Research Infrastructure Resources

The 2025 Research Infrastructure Guide is available for review and public comment

The U.S. National Science Foundation's 2025 Research Infrastructure Guide (RIG) revisions focus on providing clear, practical guidance for life cycle planning and management of Major Facilities and Mid-scale Research Infrastructure. Key updates include adopting award instrument-neutral terminology, improving clarity and consistency, eliminating redundancy, and adding guidance on Design Execution Plans, Project Execution Plans, Annual Work Plans, Facility Condition Assessments and project management practices such as risk management and contingency estimating. Additional updates cover cyberinfrastructure, information assurance, and the use of Agile methods for NSF projects. The 2025 RIG also introduces guidance for tailoring, scaling, and progressively elaborating planning efforts across all life cycle stages. See the 2025 RIG for a complete summary of significant changes.

We welcome and encourage feedback before the final publication in the spring or early summer. To submit a public comment, please see the Federal Register Notice. The deadline to submit comments is March 10, 2025. NSF will review all submissions and not share comments outside the agency. We greatly appreciate your active participation by submitting feedback.

Please note that the current RIG will remain active under an OMB extension until the 2025 version is officially published. If you have questions about the 2025 RIG or need assistance understanding the updates, please email AskRIO@nsf.gov.

Current guidance 

Research Infrastructure Guide (RIG) (December 2021)
Provides comprehensive guidance on managing the lifecycle of NSF Major Facilities and Mid-scale Research Infrastructure.

Cyberinfrastructure Plan Outline 
Clarifies expectations for proposals regarding new and existing research infrastructure projects, emphasizing integrating and managing cyberinfrastructure elements such as data, security and computational resources throughout the project life cycle.

NSF Earned Value Management (EVM) Gold Card 
Provides essential guidelines for tracking project performance across cost, schedule and scope, enabling effective management and ensuring projects meet their established goals.

NSF Financial Data Collection Tool for Major Facilities (Excel)
This tool is required for submitting financial expenditure data for cooperative agreements related to major facilities. See the Research Infrastructure Guide's Section 4.6.3.4 Incurred Cost Audits for more information.

Project Execution Plan template for Mid-scale RI projects (September 2024)
Outlines methods for estimating and managing project contingency across budget, schedule and scope/quality, along with plans for controlling, maintaining and reporting contingency status and usage. For more information, refer to DRAFT RIG Section 3.5.

Business Systems Review (BSR) Guide (September 2022)
Outlines a structured process for assessing business systems in NSF Major Facilities to ensure adherence to federal regulations, enhance administrative practices and promote knowledge sharing between NSF and facility operators.