The University of San Francisco received a $399,576 Project Grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Directorate for Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (CFDA 47.084) effective October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2028. The ASPIRE-AI (Accelerating Sustainable Partnerships for Innovation, Research, and Entrepreneurship in AI) initiative is a collaborative research project designed to advance artificial intelligence (AI) applications and establish sustainable institutional structures for partnership development across non-R1 institutions. The project will deliver centralized partnership hubs, comprehensive faculty development programs, and interdisciplinary research initiatives that integrate AI across applied fields including agriculture, healthcare, climate adaptation, and advanced manufacturing.
The grant will produce actionable intellectual contributions including partnership management toolkits, faculty engagement playbooks, and technology transfer frameworks tailored to under-resourced institutions. Through cohort collaboration, ASPIRE-AI will generate a replicable model demonstrating how non-R1 institutions can leverage external partnerships to enhance regional capacity in emerging technologies and workforce development. The initiative addresses barriers such as limited infrastructure and fragmented institutional cultures by fostering a community of practice among participating institutions, thereby strengthening faculty engagement, advancing workforce preparedness, and enhancing regional economic growth through applied AI research and innovation.