Atom | Research Infrastructure in the Social and Behavioral Sciences

Due Dates: Proposals accepted anytime (except for ANES, GSS, PSID competitions, which have separate deadlines)

Funding Amounts: Typical awards range from $400,000 to $2,000,000; estimated total program funding is $16,000,000

Summary: Supports creation of computational tools and data resources to advance basic research in the social and behavioral sciences, with a focus on enabling research by the broader community.

Key Information: Separate solicitations and deadlines apply for American National Election Study, General Social Survey, and Panel Study of Income Dynamics.

Description

The Research Infrastructure in the Social and Behavioral Sciences Program (RISBS) funds projects that develop computational tools and data resources to facilitate basic research in the social and behavioral sciences. The program aims to enable research that can lead to improved health, prosperity, and security by supporting the creation of infrastructure—such as new datasets, data collection platforms, or software tools—that benefits the broader research community.

RISBS is especially interested in innovative projects that create resources for use by social scientists. The program does not support research by principal investigators except as necessary for the development of the infrastructure itself.

RISBS also directly supports three major longitudinal studies: the American National Election Study (ANES), the General Social Survey (GSS), and the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID). These have their own separate solicitations and deadlines. Other infrastructure proposals may be submitted to RISBS at any time.

RISBS collaborates with other NSF programs in the social and behavioral sciences to co-fund projects that create especially valuable or innovative research tools.

Due Dates

Proposals for general research infrastructure projects: Accepted anytime
Separate deadlines apply for:

Funding Amount

Award range: $400,000 to $2,000,000 per project
Estimated total program funding: $16,000,000
Expected number of awards: Approximately 5 per cycle

Eligibility

Eligible applicants: Unrestricted; open to all types of entities (universities, colleges, non-profits, for-profits, etc.), subject to any clarifications in the solicitation.
Note: Proposals must adhere to the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG).

Application Process

Proposals must be submitted via NSF FastLane, Research.gov, or Grants.gov.
All proposals must follow the requirements in the current NSF PAPPG.
Prospective PIs are strongly encouraged to contact RISBS program officers before submission, especially if the project may overlap with other SBE programs.
For ANES, GSS, and PSID, refer to their specific solicitations for requirements and deadlines.

Additional Information

RISBS does not support research by PIs except as necessary for infrastructure creation.
Innovation and broad utility for the research community are highly encouraged.
RISBS may co-fund projects with other NSF social and behavioral science programs.
Proposals addressing the development of data resources and analytic techniques may also be eligible for the Human Networks and Data Science Program — Infrastructure (HNDS-I).
All awards made on or after October 1, 2024, are subject to updated NSF award conditions (details here).

External Links

Contact Information

Name	Email	Phone	Organization
Lee D. Walker, Program Director	lwalker@nsf.gov	(703) 292-7174	SBE/SES
Joseph M. Whitmeyer, Program Director	jwhitmey@nsf.gov	(703) 292-7808	SBE/SES
General NSF Info	info@nsf.gov	1-703-292-5111	NSF
Grants.gov Support	grantsgovsupport@nsf.gov		NSF