Office of Research and Graduate Studies

National Science Foundation Small Grants for Exploratory Research

Deadline: Open

Under the SGER initiative, proposals for small-scale, exploratory, high-risk research in the fields of science, engineering and education normally supported by NSF may be submitted to the agency's individual programs. Such research is characterized as:
preliminary work on untested and novel ideas; ventures into emerging and potentially transformative research ideas; application of new expertise or new approaches to "established" research topics; having a severe urgency with regard to availability of, or access to data, facilities or specialized equipment, including quick-response research on natural or anthropogenic disasters and similar unanticipated events; or efforts of similar character likely to catalyze rapid and innovative advances. Proposals can be submitted at any time but investigators are strongly encouraged to contact the NSF program(s) most germane to the proposal topic before submitting a SGER proposal. This will facilitate determining whether the proposed work meets the guidelines described above and availability and appropriateness for SGER funding, or whether the work is more appropriate for submission as a fully reviewed proposal.