*Who May Submit Proposals: Proposals may only be submitted by the following: -Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) - Two- and four-year IHEs (including community colleges) accredited in, and having a campus located in the US, acting on behalf of their faculty members.Special Instructions for International Branch Campuses of US IHEs: If the proposal includes funding to be provided to an international branch campus of a US institution of higher education (including through use of subawards and consultant arrangements), the proposer must explain the benefit(s) to the project of performance at the international branch campus, and justify why the project activities cannot be performed at the US campus. - The emphasis of this solicitation is to enable institutions, with limited or no research capacity, to create partnerships with external organizations to grow programs in workforce development, use-inspired research and development (R&amp;D), and/or the translation of research to practice in emerging technology fields.IHEs eligible to apply for funding under this solicitation are only those considered as neither R1 nor R2 institutions according to the 2021 Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education (<a title="http://carnegieclassifications.iu.edu/" href="http://carnegieclassifications.iu.edu/" target="_blank">http://carnegieclassifications.iu.edu/</a>). Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs), Predominantly Undergraduate Institutions (PUIs), and two-year institutions (including community colleges and technical schools) that are not classified as R1 or R2 institutions are strongly encouraged to apply. Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs): MSIs include Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs), Tribal colleges or universities (TCUs), and other institutions that enroll a significant percentage of underrepresented minority students as defined by the U.S. Department of Education. These other institutions include Alaska Native-serving institutions, Native Hawaiian-serving institutions, Predominantly Black Institutions, Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-serving institutions, and Native American-serving non-tribal institutions. For more information, please see the U.S. Department of Education's definitions and lists of eligible postsecondary institutions (<a title="https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/edlite-minorityinst.html" href="https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/edlite-minorityinst.html" target="_blank">Link to MSI definitions</a>). *Who May Serve as PI: The PI must hold a full-time administrative or faculty position at the proposing institution. Part-time administrators, adjunct faculty, and temporary hires are not eligible to serve as PI. Preliminary proposals must identify up to three individuals from the submitting institution (including the PI) to participate in the EPIIC workshops, and at least one administrator is required to serve on this team. See Section II for details about the workshops. See Section V.A. for more details about the make-up of proposing teams.