NSF RAISE: Grants for Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Research

When RAISE Is Appropriate

RAISE is reserved for research that is bold and interdisciplinary enough that it cannot be accommodated by a single existing NSF program.

• Genuinely interdisciplinary scope — the research must span multiple NSF programs or directorates such that no single existing program is a fit
• Bold, higher-risk framing — like RAPID and EAGER, RAISE proposals are evaluated internally by program officers rather than through the standard external peer review panel process
• Larger scale than EAGER or RAPID — RAISE supports up to $1,000,000 over 5 years, well above EAGER's $400,000/2-year cap and RAPID's $300,000/1-year cap, for interdisciplinary work that needs sustained funding to mature

How to Initiate a RAISE Proposal

RAISE requires more program officer coordination up front than RAPID or EAGER, since the research must be relevant to more than one program.

• Contact multiple program officers — concurrence is required from at least two NSF program officers, since the research crosses program boundaries
• One email can cover both — a single concurrence email may list both program officers rather than requiring separate emails from each
• Submit through Research.gov — select RAISE as the proposal type
• No RAISE-specific page limit — unlike RAPID (5 pages) or EAGER (8 pages), RAISE uses the standard 15-page Project Description; the PAPPG does not impose a shorter RAISE-specific limit
• Review process — program officers evaluate the proposal internally and may optionally seek external input before making a funding decision

Single-Organization Submission Rule

RAISE has a collaboration rule that RAPID and EAGER do not: the proposal must be submitted by a single organization, even when the research involves collaborators at other institutions.

• No separately submitted collaborative proposals — unlike standard NSF collaborative proposals, RAISE does not allow multiple organizations to each submit their own linked proposal
• Collaborators go in as subawards — partner institutions and their budgets must be included as subawards within the single submitting organization's proposal
• Applies regardless of team size — even large interdisciplinary teams must consolidate under one lead organization for RAISE

RAISE vs. EAGER vs. RAPID vs. Standard Proposals

All three program-officer-reviewed mechanisms skip external peer review, but they serve different purposes. RAPID is for time-sensitive research on ephemeral data or events, capped at $300,000 over 1 year. EAGER is for high-risk, early-concept research that is too speculative for standard peer review, capped at $400,000 over 2 years. RAISE is for research that is bold specifically because it is interdisciplinary and crosses program boundaries, with a larger $1,000,000 cap over up to 5 years and a requirement for concurrence from two program officers instead of one. Standard proposals remain the right choice for well-developed, single-program research with preliminary data that can withstand external peer review.