Research Visioning for Computer and Information Science and Engineering : Future Research Directions for the CISE Community (CISE-RV)

Funding Agency:
National Science Foundation

Society's reliance on information, communication, computing and cyberinfrastructure in all aspects of daily life increases more and more each day. Innovations in these areas are now central to how we work, live, learn, communicate, shop, travel, socialize and conduct scientific research – a testament to the tremendous progress in computer and information science and engineering in the last 50 years fueled by strong research breakthroughs in all areas including artificial intelligence, hardware, networking, robotics, software, systems, and theory. The unprecedented growth and reach of information, communication, computing and cyberinfrastructure, and the constantly increasing demand for innovations and novel applications presents new fundamental and translational research challenges that need to be addressed. The information, communication, computing and cyberinfrastructure research community needs to stay ahead of the curve in this constantly evolving landscape.

The National Science Foundation’s Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) seeks to fund a community-driven organization that will identify ambitious new fundamental and translational research directions that align with national and societal priorities and thereby catalyze the computing research community's pursuit of innovative, high-impact research. Specifically, CISE calls on the information, communication, computing and cyberinfrastructure research community to establish a CISE Research Visioning activity (CISE-RV) to facilitate the articulation of compelling long-term research visions and establish multi-directional communication pathways for stakeholders with interest in information, communication, computing and cyberinfrastructure research, including those in academia, industry, government, professional societies, virtual organizations, international entities, and the general public. It is anticipated that through its activities the CISE-RV will strengthen connectivity and increase coordination across these diverse stakeholders and enable rapid and efficient community response to emerging opportunities and areas of national need.

The CISE-RV should have representation from academia, industry, professional societies, and other stakeholders in the CISE fields, and should be inclusive of all disciplines including computer science, computer engineering, information sciences, cyberinfrastructure, and related fields. Through its proposed activities, the CISE-RV should provide the information, communication, computing and cyberinfrastructure research community with a sustainable process for identifying future research challenges and enabling the CISE research community to speak with a unified voice.

NSF anticipates funding a single award for up to five years, with the funding for each year of the award in the range of $1,000,000 to $2,000,000 per year. The CISE-RV in the steady state phase is expected to have a four-year time frame. Proposers that need a startup phase to develop and setup the organizational structure, in addition to the four-year steady state phase, may request up to one year of additional support, thereby requesting up to five years of support. Proposers are encouraged to take into consideration, when developing their proposed budgets, the effort required to start up and maintain steady state, varying annual budget requests accordingly.

Limit on Number of Proposals per Organization: 1. An organization may submit only one CISE-RV proposal in which it is the lead institution. This limit has been set to ensure that a single organization submits a strong and focused proposal that leverages all the resources available to that organization. 

Deadlines:

  • Duke Internal: Interested applicants from within Duke should contact dukeiln@duke.edu as early as possible.
  • Required Letter of Intent: May 10, 2022
  • Full Proposal Deadline Date: Oct. 5, 2022

Agency Website

Eligibility Requirements

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.
  • Non-profit, non-academic organizations: Independent museums, observatories, research labs, professional societies and similar organizations in the U.S. associated with educational or research activities.

Limit on Number of Proposals per Organization: 1

An organization may submit only one CISE-RV proposal in which it is the lead institution. This limit has been set to ensure that a single organization submits a strong and focused proposal that leverages all the resources available to that organization. In the event that an organization exceeds this limit, proposals will be accepted based on earliest date and time of proposal submission, i.e., the first proposal from that organization will be accepted, and the remainder will be returned without review. No exceptions will be made.

Who May Serve as PI: Either the PI or a co-PI should hold a primary appointment at an institution of higher education accredited in and having a campus located in the US. There is no constraint on the role of the PI within the submitting organization. The proposal must document the PI’s experience with leading and managing an organization involving and/or representing diverse constituents from the broad computer science, information science and engineering community.

Limit on Number of Proposals per PI or co-PI: 1

An individual may be designated as PI or co-PI on at most one project team submitting to this solicitation. In the event that an individual exceeds this limit, proposals will be accepted based on earliest date and time of proposal submission, i.e., the first proposal involving that individual as a PI or co-PI will be accepted, and the remainder will be returned without review. No exceptions will be made.

Amount

$9,000,000

Amount Description

NSF anticipates funding a single award for 5 years, subject to the availability of funds, with the funding for each year of the award in the range of $1,000,000 to $2,000,000, not to exceed $2,000,000 in any one year and not to exceed $9,000,000 in total over 5 years. Proposers are encouraged to take into consideration when developing their proposed budget that expenses necessary to effect and sustain the organization will likely increase from establishment through maintenance phases, consistent with an increasing scope of activities over time.

Funding Type

Grant

Eligibility

Faculty

Category

Engineering and Physical Sciences
Interdisciplinary
Social Sciences

External Deadline

May 10, 2022