Title 42, The Public Health and WelfareRelease 119-110
§19111 Planning and Capacity Building Awards
Title 42 › CHAPTER 163 — RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, COMPETITION, AND INNOVATION › SUBCHAPTER III — NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION FOR THE FUTURE › Part G — Directorate for Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships › § 19111
Summary
The Director will run a competitive grant program, working with other federal agencies as needed, to help move college research into real-world technologies. Grants can go to colleges (including community colleges), nonprofits tied to colleges or that support tech and entrepreneurship, or to consortia led by those groups that include regional economic groups, industry partners, experienced entrepreneurs, or mentor networks. Grants can pay for finding research ready to commercialize, hiring tech-transfer staff and mentors, paying for patenting and licensing, updating school policies, building partnerships with industry and investors, offering entrepreneurship training and courses, and running competitions or funds to test ideas. Grants must last at least 3 years and cannot exceed $1,000,000 per year. They may not fund capital investment funds. Applicants must explain how work will continue after the grant, how they will enable tech transfer and new businesses, how students will be trained and involved, plans for regional economic impact, and past success. The Director will set commercialization metrics and reporting times and must spread awards across regions. Up to $3,100,000,000 is authorized for fiscal years 2023–2027.
Full Legal Text
Title 42, §19111
The Public Health and Welfare, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
(a)In general
Under the program established in section 1862p–2 of this title and the activities authorized under this section, from amounts made available to the Directorate, the Director, in coordination with other Federal agencies as determined appropriate by the Director, shall make awards, on a competitive basis, to eligible entities to advance the development, adoption, and commercialization of technologies, consistent with the purposes of the Directorate under section 19102 of this title.
(b)Eligible entity
To be eligible to receive an award under this section, an entity shall be—
(1)an institution of higher education, which may be a community college (or a consortium of such institutions);
(2)a nonprofit organization that is either affiliated with an institution of higher education or designed to support technology development or entrepreneurship; or
(3)a consortium that includes—
(A)an entity described in paragraph (1) or (2) as the lead award recipient; and
(B)one or more additional individuals or entities, which shall be—
(i)an economic development organization or similar entity that is focused primarily on improving science, technology, innovation, or entrepreneurship;
(ii)an industry organization or firm in a relevant technology or innovation sector;
(iii)an industry-experienced executive with entrepreneurship experience that is focused primarily on de-risking technologies from both a scientific and a business perspective; or
(iv)an individual or entity with industry and startup expertise, including a mentor network, across relevant technology or innovation sectors.
(c)Use of funds
In addition to activities listed under section 19103 of this title, an eligible entity receiving an award under this section may use funds to—
(1)identify academic research with the potential for technology transfer and commercialization, particularly as relevant to the purposes of the Directorate under section 19102 of this title;
(2)ensure the availability of staff, including technology transfer professionals, entrepreneurs in residence, and other mentors as required to accomplish the purpose of this section;
(3)help offset the costs of patenting and licensing research products, both domestically and internationally;
(4)revise institution policies, including policies related to intellectual property and faculty entrepreneurship, and taking other necessary steps to implement relevant best practices for academic technology transfer;
(5)develop local, regional, and national partnerships among institutions of higher education and between institutions of higher education and private sector entities and other relevant organizations, including investors, with the purpose of building networks, expertise, and other capacity to identify promising research that may have potential market value and enable researchers to pursue further development and transfer of their ideas into possible commercial or other use;
(6)develop seminars, courses, and other educational opportunities for students, post-doctoral researchers, faculty, and other relevant staff at institutions of higher education to increase awareness and understanding of entrepreneurship, patenting, business planning, research security, and other areas relevant to technology transfer, and connect students and researchers to relevant resources, including mentors in the private sector; and
(7)create, support, or fund entities or competitions to allow entrepreneurial students and faculty to illustrate the commercialization potential of their ideas, including through venture funds of institution of higher education.
(d)Limitations on funding
(1)Awards made under this section shall be at least 3 years in duration and shall not exceed $1,000,000 per fiscal year.
(2)Awards made under this section shall not support the development or operation of capital investment funds.
(e)Application
An eligible entity seeking funding under this section shall submit an application to the Director at such time, in such manner, and containing such information and assurances as such Director may require. The application shall include, at a minimum, a description of— (1)
(2)the steps the applicant will take to enable technology transfer and adoption and why such steps are likely to be effective;
(3)how the applicant will encourage the training and participation of students and potential entrepreneurs and the transition of research results to practice, including the development of new businesses;
(4)as relevant, potential steps to drive economic growth in a particular region, by collaborating with industry, venture capital entities, non-profit organizations, and State and local governments within that region; and
(5)background information that the Director determines is relevant to demonstrate the success of the innovation and entrepreneurship support models proposed by the applicant to commercialize technologies.
(f)Collaborative innovation resource center program
(1)In general
The Director shall make awards under this section to eligible entities to establish collaborative innovation resource centers that promote regional technology transfer and technology development activities available to more than one institution of higher education and to other entities in a region.
(2)Use of funds
An eligible entity that receives an award under this subsection shall use award funds to carry out one or more of the following activities, to the benefit of the region in which the center is located:
(A)Providing start-ups and small business concerns (as defined in section 632 of title 15) within the region with access to facilities, scientific infrastructure, personnel, and other assets as required for technology maturation.
(B)Supporting entrepreneurial training for start-up and small business personnel.
(3)Providing engineering and entrepreneurial experiences and hands-on training for students enrolled in participating institutions of higher education.
(g)Reporting on commercialization metrics
The Director shall establish—
(1)metrics related to commercialization for an award under this section; and
(2)a reporting schedule for recipients of such awards that takes into account both short- and long-term goals of the programs under this section.
(h)Geographic diversity
The Director shall ensure regional and geographic diversity in issuing awards under this section.
(i)Authorization of appropriations
From within funds authorized for the Directorate for Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships, there are authorized to carry out the activities under this section $3,100,000,000 for fiscal years 2023 through 2027.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
42 U.S.C. § 19111
Title 42, The Public Health and Welfare
Last Updated
Sep 23, 2026
Release point: 119-110