NSF XLabsOTASO AttachmentA WrittenProposalTemplate

[X-Lab Team Name and/or Lead Institution]

NSF-OTASO-FY26-XLabsInitiative-AttachmentA

[ALL BLUE TEXT IS INTENDED FOR GUIDANCE ONLY AND MUST BE DELETED OR

REPLACED PRIOR TO SUBMISSION]

[Written Proposals should be direct, concise, and must not exceed a total of 8 single-sided pages exclusive of the Conflicts of Interest (COI) statement. The Written Proposal shall be typed, single-spaced, using 12-point font, and printed on 8½” by 11” paper, with 1” margins on all sides. Tables/graphs may use a smaller font. Written Proposals shall be submitted as a PDF document without a cover letter. COI statements shall be submitted as a separate PDF document and have no page limit. Proposals that do not meet these format specifications may be removed from consideration.]
[Proposal Title and/or Team Name]
[Lead Institution]
Written Proposal to the NSF X-Labs Initiative

1. Mission

[Proposing teams must describe one or more novel platform technologies that the proposed NSF X-Lab is uniquely suited to advance. Successful teams will have a clear vision statement of how their work will result in an end-state that reshapes an entire field of scientific inquiry or a sector of technology, and how their Mission is currently unmet by existing organizational structures and funding mechanisms.]

2. Technology Landscape

[Provide an analysis of the current technology landscape that justifies how the proposed platform technology would accelerate the emergence of new technologies and lines of research. The Technology Landscape Analysis should compare current state-of-the-art technology and should provide a clear description of the team’s goal to progress the technology and unlock fundamentally new capabilities. A plot or other figure to quantitatively depict the current technology landscape and desired goal(s) of the NSF X-Lab may be included here.]

3. Outcomes

[An NSF X-Lab is expected to deliver high-impact, measurable outcomes that advance a nascent platform technology, overcome critical bottlenecks, and realize the team’s vision to reshape an entire area of technology or field of scientific research (see Section 7.0 for example outcomes). Phase 0 proposals should describe the team’s ambitious target outcomes over a 5- to 7-year timescale to accomplish the stated Mission and the scientific and technical performance benchmarks needed to get there.]

4. Senior/Key Personnel Qualifications

[Provide a brief description of the qualifications of Senior/Key Personnel on the team. Include technical expertise, experience commercializing technology, past efforts, and other qualifications