The NSF’s new Technology, Innovation and Partnerships Directorate (TIP) represents a huge opportunity for university funding specifically for partnership development and other activities aimed at commercializing technologies and increasing U.S. competitiveness.
Through the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, the TIP Directorate is authorized to support science and technology research and development – and universities ready to act on these opportunities will be the big beneficiaries in terms of valuable research partnerships and new commercialization programs.
TIP is more focused on innovation and commercialization than any previous NSF program. As one university leader told us, “It’s much more applied and translational than any [other area] in NSF. The TIP directorate launched the largest conventional funding competition NSF ever opened up.”
The TIP directorate presents a unique opportunity for universities to engage in strengthening and scaling research while fostering partnerships to navigate the so-called “valley of death” through a variety of programs under TIP direction. And that’s why we’ve invited Dr. Erwin Gianchandani, NSF’s Assistant Director for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships and one of the new directorate’s architects, to deliver this important webinar:
The TIP Directorate is leading a collection of programs, all aimed at getting more innovations into the marketplace. In addition to the well-known SBIR/STTR funding program and the NSF I-Corps™ training program, TIP initiatives include:
- Convergence Accelerator: Integrating teams from industry, academia, nonprofits and government, this program offers intensive hands-on education and mentorship to participants and creates strong partnerships.
- Partnerships for Innovation: Supports NSF-funded research via two tracks: Technology Translation (PFI-TT) track and Research Partnerships (PFI-RP) track.
- Regional Innovation Engines: Universities and other entities are eligible to apply for up to $160 million over 10 years to create partnership groups or “engines” using a “start-up mentality” to foster regional partnerships and expand a diverse STEM workforce.
Dr. Erwin Gianchandani will provide an overview of the TIP Directorate and describe its efforts to:
- Advance critical technologies
- Accelerate the translation of these technologies from lab to society
- Engage the nation’s broad and diverse population in this work
- Provide new opportunities to universities for funding, partnerships, and business development
He will also explore the new funding opportunities noted above.
You’ll come away with a solid understanding of the TIP Directorate and how to access the full potential of each program within the directorate.
Meet your session leader:
Dr. Erwin Gianchandani
Assistant Director
The Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships
Dr. Erwin Gianchandani is the U.S. National Science Foundation’s assistant director for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships, leading the newly established TIP Directorate. Gianchandani has worked at NSF since 2012. Prior to becoming the assistant director for TIP, he served as the senior advisor for Translation, Innovation and Partnerships for over a year, where he helped develop plans for the new TIP Directorate in collaboration with colleagues at NSF, other government agencies, industry and academia.
During the previous six years, Gianchandani was the NSF deputy assistant director for Computer and Information Science and Engineering, twice serving as acting assistant director for CISE. Gianchandani’s leadership and management of CISE included the formulation and implementation of the directorate’s $1 billion annual budget, strategic and human capital planning, and oversight of day-to-day operations for a team of over 130.
Gianchandani has led the development and launch of several new NSF initiatives, including the Smart & Connected Communities program, Civic Innovation Challenge, Platforms for Advanced Wireless Research, and the National Artificial Intelligence Research Institutes.
Before joining NSF in 2012, Gianchandani was the inaugural director of the Computing Community Consortium, providing leadership to the computing research community in identifying and pursuing bold, high-impact research directions such as health information technology and sustainable computing.
