Grants for Small businesses - Science and Technology

Grant Title: Request for Information (RFI) - Three-Dimensional Characterization of the Subsurface by Advanced Modeling and Sensing Techniques: This grant seeks innovative ideas and technologies to improve the exploration and 3-D mapping of critical mineral deposits in the subsurface, aiming to enhance the accuracy and efficiency of mineral exploration in order to reduce U.S. reliance on foreign sources.

This funding opportunity supports partnerships between Minnesota educational institutions and MedTech businesses to develop training programs focused on AI and advanced technologies, enhancing workforce skills and job opportunities in the sector.

The Roddenberry Prize is a $1 million grant awarded to early-stage scientific or technology ventures using AI and machine learning to contribute to a more equitable and prosperous world, with a focus on solutions that align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

This funding opportunity provides financial support for a wide range of organizations to conduct innovative research and development in forensic science, enhancing tools and methods used in criminal justice.

This funding opportunity supports innovative, time-sensitive research projects that enhance ongoing clinical studies related to arthritis, musculoskeletal, and skin diseases by leveraging existing patient data and samples.

This funding opportunity provides financial assistance to independent cultural venues in Sacramento, such as music venues, art galleries, and bookstores, to help them recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This grant provides funding to Maine-based agricultural producers, processors, and organizations to enhance the capacity and resilience of the food supply chain through the purchase of essential equipment.

This funding opportunity provides financial support to selected lending partners in Arizona to help expand and improve child care services through microbusiness development and training for small-scale providers.

This grant provides financial support to agricultural businesses in Cecil County, Maryland, to help them expand, diversify, and improve their operations while promoting sustainability and community collaboration.

The James City County Stormwater and Resource Protection has initiated the Clean Water Heritage Grant program, aiming to promote the proper maintenance of privately owned neighborhood drainage systems and private stormwater management facilities, also known as Best Management Practices (BMPs). This program is designed to support the safety and general welfare of all County residents by ensuring these systems are well-maintained. The grant is open to a range of applicants, including Non-HOA Neighborhoods, HOAs with Public Roads, and HOAs with Private Roads within James City County, Virginia. The core mission of the Clean Water Heritage Grant aligns with safeguarding both citizens and property from the negative impacts of runoff. By focusing on drainage systems that move runoff safely through residential areas and stormwater management facilities that reduce runoff quantity and improve water quality, the program directly addresses critical environmental and public safety concerns. The target beneficiaries are residents and property owners within James City County, with the overarching impact goal of fostering a healthier and safer community through improved water management and infrastructure maintenance. The program prioritizes addressing non-routine maintenance and repairs for both drainage systems and BMPs. It offers several types of grants: Inspection Grants, which support inventorying, mapping, and inspecting existing drainage structures for operational condition; Repair & Maintenance Grants for general drainage system upkeep; and BMP Repair & Maintenance Grants specifically for stormwater management facilities. This structured approach ensures that both preventive and corrective measures are supported, allowing for comprehensive care of these vital systems. Expected outcomes include a more resilient local infrastructure capable of effectively managing stormwater, leading to reduced flooding and improved water quality across the county. Measurable results will be seen through the number of inspected and repaired drainage systems and BMPs, the documented improvements in their operating conditions, and the extent to which these efforts contribute to overall community safety and environmental health. The funding structure, with varying award limits and cost-sharing percentages (e.g., up to $6,000 for inspections with a 75%-25% JCC-Owner split, and up to $50,000 for maintenance and repairs with a 50%-50% split), further encourages shared responsibility and investment in these critical infrastructure improvements.

This funding opportunity is designed to empower emerging leaders in the space sector across the Middle East and North Africa by providing training and resources to enhance collaboration with the United States in space policy and commerce.

This fellowship program supports entrepreneurs in the DC, Maryland, and Virginia area who are developing innovative solutions for climate change mitigation, adaptation, and resilience.

The Rural STEM Network Grant VI, administered by the Nevada Governor’s Office of Science, Innovation, and Technology (OSIT), aims to support innovative initiatives that help develop a diverse workforce in Rural Nevada with the skills and education needed by STEM industries. Projects should address increased participation in high-quality STEM programs from underserved groups, raise awareness about STEM opportunities, and ensure high-quality STEM education with engaged business partners across all counties, cities, and districts. Funding is available up to $50,000, with applications due by June 28, 2024. Eligible projects include pilot programs, scaling up existing programs, or extending successful initiatives from other regions.

The NSF Engineering (ENG) Directorate has launched a multi-year initiative, theProfessional Formation of Engineers, to create and support an innovative and inclusive engineering profession for the 21stcentury. Professional Formation of Engineers (PFE) refers to the formal and informal processes and value systems by which people become engineers. It also includes the ethical responsibility of practicing engineers to sustain and grow the profession in order to improve quality of life for all peoples. The engineering profession must be responsive to national priorities, grand challenges, and dynamic workforce needs; it must be equally open and accessible to all. Professional Formation of Engineers includes, but is not limited, to: Introductions to the profession at any age; Development of deep technical and professional skills, knowledge, and abilities in both formal and informal settings/domains; Development of outlooks, perspectives, ways of thinking, knowing, and doing; Development of identity as an engineer and its intersection with other identities; and Acculturation to the profession, its standards, and norms. The goal of the Research in the Formation of Engineers (RFE) program is to advance our understanding of professional formation. It seeks both to deepen our fundamental understanding of the underlying processes and mechanisms that support professional formation and to demonstrate how professional formation is or can be accomplished. Ultimately RFE aims to transform the engineer-formation system, and thus the impact of proposed projects on this system must be described. Principal Investigators (PIs) should provide a roadmap detailing how they envision the proposed research will eventually broadly impact practice within the engineer-formation system, even if these activities are not within the scope of the submitted proposal. In order to accomplish its goals, RFE welcomes proposals in two categories: Research Projects, and Design and Development Projects. Research Projects address fundamental questions of professional formation, while Design and Development Projects provide new approaches to achieving professional formation. Additional details are provided below. Projects in both categories should address the iterative cycle in which research questions that advance understanding are informed by practice and the results of research are, in turn, translated into practice. In other words, proposals should explain how the research results will travel, translate, transfer, or scale. Successful projects identify specific target audiences, effective communication channels, and novel partnerships to ensure effective propagation and scaling. Proposal titles should begin with either Research: or Design and Development: as appropriate. Research Projects Research proposals are particularly welcome in the following areas: Research that addresses lifelong learning by the engineering workforce. Research on the impact of engineering education research. Proposals addressing this topic could investigate questions such as: How can we measure the impacts of engineering education research? What are effective strategies for scaling reforms? How can we translate knowledge from research to practice? What are the roles of technologies, networks and communities in achieving impact? RFE does not support efficacy, effectiveness, or scale-up studies for specific interventions. Research that addresses culture change in engineering education. Included in this topic are investigations of normative cultures of engineering at any level in the engineering education ecosystem and how these cultures may disadvantage certain groups. Research that addresses engineering formation at the two-year college and graduate education levels in both formal and informal settings. Research that investigates engineering in P?12 settings. Research in this area could include understanding of approaches to engineering in P?12, how to develop engineering ways of thinking, or the relationship between practices within the sciences and mathematics and engineering thinking. Research on the transitions between education levels, e.g., from high school to two-year college, high school to four-year college/university, two-year college to four-year college/university, undergraduate to graduate school, education settings to the workforce or professoriate, etc. Research that addresses the relationship between engineering and the public. Proposals addressing this topic could consider the social impact of engineering solutions, citizen engineering, education of an informed public, etc. Research that develops or adapts novel methodologies and frameworks appropriate for studying the professional formation of engineers, and especially minoritized, marginalized, or underserved populations. Research that addresses ways in which new technologies (such as artificial intelligence and machine learning) are changing engineering education. Proposals submitted to the Research Projects category should have clear research questions informed by an appropriate theoretical framework and a research design that includes sampling, data collection, and data analysis methods. This category will not support proposals that seek funding primarily to develop tools, curriculum, or laboratories, or that seek to implement classroom innovations that have already been shown to be effective in engineering. The program will evaluate the value of proposals by considering the impact and the cost. Research track projects that are small, exploratory, or speculative are especially encouraged. Larger Research track projects should have a correspondingly larger impact. Design and Development Projects RFE supports Design and Development projects (see https://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=nsf13126) that seek to develop and test new approaches in the following areas: Graduate education. Transitions between education levels, e.g. high school to two year college, high school to 4 year college/university, two year college to 4 year college/university, undergraduate to graduate school, education settings to the workforce or professoriate, etc. K12, especially approaches to develop engineering thinking, or providing links between engineering, science, and mathematics Proposals in this category should propose the design and development of new approaches that are informed by existing literature and theory. There should be clear objectives and the evaluation plan should be designed to determine if those objectives have been met. Projects cannot be solely demonstration projects, but must add to the engineering education literature to inform future work.

This funding opportunity supports interdisciplinary teams in advancing innovative genomic research and technologies to tackle significant biomedical challenges, welcoming a diverse range of eligible organizations and institutions.

The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) is interested in receiving white papers for Research and Development projects which offer potential for advancement and improvement of NAWCAD operations. Research Opportunity Areas of Interest:  Aeromechanics. Areas of research include but are not limited to the following: aerodynamic and flight controls (manned and unmanned), aeromechanics modeling and analysis tools, flight performance, rotorcraft aerodynamics and performance, ship/aircraft aerodynamic interactions, and unmanned aviation and integration including pilot augmentation and automation and UAV autonomous landing flight mechanics.  Artificial Intelligence (AI) / Machine Learning (ML) (Priority). Areas of research include but are not limited to the following: Autonomous system development, testing, evaluation, verification and validation tools, airworthiness and risk quantification/acceptance, collaborative autonomy, complex reasoning, multiagent based operation and decision making, airspace integration including sense and avoid algorithms, deep reinforcement learning, neural networks, and demand forecasting.  Avionics, Sensors & Electronic Warfare: Areas of research include but are not limited to the following: passive/active sensor systems (RF, EO/IR, and acoustic), advanced/alternative precision navigation and timing (PNT), advanced computational/open system architectures, advanced signal and image processing, flight information and control systems, and advanced concepts in electronic warfare systems.  Cyber (Priority). Areas of research may include but are not limited to the following: cyber effects modeling, reverse engineering, behavioral analysis, intrusion, adaptive cybersecurity, simulation and interface research, concolic testing and systems configuration management. Page | 4  Data Science & Visualization. Areas of research include but are not limited to the following: predictive modeling algorithms, complex big-data environments, data access, storage and retrieval, data visualization techniques, risk assessment and uncertainty quantification, and statistical analysis.  Digital Engineering (Priority). Areas of research include but are not limited to the following: advancements in the use of Digital Twin technology and concepts to support predictive maintenance, automated sustainment environment, diagnostics and prognostics, predictive maintenance, digital communication of system requirements using model-based systems engineering (MBSE)/Systems Modeling Language (SysML) views, engineering models and virtual environments to test designs across broader parameters than what live testing permits  Human Systems. Areas of research include but are not limited to the following: human performance assessment and modeling, cognitive performance/workload, human-machine interface/teaming, protective equipment, controls and displays, ergonomics, anthropomorphic measurement, virtual environments, and human factor engineering (social, behavioral, health, and cultural).  Hypersonic Systems (Priority). Areas of research include but are not limited to the following: external and internal high-speed aerodynamic, multi-physic modeling and simulation, hypersonic system testing and evaluation, high temperature and specific strength materials, structures and coatings, guidance, navigation and control and advanced air-breathing propulsion.  Materials and Aircraft Structures. Areas of research include but are not limited to the following: additive manufacturing, corrosion prevention, non-destructive inspection, structural repair and repair processes for metals and ceramics, polymers and composites, analysis and simulation of aircraft structures, structural mechanics, fouling, low observable, high temperature material, low temperature icing resistant and life management of airframes.  Mechanical Systems. Areas of research include but are not limited to the following: fire and ice protection for aviation systems, fuel containment, hydraulic systems, pneumatic systems and landing gear systems analysis.  Power and Propulsion Systems. Areas of research include but are not limited to the following: reliability engineering, fuel systems, prognostics and diagnostics, energy storage/efficiency, air‐breathing engines, fuels and lubricants, electrical power generation, auxiliary power, low observable signature technologies, propulsion life management, and mechanical and drive systems. Page | 5  Quantum (Priority). Areas of research may include but are not limited to the following: secure communication and sensing capabilities, nitrogen vacancy diamond sensing, quantum encryption and quantum computing.  Secure Communications & Networks (Priority): Areas of research include but are not limited to the following: resilient data and communications networks for Command and Control, architecture, analysis and software development, information assurance including blockchain networks and security, platform/system health monitoring, effective data transfer of both communications and video and integration of security end to end in software development, all with consideration for autonomous applications, while performing in dynamic and contested environments.  Support Equipment. Areas of research include but are not limited to the following: launch and recovery equipment, electro‐magnetics, high‐energy generation and control, environmental sensing, prognostics and health monitoring, automatic testing of hardware and software, displays, advanced maintenance technologies, information systems and intelligent agents, and advanced computer and data processing applications.  Test and Evaluation Engineering. Areas of research include but are not limited to the following: telemetry, communications, data links and data acquisition, signature technologies, mission system testing, system of systems testing environments, virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), extended reality (XR), target engineering, airborne threat simulation, integrated battle‐space simulation (Live Virtual Constructive Environments), hardware‐in‐the‐loop testing, flight instrumentation, ground radar analysis, test article configuration, navigation, and identification, manned-unmanned teaming, advance training systems to include instructional techniques and strategies, and game-based training.  Warfare Analysis. Areas of research include but are not limited to the following: operational suitability, signal extraction, clutter reduction, modeling and simulation, maritime effectiveness, vulnerability and capability based assessment, and conceptual aircraft design.

NetWork Kansas, in partnership with K-State 105, is offering a one-time grant of $100,000 to $500,000 to support new or early-stage projects focused on entrepreneurship and small business development, with a maximum funding request of $125,000 per project and a 25% match required, open to for-profit businesses, nonprofits, community organizations, and municipalities in Kansas.

The "DoD Tick-Borne Disease, Therapeutic/Diagnostic Research Award" is a grant aimed at supporting the development of new treatments and diagnostic methods for tick-borne diseases, with a focus on improving patient care and quality of life for military service members, veterans, their families, and the general public.

This grant provides funding to various organizations and individuals in Arizona to conduct research and develop innovative solutions that enhance grain production, sustainability, and economic resilience in the state's grain industry.

This funding opportunity provides resources to a wide range of organizations to create and share comprehensive toolkits that facilitate the adoption and implementation of genomic technologies in health-related research.