In 2016, the National Science Foundation (NSF) unveiled a set of "Big Ideas," ten bold, long-term research and process ideas that identify areas for future investment at the frontiers of science and engineering (see https://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/big_ideas/index.jsp). The Big Ideas represent unique opportunities to position our Nation at the cutting edge of global science and engineering by bringing together diverse disciplinary perspectives to support convergence research. When responding to this solicitation, even though proposals must be submitted through the Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering, Division of Information and Intelligent Systems (CISE/IIS), once received, the proposals will be managed by a cross-disciplinary team of NSF Program Directors.
NSF's Harnessing the Data Revolution (HDR) Big Idea is a national-scale activity to enable new modes of data-driven discovery that will allow fundamental questions to be asked and answered at the frontiers of science and engineering. In 2019, the HDR Big Idea launched three parallel efforts in pursuit of these aims: Institutes for Data-Intensive Research in Science and Engineering (I-DIRSE), HDR: Transdisciplinary Research In Principles Of Data Science Phase I (HDR TRIPODS Phase I), and Data Science Corps (DSC).
The Data Science Corps is one of the components of the HDR ecosystem enabling education and workforce development by focusing on building capacity for harnessing the data revolution at the local, state, and national levels to help unleash the power of data in the service of science and society. The Data Science Corps will provide practical experiences, teach new skills, and offer learning opportunities in different settings. This solicitation prompts the community to envision creative educational pathways that will transform data science education and expand the data science talent pool by enabling the participation of undergraduate and Master’s degree students with diverse backgrounds, experiences, skills, and technical maturity in the Data Science Corps. These activities are envisioned to be inherently collaborative, with a lead organization and one or more collaborating organizations.
Full Proposal Window: January 26, 2021 - February 12, 2021
Proposals may only be submitted by the following:
An individual may participate in only one proposal as Principal Investigator, co-Principal Investigator, or Senior Personnel of a lead organization. This eligibility constraint will be strictly enforced to treat everyone fairly and consistently. In the event that an individual exceeds this limit, any proposal submitted after the first proposal is received at NSF will be returned without review. No exceptions will be made.
Estimated Number of Awards: 8 to 10
Eight to ten Data Science Corps project awards are anticipated, for three years each, subject to the availability of funds.
Anticipated Funding Amount: $12,000,000
Up to $12,000,000 is expected to be available for eight to ten awards, for three years each, subject to availability of funds. Awards will typically be in the range of $1,200,000 to $1,500,000, for three years.
