National Institute of Standards and Technology Center for Neutron Research (NCNR) Comprehensive Cooperative Agreement Program | 2023 NIST NCNR 01

Opportunity Information: Apply for 2023 NIST NCNR 01

The National Institute of Standards and Technology Center for Neutron Research (NCNR) Comprehensive Cooperative Agreement Program is a competitive federal funding opportunity run by the U.S. Department of Commerce through NIST. It supports science and technology research and development activities that strengthen and expand the capabilities of the NCNR and, in turn, improve what NCNR users and NIST scientists can accomplish with neutron-based measurement and research. The mechanism is a cooperative agreement, which generally means the funded work is expected to involve substantial engagement and coordination with NIST during the period of performance, rather than operating as a hands-off grant.

The scope of work is broad but clearly centered on enabling, improving, and using neutron science infrastructure at the NCNR. Funded projects can include operating existing neutron instrumentation (keeping instruments running reliably for the user community, supporting experiments, and maintaining performance), as well as developing new instrumentation and measurement capabilities (designing, building, upgrading, and validating new tools or methods that expand what can be measured with neutrons). The program also emphasizes collaborative research conducted at the NCNR with NIST scientists and visiting researchers, encouraging partnerships that produce publishable results and new measurement approaches. A major expectation is dissemination: awardees are expected to share results from neutron research and from technology development broadly with the scientific community, which can include publications, presentations, data sharing practices, workshops, or other community-facing outputs.

Beyond instruments and experiments, the opportunity explicitly includes research on neutron delivery systems and source-support technologies. This can cover areas like cold neutron sources, neutron beams and guides, and work related to nuclear reactor core analysis, optimization, and methodologies that can support novel neutron source concepts. In other words, the program is not limited to the instruments at the experimental end station; it also reaches upstream into how neutrons are produced, conditioned, transported, and optimized so that the measurement systems downstream can perform better and serve more users.

Education and outreach are also core components. The program supports activities that increase awareness and effective use of neutrons by academic and industrial researchers and that help build the next generation of neutron scientists. That can reasonably include training activities, user education, student and early-career researcher engagement, workshops or schools, and other efforts that expand the community of capable neutron users and contributors.

Administratively, this opportunity is identified as Funding Opportunity Number "2023 NIST NCNR 01" under CFDA (now commonly referred to as Assistance Listing) 11.609. It is categorized as discretionary funding and uses the cooperative agreement instrument. The posting indicates an expected number of awards of 200, signaling an intent to support a sizable portfolio of projects or participants tied to NCNR operations, research collaborations, and community support. The listing shows an award ceiling of 0, which typically indicates the ceiling is not specified in the summary record and that applicants should look to the full announcement for budget constraints, allowable costs, and any project-specific funding ranges. The opportunity was created March 15, 2023, with an original closing date of May 15, 2023.

In practical terms, the program is aimed at organizations capable of contributing meaningfully to NCNR mission needs: keeping world-class neutron instruments operating, creating next-generation neutron measurement technology, collaborating on high-value neutron research, improving the performance and reliability of neutron delivery and source-related systems, and building the broader user and workforce pipeline through education and outreach. Eligibility is listed as "Others" with additional clarification referenced in the full notice, so applicants would need to consult the complete eligibility language to confirm organizational fit and any specific restrictions or requirements.

• The Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "National Institute of Standards and Technology Center for Neutron Research (NCNR) Comprehensive Cooperative Agreement Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 11.609.
• This funding opportunity was created on Mar 15, 2023.
• Applicants must submit their applications by May 15, 2023. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 200 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for 2023 NIST NCNR 01

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