Tech Labs RFI - FINAL.pdf

Request for Information on the Tech Labs Initiative for the U.S. National Science Foundation’s Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships

The U.S. National Science Foundation seeks input from academia, nonprofits, philanthropy, state and local government, venture capital, the private sector and any other interested parties to inform the agency’s development of the NSF Tech Labs program.

Response to this Request for Information (RFI) is not required to submit a future proposal to the Tech Labs program.

I. Tech Labs Description

A. Summary

The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), through its Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (TIP), intends to launch the Tech Labs program: a bold, flexible, and outcomes-driven initiative designed to accelerate practical research with real-world applications. Tech Labs will support full-time research, development and innovation (RDI) teams focused on overcoming persistent barriers to the commercialization of emerging technologies. These teams will benefit from operational autonomy, milestone-based funding and the ability to engage across academia, industry, national laboratories, and nonprofit sectors.

B. Rationale

The Tech Labs initiative was developed in response to the urgent need for the United States to maintain global leadership in science and technology by transforming how research is translated into high-impact outcomes. It is designed to address systemic barriers in the innovation ecosystem, including the limited translation of emerging technology to impact and limited industry engagement in early-stage technology development. Tech Labs aims to fill this gap by providing the structure, resources, and flexibility necessary to develop early-stage platform technologies and use-inspired and translational RDI with the potential to unlock entirely new sectors of the economy.

Tech Labs will reduce the time and barriers between foundational research and real-world application by supporting teams that are ready to transform fields and move quickly from concept to sector-wide impact. Many of the most pressing challenges in technology translation require coordinated, interdisciplinary teams working with urgency and purpose.

These challenges often face market failures that deter private investment, despite their potential for transformative impact. This initiative will bet on teams – not individual projects

– by funding full-time, dedicated teams which may transcend existing institutional structures and limitations to provide technologists with the autonomy to pursue ambitious goals.

C. Strategic Objectives

The Tech Labs program is designed to achieve the following strategic objectives. Proposing Tech Labs teams need not satisfy all objectives, but strong Tech Labs proposals will address the majority.

• Build Sector-Defining Platforms: Develop novel platform technologies that can serve as the foundation for future innovation and economic growth across multiple sectors. Examples of existing high-impact platform technologies include Very Large- Scale Integration (VLSI), the Internet, Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), and Light- Emitting Diodes (LEDs).

• Generate Outcomes Beyond Papers: Foster the transformation of scientific breakthroughs beyond traditional outputs like publications and datasets.

Transformative outcomes may be demonstrated through the adoption of platforms or technologies by a variety of organizations, evidence of technology advancement across Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs), the emergence of a startup ecosystem around nascent innovations, investment interest, including from an NSF Tech Accelerator, or other tangible impacts within relevant application domains.

• De-risk Emerging Technologies: Provide the resources necessary to mature technologies that are not yet ready for private investment but have the potential to unlock new sectors or solve longstanding challenges. NSF TIP has identified a significant deficit of such support in the technology translation ecosystem, and the Tech Labs initiative presents a unique opportunity for impactful federal investment.

• Identify and Address Market Needs: Encourage meaningful partnerships with industry, philanthropy, and other stakeholders to ensure that solutions are aligned with market needs and positioned for adoption.

• Lead and Leverage Novel Types of Partnerships: Foster partnerships with external stakeholders, including industry, philanthropy, and nonprofits, to co-develop solutions to challenges that require vast or specialized resources. Tech Labs are encouraged to leverage complementary support from partners to enhance the scalability and widespread impact of their missions.

D. Program Design and Structure

The Tech Labs initiative will include a lightweight application process (90 days), a 9-month planning phase, and 24-month performance phases with the intention of renewing high-performing teams for an additional 24 months or more. For example:

• Team Selection (90 days): NSF issues a call for lightweight abstract proposals (5–8 pages) from teams addressing specific topics critical to U.S. innovation and industry. A subset of teams is invited to present oral pitches articulating their vision, technical approach, and potential for impact. Teams are permitted to submit proposals regardless of their current size and may plan to scale their personnel throughout Tech Labs phases.

• Phase 0 (9 months): NSF and potential funding partners support teams through a milestone-based Other Transaction (OT) contract to further develop their challenge concepts, recruit experts to their teams, refine milestones for Phase 1 and demonstrate early progress. This phase is intended to validate the feasibility and ambition of proposed solutions and evaluate the strength of the Tech Labs team.

Phase 0 milestones will include proposed technical innovation targets for Phase 1, an Intellectual Property (IP) Management Plan, a Research Security Management Plan, and a Phase 1 budget, among others.

• Phase 1 (24 months): Phase 1 Tech Labs teams are selected following a review of their Tech Lab near the end of Phase 0. Teams are evaluated on technical progress and potential impact on U.S. innovation and industry. Teams that advance to Phase 1 are expected to scale to approximately 10-50 members if they have not already reached this size.

• Phase 2 (24+ months): NSF intends to award high-performing teams continued support to scale their solutions, transition to industry, or spin off into complementary initiatives. Successful Tech Labs teams, or portions of them, could pursue market adoption of successful technologies and/or refocus on emerging technologies within their mission. NSF recognizes that sustained support of excellent teams is crucial to supporting a national innovation ecosystem and developing nascent market-ready solutions. Nevertheless, NSF also anticipates teams to transition away from NSF investment beyond Phase 2.

E. Team Structure

With the above structure, the Tech Labs program will offer sustained, multi-year support to innovative and institutionally independent organizational structures operating outside of existing academic, start-up, and industry constraints to fill a vital gap in the innovation ecosystem. Awards will support a dedicated, full-time team with substantial operational independence and the flexibility to adapt quickly to evolving technology landscapes. A strong team will include leaders and experts who demonstrate a clear vision to address their Tech Lab’s mission. A Tech Lab will have autonomy in hiring staff and is not expected to apply with a complete team. A team’s focus and personnel may necessarily evolve over time as milestones are achieved and strategic or operational needs change.

Before Phase 1, a Tech Labs team will be expected to operate as its own entity with an organizational structure that provides the appropriate autonomy and flexibility expected of the Tech Labs program. During Phase 0, it is anticipated that some teams will not yet have formed independent entities and some team members may still be operating from their home institutions.

Teams eligible for Tech Labs Phase 0 may include a broad range of organizational structures. These might include, but are not limited to: independent pre-formed teams;

teams from within academia or industry that are ready to scale a technology or vision beyond their existing institutional structure(s); teams currently part of an incubator program; recently formed leadership teams with a goal of scaling their team during Phase 0 and Phase 1; and focused research organizations with or without current external support.

Individuals and entities participating in Tech Labs must comply with the research security policies and practices of NSF (e.g., Important Notice No. 149 and Person or Entity of Concern Prohibition) including those in compliance with the "CHIPS and Science Act of 2022."

F. Funding Mechanism, Amounts, and Considerations

NSF intends to utilize its Other Transaction Authority to issue Other Transaction contracts (OT contracts), allowing for greater flexibility, operational autonomy, and reduced administrative burden. Contracts will be milestone-based, with clear metrics for technical progress, industry readiness and societal impact. Complementary support from industry or philanthropic partners is encouraged.

Funding for Tech Labs beyond Phase 0 is expected to range from $10 million to $50 million per team per year. Funding is expected to scale with the needs of each team. Funding will depend on the scope and ambition of the proposed work, and NSF anticipates flexibility to scale with shifting team sizes in different Tech Lab phases. Funding levels will be determined based on several key factors, including:

• Team Size and Composition: The expected number of full-time personnel and the breadth of expertise required to execute the proposed mission.

• Infrastructure and Materials: The extent to which the team requires specialized facilities, equipment, or materials to achieve its objectives.

• Strategic Growth Trajectory: Whether the team is already positioned to scale rapidly, potentially as a pre-formed entity, or whether a more deliberate, steady build-up is appropriate for the team’s mission.

https://www.nsf.gov/notices/important/important-notice-no-149-updates-nsf-research-security/in149 https://www.nsf.gov/research-security/person-or-entity-concern-prohibition https://www.nsf.gov/research-security/person-or-entity-concern-prohibition

Teams are encouraged to request funding that aligns with their organizational capacity and operational readiness. Proposals should demonstrate a clear rationale for the requested funding level, including how the team will manage and deploy resources effectively.

G. Tech Labs Topics, Missions, and Outcomes

• Topics: Under the Tech Labs program, NSF will release a series of topic areas in which the U.S. must retain or regain technical dominance. Possible topic areas include quantum technology, artificial intelligence, critical materials, semiconductor manufacturing, and biotechnology.

• Mission: Proposing teams should describe a clear challenge, gap, or bottleneck motivated by practical use considerations that they are uniquely suited to tackle.

Successful teams should have a clear vision of how their defined mission is technically challenging, economically significant, and advantageous, and currently unmet by existing funding mechanisms. A proposal should justify why the approach espoused by the Tech Labs program – including dedicated resources for a full-time team of experts – may be uniquely suited to fostering high-impact breakthroughs while addressing the challenge, gap, or bottleneck over several years.

• Outcomes: A Tech Lab is expected to deliver high-impact and quantifiable results aligned with its mission and scientific and technical vision. Such outcomes might include scaling technologies across TRLs, advancing broad platform technologies with implications across multiple economic sectors, or seeding new sectors of the U.S. economy. Proposals should describe the team’s intended outcomes and a brief outline of the team’s approach to attain them. Milestones defined in the OTs will be designed to align with the proposed quantifiable outcomes.

H. Tech Labs Selection Criteria

Phase 0 Selection Criteria

Eligible proposing Tech Labs teams will be evaluated in accordance with the selection criteria listed below. All criteria will be given full consideration during review and must be addressed.

1. Team Qualifications and Structure

a. The extent to which the team has the technical, leadership and creative expertise needed to execute their mission.

b. The extent to which the proposed legal and organizational structure is appropriate for the proposed work and mission; the extent to which the team structure reflects the autonomy and flexibility expected of Tech Labs teams.

2. Mission Clarity and Outcomes

a. The extent to which the proposed mission addresses a challenge, gap, or bottleneck within one of the specified technical topics; the extent to which the technology landscape justifies a dedicated, full-time team to achieve high-impact breakthroughs in the mission area.

b. The extent to which the mission is aligned with the strategic objectives of the Tech Labs program.

c. The extent to which the proposed activities and outcomes are well-defined and appropriately ambitious, and there exists a clear rationale for how activities will achieve the mission outcomes.

Phase 1 and 2 Selection Criteria

Only teams awarded a Phase 0 Tech Labs award will be eligible for a Phase 1 award, and only teams awarded a Phase 1 Tech Labs award will be eligible for a Phase 2 award, with few to no exceptions. It is anticipated that some teams will change institutional categorization and/or legal entities between Phase 0 and Phase 1 as a progression of the Tech Labs program.

Following a review of each Tech Labs award, NSF will select a smaller or equal number of highly qualified Tech Labs teams to be awarded Phase 1 or Phase 2 funding. Review criteria will include:

1. Team Qualifications and Structure

a. The extent to which the team demonstrates the technical, leadership and creative expertise needed to execute their mission. Are previously identified gaps in the team being filled?

b. The extent to which the proposed legal and organizational structure is appropriate for the proposed work and mission; the extent to which the team reflects the autonomy and flexibility expected of Tech Labs teams.

c. The extent to which the proposed funding amount aligns with the team’s scope, ambition, size, infrastructure and material needs, and growth trajectory.

2. Mission Clarity and Outcomes

a. The extent to which the mission is aligned with the strategic objectives of the Tech Labs program.

b. The extent to which the technology landscape justifies the need for a dedicated, full-time team to achieve high-impact breakthroughs in the mission area.

c. The extent to which the proposed milestones are well-defined and appropriately ambitious, and there exists a clear rationale for how activities will advance the mission outcomes; the extent to which any proposed updates to previous milestones are justifiable and indicate adaptation based on lessons learned.

d. The extent to which the team has demonstrated meaningful progress during the prior award period.

e. The extent to which the proposed funding amount aligns with the team’s scope, ambition, size, infrastructure and material needs, and growth trajectory.

II. Questions

1. Briefly describe your organization, capabilities, services offered, ownership model, and size.

2. What, if any, substantive comparative advantage (as compared to standard grants and other existing NSF programs) could the NSF Tech Labs program model provide in efforts to accelerate and advance U.S. competitiveness – either across various key technologies or within a specific technology focus area?

3. Could your team become an NSF Tech Lab? (Y/N)

a. If yes:

i. What is your vision for substantially advancing the state of practice in your chosen topic of focus, and why is the Tech Labs funding mechanism a superior approach to pursuing that vision?

ii. Describe your team’s experience, including technology translation from early-stage academic research to industry/use.

iii. Describe the ideal management and structure of your potential Tech Lab.

iv. Has your team engaged with nonprofit and philanthropic organizations? (Y/N) If yes, to what end or for what purpose?

v. Has your team engaged with industry organizations, including venture capital firms, venture studios, incubators, accelerators, startups, mid-size and large organizations? (Y/N) If yes, to what end or for what purpose?

b. If no:

i. What existing technology (translation) team(s) exist(s) that could become an NSF Tech Lab?

ii. Describe the ideal scope, experience, management, and structure of a Tech Lab team.

4. What program design choices would contribute to the success of the Tech Labs mechanism? What program design choices would present potential barriers?

a. Which types of teams and organizations should be considered eligible to apply for the NSF Tech Labs program? What restrictions on team eligibility should be in place to maximize speed and ensure novel impact?

b. Is the proposed timeline for Phase 0 (9 months), Phase 1 (24 months), and Phase 2 (24+ months) well-calibrated to support the program’s strategic objective of achieving high impact, accelerated outcomes? If not, what adjustments should be made and why?

c. How should IP rights be structured to support maximum success and impact?

d. What degree of independence is optimal to ensure the flexibility, freedom, and speed required for the Tech Labs initiative? How should NSF define team independence?

e. How should funding be allotted to each proposed Tech Labs? What factors – for example: team size, team expertise, infrastructure needs, growth trajectory – should NSF consider to determine appropriate funding amounts to support successful Tech Labs teams?

5. What opportunities do you see for synergy with research and development efforts that are or could be funded by industry or philanthropic organizations? What partnership structure would allow Tech Labs to leverage federal and private support for maximum benefit?

6. What translational problems, challenges and/or bottlenecks could be addressed within 3-7 years with this program design? Answers can be broad or specific.

III. Feedback

If you have feedback, questions, areas of concern, suggestions on aspects of the NSF Tech Labs, and/or other information you want to have considered as a part of this RFI, this is an opportunity to provide focused commentary.

IV. Instructions for Respondents

Please submit all responses to this RFI to TechLabs@nsf.gov with the subject line “NSF Tech Labs RFI Response” by January 20, 2026 at 3:00 PM EST.

Any information received becomes the property of the Government and will not be returned to the submitter. NSF may share responses with other parts of the Government or unattributable portions of responses outside of the Government as helpful in finalizing the design or implementation of the program.

V. NSF TIP Tech Labs RFI Webinars

December 17, 2025, 11 AM-12 PM EST

Register here: https://nsf.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_1l92UxZ1TbCunBaSwVzhwg

January 14, 2026, 2-3 PM EST

Register here: https://nsf.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_rjzKZULsRzaKB8g4F1tzBQ mailto:TechLabs@nsf.gov https://nsf.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_1l92UxZ1TbCunBaSwVzhwg https://nsf.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_rjzKZULsRzaKB8g4F1tzBQ