Funder: National Science Foundation
Due Dates: February 7, 2025 | February 6, 2026
Funding Amounts: Up to $400,000 (2–3 yrs, RCBP) | Up to $600,000 (2–3 yrs, RDP) | $600,000–$1,200,000 (3–4 yrs, RPEP) | $100,000–$200,000 (2 yrs, RPP) | Total program: ~$10M/year
Summary: Supports Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) to expand research capacity and participation in computer and information science and engineering through four project types.
Key Information: Lead institutions must be MSIs with ≤$2M in NSF CISE core funding in the past 5 years; limited submission and strict eligibility rules apply.
Description
The National Science Foundation's Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) offers this program to broaden participation and build research capacity at Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) in computing and information science and engineering. The program aims to increase the number and competitiveness of CISE-funded research projects from MSIs, foster innovation, and cultivate diverse talent in the field. Four project "threads" are available, supporting a range of activities from research planning to large-scale collaborative partnerships.
Due Dates
- February 7, 2025 (Full Proposal)
- February 6, 2026 (Full Proposal)
- (Previous deadline: May 2, 2024)
All deadlines are due by 5:00 p.m. submitter's local time.
Funding Amount
- Total Program Funding: Approximately $10,000,000 per year
- Estimated Number of Awards: 15–20 per year
Award sizes and durations by thread:
- Research Capacity Building Projects (RCBP): Up to $400,000 for 2–3 years
- Research Demonstration Projects (RDP): Up to $600,000 for 2–3 years
- Research Partnerships Enhancement Projects (RPEP): $600,000–$1,200,000 for 3–4 years
- Research Planning Projects (RPP): $100,000–$200,000 for up to 2 years
Eligibility
- Who May Apply: Only accredited Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) recognized as Minority-Serving Institutions (MSI definition) may submit proposals as lead institutions.
- Funding Cap: Lead institutions must not have received more than $2 million in NSF CISE core program funding in the past five years.
- PI Requirements: The lead PI must be a faculty member at the MSI.
- Institutional Limits:
- RCBP: Institutions with ≥2 active RCBP awards cannot submit new RCBP proposals.
- RDP: Institutions with ≥2 active RDP awards cannot submit new RDP proposals.
- RPEP: Institutions with ≥1 active RPEP award cannot submit new RPEP proposals.
- PI/Co-PI Limit: Individuals may participate in no more than two proposals per competition (across all threads).
- Non-MSIs: May participate as subawardees or non-lead partners, but not as lead institutions.
- Certification: A signed MSI eligibility certification is required with all lead proposals.
Application Process
- Submission Platforms: Proposals may be submitted via Research.gov or Grants.gov.
- Letters of Intent/Preliminary Proposals: Not required.
- Full Proposal: Required; must follow the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG).
- Proposal Title Format: Must begin with "CISE MSI: [Thread]: [CISE Program Acronym]: [Project Title]".
- Required Supplementary Documents:
- Project Personnel and Partner Institutions list
- Collaboration Plan (up to 3 pages)
- Data Management Plan (up to 2 pages)
- Departmental Letter (1 page)
- Certification of MSI Eligibility (signed)
- Cloud computing resource request (if applicable)
- Budget: No cost sharing required; cloud computing resources (via CloudBank) may be requested as a supplement (not included in NSF budget).
- Annual Grantee Meeting: Budget for PI travel to a two-day annual meeting is required.
Additional Information
- Project Threads:
- RCBP: Build research capacity and infrastructure through partnerships (no single-PI projects).
- RDP: Expand or establish research collaborations within or across MSIs and/or with research-intensive organizations.
- RPEP: Large-scale, transformative partnerships with research centers, national labs, or other organizations.
- RPP: Seed funding for research planning and capacity building at MSIs.
- Review Criteria: Standard NSF intellectual merit and broader impacts, plus additional criteria for collaboration, MSI student involvement, and sustainability.
- Cloud Computing: Proposals may request resources for public cloud platforms via CloudBank; see solicitation for details.
- Strict Compliance: Proposals missing required documents or not meeting eligibility will be returned without review.
External Links
Contact Information
For technical support with Research.gov: rgov@nsf.gov
For Grants.gov support: support@grants.gov or 1-800-518-4726