Division of Biological Infrastructure

The National Science Foundation Division of Biological Infrastructure is a civilian sub-agency within NSF that funds research infrastructure, training, and technology development in the biological sciences through grants and contracts. The Division allocates federal funds to universities, research institutions, and specialized service providers to support the research enterprise across biology-focused disciplines.

The Division operates a modest contract portfolio alongside a large grant-making program. On the contract side, the Division has issued 105 total awards since 2006, with $10.1 million in combined potential value and $9.8 million obligated. Recent contract volume has grown modestly: 3 awards in 2020, 4 in 2021, 8 in 2022, 6 in 2023, and 9 in 2024. The most recent recorded award is dated 2024-09-06. Contract competitive concentration is moderately concentrated: the top five primes by award count hold 52% of recent awards, led by Knowinnovation Inc. with 5 awards totaling $1.6 million in potential value. By potential value, the top five cover 31%, with Knowinnovation Inc. again leading, followed by the National Academy of Sciences at $990 thousand. The remaining 49 prime contractors hold single or occasional awards. Set-aside usage is light: 56% of awards carry no set-aside designation, 25% are 8(a) Sole Source, and the remainder are small-business or specialized set-asides (woman-owned, HUBZone, reserved small business) distributed across just 4% of total awards combined.

Grant activity dominates the Division's portfolio. The Division has obligated $1.56 billion in federal dollars across 1,682 grants since 2001, with total combined (federal and non-federal) dollars obligated reaching $1.59 billion. Recent grant volume has remained steady: 180 awards in 2023, 121 in 2024, 133 in 2025, and 130 in 2026, with 2 awards so far in 2027. Grant recipient concentration is highly fragmented: the top five recipients by award count hold only 5% of recent awards, and the top five by federal dollars hold 7%. Arizona State University leads by federal dollars with $68.5 million across 4 awards; Michigan State University and the University of Florida each hold 8 awards, with $14.9 million and $9.7 million federal dollars respectively. The Division has engaged 386 distinct grant recipients. The portfolio is predominantly Project Grants (98%) with a small Cooperative Agreement component (2%).

No recent contract or grant opportunities are recorded in the current digest.