NSF Convergence Accelerator: Phases and Funding

The NSF Convergence Accelerator is a National Science Foundation program that funds multidisciplinary teams to turn convergence research into solutions with societal impact. It is run by NSF’s Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (TIP). Unlike a conventional single-investigator award, it is a phased, cohort-based program: teams in a track are funded for a short planning phase, pitch to NSF, and only the strongest advance to a larger build phase. This guide is written for research offices and investigators who need the mechanics. Everything below is as described on the official NSF pages and solicitation listed in the Sources section, checked on 2026-10-29.

What it is and who runs it

As described on the official NSF page on 2026-10-29, the program launched in 2019 and “funds teams to solve complex challenges through convergence research and innovation.” It sits in NSF TIP. Each year the program has released a solicitation featuring several convergent research topics, chosen through an annual ideation step: NSF issues a Dear Colleague Letter or Request for Information (DCL/RFI), funds workshops, and then publishes the solicitation. See CASRAI’s entry on the NSF Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) for how that document type works.

The official page describes five ways to engage: submit an idea during the ideation process, further an idea through a funded workshop, form a team and apply to a convergence research solicitation, contribute to a currently funded solution as a partner, or serve as a reviewer. The same page lists past funding opportunities (a 2020 pilot and a 2021 Track G call) without stating a current deadline, so check the NSF funding search for the current status before planning a submission. The emphasis on teams that combine disciplines and sectors makes the program a natural companion to the ideas in CASRAI’s guide to team science and the science of team science.

Eligibility (summary, with the official source)

NSF states that the project team “must represent a mix of disciplines, expertise and organizations” from academia, industry, nonprofits, government and other communities of practice, and that “Teams have no size limits and are expected to evolve as a project advances.” Industry, nonprofit, government and international collaborators are welcome but must follow the NSF Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG).

The 2023-cohort solicitation (NSF 23-590, covering Tracks K, L and M, now archived) is the most detailed primary text for the mechanics below. It says the following about who may submit:

US institutions of higher education (two- and four-year) and US non-profit, non-academic organizations tied to education or research may submit.
For-profit organizations are not excluded from the program, but the solicitation states that proposals led by for-profit or similar organizations should respond to the Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) instead.
An individual may serve as PI or co-PI on no more than two Phase 1 proposals and on only one Phase 2 proposal.
Phase 2 is open only to Phase 1 awardees, and each Phase 1 award supports one Phase 2 proposal.

These limits are cohort-specific. A later solicitation may change them, so always read the solicitation for the track you are targeting.

What it funds or requires

NSF’s program model page (published 2021, updated 2025) describes three stages: topic identification, Convergence Research Phase 1 and Phase 2. Topic ideas must be broad in technical scope, carry large societal impact, build on foundational research and suit a multidisciplinary convergent approach. All teams in a track start in Phase 1, and the cohort model includes what NSF calls “coopetition” among teams.

Item	Phase 1	Phase 2
Purpose (program model page)	Accelerated nine-month planning effort; curriculum covers human-centered design, team science, communications, storytelling and pitching; ends with a formal NSF pitch and proposal evaluation that decides who advances	Two-year effort (program model page) with an entrepreneurial curriculum: product development, intellectual property, financial resources, sustainability planning and outreach; deliverables should impact societal needs at scale and be sustainable beyond NSF support
Funding (program model page)	Up to $750,000	Cooperative agreement funding of up to $5 million
NSF 23-590 (2023 cohort)	Up to $750,000 over 12 months (about nine months of intensive curriculum); up to 48 awards, about $36 million in total	Up to $5,000,000 over 36 months, tranched $2M / $2M / $1M; up to 6 awards per topic; years 2 and 3 are contingent on a 12-month performance review

The two sources describe Phase 2 duration differently (two years on the program model page, 36 months in NSF 23-590), so treat duration as a cohort-specific term and quote the solicitation you apply under. NSF 23-590 also states that voluntary committed cost sharing is prohibited; see CASRAI’s term on voluntary committed cost share for why that matters in budget preparation.

Application or compliance steps

The steps below follow NSF 23-590 (2023 cohort). Treat them as a model of what the program has required, not as a checklist for a current call.

Submit a Letter of Intent (Phase 1). It is required, one page, and not reviewed. The title must include “NSF Convergence Accelerator” and the track. The solicitation states that a proposal without a letter of intent is returned without review.
Title the proposal correctly. Titles in that solicitation begin “NSF Convergence Accelerator Track K:”, “Track L:” or “Track M:” as appropriate.
Stay within page limits. The Phase 1 project description is limited to 15 pages. The Phase 2 description is limited to 20 pages and has nine required sections.
Include the required supplementary documents. A Data Management and Sharing Plan (two pages), an IP Management Plan for Phase 2 (three pages), a Consolidated Personnel List, and a postdoctoral mentoring plan (one page) where applicable.
Use letters of collaboration, not letters of support. The solicitation states that letters of support are not acceptable; only letters of collaboration are.
Address broader impacts. Include the Broadening Participation Plan that the solicitation requires within broader impacts. CASRAI’s guide to the NSF broader impacts statement and review criteria covers the general NSF requirement.

Typical timeline phases

Calendar dates change with every cohort and are deliberately omitted here. The sequence described by NSF is stable enough to plan around:

Topic identification through a DCL/RFI and NSF-funded workshops.
Publication of the annual solicitation, followed by the Phase 1 letter of intent and full proposal.
Phase 1: a nine-month intensive planning curriculum within the Phase 1 award period, ending in a pitch and proposal evaluation.
Phase 2 proposal from Phase 1 awardees only, then a multi-year build phase with a performance review before the later years of funding (NSF 23-590).

For a research office this means the real planning window starts with the DCL/RFI, well before the solicitation, because teams have to be formed across disciplines and sectors in advance.

Common mistakes

The following are drawn directly from rules stated in NSF 23-590, so each is a compliance risk rather than an opinion:

Missing the Phase 1 letter of intent, which results in the proposal being returned without review.
Exceeding the per-person limits (two Phase 1 proposals, one Phase 2).
Submitting a for-profit-led proposal to the solicitation instead of the BAA.
Including voluntary committed cost sharing, which the solicitation prohibits.
Attaching letters of support in place of letters of collaboration.
Assuming Phase 2 is open to anyone. It is open only to Phase 1 awardees.

Related programs

Other NSF mechanisms covered on CASRAI that readers often compare with a team-based, phased award:

NSF Research Traineeship (NRT): tracks, eligibility and how it works.
NSF Regional Innovation Engines (NSF Engines).
NSF CAREER Award, the contrasting single-investigator early-career mechanism.

FAQ

What is the NSF Convergence Accelerator?

It is an NSF TIP program, launched in 2019, that funds multidisciplinary teams to address complex challenges through convergence research and innovation, using a phased cohort model.

How much funding does it provide?

The program model page describes up to $750,000 for Phase 1 and up to $5 million for Phase 2 as a cooperative agreement. NSF 23-590 describes the same ceilings, with Phase 2 tranched $2M, $2M and $1M over 36 months.