The NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD) Research Initiation Awards (RIA) program aims to broaden the base of institutions involved in the SMD research and technology development ecosystem. The program has two principal objectives:

1. Enable investigators with no prior or recent Federal funding to pursue research at institutions that have not commonly proposed or applied to the SMD ecosystem to initiate activities that, over the course of a two-year period, will provide the foundation for a competitive, sustainable, and productive program of research.
2. Enable undergraduate students affiliated with the proposing investigator to perform cutting-edge research in an SMD-relevant field. Funding for undergraduate students is a required element of the proposed project.

RIA places eligibility requirements on both the Principal Investigator (PI) and the institution:

• The proposing institution may not be an R1 institution according to the Carnegie Classification guide.
• The PI may not have received federal funding as PI of a project that is related to the proposed research activities within the last five years (with exceptions described in Section 2.2).

This opportunity is designed to support the executive order (EO) Improving Oversight of Federal Grantmaking. In particular: Section 4 (D) iv that “Discretionary grants should be given to a broad range of recipients rather than to a select group of repeat players” by excluding R1 institutions (see Section 2.1) and, as specified in Section 4 (D) vii of that EO, will “prioritize an institution’s commitment to rigorous, reproducible scholarship over its historical reputation or perceived prestige" by use of dual-anonymous peer review (see Section 4).

This amendment releases final text for F.17 RIA, which had been listed as "TBD". Neither an NOI nor Step-1 proposal is requested. Proposals are due 18 August 2026. An informational webinar about this opportunity will occur at 1p Eastern (10a Pacific) on 16 June 2026. Register for the webinar at https://nasaevents.webex.com/weblink/register/r2fbc7ed95634bfe1170fd634303f5b1c

Please direct questions concerning F.17 RIA to Maggie Yancey at hq-smd-ria@mail.nasa.gov.