NSF FAIROS Open Science Grant Program

Grants.gov SBIR/STTR Opportunities

Published January 17th, 2026

Detected March 31st, 2026

Summary

The National Science Foundation (NSF) announced the FAIROS (Findable Accessible Interoperable Reusable Open Science) grant program to fund transformative open science activities including research data management, cyberinfrastructure development, and scientific communication innovation. Eligible applicants include non-profit organizations and institutions of higher education. The solicitation supports the NSF Public Access Initiative with proposals due April 8, 2026.

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What changed

NSF issued the FAIROS Program solicitation to support open science activities including FAIR research data management, cyberinfrastructure development, scientific communication models, and data commons portals. The program offers two tracks: Disciplinary Improvements (targeted to specific scientific communities) and Cross-Cutting Improvements (applicable across disciplines). Assistance Listings span multiple NSF directorates including Computer and Information Science and Engineering, Biological Sciences, Engineering, and STEM Education.

Eligible organizations—including non-profit research institutions and accredited U.S. institutions of higher education—should assess alignment with program objectives and prepare standard research proposals. Proposals must select either track and are due April 8, 2026. Prospective applicants for Disciplinary Improvements are advised to contact cognizant program officers in relevant directorates; Cross-Cutting proposals should contact the Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure.

What to do next

Determine organizational eligibility under NSF's non-profit and IHE requirements
Select either Disciplinary Improvements or Cross-Cutting Improvements track based on research focus
Prepare and submit standard research proposal via grants.gov by April 8, 2026

Source document (simplified)

Findable Accessible Interoperable Reusable Open Science

Agency: U.S. National Science Foundation

Assistance Listings: 47.083 -- Integrative Activities

47.079 -- Office of International Science and Engineering

47.070 -- Computer and Information Science and Engineering

47.049 -- Mathematical and Physical Sciences

47.075 -- Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences

47.084 -- NSF Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships

47.041 -- Engineering

47.074 -- Biological Sciences

47.076 -- STEM Education (formerly Education and Human Resources)

47.050 -- Geosciences

Last Updated: January 17, 2026 View version history on Grants.gov

Description

The FAIROS Program seeks to support a broad range of transformative open science activities including but not limited to i.) Research, education, and socio-technical cyberinfrastructure development capacities that advance sustainable multi-disciplinary findable, accessible, interoperable, reusable (FAIR) research data management (RDM) and open science capabilities, ii.) Piloting new models of scientific communication and publication that improve efficiency and accessibility, iii.) Developing FAIROS data portals, research data commons, RDM as a national service, and iv.) Lowering barriers to accessing,... curating, integrating, linking, managing, sharing, and storing data across many disciplinary domains, irrespective of data size.

The program supports innovation across the cyberinfrastructure (CI) ecosystem to address accessibility, data curation, research data management, discoverability, reliability, reproducibility, preservation, sustainability, and utility of research products, including data software, and code, developed as part of funded projects.

FAIROS proposals must select one of two tracks to focus on, either: 1) Disciplinary Improvements to targeted scientific communities, or 2) Cross-Cutting Improvements that apply to many or most scientific disciplines. In the case of proposals focused on Disciplinary Improvements, it is strongly recommended that prospective PIs contact a program officer from the list of Cognizant Program Officers in the directorate closest to the major disciplinary impact of the proposed work to ascertain that the scientific focus and budget of the proposed work are appropriate for this solicitation. In the case of proposals focused on Cross-Cutting Improvements, it is strongly recommended that prospective PIs contact the cognizant program officer from the Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure (OAC).

After selecting either Disciplinary Improvements or Cross-Cutting Improvements in which to focus research, the proposal must include the kinds of activities relevant to the selected track. Standard research proposals are the only type of proposal accepted in response to this solicitation.

The FAIROS Program is undertaken in support of the US NSF Public Access Initiative.

For more information on the US NSF Public Access Initiative please visit https://new.nsf.gov/public-access. Show full description

Eligibility

Eligible applicants

Miscellaneous

Other

Additional information

*Who May Submit Proposals: Proposals may only be submitted by the following:
-Non-profit, non-academic organizations: Independent museums, observatories, research laboratories, professional societies and similar organizations located in the U.S. that are directly associated with educational or research activities.
-Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs): Two- and four-year IHEs (including community colleges) accredited in, and having a campus located in the US, acting on behalf of their faculty members. Special Instructions for International Branch Campuses of US IHEs: If the proposal includes funding to be provided to an international branch campus of a US institution of higher education (including through use of sub-awards and consultant arrangements), the proposer must explain the benefit(s) to the project of performance at the international branch campus, and justify why the project activities cannot be performed at the US campus.
-Tribal Nations: An American Indian or Alaska Native tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village, or community that the Secretary of the Interior acknowledges as a federally recognized tribe pursuant to the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994, 25 U.S.C. §§ 5130-5131.
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Other Federal Agencies and Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs): Prospective proposers from other Federal Agencies and FFRDCs, including NSF sponsored FFRDCs, must follow the guidance in PAPPG Chapter I.E.2 regarding limitations on eligibility.