New Zealand – United States Global Centers 2026 Call for Proposals

About this opportunity

The Global Centers program is a United States National Science Foundation (NSF) initiative, implemented in partnership with international funders, that supports use-inspired research to address societal challenges that cannot be solved within any single research field or by any single country.

The theme for the 2026 competition is "Advancing the Resilience and Security of Critical Infrastructure."

MBIE is planning to allocate up to NZ$4.5M (exclusive of GST) through the Catalyst Fund to support activities of eligible researchers across supported projects under NSF funding ‘Track 1: Global Center Implementation’ only.

MBIE expects to fund New Zealand participation in up to two Global Centers awards in this competition. Each award will be for a term of up to 5 years.  

How to apply

New Zealand applicants will need to submit a joint proposal with a US partner to NSF Global Centers. They will also need to submit a separate proposal to MBIE.

Global Centers 2026 - Advancing the Resilience and Security of Critical Infrastructure(external link) – United States National Science Foundation

Further details on the scope of this call and the application process for New Zealand researchers will be available shortly on this page. Make sure you are subscribed to our ‘International science partnerships’ list to receive updates.

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