Engineering Research Initiation (ERI)

U.S. National Science Foundation

Funding

Estimated total program funding: $11,000,000

About

The NSF Directorate for Engineering (ENG) seeks to build engineering research capacity across the nation by investing in new academic investigators who have yet to receive sufficient research funding from Federal Agencies. The Engineering Research Initiation (ERI) program will support new investigators as they initiate their research programs and advance in their careers as researchers, educators, and innovators. This funding opportunity aims to broaden the base of investigators involved in engineering research and therefore is limited to investigators that are not affiliated with “very high research activity” R1 institutions (according to the Carnegie Classification https://carnegieclassifications.iu.edu/).

Eligibility

*Who May Serve as PI: The PI of an ERI proposal must hold a doctoral degree in a field supported by NSF and must hold an appointment at an ERI-eligible institution. Postdoctoral fellow researchers are not eligible to serve as PI on an ERI proposal. At the time of the proposal submission deadline,&nbsp;the PI may&nbsp;not&nbsp;have been a PI or Co-PI on any current or prior awarded NSF research grant (including subaward) or have had research support from any other Federal Agency (within the United States or abroad) totaling $200,000 or more within the past five (5) calendar years from the proposal submission deadline date, with the following exceptions: Grants not directly for research purposes such as workshops, conferences, travel, instrumentation and equipment (e.g., Major Research Instrumentation; MRI), Research Experiences for Undergraduate Students (REU) and Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) Sites, etc.; Awards that exclusively support pre-tenure-track activities (postdoctoral fellowships and Graduate Research Fellowships/GRFP);&nbsp; I-Corps, Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR), or Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) awards; and Awards that originated as NSF or other Federal funds but were distributed locally without naming the submitting ERI PI in the Federal funding proposal (such as: NASA Space Grant Project or other non-NSF federally-funded opportunities, NSF EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Improvement Program.). The Department Chair's/Dean's letter must explicitly verify each of the PI eligibility criteria. See Section V.A. for additional information.

Applicant types

Grants.gov eligibility code 25

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Notice-specific evidence check

What an applicant must verify for Engineering Research Initiation (ERI)

Applicant evidence

Applicant type: Other eligible applicants

Opportunity boundaries

Recorded funding: Estimated total program funding: $11,000,000
Recorded deadline: October 10, 2026; confirm time zone and submission system.
Recorded focus: Science, technology and research

Before investing in an application, connect every eligibility claim, required registration, submission component and deadline to the current official notice. Open the recorded official source →

Application checklist

How to apply for Engineering Research Initiation (ERI)

The steps below turn the recorded grant fields into a pre-submission check. They do not replace the current Notice of Funding Opportunity or its amendments.

Recorded eligibility

• Applicant types: Grants.gov eligibility code 25.
• Geographic scope is not structured in this record.
• Notice summary: *Who May Serve as PI: The PI of an ERI proposal must hold a doctoral degree in a field supported by NSF and must hold an appointment at an ERI-eligible institution. Postdoctoral fellow researchers are not eligible to serve as PI on an ERI proposal. At the time of the proposal submission deadline,&nbsp;the PI may&nbsp;not&nbsp;have been a PI or Co-PI on any current or prior awarded NSF research grant (including subaward) or have had research support from any other Federal Agency (within the United States or abroad) totaling $200,000 or more within the past five (5) calendar years from the proposal submission deadline date, with the following exceptions: Grants not directly for research purposes such as workshops, conferences, travel, instrumentation and equipment (e.g., Major Research Instrumentation; MRI), Research Experiences for Undergraduate Students (REU) and Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) Sites, etc.; Awards that exclusively support pre-tenure-track activities (postdoctoral fellowships and Graduate Research Fellowships/GRFP);&nbsp; I-Corps, Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR), or Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) awards; and Awards that originated as NSF or other Federal funds but were distributed locally without naming the submitting ERI PI in the Federal funding proposal (such as: NASA Space Grant Project or other non-NSF federally-funded opportunities, NSF EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Improvement Program.). The Department Chair's/Dean's letter must explicitly verify each of the PI eligibility criteria. See Section V.A. for additional information.

Focus areas: ST

Recorded deadline

October 9, 2026 — confirm the time zone and submission system

A missing or rolling date is not permission to assume an open application window.

1. Confirm fitMatch your applicant type, location, project scope and any cost-share or registration rule to the official notice.
2. Read the noticeCollect the current guidelines, amendments, budget rules, required attachments and submission instructions.
3. Check timingRecord the deadline time zone, internal review date and any earlier registration or portal cut-off.
4. Submit thereUse the official application route and save the confirmation or submission reference.

Official sources

Recorded source: https://www.grants.gov/xml-extract

Open official notice →

Last directory verification: Sep 13, 2026.