he Office of International Science and Engineering (OISE) welcomes submission of proposals to this funding opportunity that includes participation of the full spectrum of diverse talent in STEM (e.g., as PI, co-PI, senior/key personnel, postdoctoral scholars, graduate or undergraduate students, or trainees). This includes historically under-represented or under-served populations, diverse institutions including Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs), Primarily Undergraduate Institutions (PUIs), and two-year colleges, as well as major research institutions. Proposals from EPSCoR jurisdictions are especially encouraged.

The specific subtopics within the solicitation are based on NSF's areas of strength and unique contributions to the Bioeconomy Executive Order and the Bold Goals For U.S. Biotechnology And Biomanufacturing. Priority bold goals for NSF include, but are not limited to, Leveraging Biodiversity Across the Tree of Life to Power the Bioeconomy, and Biofoundries (also called the Design-Build-Test-Learn process). All proposals are expected to integrate two crosscutting themes into their plans for a center: public engagement and co-generation of research activities to strengthen the global science and technology enterprise, and workforce development and education, including clear statements regarding the impact on the communities that the research serves.

The use-inspired nature of the research, defined here as project outcomes leading to foreseeable benefits to society, requires early involvement and integration of stakeholder groups. Bioeconomy research resulting from funded proposals should produce actionable and/or policy-relevant outcomes that address one or more global challenges as identified by the scientific community. Partner countries in 2024 Global Centers competition are Canada, Finland, Japan, Republic of Korea, United Kingdom and the United States. Partner funding organizations, hereafter called funding partner agencies, are as follows:

PARTNER AGENCIES

United States

National Science Foundation (NSF)
National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)

Canada

Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC)
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)

Finland

Research Council of Finland
Innovation Funding Agency Business Finland

Japan

Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST)

Republic of Korea

National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF), Korea
Republic of Korea - Ministry of Science and ICT

United Kingdom

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)