Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE): Core Programs, Large Projects
NSF's CISE directorate funds large, collaborative research projects ($3-5M) that cross multiple core computing, communication, and information science program boundaries.
Browse similar grants
This grant is no longer accepting proposals
U.S. National Science Foundation has archived this opportunity.
Funder: National Science Foundation (NSF)
Due Dates: September 15-29, 2025 | September 14-28, 2027
Funding Amounts: $3,000,000 to $5,000,000 total; budgets capped at $1,000,000 per year; duration 3-5 years
Summary: Supports large, collaborative, interdisciplinary research projects in computing, communications, and information science that cross multiple CISE core program boundaries.
Key Information: Proposals must address research topics spanning two or more CISE core programs; a Management and Coordination Plan and a Broadening Participation in Computing (BPC) plan are required; proposals focused on research infrastructure are not eligible.
Description
The National Science Foundation's Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) invites proposals for large-scale, collaborative research projects that develop new knowledge in computing, communications, and information science and engineering. This solicitation targets ambitious fundamental research problems that cross the boundaries of two or more CISE core programs, requiring integrated efforts from teams with complementary expertise.
The participating CISE divisions and their core programs include:
- Division of Computing and Communication Foundations (CCF): Algorithmic Foundations (AF), Communications and Information Foundations (CIF), Foundations of Emerging Technologies (FET), Software and Hardware Foundations (SHF)
- Division of Computer and Network Systems (CNS): Computer Systems Research (CSR), Networking Technology and Systems (NeTS)
- Division of Information and Intelligent Systems (IIS): Human-Centered Computing (HCC), Information Integration and Informatics (III), Robust Intelligence (RI)
Proposals must demonstrate that the research problem requires a large, integrated collaborative effort and that the combined impact of the team will exceed the sum of individual contributions. The solicitation encourages partnerships across a wide range of institutions, including academia, industry, and nonprofits.
Proposals focused solely on research infrastructure are not appropriate for this solicitation.
Key Features
- Teams must include two or more investigators (PI, co-PI(s), or other Senior/Key Personnel) with complementary expertise.
- Proposals must clearly justify why smaller-scale CISE core programs are insufficient to address the research challenge.
- A Management and Coordination Plan (up to 3 pages) is required as a supplementary document, detailing roles, coordination mechanisms, evaluation metrics, and budget support for management activities.
- A Broadening Participation in Computing (BPC) Plan is required, addressing goals, intended populations, strategies, measurement, and PI engagement.
- Proposals may request cloud computing resources via CloudBank but must exclude these costs from the NSF budget and describe them in a supplementary document.
- Access to NSF-supported experimental research infrastructure is encouraged.
