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Early Stage Innovations and Partnerships 

Leadership Team Meeting

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Early-Stage Innovation and Partnerships (ESIP)

ESIP 101 and Program Cadence

Updated July 2023

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Our Story

ESIP’s mission is to empower a community of innovators pioneering aerospace research and transformative technology ventures to enable NASA’s mission and invigorate our economic future. Each ESIP Program taps into powerful communities of innovators from different places – small business, universities, NASA researchers, the general public. It balances the spearheading of aerospace research with the encouragement of commercialization through ventures.

The Early Stage Innovations and Partnerships Portfolio (ESIP) was created to give more support to the important work of STMD’s / NASA’s early stage technology development and tech commercialization Programs, increasing their value and impact.

The Early-Stage Innovation and Partnerships (ESIP) Portfolio empowers a community of innovators pioneering aerospace research and transformative technology ventures. It enables NASA’s mission and invigorates our economic future. Working together, ESIP amplifies the value and impact of STMD’s and NASA’s early-stage technology development and tech commercialization programs. Each of ESIP’s programs and activities play an important role in this work.

Nurtures visionary ideas that could transform future NASA missions by engaging America’s innovators and entrepreneurs as partners in the journey.

NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts

Challenges the spectrum of academic researchers to making science, space travel, and exploration more effective, affordable, and sustainable.

Space Tech Research Grants

Stimulate and encourage creativity and innovation within the NASA Centers and Early Career leaders. 

Center Innovation Fund / Early Career Initiative

Makes opportunities available for public participation in NASA research and technology solutions to support.​

Prizes, Challenges, & Crowdsourcing 

Engages small businesses, research institutions, and entrepreneurs in technology R&D that meet NASA needs and could be commercialized.

Small Business Innovation Research / Small Business Technology Transfer

T2

Ensures that innovations developed for exploration and discovery are maximizing the benefit to the Nation and enabling spinoffs.

Technology Transfer

NIAC

STRG

CIF/ECI

PCC

SBIR/STTR

------------------Cross-Cutting Activities and Early Innovations (~10 investment projects)------

Early Stage Innovation and Commerce (ESIC) • Inclusive Innovation • I-Corps and Entrepreneurial Projects

30+ grants annually

300+ grants with dozens of universities 

~140 projects across NASA Centers

>40

Activities

>500 contracts with hundreds of small businesses

>1,500 Active Patents & >700 Licenses

What We Do

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How We Do Business

Through contracts, grants, internal research and development awards, and public prize competitions and challenges, ESIP programs assemble a diverse portfolio of ambitious, risk-informed technology investments. ESIP also invest in tools and processes to enable infusion and commercialization of that research, ultimately supporting US economic growth. ESIP and its programs are defined by a culture of experimentation and learning. The portfolio believes in the power of trial and error: of making bets in support of superlative innovation.

Contracts

Grants

Internal R&D Awards

Challenges

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ESIP Portfolio of Solicitations/ Activities

Open

Medium

Open

Open

Small

Large

Grant / Internal Awards

Few

Few

Few

Annual

Annual

Annual

Internal Awards

Open

Small

Many

Annual

Grant / Internal Awards

Many

Few

Few

Few

Grant

Grant

Grant

Grant

Grant

Open

Topic

Topic

Topic

Topic

Small

Medium

Medium

Large

Large

Few

Annual

Annual

Annual

Annual*

Every Other Year

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Contracts

Internal Awards

Open

Large

Few

Annual

Size Legend: Small: <$500k, Med: $500k-$1M, Large: >$1M)

Volume Legend: Few: <20, Medium: 20-50, Many: >50)

**Every-Other Year Cycle

ESIP Portfolio of Solicitations/ Activities

Size Legend: Small: <$500k, Med: $500k-$1M, Large: >$1M)

Volume Legend: Few: <20, Medium: 20-50, Many: >50)

***Universities are required partners for STTRs

Grant

Open

Open

Small

Few

Contracts

Contracts

Contracts

Contracts

Topic

Topic

Topic

Topic

Many

Many

Few

Few

Few

Large

Large

Small

Medium

Annual

Annual

Annual

Annual

Annual

Medium

Medium

Contracts

Topic

Annual

Contracts

Topic

Few

Medium

Annual

Small

Open

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Contracts

ESIP Portfolio of Solicitations/ Activities

Size Legend: Small: <$500k, Med: $500k-$1M, Large: >$1M)

Volume Legend: Few: <20, Medium: 20-50, Many: >50)

***Universities are required partners for STTRs

Invention Disclosure

Open

Ad-Hoc

N/A

N/A

Software Release

Patent Licensing

Open

Open

Ad-Hoc

Ad-Hoc

N/A

N/A

N/A

N/A

Small

Topic

Large

Prize

Many

Few

Topic

Varies

Few

Crowdsourcing

Many

Annual

Open

Open

Ad-Hoc

Internal Awards

Topic

Open

N/A

Prizes, Challenges, Crowdsourcing

Contracts

Open

Medium

Small

Open

N/A

Open

N/A

N/A

N/A

Contracts

Open

Annual

Medium

Small

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List of Acronyms

• CCRPP – Civilian Commercialization Readiness Pilot Program
• CIF – Center Innovation Fund
• ECF – Early Career Faculty
• ECI – Early Career Initiative
• ESI – Early-Stage Innovations
• I-Corps – Innovation Corps
• LuSTR – Lunar Surface Technology Research
• NIAC – NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts
• NSTGRO – NASA Space Technology Graduate Research Opportunities
• NTL – NASA Tournament Lab
• PCC – Prizes, Challenges, and Crowdsourcing
• SBIR – Small Business Innovation Research
• STRG – Space Technology Research Grants
• STRI – Space Technology Research Institutes
• STTR – Small Business Technology Transfer

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Resources

Search for opportunities that might be the right fit for you: https://techport.nasa.gov/opportunities

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