Cyber-Physical Systems

Cyber-Physical Systems is sponsored by National Science Foundation. Funds interdisciplinary research integrating cyber and physical components, including design engineering of smart systems. This program should be reviewed carefully against your organization's mission, staffing capacity, timeline, and compliance readiness before you commit resources to a full application. Strong submissions usually translate sponsor priorities into concrete objectives, clear implementation milestones, and measurable public benefit.

For planning purposes, treat rolling deadlines or periodic funding windows as your working submission target unless the sponsor publishes an updated notice. A competitive project plan should include a documented need statement, implementation approach, evaluation framework, risk controls, and a realistic budget narrative. Even when a grant allows broad program design, reviewers still expect credible evidence that the proposed work can be executed within the grant period and with appropriate accountability.

Current published award information indicates $1,000,000 - $2,000,000 Organizations should verify the final funding range, matching requirements, and allowability rules directly in the official opportunity materials before preparing a budget. Finance and program teams should align early so direct costs, indirect costs, staffing assumptions, procurement timelines, and reporting obligations all remain consistent throughout drafting and post-award administration.

Eligibility guidance for this opportunity is: Universities, colleges, nonprofits If your organization has partnerships, subrecipients, or collaborators, define responsibilities and compliance ownership before submission. Reviewers often look for implementation credibility, so letters of commitment, prior performance evidence, and a clear governance model can materially strengthen the application narrative and reduce concerns about delivery risk.

A practical approach is to begin with a focused readiness review, then build a workback schedule from the sponsor deadline. Confirm required attachments, registration dependencies, and internal approval checkpoints early. This reduces last-minute issues and improves submission quality. For the most accurate requirements, always rely on the official notice and primary source links associated with Cyber-Physical Systems.

**National Science Foundation** Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering Division of Computer and Network Systems Division of Computing and Communication Foundations Division of Information and Intelligent Systems Directorate for Engineering Division of Civil, Mechanical and Manufacturing Innovation Division of Electrical, Communications and Cyber Systems [](https://www. nsf.

gov/funding/opportunities/cps-cyberphysical-systems/503286/nsf24-581/solicitation) Department of Homeland Security, Science & Technology Directorate [](https://www. nsf. gov/funding/opportunities/cps-cyberphysical-systems/503286/nsf24-581/solicitation) U.

S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration [](https://www. nsf.

gov/funding/opportunities/cps-cyberphysical-systems/503286/nsf24-581/solicitation) U. S. Dept.

of Agriculture [](https://www. nsf. gov/funding/opportunities/cps-cyberphysical-systems/503286/nsf24-581/solicitation) National Institute of Food and Agriculture **Submission Window Date(s)** (due by 5 p.

m. submitting organization’s local time): August 14, 2024 - September 03, 2024 June 01, 2024 - May 31, 2025 June 1 - May 31, Annually Thereafter > SMALL and MEDIUM Proposals. Accepted anytime during the year-long annual submission window.

### Important Information And Revision Notes The Cyber Physical Systems program solicitation has been revised and prospective Principal Investigators (PIs) are encouraged to read the solicitation carefully. Among the changes are the following: * SMALL and MEDIUM CPS proposals 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 or Medium project class. * There remains an annual submission window for FRONTIER proposals * The maximum limit for CPS SMALL proposals has been increased from $500,000 to $600,000.

* Content expectations for the Experimentation and Evaluation section of the project description have been clarified. * Cyber Physical Systems (CPS) program will only accept medical / health CPS proposals in the SMALL Projects category.

Proposals addressing medical / health CPS at the MEDIUM Projects level are instead encouraged to apply to the Smart Health and Biomedical Research in the Era of Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Data Science (SCH) program. * The Transition to Practice (TTP) option has been eliminated for a proposal submission. Projects may submit TTP supplements for on-going projects.

* The description for Broadening Participation in Computing has been revised. * Added language on other programs including those in Computer and Network Systems Core (Computer Systems Research and Networking Technology and Systems). * The National Institutes of Health is no longer participating in this funding opportunity.

* Added new updated language from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). * Added new language and requirements from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). 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 > Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) > Cyber-physical systems (CPS) are engineered systems that are built from, and depend upon, the seamless integration of computation and physical components. Advances in CPS will enable capability, adaptability, scalability, resiliency, safety, security, and usability that will expand the horizons of these critical systems.

CPS technologies are transforming the way people interact with engineered systems, just as the Internet has transformed the way people interact with information. New, smart CPS drive innovation and competition in a range of application domains including agriculture, aeronautics, building design, civil infrastructure, energy, environmental quality, healthcare and personalized medicine, manufacturing, and transportation.

CPS are becoming data-rich enabling new and higher degrees of automation and autonomy. Traditional ideas in CPS research are being challenged by new concepts emerging from artificial intelligence and machine learning. The integration of artificial intelligence with CPS, especially for real-time operation, creates new research opportunities with major societal implications.

> While tremendous progress has been made in advancing CPS technologies, the demand for innovation across application domains is driving the need to accelerate fundamental research to keep pace.

At the same time, the CPS program seeks to open new vistas for the research community to think beyond the usual cyber-physical paradigms and structures and propose creative ideas to address the myriad challenges of today's systems as well as those of the future that have not yet been designed or fielded.

> The CPS program aims to develop the core research needed to engineer these complex CPS, some of which may also require dependable, high-confidence, or provable behaviors.

Core research areas of the program include control, data analytics, and machine learning including real-time learning for control, autonomy, design, Internet of Things (IoT), mixed initiatives including human-in- or human-on-the-loop, networking, privacy, real-time systems, safety, security, and verification.

By abstracting from the particulars of specific systems and application domains, the CPS program seeks to reveal cross-cutting, fundamental scientific and engineering principles that underpin the integration of cyber and physical elements across all application domains.

The program additionally supports the development of methods, tools, and hardware and software components based upon these cross-cutting principles, along with validation of the principles via prototypes and testbeds. This program also fosters a research community that is committed to advancing education and outreach in CPS and accelerating the transition of CPS research into the real world.

> All proposals must include the following **as part of the Project Description**: > * A **Research Description**that describes the technical rationale and technical approach of the CPS research, including the challenges that drive the research problem and how the research integrates cyber and physical components. This section must also describe how the research outcomes are translational to other application domains.

Specifically, it must include: > * A subsection titled **"CPS Research Focus"**which describes the cyber-physical system attributes of the challenge problem and clearly identifies the core CPS research areas addressed in which the novel and foundational research contributions are being made.

This is intended as not a list of core areas but a focused discussion with content > * An **Evaluation/Experimentation Plan** that describes how proposed concepts will be validated and outlines the metrics for success; > * A **Project Management and Collaboration Plan** that summarizes how the project team is ideally suited to realize the project goals and how the team will ensure effective collaboration; > NSF is working closely with multiple agencies across the federal government, including the U.

S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T); the U. S.

Department of Transportation (DOT) Federal Highway Administration (FHWA); and the U. S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA NIFA, hereafter referred to as NIFA).

> Proposals for three classes of research and education projects—differing in scope and goals—are supported through the CPS program: > * **Small** projects may request a total budget of up to $600,000 for a period of up to 3 years. They are well suited to emerging new and innovative ideas that may have high impact on the field of CPS. **Small projects**proposals may be submitted at anytime during the year-long annual submission window.

**** > * **Medium** projects may request a total budget ranging from $600,001 to $1,200,000 for a period of up to 3 years. They are well suited to multi-disciplinary projects that accomplish clear goals requiring integrated perspectives spanning the disciplines. **Medium Projects**proposals may be submitted at anytime during the year-long annual submission window.

**** > * **Frontier** projects must address clearly identified critical CPS challenges that cannot be achieved by a set of smaller projects. Furthermore, Frontier projects should also look to push the boundaries of CPS well beyond today's systems and capabilities. Funding may be requested for a total of $1,200,001 to $7,000,000 for a period of 4 to 5 years.

**Note that the Frontier projects have a specific deadline. ** **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.

_ * David Corman, telephone: (703) 292-8754, email: dcorman@nsf. gov * Vishal Sharma, Program Director, CISE/CNS, telephone: (703) 292-8950, email: vsharma@nsf. gov * Ralph Wachter, Program Director, CISE/CNS, telephone: (703) 292-8950, email: rwachter@nsf.

gov * Pavithra Prabhakar, Program Director CISE/CCF, telephone: (703) 292-2585, email: pprabhak@nsf. gov * Phillip A. Regalia, Program Director, CISE/CCF, telephone: (703) 292-2981, email: pregalia@nsf.

gov * Sylvia J. Spengler, telephone: (703) 292-7347, email: sspengle@nsf. gov * Eyad Abed, Program Director ENG/ECCS, telephone: (703) 292-2303, email: eabed@nsf.

gov * Aranya Chakrabortty, Program Director, ENG/ECCS, telephone: (703) 292-8113, email: achakrab@nsf. gov * Anthony Kuh, Program Director, ENG/ECCS, telephone: (703) 292-4714, email: akuh@nsf. gov * Bruce Kramer, Program Director, ENG/CMMI, telephone: (703) 292-5348, email: bkramer@nsf.

gov * Alexandra Medina-Borja, Program Director, ENG/CMMI, telephone: (703) 292-7557, email: amedinab@nsf. gov * Siqian Shen, Program Director, ENG/CMMI, telephone: (703) 292-7048, email: siqshen@nsf. gov * David Kuehn, Program Manager, DOT/FHWA, telephone: (202) 493-3414, email: david.

kuehn@dot. gov * Steven Thomson, National Program Leader, USDA/NIFA, telephone: (202) 603-1053, email: Steven. J.

Thomson@usda. gov * Benjamin Salazar, Cyber Security Subject Matter Expert, DHS S&T, telephone: (202) 254-5734, email: benjamin. salazar@hq.

dhs. gov **Applicable Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number(s):** * 10. 310 --- USDA-NIFA Agriculture and Food Research Initiative * 20.

200 --- Highway Research and Development Program * 47. 070 --- Computer and Information Science and Engineering * 97.

108 --- Department of Homeland Security, Science & Technology Directorate **Anticipated Type of Award:** Standard Grant or Continuing Grant or Cooperative Agreement **Estimated Number of Awards:** 20 to 31 Approximately 15 Small projects, 15 Medium projects, and 1 Frontier project subject to receipt of sufficient meritorious proposals and pending availability of funds.

**Anticipated Funding Amount:** $30,070,000 in FY 2024, subject to receipt of sufficient meritorious proposals and pending availability of funds.

#### Eligibility Information **Who May Submit Proposals:** > 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 laboratories, professional societies and similar organizations located in the U. S. that are directly associated with educational or research activities.

> There are no restrictions or limits. **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 CPS program, during any continuous 12-month period, an individual may not participate as PI, co-PI, or Senior/Key Personnel in more than two proposals across all size classes.

This limit will be applied beginning with this solicitation and continue to apply to 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 the CPS program for all personnel on their teams to avoid their proposals being deemed non-compliant.

> Additionally, proposals submitted in response to this solicitation may not duplicate or be substantially similar to other proposals concurrently under consideration by other NSF, DHS, DOT, or NIFA programs. Duplicate or substantially similar proposals will be returned without review, including those substantially similar to previously declined proposals. #### 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). **B.

Budgetary Information** * **Cost Sharing Requirements:** Inclusion of voluntary committed cost sharing is prohibited. * **Indirect Cost (F&A) Limitations:** For awards made by NSF, Proposal & Award Policy & Procedures (PAPPG) guidelines apply. Proposals selected for funding by DHS and/or DOT will be awarded by NSF using funds transferred from DHS and/or DOT, respectively, and so they will follow NSF's PAPPG.

For awards made by NIFA: _Indirect Cost (IDC) is not to exceed 30 percent of Total Federal Funds Awarded (TFFA) of the recipient_. 7 U. S.

C. § 3310%20OR%20(granuleid:USC-prelim-title7-section3310)&f=treesort&edition=prelim&num=0&jumpTo=true)limits IDC for the overall award to 30 percent of Total Federal Funds Awarded (TFFA) under a research, education, or extension grant. The maximum IDC rate allowed under the award is determined by calculating the amount of IDC using: 1.

the sum of an institution’s negotiated indirect cost rate and the indirect cost rate charged by sub-awardees, if any; or The maximum allowable IDC rate under the award, including the IDC charged by the sub-awardee(s), if any, is the lesser of the two rates. If the result of number 1) above is the lesser of the two rates, the grant recipient is allowed to charge the negotiated IDC rate on the prime award and the sub-award(s), if any.

Any sub-awards would be subject to the sub-awardee’s negotiated IDC rate. The sub-awardee may charge its negotiated IDC rate on its portion of the award, provided the sum of the IDC rate charged under the award by the prime awardee and the sub-awardee(s) does not exceed 30 percent of the TFFA.

If the result of number 2) above is the lesser of the two rates, then the maximum IDC rate allowed for the overall award, including any sub-award(s), is limited to 30 percent of the TFFA. That is, the IDC of the prime awardee plus the sum of the IDC charged by the sub-awardee(s), if any, may not exceed 30 percent of the TFFA.

In the event of an award, the prime awardee is responsible for ensuring the maximum indirect cost allowed for the award is not exceeded when combining IDC for the Federal portion (i. e. , prime and sub-awardee(s)) and any applicable cost-sharing (see 7 CFR 3430.

52(b)). Amounts exceeding the maximum allowable IDC is considered unallowable. See sections 408 and 410 of 2 CFR 200.

* **Other Budgetary Limitations:** Other budgetary limitations apply. Please see the full text of this solicitation for further information. * **Submission Window Date(s)** (due by 5 p.

m. submitting organization’s local time): August 14, 2024 - September 03, 2024 June 01, 2024 - May 31, 2025 June 1 - May 31, Annually Thereafter > SMALL and MEDIUM Proposals. Accepted anytime during the year-long annual submission window.

#### Proposal Review Information Criteria **Merit Review 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. **Reporting Requirements:** Additional reporting requirements apply.

Please see the full text of this solicitation for further information. [](https://www. nsf.

gov/funding/opportunities/cps-cyberphysical-systems/503286/nsf24-581/solicitation) > **Summary of Program Requirements** 2. **Program Description** 4. **Eligibility Information** 5.

**Proposal Preparation and Submission Instructions** 1. Proposal Preparation Instructions 4. Research.

gov/Grants. gov Requirements 6. **NSF Proposal Processing and Review Procedures** 1.

Merit Review Principles and Criteria 2. Review and Selection Process 7. **Award Administration Information** 1.

Notification of the Award 3. Reporting Requirements ### [](https://www. nsf.

gov/funding/opportunities/cps-cyberphysical-systems/503286/nsf24-581/solicitation)I. Introduction Cyber-physical Systems (CPS) are engineered systems that are built from, and depend upon, the seamless integration of computation and physical components. CPS tightly integrate computing devices, actuation and control, networking infrastructure, and sensing of the physical world.

The system may include human interaction with or without human aided control. CPS may also include multiple integrated system components operating at wide varieties of spatial and temporal time scales. They can be characterized by architectures that may include distributed or centralized computing, multi-level hierarchical control and coordination of physical and organizational processes.

Advances in CPS should enable capability, adaptability, scalability, resilience, safety, security, and usability far beyond what is available in the simple embedded systems of today. CPS technology will transform the way people interact with engineered systems—just as the Internet has transformed the way people interact with information.

CPS are driving innovation and competition in a range of sectors, including agriculture, aeronautics, building design, civil infrastructure, energy, environmental quality, healthcare and personalized medicine, and transportation. CPS may be very large systems such as airplanes and automobiles.

They may be an integration of diverse systems at city-scale or larger such as a transportation management system, a system for controlling urban air transportation, or the smart grid. Alternatively, they may be smaller-scale systems comprising ensembles of components such as sensors and actuators, and processors.

The advent of IoT allows CPS components to communicate with other devices through cloud-based infrastructure, and to interact with (potentially) safety-critical systems, posing new research challenges in safety, security, and dependability.

While tremendous progress has been made in advancing CPS technologies, the demand for innovation across application domains continues to grow and is driving the need to accelerate fundamental research to keep pace. CPS are becoming data-rich enabling new and higher degrees of automation and autonomy. Traditional ideas in CPS research are being challenged by new concepts emerging from artificial intelligence and machine learning.

New methods to combine data-driven machine leaning and model-based learning for decision and real-time control of cyber-physical systems are encouraged. Similarly, what do high confidence and verification mean in the context of autonomous systems that learn from their experiences? How does one reconcile the concepts of machine learning and data-driven modeling with approaches used in model-based design and formal methods?

The CPS program seeks to inspire the research community to explore these and other new vistas. Researchers are encouraged to go beyond the current CPS systems and structures, to propose creative ideas that address these challenges. **Other Funding Opportunities:**PIs are encouraged to consider other relevant funding opportunities.

In particular, for FY 2024, proposals for cyber manufacturing should be submitted to the NSF cross-directorate Future Manufacturing (FM) program solicitation since the cyber manufacturing theme of the FM solicitation strongly aligns with the CPS research community. FM program directors can be consulted for further clarification. Proposers should also consider the programs listed at https://www.

nsf. gov/eng/robotics. jsp for proposals that will enable transformative new functionality or substantially enhance existing functionality to a robot or a class of robots but do not contribute to a broader set of CPS systems beyond robotics.

These proposals are not in scope for the CPS program. In addition, prospective researchers should note the recently published DCL NSF 24-017 (https://www. nsf.

gov/publications/pub_summ. jsp? ods_key=nsf24017) which states that the CPS program will only accept CPS medical / health proposals in the **Small Projects** category.

Proposals addressing medical / health CPS at the **Medium Projects** level are instead strongly encouraged to be submitted to the Smart Health and Biomedical Research in the Era of Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Data Science (SCH) program. Also, proposers may wish to consider the CISE core programs which are listed in https://new. nsf.

gov/funding/opportunities/computer-information-science-engineering-core for proposals that primarily focus on the networking aspects or computer systems aspects of a cyber physical system but do not consider the integrative aspects within an overall CPS research context.

The CPS program focus is on those areas of research that tightly integrate computing, networking, control, sensing of the physical world, and the feedback loops that result from that integration. ### [](https://www. nsf.

gov/funding/opportunities/cps-cyberphysical-systems/503286/nsf24-581/solicitation)II. Program Description The CPS program aims to develop the core research needed to engineer these complex CPS, some of which may also require dependable, high-confidence, or provable behaviors.

Core research areas of the program include control, data analytics, and machine learning including real-time learning for control, autonomy, design, IoT, mixed initiatives including human-in- or human-on-the-loop, networking, privacy, real-time systems, safety, security, and verification.

By abstracting from the particulars of specific embodiments and applications, the CPS program seeks to reveal cross-cutting fundamental scientific and engineering principles that underpin the integration of cyber and physical elements across all domains.

The program additionally supports the development of methods, tools, and hardware and software components based upon these cross-cutting principles, along with validation of the principles via prototypes and testbeds. This program also fosters a research community that is committed to advancing education and outreach in CPS and to transitioning CPS research into the real world.

To achieve these aims, the program supports: * Cross-disciplinary, collaborative research that will lead to new fundamental insights; * Projects that take a coordinated approach, balancing theory with experimentation; * New perspectives on existing systems yielding breakthroughs as well as revolutionary new system concepts opening up new CPS research horizons; * Projects that address important basic research needs for synergistic collaboration with mission agencies as described in Section II.

D below; and * Promising innovations that have the potential for accelerated maturation, demonstration, and transition to practice. The program also supports effective use of testbeds that spur innovations and accelerate research by providing scalable and open environments for experimentation.

Researchers should consider using existing testbeds that include virtual simulation environments for early experimentation, higher fidelity hardware-in-the-loop environments, and live platforms. The program strongly encourages proposers to describe how their research may take advantage of such testbeds as a means for experimental validation and maturation in realistic environments.

In addition, proposals may explore creation of testbeds for external use. In that case, the testbed concepts must also show their value through integration with research explorations, and the proposal must address how the proposers plan to establish a constituency of users that reaches beyond the developing organization(s).

A separate review criterion has been added for proposals whose primary research outcome is creation/construction of a testbed. Simply stating that a testbed will be useful for other researchers does not satisfy this criterion. NSF is working closely with multiple agencies across the federal government, including DHS S&T; DOT FHWA; and NIFA.

Key goals are to identify basic CPS research directions that are common across multiple application domains, including those with high potential for later transition to practice. The proposer may also wish to consider well-justified international collaborations that add significant value and leverage to the proposed research and/or education activities.

In addition to the requirements outlined in the PAPPG, all proposals must include the following in the Project Descriptions: * A **Research Description** that describes the technical rationale and technical approach of the CPS research, including the challenges that drive the research problem and how the research integrates cyber and physical components.

This section must also describe how the research outcomes are translational to other application domains. Specifically, it must include: * A subsection titled **"CPS Research Focus"**which describes the cyber-physical system attributes of the challenge problem and clearly identifies the core CPS research areas addressed in which the novel and foundational research contributions are being made.

This is intended as not a list of core areas but a focused discussion with content * An **Evaluation/Experimentation Plan** that describes how proposed concepts will be validated and the metrics for success; This section should comprehensively address activities in experimentation including use of full and sub-scale prototypes, and simulation, to demonstrate the research concepts.

The section should provide details on specific experiments that will be conducted. This should be considered as an important section whereby the PI demonstrates their insights into the proposed research by clearly describing how the research hypotheses will be confirmed and demonstrated through realistic in-context experiments.

* A **Project Management and Collaboration Plan** that summarizes how the project team is ideally suited to realize the project goals and how the team will assure effective collaboration. **II. A Research Areas and Challenges** This solicitation seeks to address foundational issues that are central across core CPS dimensions including science, engineering, and technology as well as application domains.

Research topics that span the lifecycle of CPS are encouraged, including design, synthesis, integration, and real-time operation and performance, including integration with humans. CPS projects are frequently motivated by challenge problems in **application domains**, including but not limited to: aeronautics, agriculture, automotive, manufacturing and transportation systems, energy, and health and wellness, including medical devices.

Researchers must focus on one or more core CPS **research area(s)**, including: control, data analytics, and machine learning including real-time learning for control, autonomy, design, IoT, mixed initiatives including human-in- or on-the loop, networking, privacy, real-time systems, safety, security, and verification.

Proposals focused on cyber manufacturing should be submitted to the cyber manufacturing theme of the NSF Future Manufacturing program solicitation which strongly aligns with the CPS research community. **It is essential that proposals not simply describe the development of a CPS, but also emphasize the areas of CPS-focused research contributing to this development in which novel and foundational research contributions are being made.

**Systems of interest will be at the same time transformative and translational, demonstrating inventive new ideas and multi-disciplinary technical approaches to address societal challenges. Challenge applications can range from highly focused inventions enabled by CPS technology to revolutionary approaches for next-generation infrastructures.

The program strongly encourages projects that address concerns shared by other federal agencies such as agriculture, transportation, health, energy, and national security. **II. B Classes of Projects** Proposals for the following three classes of research and education projects, that differ in scope and goals, will be accepted pursuant to this solicitation.

The proposer is expected to describe in the Project Description how the project fits within the selected category in terms of its scope and goals **Small Projects:**Small projects may be requested with total budgets of up to $600,000 for periods of up to three years.

They are well suited to exploration of emerging and innovative ideas with substantial potential for impact **Medium Projects:** Medium projects may be requested with total budgets ranging from $600,001 to $1,200,000 for periods of up to three years. They are well suited to multi-disciplinary efforts that accomplish clear goals requiring an integrated perspective spanning the disciplines.

Proposals for medium projects are required to clearly describe why the research to be undertaken requires this multi-disciplinary approach. The research plan must include validation of theory through empirical demonstration in a prototype or testbed. **Frontier Projects:** Frontier projects may be requested with total budgets ranging from $1,200,001 to $7,000,000 for periods of four to five years.

The proposal must clearly identify and address critical CPS science, engineering, and/or technological challenges that cannot be achieved by a set of smaller projects. Furthermore, Frontier projects should also look to push the boundaries of CPS well beyond today's systems and capabilities. The goal, scale, and degree of integration of the proposed research must clearly require this major investment.

The research plan must include validation of theory through empirical demonstration in a prototype or testbed. There must be a plan for sharing results, including testbeds and artifacts, with the CPS research community, including through the CPS Virtual Organization (CPS-VO).

**Frontier projects are expected to go beyond simply sharing PI meeting artifacts (such as slides) via the CPS-VO, and to have concrete plans for sharing results, testbeds, and/or artifacts. ** In addition, Frontier proposals must describe education approaches that prepare students for careers in CPS practice and research, and how these education goals extend beyond the participating organization(s).

Frontier projects must include actionable components that seek to increase participation of underrepresented groups in computing. These efforts to broaden participation can be undertaken by an individual PI or in collaboration with others, working within proposing organization(s), professional organizations, and/or community groups. Additional information on broadening participation efforts can be found below.

**Mission agency partners for CPS do not typically consider funding Frontier projects. Proposals at the Frontier scale must have a clear NSF target with significant research focus in the CPS core areas and in particular those most directly relevant to CISE. ** **II.

C Broadening Participation in Computing and Engineering** NSF has long been committed to Broadening Participation in Computing (BPC) and Engineering (BPE). This commitment means addressing the underrepresentation of many groups in CISE relative to their participation in post-secondary 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.

The CPS program is committed to enhancing the community’s awareness of and overcoming barriers to BPC and BPE, and to providing information and resources to PIs so that they can develop interest, skills, and activities in support of BPC/BPE at all levels of the CPS community (K-12, undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate).

Specifically: * **For Frontier CPS proposals, a meaningful BPC plan is required as a one- to three-page Supplementary Document and will be evaluated during merit review. ** * Each Medium project **must**, **by the time of award**, have in place an approved BPC/BPE plan.

The managing program director will work with each PI team following merit review and prior to making an award to ensure that plans are meaningful and include concrete metrics for success. The CPS program will also provide opportunities for PIs to share BPC/BPE experiences and innovations through program PI meetings.

**CISE****PIs of Medium proposals are therefore strongly encouraged to consider this eventual requirement as they develop their proposals, and to include one- to three-page descriptions of their planned BPC activities under Supplementary Documents in their submissions. ** Feedback will be provided on such plans.

Similarly, **ENG PIs are****strongly encouraged to include one- to three-page descriptions of their planned BPE activities under Supplementary Documents in their submissions. ** * PIs of Small proposals are **strongly encouraged** to include plans, or begin preparing to include plans, for broadening participation activities in their proposals.

A meaningful BPC / BPE plan can answer positively to the following questions: 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