Strengthening American Infrastructure (SAI)
🏛 U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF)
✓ Free, no account · Source: Grants.gov · Last verified Oct 16, 2026
Can you apply?
This grant is for research institutions and organizations seeking federal funding for infrastructure-focused research. Eligible applicants include U.S.-based institutions of higher education (two- and four-year colleges, including community colleges), for-profit and nonprofit research organizations, and federally recognized tribal nations. Projects must integrate social, behavioral, or economic sciences with other disciplines to advance fundamental, human-centered research on infrastructure. International branch campuses of U.S. institutions may participate only if the applicant justifies the benefit and explains why the work cannot occur at the U.S. campus.
PIs must hold appointments at U.S.-based institutions or organizations (eligibility for PI role is incomplete in source material, so standard NSF practice applies).
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Program description
Strengthening American Infrastructure (SAI) is an NSF program seeking to stimulate human-centered, use-inspired, fundamental and potentially transformative research aimed at strengthening America’s infrastructure. Effective infrastructure provides a strong foundation for socioeconomic vitality and broad improvement in quality of life. Robust, reliable and effective infrastructure spurs private-sector innovation, grows the economy, creates jobs, makes public-sector service provision more efficient, strengthens communities, promotes equal opportunity, protects the natural environment, enhances national security and fuels American leadership. Achieving these objectives requires the integration of expertise from across all science and engineering disciplines. SAI focuses on how fundamental knowledge about human reasoning and decision-making, governance, and social and cultural processes enables the building and maintenance of effective infrastructure that improves lives and society and builds on advances in technology and engineering. Successful projects will represent a convergence of expertise in one or more social, behavioral or economic sciences, deeply integrated with other disciplines to support substantial and potentially pathbreaking fundamental research applied to strengthening a specific focal infrastructure.
General inquiries regarding this funding opportunity should be sent to NSF-SAI@nsf.gov.
Who can apply
Eligible applicants
How to apply
Application links
Key dates & requirements
Required documents
- NSF PAPPG cover pages (e.g., SF-424 or equivalent)
- Project Narrative/Proposal (typically 15 pages)
- Budget and Budget Justification
- Biographies of key personnel (2-page limit per person)
- Current and Pending Support statements
- Letters of commitment from partner organizations (if applicable)
- Certification of compliance (if using international branch campus)
Program contact
- 👤 U.S. National Science Foundation
- 📧 grantsgovsupport@nsf.gov
- 📞 703-292-4203
Funding track record
Recent awards under CFDA 47.075 from the last 3 years — real organizations that won funding through this same program.
Top 10 Largest Recent Awards
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$38,357,018
-
$18,499,999
-
$13,999,656
-
$10,999,998
-
$8,993,747
-
$8,043,354
-
$5,237,549
-
$5,200,000
-
$5,047,151
-
$4,500,000
Top States by Funding
- MI 9 awards $94.1M
- DC 6 awards $20.7M
- MA 7 awards $18.5M
- NY 9 awards $17.0M
- CA 8 awards $14.8M
Source: USAspending.gov — federal spending transparency. Data covers last 3 years.
Funding history
Annual funding for this program — Federal obligations (CFDA 47.075). How funding has trended year over year.
| 2024 | $292,390,000 | |
| 2025 | $219,410,000 | |
| 2026 est. | $92,200,000 |
FAQ
What types of organizations can apply for SAI funding?
Institutions of higher education, federally recognized tribal nations, for-profit research organizations, and independent research institutions like museums and labs can apply. All U.S.-based organizations with strong research or engineering capabilities are eligible.
Is cost-sharing required for this grant?
No cost-sharing is required. The NSF will fund 100% of eligible project costs.
What research disciplines are supported?
SAI seeks interdisciplinary research combining social, behavioral, or economic sciences with engineering, technology, or other disciplines. The focus is infrastructure—building, maintenance, governance, and human decision-making related to infrastructure systems.
How much funding is available and what is the award range?
Individual awards typically range from $50,000 to $750,000. The total program funding pool is $9.6 million, though specific year availability may vary.
Is there a rolling deadline or a specific application deadline?
This program operates on a rolling deadline, meaning applications may be accepted continuously. Check the NSF website or contact NSF-SAI@nsf.gov for current submission windows.
💡 Tips for applicants
- Emphasize the integration of social/behavioral/economic sciences with engineering or technology disciplines. Siloed disciplinary research will be less competitive.
- Clearly identify the specific infrastructure focal area (e.g., transportation, water, energy, communications) and explain why your team is well-positioned to address it.
- Highlight how your research is fundamental, human-centered, and potentially transformative—not just applied engineering or incremental improvement.
- Engage with NSF program officers early. Email NSF-SAI@nsf.gov before submitting to clarify whether your project scope aligns with current priorities.
- Budget carefully within the $50,000–$750,000 range and justify all costs. NSF panels scrutinize inflated budgets closely.
⚠️ Common mistakes
Applications fail to demonstrate genuine interdisciplinary integration between social/behavioral sciences and engineering—they read as single-discipline projects. Projects lack clarity about the specific infrastructure challenge being addressed or overgeneralize the research problem. Proposers underestimate the "human-centered" requirement and submit purely technical or engineering-focused research without addressing governance, decision-making, or social processes.
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