Infrastructure Capacity for Biological Research
Last verified by NonDilute: 2026-06-08. Official notice and agency instructions control.
If you've built a research tool or service that multiple biology labs actually need and use, NSF will fund you to scale it to a broader community.
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What this is
This NSF program funds infrastructure capacity projects in three areas: cyberinfrastructure (software/computational tools), biological collections (specimen repositories, databases), and biological field stations/marine laboratories. Unlike single-lab instrumentation grants, Capacity projects must demonstrate broad applicability across multiple research teams and institutions, produce open-access resources, and deliver measurable science outcomes for a research community. Planning grants and coordination workshops are eligible. Award sizes range from $25K to $1.2M, making it viable for both modest scoping efforts and substantial infrastructure buildouts.
Who can apply
U.S.-based universities, non-profits, small businesses, and established companies are eligible; eligibility varies by applicant type (see Additional Information section). Solo founders and startups should verify fit, as projects must serve research communities beyond a single institution and cannot be instrumentations or single-lab infrastructure.
Eligible applicant types
- Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification)
Full description — from the agency
The Infrastructure Capacity for Biological Research (Capacity) Program supports the implementation of, scaling of, or major improvements to research tools, products, and services that advance contemporary biology in any research area supported by the Directorate forBiological Sciences at NSF. The Capacity Program focuses on building capacity in research infrastructure that is broadly applicable to a wide range of researchers in three programmatic areas: Cyberinfrastructure, Biological Collections, and Biological Field Stations and Marine Laboratories. This program will also accept proposals for planning activities or workshops to facilitate coordination that may be necessary in building capacity in infrastructure that meets the needs of a research community. Areas not included in this program are instrumentation (PIs should submit to the MRI program) and, projects that develop infrastructure for a specific research project, laboratory, or institution (PIs should submitted to the relevant BIO programs that would normally support that research). Projects are expected to produce quality products, result in important science outcomes that will be achieved by the users of the resource, be openly accessible to a broad scientific and education community, and serve a community of researchers beyond a single research team.
Topics: biological research infrastructure · cyberinfrastructure · biological collections · field stations · open-access research tools · research capacity building
Public-source funding discovery only. This summary is generated from public agency data and may be incomplete or stale. NonDilute is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of any government agency. Official notices and agency instructions control. NonDilute does not determine eligibility, provide grant-writing advice, or guarantee funding.