Title 42 — The Public Health and WelfareRelease 119-73not60

§19114 Research and Development 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 › § 19114

Last updated Apr 5, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Director must give competitive awards from the Directorate’s funds for research and technology development in the key focus areas, including projects that address the challenges in section 19107. The awards are meant to speed up new technologies and help them get used. Eligible recipients can include colleges, research centers, nonprofits, private companies, consortia, or other groups the Director allows. The Director can set goals, metrics, and deadlines in each award and use those measures to decide on continued or follow-on funding. The Director must also use awards, including through the SBIR and STTR programs, to push short-term technology into use within no more than 24 months. When picking recipients, the Director must consider relevance and potential for big advances; the current state and risks of similar technology; ethical, safety, social, and security issues; clear measurable goals and how they will be checked; and a path to develop and, if appropriate, commercialize the technology in the United States. Up to $1,000,000,000 is authorized for these activities for fiscal years 2023 through 2027.

Full Legal Text

Title 42, §19114

The Public Health and Welfare — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)From amounts made available for the Directorate, the Director shall make awards, on a competitive basis, for research and technology development within the key technology focus areas, including investments that advance solutions to the challenges under section 19107 of this title.

(b)The purpose of the awards under this section shall be to accelerate technological advances and technology adoption in the key technology focus areas.

(c)Recipients of funds under this section may include institutions of higher education, research institutions, non-profit organizations, private sector entities, consortia, or other entities as defined by the Director.

(d)The Director may set metrics, including goals and deadlines, for the development and demonstration of technology as determined in the terms of the award, and may use such metrics to determine whether an award recipient shall be eligible for continued or follow-on funding.

(e)The Director shall also make awards, including through the SBIR and STTR programs (as defined in section 638(e) of title 15), to expedite short-term technology deployment within a period of no longer than 24 months.

(f)In selecting recipients for an award under this section, the Director shall consider, at a minimum—

(1)the relevance of the project to the challenges and the key technology focus areas under section 19107 of this title, and the potential of the project to result in transformational advances for such challenges and the key technology focus areas;

(2)the current status of similar technology, the limits of current practice, and the novelty and risks of the proposed project;

(3)the ethical, societal, safety, and security implications relevant to the application of the technology;

(4)the appropriateness of quantitative goals and metrics for evaluating the project and a plan for evaluating those metrics; and

(5)the path for developing and, as appropriate, commercializing the technology into products and processes in the United States.

(g)From within funds authorized for the Directorate for Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships, there are authorized to carry out the activities under this section $1,000,000,000 for fiscal years 2023 through 2027.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

42 U.S.C. § 19114

Title 42 — The Public Health and Welfare

Last Updated

Apr 5, 2026

Release point: 119-73not60