National Aeronautics and Space Administration Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (NASA EPSCoR)
What is NASA EPSCoR?
The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration EPSCoR establishes partnerships with government, higher education and industry that are designed to effect lasting improvements in a state or region’s research infrastructure, research and development capacity, and its national research and development competitiveness.
NASA EPSCoR Funding Opportunities
The following is a list of programs for which the University of Iowa is eligible to submit applications:
EPSCoR Rapid Response Research (R3) Award
Description: To provide seed funding that will enable jurisdictions to develop an academic research enterprise directed toward long-term, self-sustaining, nationally competitive capabilities in aerospace and aerospace-related research.
Sponsor Deadline: February
NOTE: Limited Submission Opportunity: No more than three proposals per institution.
EPSCoR Research Solicitation
Description: To establish research activities that will make significant contributions to NASA’s strategic research and technology development priorities and contribute to the overall research infrastructure, science and technology capabilities of higher education, and economic development of the jurisdiction receiving funding.
Sponsor Deadline: November (Anticipated)
NOTE: Limited Submission Opportunity: Jurisdictions may submit no more than one proposal.
EPSCoR Suborbital Flight Opportunity (SFO)
Description: Supports scientific and or technical research in a suborbital environment that supports NASA’s strategic research and technology development priorities.
Sponsor Deadline: TBD
EPSCoR International Space Station (ISS) Flight Opportunity
Description: To provide the integration and flight opportunity and open new paths for the jurisdictions to compete for and win much larger spaceflight research projects.
Sponsor Deadline: TBD
Iowa NASA EPSCoR Funding Opportunities
The EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Development (RID) program provides the funding for Partnership Development Travel Grants and Research Building Seed Grants below. The following programs are administered through the Iowa NASA EPSCoR jurisdictional office.
EPSCoR Partnership Development Travel Grants (PDTG)
Description: The goal is to provide funds through the Iowa NASA EPSCoR program to build a broad cadre of researchers and industry through support of travel to bring together intra-state scholars to better exchange ideas, explore emerging research areas, and to work more effectively with NASA Centers, industry, other research organizations in the Iowa jurisdiction.
Sponsor Deadline: Ongoing until funds are depleted
EPSCoR Research Building Seed Grant (RBSG)
Description: To build research infrastructure and help Iowa’s academic faculty establish NASA collaborations in order to become nationally competitive for NASA EPSCoR research funding.
Sponsor Deadline: September (Anticipated)
NASA EPSCoR Goals and Objectives
The goal of EPSCoR is to provide seed funding that will enable researchers in eligible jurisdictions to develop an academic research enterprise directed toward long-term, self-sustaining, nationally-competitive capabilities in aerospace and aerospace-related research.
Iowa NASA EPSCoR objectives are to:
- Contribute to and promote the development of research infrastructure in areas of strategic importance to the NASA mission.
- Improve the capabilities of Iowa researchers to gain support from sources outside the NASA EPSCoR program.
- Develop partnerships between NASA research assets, industry, and universities within Iowa.
- Contribute to the overall research infrastructure, science and technology capabilities, higher education, and/or economic development of Iowa.
NASA EPSCoR Eligibility
The NASA EPSCoR eligibility follows that of the NSF EPSCoR. Currently, twenty-five states and three territories are eligible for NSF EPSCoR funding. The CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 has frozen the NSF EPSCoR jurisdiction eligibility through Fiscal Year 2027. Therefore, Iowa is an eligible NASA EPSCoR state.
Below is a map of eligible states/territories:
Source: https://www.nasa.gov/learning-resources/established-program-to-stimulate-competitive-research/