Cyberinfrastructure for Public Access and Open Science (CI PAOS)

Cyberinfrastructure for Public Access and Open Science (CI PAOS) is sponsored by U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure (OAC). The CI PAOS program aims to catalyze new and transformative socio-technical partnerships supporting research data infrastructure ecosystems across domains through early-stage collaborative activities.

Cyberinfrastructure for Public Access and Open Science (CI PAOS) | NSF - U.S. National Science Foundation Cyberinfrastructure for Public Access and Open Science (CI PAOS) Archived funding opportunity This document has been archived.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.

Supports early-stage socio-technical partnerships focused on research data infrastructure ecosystems.

The Cyberinfrastructure for Public Access and Open Science (CI PAOS) program within the Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure (OAC) aims to catalyze new and transformative socio-technical partnerships supporting research data infrastructure ecosystems across d omains through early-stage collaborative activities between cyberinfrastructure researchers, scie ntists , research computing experts, data management experts , research labs , university libraries , and other communities of practice.

The CI PAOS program supports the NSF Public Access Initiative by encouraging innovation across the CI ecosystem t o address accessibility, discoverability, reliability, reproducibility, sustainability, and utility of data products in alignment with NSF and national goals for public access and open science [ See: NSF Public Access Initiative , Office of Science and Technology Policy Memorandum on Ensuring Free, Immediate, and equitable Access to Federally funded Research , and Desirable Characteristics of Data Repositories for Federally Funded Research ] .

CI PAOS builds on previous investments including those through Dear Colleague Letters NSF 19-069 , NSF 20 -068 , NSF 23-018 , and the FAIROS R esearch C oordination N etworks ( RCN ) p rogram solicitation ( NSF 22-553 ) . NSF accepts proposals pursuant to this Program Description year-round.

From time to time , NSF may also issue Dear Colleague Letters to encourage proposals on special thema tic interests and opportunities related to this progra m .

A primary feature of successful CI PAOS projects is a robust, synergistic collaborative team comprising skills from across communities of science/engineering, research data science, and information science discipline(s) and expertise in leveraging connections between cyberinfrastructure researchers and providers and data specialists .

Leveraging international collaboration to build shared norms and address c hallenges related to developing and implementing PAOS policies and practices is encouraged . Research and education in science and engineering benefit immensely from international cooperation. P roposals with an international component are also welcome [See: International Collaborations Opportunities at NSF ] .

Proposers must target one or more of th e following themes/pathways: Competency Building, Capability Building, and /or Community Building. Open s cience /engineering-driven collaboration .

A socio -technical collaborative approach in addressing disciplinary , interdisciplinary , domestic, and international data lifecycle challenges is critical to informing and guiding the development of principles, requirements , and standards of a CI ecosystem that fosters pipelines to good data management and pathways to access.

Propos al s should clearly describe the goals, challenges, and rationale for the proposed data science and engineering project and include an explanation of the potential for transformative research and broader impacts on the open science ecosystem [ See: U.S. NSF Broader Impacts ] . Successful proposals will also clearly identify utilization science scenarios and use cases . Exploratory and pilot activities.

Proposals are welcomed that s upport early-stage exploratory efforts that may comprise analysis, community planning , and pilot-level activities that inform future development and deployment of appropriately useful capa bilities. Proposals for full-scale technical research data science efforts leading to develop ment/ deployment of la rger scale capabilities should be directed to other appropriate NSF programs.

Successful proposals will also clearly identify leveraging of existing cyberinfrastructure, funded projects, and resources. Integrative and accelerative approaches .

Proposals are particularly welcomed that address common needs or gaps across multiple research disciplines and communities of practice ; leverage and accelerate the impact of existing CI investments in infrastructure, resources, and services in one or more disciplinary domain s; facilitate coordination, advanc e alignment, and/or build community with the international CI PAOS community ; aim to reduce barriers to broader adoption of CI-enabled research data and open science/engineering approaches; and/or integrate as appropriate different aspects and elements of CI to achieve ecosystems with generative science/engineering and multi-discipline impact .

Requirements to contact NSF Cognizant Program Officers . CI PAOS activities are inherently focused on collaborative research between fields of data and computer and information science and engineering researchers and other domain researchers . Successful CI PAOS projects will typica lly involve co-funding from the relevant disciplinary research programs within NSF.

Consequently, before submitting a proposal to CI PAOS, proposer s must discuss their project with a cognizant CI PAOS Program Officer and with the relevant NSF disciplinary research program officer (s) to ensure that CI PAOS is the appropriate venue and that there is adequate disciplinary interest in the proposed effort.

Proposals that have been decline d by CI PAOS or any other NSF program may not be resubmitted to CI PAOS without substantial revision. Proposals that do not align with CI PAOS program objective s and guidance may be returned without review.

Awards made through this program Browse projects funded by this program Map of recent awards made through this program Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure (CISE/OAC)