 2027
Program funding history
Awards made under Assistance Listing 47.041 across FY2024–FY2026, from public federal spending records.
- FY2024 obligated
- $757M
- FY2025 obligated
- $744.2M
- FY2026 (to date) obligated
- $464.8M
- Awards in window
- 6,880
Top recipients: Georgia Tech Research Corp, Regents of the University of Michigan, North Carolina State University, Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania, the, Purdue University
Source: USAspending.gov · refreshed September 2026 · Program page: awards, recipients and the opportunities under this listing →
Synopsis
The NSF Directorate for Engineering (ENG) seeks to build engineering research capacity across the nation by investing in new academic investigators who have yet to receive sufficient research funding from Federal Agencies. The Engineering Research Initiation (ERI) program will support new investigators as they initiate their research programs and advance in their careers as researchers, educators, and innovators. This funding opportunity aims to broaden the base of investigators involved in engineering research and therefore is limited to investigators that are not affiliated with “very high research activity” R1 institutions (according to the Carnegie Classification https://carnegieclassifications.iu.edu/).
Who can apply
- Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification)
*Who May Serve as PI: The PI of an ERI proposal must hold a doctoral degree in a field supported by NSF and must hold an appointment at an ERI-eligible institution. Postdoctoral fellow researchers are not eligible to serve as PI on an ERI proposal. At the time of the proposal submission deadline, the PI may not have been a PI or Co-PI on any current or prior awarded NSF research grant (including subaward) or have had research support from any other Federal Agency (within the United States or abroad) totaling $200,000 or more within the past five (5) calendar years from the proposal submission deadline date, with the following exceptions: Grants not directly for research purposes such as workshops, conferences, travel, instrumentation and equipment (e.g., Major Research Instrumentation; MRI), Research Experiences for Undergraduate Students (REU) and Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) Sites, etc.; Awards that exclusively support pre-tenure-track activities (postdoctoral fellowships and Graduate Research Fellowships/GRFP); I-Corps, Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR), or Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) awards; and Awards that originated as NSF or other Federal funds but were distributed locally without naming the submitting ERI PI in the Federal funding proposal (such as: NASA Space Grant Project or other non-NSF federally-funded opportunities, NSF EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Improvement Program.). The Department Chair's/Dean's letter must explicitly verify each of the PI eligibility criteria. See Section V.A. for additional information.
How to apply
Applications go through the official government listing. Grants Radar links you straight to the source — applying is free.
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