Solicitation
NSF X-Labs Initiative - From Sequence to Function
National Science Foundation
AI summaryStep 1 of 2: Written Proposals are due February 8, 2027, 5:00 PM Eastern; only teams the National Science Foundation (NSF) invites after reviewing them may send the second-step Oral Proposal Package and give an oral presentation. NSF's Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (TIP) wants full-time bioengineering research teams ("X-Labs") to build platform technologies that link protein sequence to biological function. This is an Other Transaction (OT) agreement, a research agreement that is not a standard FAR-based contract, paid by milestones, with up to $1,500,000 for a Phase 0 of about 9 months and up to $50,000,000 per year for Phase 1. More in the summary
AI summary Beta
Step 1 of 2: Written Proposals are due February 8, 2027, 5:00 PM Eastern; only teams the National Science Foundation (NSF) invites after reviewing them may send the second-step Oral Proposal Package and give an oral presentation. NSF's Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (TIP) wants full-time bioengineering research teams ("X-Labs") to build platform technologies that link protein sequence to biological function. This is an Other Transaction (OT) agreement, a research agreement that is not a standard FAR-based contract, paid by milestones, with up to $1,500,000 for a Phase 0 of about 9 months and up to $50,000,000 per year for Phase 1.
Who can bid (5)
- Lead organization must be a domestic responsible entity; NSF signs the OT with one lead organization only (it may be made of several entities and may subcontract to partners)
- Lead organization must be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) before submitting; SAM registration can take up to 10 days, and a missing UEI may get the proposal removed
- Research security: U.S. proscribed parties (federal restricted-party lists), foreign entities of concern, and people in a malign foreign talent recruitment program cannot take part. Citizens of North Korea, China, Russia or Iran cannot be Senior/Key Personnel
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- Team expected to operate with substantial independence in decisions, staffing, funding and partnerships; NSF applies an autonomy factor assessment and expects a governance structure plan for Phase 1
- Signed conflict of interest statement (Attachment B) disclosing any organizational conflicts of interest, covering the lead organization, employees and proposed subcontractors or consultants
How to submit: Electronically through the NSF submission website at https://nsfgov.my.site.com/xlabs. What to include is under Full summary below. Check the solicitation's instructions on SAM.gov.
Things to watch (10)
From the version posted Oct 14, 2026.
- Serious: SAM.gov and the solicitation disagree on the set-aside. SAM.gov lists no set-aside, but the solicitation the AI read says a set-aside for small businesses. Ask the contracting officer which applies before you bid.
- Serious: Two-step process: only invited teams reach the oral stage. Written Proposals are due February 8, 2027 (Topic Announcement). NSF then invites only the most highly qualified teams to send an Oral Proposal Package and give an oral presentation, with the package due about 5 business days before the presentation and key personnel disclosures about 48 hours after the invitation (Program solicitation, September 16 amendment). A team not invited is out of the competition.
- Serious: Not a typical small business contract: research teams with independence from their host organization. The program is for full-time R&D teams with broad control of funding, hiring and research direction, and no small business set-aside applies. A small firm without a research team and a governance plan is unlikely to be competitive.
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- Serious: Research security restrictions on organizations and key personnel. Restricted parties and people tied to certain countries cannot be Senior/Key Personnel, and annual compliance certifications may be required.
- Serious: SAM registration and UEI needed before submitting. Registration can take up to 10 days, and a missing UEI may get the proposal removed. Check a SAM.gov registration.
- Worth checking: Strict 8-page limit and file format. References count inside the 8 pages, files must be 1.5 MB or less, and non-conforming proposals may be removed.
- Worth checking: Limit on number of proposals per organization and per person. An organization may lead at most two Written Proposals for this topic, and key personnel can appear on only one, so teaming choices matter.
- Worth checking: Biosafety and gain-of-function assessment expected. Teams on this topic should address biosafety and biosecurity, including dangerous gain-of-function and a mitigation plan.
- Minor: Many out-of-scope topics. Narrow, incremental or already well-funded technologies and standalone predictive models without new experimental data are not in scope.
- Minor: Phase 0 length differs between documents. The Topic Announcement says 9 months with Go/No Go after 7 months; the program solicitation says approximately 9 to 12 months with Go/No Go in the last quarter. The topic-specific figure is likely the one that applies, but confirm with NSF.
Read from the notice and 5 attachments. Show which files.
- NSF-XLabsOTASO-AttachmentA-WrittenProposalTemplate.pdf (read)
- NSF-XLabsOTASO-AttachmentB-COIStatementForm.pdf (read)
- NSF-XLabsOTASO-AttachmentC-QuestionSubmissionTemplate.pdf (read)
- NSF-XLabsTopicAnnouncement-XLabsSequencetoFunction.pdf (read)
- NSF-XLabsOTASO-September16Amendment.pdf (read)
Full summary
What they want
- Written Proposal for an NSF X-Lab team that defines a Mission: a novel platform technology to link protein sequence and structure to function
- Platform technologies that make protein or whole-genome function predictable or controllable (protein design and synthesis, genome assembly, synthetic cells, or experimental discovery and validation)
- A technology landscape analysis comparing today's state of the art with the team's goal
- Measurable outcomes over a 5- to 7-year timescale
- Two to three high-utility application domains for the platform
- A biosafety and biosecurity approach, including an assessment of dangerous gain-of-function and a plan to reduce unintended consequences
- A team structure with the independence (autonomy) NSF describes for X-Labs, and complementary leadership, technical and entrepreneurial expertise
- A signed conflict of interest statement (Attachment B)
- Contract type
- Other Transaction (OT) contract under 42 U.S.C. 19116: neither a FAR-based procurement contract nor a grant; base OT award with milestone-based payments (milestones finalized in negotiation); one or more awards
- Period of performance
- Phase 0: about 9 months in the topic announcement (9 to 12 months in the program solicitation), with a Phase 1 Go/No Go selection starting after 7 months. Phase 1: about 24 to 36 months. Phase 2: variable length, for high-performing teams after later Go/No Go selections
- Place of performance
- Within the United States (SAM.gov lists Alexandria, VA)
- Estimated value
- NSF anticipates awarding Phase 0 teams no more than $1,500,000 and Phase 1 teams no more than $50,000,000 per year (stated ceilings)
- Contract vehicle
- NSF Other Transactions Agreement Solutions Offering (OTASO) NSF-OTASO-FY26-XLabsInitiative, Topic 4: From Sequence to Function
- How they'll choose
- Two-step competitive evaluation. Step 1: Written Proposals are reviewed and NSF down-selects to a smaller group. Step 2: invited teams send an Oral Proposal Package and give an oral presentation, and NSF ranks them and selects teams to negotiate with
- Offers due
- February 8, 2027, 5:00 PM Eastern
- How to submit
- Electronically through the NSF submission website at https://nsfgov.my.site.com/xlabs
- Page limits
- Written Proposal: 8 single-sided pages, not counting the conflict of interest (COI) statement; references count inside the 8 pages. COI statement: no page limit. Both PDFs: 1.5 MB or less each
What they'll judge offers on
- Written Proposal, Team Qualifications and Structure (weighed roughly equally with the next factor): (a) complementary scientific, technical, interdisciplinary and strategic leadership expertise and a record of success, (b) whether the planned Phase 1 governance structure fits the work, supports novel partnerships and gives the autonomy and flexibility needed
- Written Proposal, Mission Clarity and Outcomes: (a) Mission and outcomes are ambitious, technically sound and well defined, (b) the technology landscape justifies a dedicated full-time team, (c) alignment with the X-Labs strategic objectives
- Oral Proposal Package, Team Qualifications and Structure: (a) team expertise, (b) Phase 1 legal and organizational structure, (c) whether the Phase 0 budget is reasonable
- Oral Proposal Package, Mission Clarity and Outcomes: (a) Mission and outcomes, (b) alignment with strategic objectives, (c) Phase 0 and Phase 1 activities well defined, (d) Phase 0 Milestone Plan and Payment Schedule cover all required milestones
What to include when you submit
- Send the Written Proposal as one PDF with no cover letter: typed, single-spaced, 12-point font, 8.5 by 11 inch paper, 1 inch margins on all sides (tables, figures and graphs may use a smaller font)
- Send the COI statement (Attachment B) as a separate PDF. Check one box (no known conflict, or a disclosed matter) and give the explanation, relevant prior work and mitigation plan if applicable. It covers the lead organization, its employees and any proposed subcontractors or consultants
- Use the Attachment A template (recommended) with these sections: Mission, Technology Landscape, Outcomes, Senior/Key Personnel Qualifications, Team Capabilities Statement; delete the blue guidance text before submitting
- Include a UEI (Unique Entity Identifier) from the lead organization's SAM.gov registration
- Each eligible organization may lead at most two Written Proposals per topic, and Senior/Key Personnel may be listed on only one Written Proposal per topic
- Name 2 to 3 high-utility application domains and describe your biosafety and biosecurity approach, including an assessment of dangerous gain-of-function and a plan to mitigate unintended consequences
- Proposals that do not meet the format specifications may be removed from consideration
After award, you must have
- Senior/Key Personnel and core leadership must be dedicated full-time to the team by the beginning of Phase 1, unless NSF approves otherwise From NSF-XLabsOTASO-September16Amendment.pdf:
…dedicated full-time to the team by the beginning of Phase 1, unless otherwise approved by NSF.
Current contractor
No incumbent is named. This is a new research initiative; NSF anticipates awarding one or more OT contracts, one per X-Labs team.
Not in the notice text
- How many teams NSF will fund for this topic and the total funding available: the notice says one or more awards and gives only per-team ceilings
- How many teams will be invited to the oral stage: NSF may limit the number
- Oral Proposal Package instructions and Phase 0 Milestone Plan guidance are sent only to invited teams
- Specific Phase 1 Go/No Go selection criteria will be given to Phase 0 teams before or at the start of Phase 0
- Whether a later amendment to the program solicitation changes these terms: proposers are expected to review the latest amendment
Eligibility and how to respond
- No set-aside: any business, large or small, can bid unless the notice says otherwise.
- How to submit, from the AI summary: Electronically through the NSF submission website at https://nsfgov.my.site.com/xlabs. Check it in the notice before you send anything.
Notice details
- Posted
- Oct 14, 2026
- Notice type
- Solicitation
- Office
- Tip - Core Programs, Alexandria, VA
- Product/service code
- AJ12 · General Science and Technology R&D Services; General Science and Technology; Applied Research
- Business type
- Engineering, architecture & research (FedReady's grouping, from NAICS 541714)
- Versions
2 versions have been posted, newest first.
- Oct 14, 2026 · Amendment 0001 (this version)Due Feb 8, 2027
- Oct 14, 2026 · SolicitationDue Feb 8, 2027
- Attachments
Past awards and competition
Who has won work like this before, the likely incumbent, and what similar contracts paid, from USAspending.gov.
Before you respond
- How to respond to a solicitation (8 steps)
- How to read a government solicitation
- How to price a government contract
Terms on this notice: Solicitation
Full notice text from SAM.gov
The National Science Foundation (NSF) Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (TIP) announces its intent to solicit Written Proposals for NSF X-Labs teams in the technical domain of bioengineering. This NSF X-Labs announcement is issued under the Other Transactions Agreement Solutions Offering (OTASO), NSF-OTASO-FY26-XLabsInitiative.
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