Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE): Core Programs (NSF 24-589)

Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE): Core Programs (NSF 24-589) is sponsored by National Science Foundation (NSF). The Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) supports investigator-initiated research across all areas of computer and information science and engineering.

NSF 24-589: Computer and Information Science and Engineering : Core Programs (Future CoRe) | NSF - U.S. National Science Foundation Archived funding opportunity This solicitation is archived. Important information for proposers and award recipients All proposals must be submitted in accordance with the requirements specified in the funding opportunity and in the Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) and its supplements .

All NSF grants and cooperative agreements are subject to the applicable set of NSF award terms and conditions . NSF has updated its research security policies for NSF funded projects. NSF 24-589: Computer and Information Science and Engineering: Core Programs To save a PDF of this solicitation, select Print to PDF in your browser's print options.

Program Solicitation NSF 24-589 National Science Foundation Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering Division of Computing and Communication Foundations Division of Information and Intelligent Systems Division of Computer and Network Systems Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure Submission Window Date(s) (due by 5 p. m.

submitting organization's local time): July 18, 2024 - September 30, 2024 Accepted anytime during this submission window October 1 - September 30, Annually Thereafter October 01, 2024 - October 23, 2024, October 1 - October 23, Annually Thereafter October 01, 2024 - October 23, 2024, October 1 - October 23, Annually Thereafter Important Information And Revision Notes CISE encourages proposals from institutions in Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) jurisdictions.

Evaluation plans are no longer required for proposals in the Division of Computer and Network Systems core programs. The budget guidance for Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) supplements has been revised. Proposal submissions to the Small project class are accepted at anytime during the year-long annual submission window.

Proposers should choose the annual submission end date listed in the Due Date drop down window in Research. gov to submit to the Small project class. Any proposal submitted in response to this solicitation should be submitted in accordance with the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) that is in effect for the relevant due date to which the proposal is being submitted.

The NSF PAPPG is regularly revised and it is the responsibility of the proposer to ensure that the proposal meets the requirements specified in this solicitation and the applicable version of the PAPPG. Submitting a proposal prior to a specified deadline does not negate this requirement.

Summary Of Program Requirements Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE): Core Programs The NSF CISE Directorate supports research and education projects that develop new knowledge in all aspects of computing, communications, and information science and engineering, as well as advanced cyberinfrastructure, through the following core programs: Division of Computing and Communication Foundations (CCF): Algorithmic Foundations (AF) program; Communications and Information Foundations (CIF) program; Foundations of Emerging Technologies (FET) program; and Software and Hardware Foundations (SHF) program.

Division of Computer and Network Systems (CNS): Computer Systems Research (CSR) program; and Networking Technology and Systems (NeTS) program. Division of Information and Intelligent Systems (IIS): Human-Centered Computing (HCC) program; Information Integration and Informatics (III) program; and Robust Intelligence (RI) program.

Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure (OAC): OAC Core Research (OAC Core) program; Proposers are invited to submit proposals in several project classes, which are defined as follows: Small Projects -- up to $600,000 total budget with durations up to three years: projects in this class may be submitted to CCF, CNS, and IIS only; Medium Projects -- $600,001 to $1,200,000 total budget with durations up to four years: projects in this class may be submitted to CCF, CNS, and IIS only; and OAC Core Projects -- up to $600,000 total budget with durations up to three years: projects in this class may be submitted to OAC only.

A more complete description of these project classes can be found in Section II. Program Description of this document. Broadening Participation In Stem: NSF recognizes the unique lived experiences of individuals from communities that are underrepresented and/or under-served in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and the barriers to inclusion and access to STEM education and careers.

NSF highly encourages the leadership, partnership, and contributions in all NSF opportunities of individuals who are members of such communities supported by NSF. This includes leading and designing STEM research and education proposals for funding; serving as peer reviewers, advisory committee members, and/or committee of visitor members; and serving as NSF leadership, program, and/or administrative staff.

NSF also highly encourages demographically diverse institutions of higher education (IHEs) to lead, partner, and contribute to NSF opportunities on behalf of their research and education communities. NSF expects that all individuals, including those who are members of groups that are underrepresented and/or under-served in STEM, are treated equitably and inclusively in the Foundation's proposal and award process.

NSF encourages IHEs that enroll, educate, graduate, and employ individuals who are members of groups underrepresented and/or under-served in STEM education programs and careers to lead, partner, and contribute to NSF opportunities, including leading and designing STEM research and education proposals for funding.

Such IHEs include, but may not be limited to, community colleges and two-year institutions, mission-based institutions such as Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), women's colleges, and institutions that primarily serve persons with disabilities, as well as institutions defined by enrollment such as Predominantly Undergraduate Institutions (PUIs), Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs), and Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs).

"Broadening participation in STEM" is the comprehensive phrase used by NSF to refer to the Foundation's goal of increasing the representation and diversity of individuals, organizations, and geographic regions that contribute to STEM teaching, research, and innovation. To broaden participation in STEM, it is necessary to address issues of equity, inclusion, and access in STEM education, training, and careers.

Whereas all NSF programs might support broadening participation components, some programs primarily focus on supporting broadening participation research and projects. Examples can be found on the NSF Broadening Participation in STEM website. Cognizant Program Officer(s): Please note that the following information is current at the time of publishing.

See program website for any updates to the points of contact. Stephanie Gage, Point of Contact, Foundations of Emerging Technologies (FET), telephone: (703) 292-8910, email: ccf-fet@nsf. gov Peter Brass, Point of Contact, Algorithmic Foundations (AF), telephone: (703) 292-2182, email: ccf-af@nsf.

gov Phillip A. Regalia, Point of Contact, Communications and Information Foundations (CIF), telephone: (703) 292-8910, email: ccf-cif@nsf. gov Almadena Y.

Chtchelkanova, Point of Contact, Software and Hardware Foundations (SHF), telephone: (703) 292-8910, email: ccf-shf@nsf. gov Marilyn M. Mcclure, Point of Contact, Computer Systems Research (CSR), telephone: (703) 292-5197, email: cns-csr@nsf.

gov Ann C. Von Lehmen, Point of Contact, Networking Technology and Systems (NeTS), telephone: (703) 292-4756, email: cns-core@nsf. gov Jie Yang, Point of Contact, Robust Intelligence (RI), telephone: (703) 292-8930, email: iis-ri@nsf.

gov Dan R. Cosley, Point of Contact, Human-Centered Computing (HCC), telephone: (703) 292-8832, email: iis-hcc@nsf. gov Hector Munoz-Avila, Point of Contact, Information Integration and Informatics (III), telephone: (703) 292-4481, email: iis-iii@nsf.

gov Sheikh Ghafoor, Point of Contact, OAC Core Research (OAC Core), telephone: (703) 292-7116, email: sghafoor@nsf. gov Juan J. Li, Point of Contact, OAC Core Research (OAC Core), telephone: (703) 292-2625, email: jjli@nsf.

gov Applicable Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number(s): 47. 070 --- Computer and Information Science and Engineering Anticipated Type of Award: Standard Grant or Continuing Grant Estimated Number of Awards: 400 to 600 Anticipated Funding Amount: $280,000,000 Dependent upon the availability of funds.

Who May Submit Proposals: Proposals may only be submitted by the following: Non-profit, non-academic organizations: Independent museums, observatories, research laboratories, professional societies and similar organizations located in the U.S. that are directly associated with educational or research activities.

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.

By the submission deadline, or for Small Projects, by the date of submission, any PI, co-PI, or other senior/key project personnel must hold either: a tenured or tenure-track position, or a primary, full-time, paid appointment in a research or teaching position at a US-based campus of an organization eligible to submit to this solicitation (see above), with exceptions granted for family or medical leave, as determined by the submitting organization.

Individuals with primary appointments at for-profit non-academic organizations or at overseas branch campuses of US IHEs are not eligible. Limit on Number of Proposals per Organization: There are no restrictions or limits.

Limit on Number of Proposals per PI or co-PI: 2 For the CISE: Core Programs, during any contiguous 12-month period, an individual may not participate as PI, co-PI, or Senior/Key Personnel in more than two proposals across all project classes. This limit was applied beginning with NSF 20-591, and will continue to apply to this solicitation and future versions of this solicitation, unless noted otherwise.

These eligibility constraints will be strictly enforced in order to treat everyone fairly and consistently . Any proposal that exceeds this limit at the time of submission for any PI, co-PI, or Senior/Key Personnel will be returned without review. No exceptions will be made .

Proposals that are withdrawn prior to commencement of merit review, or those that are returned without review by NSF, will not count against this proposal limit. Proposers are strongly encouraged to verify the dates of prior submissions to CISE: Core Programs for all personnel on their teams to avoid their proposals being deemed non-compliant. Proposal Preparation and Submission Instructions A.

Proposal Preparation Instructions Letters of Intent: Not required Preliminary Proposal Submission: Not required Full Proposals submitted via Research. gov: NSF Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG) guidelines apply. The complete text of the PAPPG is available electronically on the NSF website at: https://www.

nsf. gov/publications/pub_summ. jsp?

ods_key=pappg . Full Proposals submitted via Grants. gov: NSF Grants.

gov Application Guide: A Guide for the Preparation and Submission of NSF Applications via Grants. gov guidelines apply (Note: The NSF Grants. gov Application Guide is available on the Grants.

gov website and on the NSF website at: https://www. nsf. gov/publications/pub_summ.

jsp? ods_key=grantsgovguide ). Cost Sharing Requirements: Inclusion of voluntary committed cost sharing is prohibited.

Indirect Cost (F&A) Limitations: Other Budgetary Limitations: Submission Window Date(s) (due by 5 p. m.

submitting organization's local time): July 18, 2024 - September 30, 2024 Accepted anytime during this submission window October 1 - September 30, Annually Thereafter October 01, 2024 - October 23, 2024, October 1 - October 23, Annually Thereafter October 01, 2024 - October 23, 2024, October 1 - October 23, Annually Thereafter Proposal Review Information Criteria National Science Board approved criteria.

Additional merit review criteria apply. Please see the full text of this solicitation for further information. Award Administration Information Additional award conditions apply.

Please see the full text of this solicitation for further information. Additional reporting requirements apply. Please see the full text of this solicitation for further information.

The NSF Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) supports transformative research and education projects that develop new knowledge in all aspects of computing, communications, and information science and engineering, as well as advanced cyberinfrastructure, through multiple research programs across one office and three divisions: The Division of Computing and Communication Foundations (CCF) supports research that studies the foundations of computing and communication.

The Division of Computer and Network Systems (CNS) supports research that studies novel or enhanced computing and/or networking, including using new technologies or new ways to apply existing technologies, with a focus on systems. The Division of Information and Intelligent Systems (IIS) supports research that studies the inter-related roles of people, computers, and information.

The Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure (OAC) supports translational research and education activities in all aspects of advanced cyberinfrastructure that lead to systems capable of transforming science and engineering research. This solicitation covers submission to the following CISE core programs.

Please see the individual program webpages below for more information on what is within scope for these programs: Algorithmic Foundations (AF) program [ Program Webpage ] supports potentially transformative projects in the theory of algorithms and computational complexity, characterized by algorithmic innovation and rigorous analysis; Communications and Information Foundations (CIF) program [ Program Webpage ] supports foundational research that addresses the theoretical underpinnings of information acquisition, transmission, and processing in communications and information processing systems; Foundations of Emerging Technologies (FET) program [ Program Webpage ] supports foundational research at the intersection of computing and biological systems, nanoscale science and engineering, quantum information science, and other promising disruptive technologies supporting novel computing/communication models; and Software and Hardware Foundations (SHF) program [ Program Webpage ] supports foundational research in the design, verification, operation, and evaluation of computer hardware and software through novel approaches, robust theories, high-leverage tools, and lasting principles; Computer Systems Research (CSR) [ Program Webpage ] supports the advancement and holistic design and development of integrated software and hardware computing systems; and Networking Technology and Systems (NeTS) [ Program Webpage ] supports research that advances wired and wireless networking systems, develops a better understanding of the fundamental properties and trade-offs involved, as well as the abstractions and tools used in designing, building, measuring and managing them.

Human-Centered Computing (HCC) program [ Program Webpage ] supports research in human-computer interaction, integrating across fields including computing, information, social, and behavioral sciences, to (re)design technologies that amplify human capabilities, and understand how human, technical, and contextual aspects of computing and communication systems shape their benefits, effects, and risks; Information Integration and Informatics (III) program [ Program Webpage ] supports research on computational approaches to the full data lifecycle to maximize the utility of information resources; and Robust Intelligence (RI) program [ Program Webpage ] supports computational research to understand and enable intelligent systems in complex, realistic contexts.

OAC Core Research (OAC Core) program [ Program Webpage ] supports translational research on the design, development, deployment, experimentation, and application of advanced research cyberinfrastructure (CI) to enable new frontiers of discovery and innovation. Proposals submitted to this solicitation must be consistent with one of three project classes defined below. Proposals will be considered for funding within their project classes.

SMALL projects are not accepted for the OAC Core Research program and will be returned without review if submitted to OAC Core. Small projects, with total budgets up to $600,000 or durations of up to three years , are well suited to one or two investigators (PI and one co-PI or other Senior/Key Personnel) and at least one student and/or postdoctoral researcher.

A Collaboration Plan (up to two pages) may be provided under Supplementary Documents. Please see Proposal Preparation Instructions Section V. A for additional submission guidelines.

Medium projects are not accepted for the OAC Core Research program and will be returned without review if submitted to OAC Core. Medium projects, with total budgets ranging from $600,001 to $1,200,000 for durations up to four years , are well suited to one or more investigators (PI, co-PI and/or other Senior/Key Personnel) and several students and/or postdoctoral researchers.

Medium project descriptions must be comprehensive and well-integrated, and should make a convincing case that the collaborative contributions of the project team will be greater than the sum of each of their individual contributions. Rationale must be provided to explain why a budget of this size is required to carry out the proposed work.

Since the success of collaborative research efforts is known to depend on thoughtful coordination mechanisms that regularly bring together the various participants of the project, a Collaboration Plan is required for any Medium project with more than one investigator , even when the investigators are affiliated with the same institution.

Up to two pages are allowed for Collaboration Plans and they must be submitted as a document under Supplementary Documents. The length and level of detail provided in the Collaboration Plan should be commensurate with the complexity of the proposed project.

Collaboration Plans and proposed budgets should demonstrate that senior/key personnel, and especially lead PIs, have allocated adequate time for both their individual technical contributions and the leadership of collaborative activities necessary to realize the synergistic effects of larger-scale research.

If a Medium project with more than one investigator does not include a Collaboration Plan, that proposal will be returned without review. Please see Proposal Preparation Instructions Section V. A for additional submission guidelines.

OAC Core projects, with total budgets up to $600,000 for durations of up to three years , are well suited to one or two investigators (PI and one co-PI or other Senior/Key Personnel) and at least one student and/or postdoctoral researcher. A Collaboration Plan (up to two pages) may be provided under Supplementary Documents. Please see Proposal Preparation Instructions Section V.

A for additional submission guidelines.

Expanding Geographic and Institutional Diversity in Computer and Information Science and Engineering CISE encourages proposal submissions from EPSCoR-eligible institutions to the CISE Core programs, with an aim to enhance engagement within the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) enterprise, specifically associated with geographic location, and thereby enabling the jurisdiction's national competitiveness.

Through this initiative, CISE aims to promote funded activities that enable sustainable growth in research enterprise in EPSCoR jurisdictions. Collaborative proposals among the EPSCoR and Non-EPSCoR-eligible jurisdictions that are led by EPSCoR institutions are particularly welcomed. CISE has long been committed to Broadening Participation in Computing (BPC).

This commitment means addressing the underrepresentation of many groups in CISE relative to their participation in postsecondary education ( https://ncses. nsf. gov/pubs/nsb20223/data ).

Broadening participation will require a range of measures, including institutional programs and activities as well as culture changes across colleges, departments, classes, and research groups. Specifically: Each Medium project must include a BPC plan (see details in Proposal Preparation). CISE encourages the use of the resources available at the NSF-funded BPCnet Resource Portal ( https://bpcnet.

org ). BPCnet provides BPC plan templates, suggested activities, opportunities for consultant services, and publicly available data to support PIs and Departments in creating their BPC Plans. CISE encourages PIs to leverage Departmental BPC Plans verified by BPCnet which coordinate efforts within their institution.

Medium Project BPC plans must include roles for all PIs and co-PIs and be included as a Supplementary Document, following the guidelines as described in the Proposal Preparation Instructions. A meaningful BPC plan can answer positively to the following five elements: Goal and Context: Does the plan describe a goal and the data from your institution(s) or local community that justifies that goal?

Intended population(s): Does the plan identify the characteristics of participants, including school level? Strategy: Does the plan describe activities that address the stated goal(s) and intended population(s)? Measurement: Is there a plan to measure the outcome(s) of the activities?

PI Engagement: Is there a clear role for each PI and co-PI? Does the plan describe how the PI is prepared (or will prepare or collaborate) to do the proposed work? All PIs and co-PIs are expected to participate in BPC activities in a manner aligned with their personal contexts, interests, and skills.

More information regarding the BPC effort can be found at https://www. nsf. gov/cise/bpc .

Proposals that intersect more than one CISE research program are welcome. In such cases, PIs must identify the most relevant programs in the proposal submission process; for information about submission and how to identify such proposals, see Proposal Preparation Instructions later in this document. In these cases, PIs should also ensure that their proposals follow the program-specific guidelines for all research programs identified.

CISE Program Officers will consider co-reviewing these proposals as appropriate. Proposals may request cloud computing resources to use public clouds such as Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform (GCP), IBM Cloud, and Microsoft Azure.

Cloud computing resources described in proposals may be obtained through an external cloud access entity ( CloudBank ) supported by NSF's Enabling Access to Cloud Computing Resources for CISE Research and Education (Cloud Access) program .

Proposers should describe this request in a Supplementary Document including: (a) which public cloud providers will be used; (b) anticipated annual and total costs for accessing the desired cloud computing resources, based on pricing currently available from the public cloud computing providers; and (c) a technical description of, and justification for, the requested cloud computing resources.

The proposal budget should not include the costs for accessing public cloud computing resources via CloudBank. Also, the total cost of the project, including the cloud computing resource request, may not exceed the budget limit described in this solicitation.

If incorporating this request into the proposal, a proposer should include "CloudAccess" (one word without spaces) as a keyword on the Project Summary page, at the end of the Overview section (before the section on Intellectual Merit). Proposers may contact CloudBank (see https://www. cloudbank.

org/faq ) for consultation on estimating the costs for using cloud computing resources. See Section V. A.

Proposal Preparation Instructions, Supplementary Documents, for more information on how to describe the cloud computing resource request as well as the associated budget.

In the interest of completeness and transparency, PIs must describe, as part of their Data Management and Sharing Plans, how they will provide access to well-documented datasets, modeling and/or simulation tools, and code bases to support reproducibility/replicability of their methods and results for a reasonable time beyond the end of the project lifecycle.

PIs should include a plan to evaluate the approaches developed as part of the Project Description. Appropriate methods will depend on the research area, topic, size and scope of the proposed project. Examples include, but are not limited to, peer review of developed theories and proofs, controlled experiments on appropriate simulators/emulators/testbeds, user studies, or prototype deployments.

The plan should be appropriate for the size and scope of the project. Proposers to the OAC Core program are required to include either a validation or transition-to-practice plan for their proposed research in the Project Description. A validation plan may include setup, mechanisms, metrics, and exploration of leading-edge production systems (or equivalent simulated, emulated, or experimental systems).

Transition-to-practice entails planning for incorporation of research results into production research cyberinfrastructure. PIs are encouraged to consider utilizing NSF-supported research infrastructure (such as the Platforms for Advanced Wireless Research , FABRIC , Chameleon , and CloudLab ) when formulating their research plans and submitting proposals.

Descriptions of the capabilities of each system and their availability can be found at their websites: https://advancedwireless. org/ , https://fabric-testbed. net/ , https://www.

chameleoncloud. org/ , and https://cloudlab. us/ .

For projects requiring access to high-performance computing resources, data infrastructure, or advanced visualization resources at scales beyond what is available locally, PIs are encouraged to consider production scale and testbed advanced research cyberinfrastructure, such as those supported by the ACSS Program , the Frontera Leadership-class system , the Partnership to Advance Throughput Computing , and others.

Access to the broadening array of advanced cyberinfrastructure systems is coordinated through the ACCESS program. Descriptions of such infrastructure can be found at the following websites: https://www. nsf.

gov/awardsearch/advancedSearchResult? ProgEleCode=7619&BooleanElement=Any&BooleanRef=Any&ActiveAwards=true , https://www. tacc.

utexas. edu/systems/frontera , https://path-cc. io/ , and https://www.

ACCESS. org/ . More information about high-performance computing resources available to NSF PIs can be found in the PAPPG Chapter II.

E. 7. FAIRNESS, ETHICS, ACCOUNTABILITY, AND TRANSPARENCY Issues of fairness, ethics, accountability, and transparency (FEAT) are important considerations for many core topics in computer and information science and engineering.

In projects that generate artifacts ranging from analysis methods to algorithms to systems, or that perform studies involving human subjects, PIs are encouraged to consider the FEAT of the outputs or approaches. CISE is also interested in receiving proposals whose primary foci are on methods, techniques, tools, and evaluation practices as means to explore implications for FEAT.

In the exploration and use of FEAT concepts, PIs are strongly encouraged to select and articulate their own disciplinary or interdisciplinary approaches consistent or aligned with these concepts. Organizations are discouraged from seeking project start dates between July 2 and September 30 of a given year to avoid overdue reports blocking award actions during the end of a federal fiscal year.

Recipient organizations may incur allowable pre-award costs within the 90-day period immediately preceding the start date of the grant (see PAPPG Chapter X. A. 2.

b); this will allow support for students or other relevant activities to begin over this period. The Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU): Sites and Supplements program solicitation provides instructions for embedding requests for REU supplements in a proposal. Proposers are invited to request REU supplements, through a supplementary document, for up to $10,000 per student per year, and up to two students per PI/co-PI.

The amount of the REU supplement request does not count against the budget limitations of the project size classes described in this solicitation. Proposers should provide brief summaries of the various tasks that the REU students are expected to conduct along with the processes for recruiting eligible REU students, as noted in the REU program solicitation and the additional CISE-specific guidance in NSF 24-048 .

Up to $280 million each year will support up to 600 awards, pending the availability of funds. Estimated program budget, number of awards and average award size/duration are subject to the availability of funds. IV.

Eligibility Information Who May Submit Proposals: Proposals may only be submitted by the following: Non-profit, non-academic organizations: Independent museums, observatories, research laboratories, professional societies and similar organizations located in the U.S. that are directly associated with educational or research activities.

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.

By the submission deadline, or for Small Projects, by the date of submission, any PI, co-PI, or other senior/key project personnel must hold either: a tenured or tenure-track position, or a primary, full-time, paid appointment in a research or teaching position at a US-based campus of an organization eligible to submit to this solicitation (see above), with exceptions granted for family or medical leave, as determined by the submitting organization.

Individuals with primary appointments at for-profit non-academic organizations or at overseas branch campuses of US IHEs are not eligible. Limit on Number of Proposals per Organization: There are no restrictions or limits.

Limit on Number of Proposals per PI or co-PI: 2 For the CISE: Core Programs, during any contiguous 12-month period, an individual may not participate as PI, co-PI, or Senior/Key Personnel in more than two proposals across all project classes. This limit was applied beginning with NSF 20-591, and will continue to apply to this solicitation and future versions of this solicitation, unless noted otherwise.

These eligibility constraints will be strictly enforced in order to treat everyone fairly and consistently . Any proposal that exceeds this limit at the time of submission for any PI, co-PI, or Senior/Key Personnel will be returned without review. No exceptions will be made.

Proposals that are withdrawn prior to commencement of merit review, or those that are returned without review by NSF, will not count against this proposal limit. Proposers are strongly encouraged to verify the dates of prior submissions to CISE: Core Programs for all personnel on their teams to avoid their proposals being deemed non-compliant.

Additional Eligibility Info: For IHEs and non-profit, non-academic organizations with international branch campuses, this solicitation restricts eligibility to research activities using the facilities, equipment, and other resources of the campuses located in the US only. Further, subawards are not permitted to international branch campuses of US-based proposing organizations eligible to submit to this solicitation. V.

Proposal Preparation And Submission Instructions A. Proposal Preparation Instructions Full Proposal Preparation Instructions : Proposers may opt to submit proposals in response to this Program Solicitation via Research. gov or Grants.

gov. Full Proposals submitted via Research. gov: Proposals submitted in response to this program solicitation should be prepared and submitted in accordance with the general guidelines contained in the NSF Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG). The complete text of the PAPPG is available electronically on the NSF website at: https://www.

nsf. gov/publications/pub_summ. jsp?

ods_key=pappg . Paper copies of the PAPPG may be obtained from the NSF Publications Clearinghouse, telephone (703) 292-8134 or by e-mail from nsfpubs@nsf. gov .

The Prepare New Proposal setup will prompt you for the program solicitation number. Full proposals submitted via Grants. gov: Proposals submitted in response to this program solicitation via Grants.

gov should be prepared and submitted in accordance with the NSF Grants. gov Application Guide: A Guide for the Preparation and Submission of NSF Applications via Grants. gov .

The complete text of the NSF Grants. gov Application Guide is available on the Grants. gov website and on the NSF website at: ( https://www.

nsf. gov/publications/pub_summ. jsp?

ods_key=grantsgovguide ). To obtain copies of the Application Guide and Application Forms Package, click on the Apply tab on the Grants. gov site, then click on the Apply Step 1: Download a Grant Application Package and Application Instructions link and enter the funding opportunity number, (the program solicitation number without the NSF prefix) and press the Download Package button.

Paper copies of the Grants. gov Application Guide also may be obtained from the NSF Publications Clearinghouse, telephone (703) 292-8134 or by e-mail from nsfpubs@nsf. gov .

In determining which method to utilize in the electronic preparation and submission of the proposal, please note the following: Collaborative Proposals. All collaborative proposals submitted as separate submissions from multiple organizations must be submitted via Research. gov. PAPPG Chapter II.

E. 3 provides additional information on collaborative proposals. See PAPPG Chapter II.

D. 2 for guidance on the required sections of a full research proposal submitted to NSF. Please note that the proposal preparation instructions provided in this program solicitation may deviate from the PAPPG instructions.

Proposal titles should begin with an acronym that indicates the most relevant core program.

Select a bolded acronym from the following list determined by the most relevant core program area (if more than one area is relevant, please see instructions below): Algorithmic Foundations ( AF ) program; Communications and Information Foundations ( CIF ) program; Foundations of Emerging Technologies ( FET ) program; and Software and Hardware Foundations ( SHF ) program; Computer Systems Research ( CSR ) program; and Networking Technology and Systems ( NeTS ) program; Human-Centered Computing ( HCC ) program; Information Integration and Informatics ( III ) program; and Robust Intelligence ( RI ) program.

OAC Core Research ( OAC Core ) program; The acronym should be followed by a colon, then the project class followed by a colon, then the title of your project. For example, if you are submitting a Small proposal to the CSR program, then your title would