TechAccess: AI-Ready America

The TechAccess: AI-Ready America program is a federal funding opportunity administered by the National Science Foundation to support a coordinated national effort to advance artificial intelligence readiness across the United States. The program is designed to strengthen the country’s ability to adopt, deploy, and benefit from AI technologies by aligning state, local, and national efforts. It is implemented in collaboration with multiple federal partners, including the Department of Labor, the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, and the Small Business Administration, reflecting a whole-of-government approach to workforce development, economic growth, and innovation. The primary purpose of this funding opportunity is to establish State and Territory Coordination Hubs that will serve as central organizing entities within each state or territory. These hubs are intended to connect stakeholders across education, workforce systems, industry, and government to accelerate AI readiness and deployment. The program emphasizes expanding access to AI tools, training, and infrastructure, while also supporting practical implementation through workforce upskilling, hands-on learning, and partnerships that enable real-world application of AI technologies. Funding under this opportunity supports a wide range of coordination and capacity-building activities rather than direct service delivery. Allowable uses include developing statewide AI readiness strategies, maintaining resource inventories, facilitating stakeholder convenings, supporting AI adoption through advisory and technical assistance, and coordinating workforce development initiatives. The program explicitly prohibits voluntary committed cost sharing, and there are no indirect cost limitations specified. Coordination Hubs are expected to leverage existing resources and partnerships and may mobilize additional funding or in-kind support to expand impact. Eligibility is limited to organizations that meet the National Science Foundation’s standard eligibility criteria as outlined in its Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide. Individuals are not eligible to apply. Each institution may submit only one proposal for a Coordination Hub, and successful applicants must demonstrate statewide convening power, operational capacity, and the ability to manage complex, multi-sector partnerships. Proposals must include collaboration from multiple partners, supported by required letters of collaboration, and demonstrate alignment with statewide AI priorities. The application process requires submission of a mandatory Letter of Intent followed by a full proposal. Letters of Intent must include specific organizational and project information and are used by the agency to plan the review process. Full proposals must adhere to strict formatting and content requirements, including a structured project description with defined sections such as vision, organizational capacity, current state analysis, work plan, and resource mobilization strategy. Proposals are evaluated using NSF’s standard merit review criteria of intellectual merit and broader impacts, along with additional program-specific criteria focused on coordination, scalability, and impact. The timeline for this opportunity includes multiple rounds of funding. For the first round, Letters of Intent are due June 16, 2026, and full proposals are due July 16, 2026. Additional rounds follow in December 2026 and June 2027 for Letters of Intent, with corresponding proposal deadlines in January and July 2027. Each Coordination Hub award provides up to one million dollars per year for three years, with a possible fourth year of support. Awards are expected to begin after the review and selection process, and recipients must comply with standard NSF reporting requirements, including annual and final reports. This program is part of a broader national initiative that also includes a National Coordination Lead and future Catalyst Award competitions, which will be announced separately. The Coordination Hubs are expected to collaborate closely with the National Lead once established, contributing to national strategies, sharing best practices, and participating in coordinated efforts across priority economic sectors. The program is anticipated to recur across multiple rounds within the current solicitation, but future solicitations beyond this cycle are not explicitly guaranteed.

Align proposal with statewide AI coordination goals; demonstrate strong partnerships and convening power; provide measurable outcomes and realistic implementation plan; emphasize scalability and resource leveraging