NSF Secure and Resilient Infrastructures (SRI) Program

NSF Secure and Resilient Infrastructures (SRI) Program is sponsored by National Science Foundation (NSF). Supports research to enhance the security and resilience of critical infrastructures, focusing on information integrity.

NSF 16-519: Critical Resilient Interdependent Infrastructure Systems and Processes (CRISP 2. 0) | 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 16-519: Critical Resilient Interdependent Infrastructure Systems and Processes (CRISP) Posted: December 11, 2015 Download the solicitation (PDF, 1.

5mb) National Science Foundation Directorate for Engineering Division of Civil, Mechanical and Manufacturing Innovation Division of Electrical, Communications and Cyber Systems Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems Emerging Frontiers and Multidisciplinary Activities Directorate for Social, Behavioral & Economic Sciences Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences Division of Social and Economic Sciences Directorate for Computer & Information Science & Engineering Division of Computer and Network Systems Division of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure Full Proposal Deadline(s) (due by 5 p.

m. submitter's local time): important Information And Revision Notes INFORMATION WEBCAST: The NSF will hold an informational webcast on Friday, January 22, 2016 at 1:30pm to discuss the CRISP program and answer questions about this solicitation. More details about the webcast will be posted on the CMMI website, https://www.

nsf. gov/eng/cmmi , as they become available. Any proposal submitted in response to this solicitation should be submitted in accordance with the revised NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) (NSF 16-1), which is effective for proposals submitted, or due, on or after January 25, 2016.

Please be advised that proposers who opt to submit prior to January 25, 2016, must also follow the guidelines contained in NSF 16-1. summary Of Program Requirements Critical Resilient Interdependent Infrastructure Systems and Processes (CRISP) Critical infrastructures are the mainstay of our nation's economy, security and health. These infrastructures are interdependent.

They are linked to individual preferences and community needs. For example, the electrical power system depends on the delivery of fuels to power generating stations through transportation services, the production of those fuels depends in turn on the use of electrical power, and those fuels are needed by the transportation services.

Social networks, interactions, and policies can enable or hinder the successful creation of resilient complex adaptive systems.

The goals of the Critical Resilient Interdependent Infrastructure Systems and Processes (CRISP) solicitation are to: (1) foster an interdisciplinary research community of engineers, computer and computational scientists and social and behavioral scientists, that creates new approaches and engineering solutions for the design and operation of infrastructures as processes and services; (2) enhance the understanding and design of interdependent critical infrastructure systems (ICIs) and processes that provide essential goods and services despite disruptions and failures from any cause, natural, technological, or malicious; (3) create the knowledge for innovation in ICIs so that they safely, securely, and effectively expand the range of goods and services they enable; and (4) improve the effectiveness and efficiency with which they deliver existing goods and services.

These goals lead to the following specific objectives for this solicitation: To create new knowledge, approaches, and engineering solutions to increase resilience, performance, and readiness in ICIs. To create theoretical frameworks and multidisciplinary models of ICIs, processes and services, capable of analytical prediction of complex behaviors, in response to system and policy changes.

To develop frameworks to understand interdependencies created by the interactions between the physical, the cyber (computing, information, computational, sensing and communication), and social, behavioral and economic elements of ICIs.

These could include, but are not limited to, software frameworks for modeling and simulation using advanced cyber infrastructures, management, monitoring and real-time control of interdependent ICIs and novel software engineering methodologies. To study socioeconomic, political, legal and psychological obstacles to improving ICIs and identifying strategies for overcoming those obstacles.

The CRISP solicitation seeks to fund projects likely to produce new knowledge that can contribute to making ICI services more effective, efficient, dependable, adaptable, resilient, safe, and secure, taking into account the human systems in which they are embedded.

Successful proposals are expected to study multiple infrastructures focusing on them as interdependent systems that deliver services, enabling a new interdisciplinary paradigm in infrastructure research. To meet the interdisciplinary criterion, proposals must broadly integrate across engineering, computer, information and computational science, and the social, behavioral and economic sciences.

Proposals that do not meet this criterion will be returned without review. Projects supported under this solicitation may undertake the collection of new data or use existing curated data depending on the category of award, and must recognize that a primary objective is integrative, predictive modeling that can use the data to validate the models and that can be integrated into decision making.

See Section X, Appendix for frequently asked questions (FAQs). 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.

Applicable Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number(s): --- Computer and Information Science and Engineering --- Social Behavioral and Economic Sciences Anticipated Type of Award: Standard Grant Estimated Number of Awards: 20 to 25 Two categories of awards are anticipated for this solicitation: Type 1 and Type 2.

The number of awards in each category will be dependent on the overall mix of proposals and the degree to which they meet the solicitation goals, Merit Review Criteria and Solicitation Specific Review Criteria. We anticipate up to approximately 15 Type 1 awards and up to approximately 10 Type 2 awards. Anticipated Funding Amount: $26,500,000 Anticipated funding amount is pending availability of FY 2016 appropriation.

Type 1 Awards: Projects will be of 2 years in duration with a maximum total budget of $500,000. Type 2 Awards: Projects will be of 3-4 years in duration with a total budget ranging from $1 million to $2. 5 million.

Who May Submit Proposals: Proposals may only be submitted by the following: Universities and Colleges - Universities and two- and four-year colleges (including community colleges) accredited in, and having a campus located in, the US acting on behalf of their faculty members. Such organizations also are referred to as academic institutions.

Who May Serve as PI: Because this program is meant to support interdisciplinary research, a minimum of three investigators is required per project, including the Principal Investigator (PI) and two or more co-Investigators from the lead or participating institutions. Persons named as PI or co-PI must be eligible to serve as such on NSF proposals submitted through their respective institutions.

In order to ensure an interdisciplinary approach to studying ICIs, proposals should include and clearly identify at least one PI or co-PI who is an engineer, at least one who is a computer, information or computational scientist, and at least one who is a social, economic or behavioral scientist. Additional co-PIs or senior personnel may be added to cover other interdisciplinary needs of the project.

The appropriateness of the research team's disciplinary composition and expertise should be justified and will be a factor in the merit review of the proposal (see Additional Review Criteria section). Limit on Number of Proposals per Organization: There are no restrictions or limits.

Limit on Number of Proposals per PI or Co-PI: 2 An individual may appear as a Principal Investigator (PI), co-PI, other senior personnel or investigator only on one Type 1 and one Type 2 CRISP proposal. This limitation includes proposals submitted by a lead organization, any sub-award submitted as part of a proposal, or any collaborative proposal submitted as separate submissions from multiple organizations.

An individual may not serve as a PI, coPI or senior investigator on more than one active award of the same type. All proposals and collaborative proposals that include a PI, co-PI or other senior personnel or investigator who does not meet these limits will be returned without review. Proposal Preparation and Submission Instructions A.

Proposal Preparation Instructions Letters of Intent: Not required Preliminary Proposal Submission: Not required Full Proposals submitted via FastLane: NSF Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide, Part I: Grant Proposal Guide (GPG) Guidelines apply. The complete text of the GPG is available electronically on the NSF website at: https://www. nsf.

gov/publications/pub_summ. jsp? ods_key=gpg .

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: Other budgetary limitations apply. Please see the full text of this solicitation for further information.

Full Proposal Deadline(s) (due by 5 p. m. submitter's local time): Proposal Review Information Criteria National Science Board approved criteria.

Additional merit review considerations 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. Standard NSF reporting requirements apply. The economic competitiveness and societal well-being of the United States depend upon the affordability, availability, quality and resilience of the goods and services that its infrastructures provide.

These infrastructures in turn are dependent on each other for their functions. An infrastructure is defined as a network of human-made systems and processes that function cooperatively and synergistically to produce and distribute a continuous flow of essential goods and services.

For example, the electrical power system depends on the delivery of fuels to power generating stations through transportation services, the production of those fuels depends in turn on the use of electrical power, and those fuels are needed by the transportation services. The disruption of electrical power impacts water, emergency services, finance, and government services, among others.

All of these services are in turn dependent on computing, networking, data and control services provided by complex, multi-scale interdependent systems and software, which cannot function without power. All of these systems and processes are dependent on the human element.

Together, this creates a complex set of interdependencies among infrastructure services that are challenging to conceptualize, understand, model and design across multiple scales.

Our view of infrastructures is evolving from collections of discrete physical and human components such as roads, bridges and buildings, or ambulances, hospitals and healthcare workers into an ecosystem of tightly interconnected and interdependent physical, cyber and human components. This places an emphasis on understanding and designing infrastructures as processes delivering services.

Such understanding must address and include complex interdependencies among infrastructure systems. Advances in materials, electronics, and computing are reshaping infrastructures at different geographic scales from the local to the international, and have both positive and negative impacts.

For example, the rapid merging of cyberspace with traditional infrastructures has created new functionality and opportunities while simultaneously exposing the vulnerabilities of cyberspace to these other infrastructures. The creation and operation of these services under normal conditions is already challenging.

In addition, infrastructures also are subject to disturbances from natural, technological and malicious sources at various timescales and intensities. Interdependencies among infrastructures add significant complexity to maintaining and restoring their functionality in these unfavorable situations.

Predicting and managing human response to the loss of service in infrastructures exposed to hazards plays an important role throughout the cycle of responding to the disturbance, and is central to the long-term viability of infrastructures. Resiliency encompasses the features of an infrastructure’s inherent capacity to resist disturbances, initial loss of service quality, and trajectory of service restoration.

Conceived as a process, infrastructure resiliency can be achieved by a myriad of strategies in addition to simple repair and replacement. Components may autonomously adapt and dynamically reconfigure during a disturbance to restore lost functionality, and people may change their behaviors to lower their demands on infrastructures and provide mutual support.

Given the interdependent nature of infrastructures, their collective resiliency is a complex phenomenon that makes the design, management and control of independent critical infrastructure (ICI) services extremely challenging but necessary.

Addressing this broad and integrative topic of ICI design and behavior requires the mapping of infrastructure components from processes to services, and a holistic, predictive understanding of interdependent critical infrastructures, including the human component of service production and consumption, and a new science of integrative system design.

This provides the context for the Critical Resilient Interdependent Infrastructure Systems and Processes (CRISP) solicitation described here.

The goals of the CRISP solicitation are to enhance the understanding, design and operation of interdependent critical infrastructure systems and processes that provide essential goods and services despite disruptions and failures from any cause, natural, technological or malicious, and to provide opportunities to innovate in ICIs to enrich society with new goods and services.

There are currently 18 critical infrastructures defined by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and some of these are highly aggregated classifications, for example energy, of different essential infrastructures, such as power generation and distribution, and natural gas production and pipeline distribution.

The diversity of types of infrastructures and the central role played by information and human behavior require a multi-disciplinary approach to studying, designing and controlling their performance under different operating conditions.

Successful proposals in all categories are expected to broadly integrate across the engineering, social, behavioral and economic sciences, and computing, information, and computational science, enabling a new interdisciplinary paradigm in infrastructure services research to develop new representations and theoretical frameworks for predictive capability, system design and control.

From an engineering perspective, the understanding of the interdependencies in infrastructure systems continues to be a major challenge both in terms of defining appropriate theoretical constructs and in terms of defining and implementing appropriate interventions given fiscal realities.

The research has focused primarily on understanding physical interdependencies and the design of redundant or hardened technology components to withstand disturbances. While important, the focus of this solicitation is not only the mitigation of failure, but also the engineering of the recovery processes to leverage the positive infrastructure interdependencies and minimize the negative ones.

From a computing perspective, the major transformation in the ICIs of the past few decades is the rapid adoption and pervasiveness of computing, communications and information technologies. ICIs comprised of deeply interconnected cyber-physical-social systems promise significantly improved service resiliency at different scales against all hazards from nature, terrorism, deliberate cyber-attack, or unintended software bugs.

At the same time, connections with cyberspace have also made ICIs interdependent. A challenge is to understand the computational foundations of resiliency for ICIs and develop cyber-enabled real-time control and dynamic adaptation techniques to improve resiliency of ICIs.

This includes cyber-physical systems research for real-time control and dynamic adaptation, new ways of creating, validating and verifying computational science tools (such as through the use of machine learning, product-line and model-driven engineering, and using advanced cyber infrastructures), sensing at scale and high-fidelity, multi-objective big data analytics.

From a social, behavioral, and economic sciences perspective, the conceptualization of infrastructure systems as processes and services offers exciting opportunities for examining the relationships of social, economic, behavioral, psychological, geographic, policy and decision-science variables with engineering and cyber infrastructure elements.

Individual, organizational and community impacts upon the operation of infrastructure systems and processes, the roles of public policy and decision making in the provision of infrastructure services, and the spatial and economic factors that influence the performance of these processes are some of the many social and behavioral science relevant investigations.

Engineers and social scientists have decades of experience in jointly examining the resilience of physical infrastructures to natural and technological hazards and extreme events.

While such studies of resilience are welcome in this solicitation, this solicitation focuses on research that integrates across engineering, computer, information, computational and social/behavioral/economic science disciplines and examines infrastructure systems and processes under normal conditions and over time.

A systematic consideration of the three perspectives (engineering, cyber, social/behavioral/economic) in an integrated fashion is expected to provide a deeper understanding of what is meant by the interdependencies and the associated physical, information and social phenomena.

The concept of resilience should also undergo a broad re-examination to incorporate how the interdependency of infrastructures influences its antecedent definition and operational implementation. The initial loss of function might be influenced by the rapid spread of information across social networks and by more sophisticated control enabled by cyber-infrastructure.

The interdependency of infrastructures may enhance the system response due to substitution of services from one infrastructure for another, such as telecommuting to avoid travel during bad weather, or reducing social contacts during disease outbreaks. On the other hand, the ability of failures in one infrastructure to cascade to another, and then rebound back to the original source, may exacerbate the fragility of the overall system.

For instance, communication failure could cascade to power systems, and in turn could rebound to cause communication systems to fail. The recovery process might include substantial modifications to the way people use the damaged infrastructures, including substitutions of different services enabled by cyber-infrastructure.

Various research activities in critical resilient infrastructure systems and processes that might be included in proposals are listed below (these activities are illustrative and should not be considered exhaustive or limiting).

Design and test new scalable, multi-scale, modeling, simulation, real-time control and dynamic adaptation/configuration techniques (including software and software development techniques) to improve the resilience of ICIs; Improve control, integrity, and overall stability of services provided by ICIs; Understand the "systems ecology" of our interdependent infrastructures and services, including human, physical as well as cyber components; Create conceptual frameworks or theories for understanding the processes and services of interdependent infrastructure systems from a multidisciplinary perspective; Apply interdisciplinary knowledge to the design and management of interdependent critical infrastructure systems and processes required to meet societal needs; Test hypotheses and validate explanatory models through empirical work involving ICIs with either existing or newly collected data; Study risk assessment, incentives, network interactions and other mechanisms for facilitating the creation of resilient, efficient ICIs; Study socio-economic, political, legal, organizational, technical and psychological obstacles to improving ICIs and identify resources and strategies for overcoming those obstacles; Explore the economics and governance of ICIs; Explore impact of interactions and interdependencies between cyber and physical systems on correctness, safety and security properties of ICIs; Explore new multidisciplinary engineering approaches to increase resilience, interoperability, performance, and readiness in ICIs; Expand the design space of alternatives, leveraging new interdependencies to increase resiliency to extreme conditions and future events; and Determine the socio-economic value of new interdependencies of ICIs to meet societal demands.

Also within the scope of the solicitation are studies that address more mild disturbances which may cause temporary disruption of service but not catastrophic loss. Such disturbances may originate within normal operations whose quality is compromised by, for example, slow degradation of infrastructure components or loss of social cohesion. Two types of proposals will be submitted.

See Section III, Award Information, for additional information. See Section X, Appendix for frequently asked questions (FAQs). Estimated Number of Awards: Two categories of awards are anticipated for this solicitation.

The number of awards in each category will be dependent on the overall mix of proposals and the degree to which they meet the solicitation goals, Merit Review Criteria and Solicitation Specific Review Criteria. We anticipate up to approximately 15 Type 1 awards and up to approximately 10 Type 2 awards.

Type 1 Awards: Theory, modeling, data collection and metric formalizations projects that will create the knowledge, representations, methodologies, case studies and approaches to conceptualize and study interdependent infrastructures as processes, services and systems. These awards are not intended for empirical testing of models or theories. Projects will be of 2 years in duration for a maximum total budget of $500,000.

Type 2 Awards: These proposals support interdisciplinary research to conduct major new interdependent infrastructure research using empirical data. They are expected to include the creation of knowledge, representations, methodologies and approaches to conceptualize and study interdependent infrastructures as processes, services and systems. Projects will be of 3-4 years in duration with a total budget ranging from $1 million to $2.

5 million. Anticipated funding amount is pending availability of FY 2016 appropriation. iv.

Eligibility Information Who May Submit Proposals: Proposals may only be submitted by the following: Universities and Colleges - Universities and two- and four-year colleges (including community colleges) accredited in, and having a campus located in, the US acting on behalf of their faculty members. Such organizations also are referred to as academic institutions.

Because this program is meant to support interdisciplinary research, a minimum of three investigators is required per project, including the Principal Investigator (PI) and two or more co-Investigators from the lead or participating institutions. Persons named as PI or co-PI must be eligible to serve as such on NSF proposals submitted through their respective institutions.

In order to ensure an interdisciplinary approach to studying ICIs, proposals should include and clearly identify at least one PI or co-PI who is an engineer, at least one who is a computer, information or computational scientist, and at least one who is a social, economic or behavioral scientist. Additional co-PIs or senior personnel may be added to cover other interdisciplinary needs of the project.

The appropriateness of the research team's disciplinary composition and expertise should be justified and will be a factor in the merit review of the proposal (see Additional Review Criteria section). Limit on Number of Proposals per Organization: There are no restrictions or limits.

Limit on Number of Proposals per PI or Co-PI: 2 An individual may appear as a Principal Investigator (PI), co-PI, other senior personnel or investigator only on one Type 1 and one Type 2 CRISP proposal. This limitation includes proposals submitted by a lead organization, any sub-award submitted as part of a proposal, or any collaborative proposal submitted as separate submissions from multiple organizations.

An individual may not serve as a PI, coPI or senior investigator on more than one active award of the same type. All proposals and collaborative proposals that include a PI, co-PI or other senior personnel or investigator who does not meet these limits will be returned without review. Additional Eligibility Info: A nonacademic organization may participate through a subaward.

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 Grants.

gov or via the NSF FastLane system. Full proposals submitted via FastLane: Proposals submitted in response to this program solicitation should be prepared and submitted in accordance with the general guidelines contained in the NSF Grant Proposal Guide (GPG). The complete text of the GPG is available electronically on the NSF website at: https://www.

nsf. gov/publications/pub_summ. jsp?

ods_key=gpg . Paper copies of the GPG may be obtained from the NSF Publications Clearinghouse, telephone (703) 292-7827 or by e-mail from nsfpubs@nsf. gov .

Proposers are reminded to identify this program solicitation number in the program solicitation block on the NSF Cover Sheet For Proposal to the National Science Foundation. Compliance with this requirement is critical to determining the relevant proposal processing guidelines. Failure to submit this information may delay processing.

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) 292-7827 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 the NSF FastLane system.

Chapter II, Section D. 5 of the Grant Proposal Guide provides additional information on collaborative proposals. See Chapter II.

C. 2 of the GPG 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 GPG instructions.

The following instructions supplement the guidance in the GPG or NSF Grants. gov Application Guide. The title of the proposed project must begin with the string "CRISP Type 1:" or "CRISP Type 2:" Make sure to identify this Solicitation Number on the Proposal Cover Sheet.

Project Team Document : A Project Team document no longer than 1 page in length is required for Type 1 proposals . The Project Team document should list all Senior Personnel on the project and clearly indicate who is from each of the three distinct disciplinary areas (provide the last name, first name, institution/organization and discipline).

An investigator identified as representing one of the three disciplinary areas (engineering; computer, information or computational science; and the social, behavioral and economic sciences), associated with the Directorates of Engineering (ENG), Computer & Information Science & Engineering (CISE) and Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE), must have supporting information, in the form of degrees, publications, patents and/or software products in that discipline , for that designation in his/her Biographical Sketch.

Management and Integration Plan : A Management and Integration Plan up to 3 pages in length is required for Type 2 proposals .

The Management and Integration Plan should: a) list all Senior Personnel on the project and clearly indicate who is from each of the three distinct disciplinary areas (provide the last name, first name, institution/organization and discipline) as in the Project Team Document for Type 1 proposals above; b) describe how the group effort will be coordinated; c) describe how the disciplinary components will be integrated; d) describe collaborations and partnerships and their integration with the project; and e) describe how data, models, and ideas will be disseminated and shared with the research community and stakeholders.

A clear time line of expected outcomes should be included, as well as plans for the integration of research and education.

An investigator identified as representing one of the three disciplinary areas (engineering; computer, information or computational science; and the social, behavioral and economic sciences), associated with the Directorates of ENG, CISE and SBE, must have supporting information, in the form of degrees, publications, patents, and/or software products in the discipline , for that designation in his/her Biographical Sketch.

Inclusion of voluntary committed cost sharing is prohibited. Other Budgetary Limitations: Participants are required to attend grantees meetings in year 1 for Type 1 and 2 proposals, and in year 3 for Type 2 proposals.

Therefore, the budget category Domestic Travel in appropriate budget years should include costs of travel for up to four members of the research team (including the PI and at least one other senior investigator) to the Washington, D. C. area.

The goals of these grantees meetings are to: (a) provide an opportunity for investigators to share research approaches and results, (b) promote interaction of Type 1 and Type 2 awardees, and (c) encourage discussion of the new types of interdisciplinary collaborations necessary for CRISP research. This program will support the costs of U.S.-based scientists and their students.

International collaborators are encouraged to seek support from their respective funding organizations.

Funding guidelines for involving international collaborators allow the following expenses to be included in the NSF budget: 1) travel expenses for U.S. scientists and students participating in exchange visits integral to the project; 2) limited project-related expenses for international partners to engage in research activities while in the U.S. as project participants; and 3) project-related expenses for U.S. participants to engage in research activities while abroad.

Budgets for Research Platforms and Facilities: For projects utilizing NSF research platforms (e.g., ships, research aircraft, etc.) or other shared use facilities (e.g., field instrumentation, analytical or experimental facilities) PIs must prepare their budgets consistent with the customary practices of the facility. Costs that are not borne by the facility must be included in the budget cap of $500K for Type 1 proposals and $2.

5M for Type 2 proposals. Non-NSF facilities costs should be included in the proposal budget and count toward the applicable budget cap. Full Proposal Deadline(s) (due by 5 p.

m. submitter's local time): D. FastLane/Grants.

gov Requirements For Proposals Submitted Via FastLane: To prepare and submit a proposal via FastLane, see detailed technical instructions available at: https://www. fastlane. nsf.

gov/a1/newstan. htm . For FastLane user support, call the FastLane Help Desk at 1-800-673-6188 or e-mail fastlane@nsf.

gov . The FastLane Help Desk answers general technical questions related to the use of the FastLane system. Specific questions related to this program solicitation should be referred to the NSF program staff contact(s) listed in Section VIII of this funding opportunity.

For Proposals Submitted Via Grants. gov: Before using Grants. gov for the first time, each organization must register to create an institutional profile.

Once registered, the applicant's organization can then apply for any federal grant on the Grants. gov website. Comprehensive information about using Grants.

gov is available on the Grants. gov Applicant Resources webpage: http://www. grants.

gov/web/grants/applicants. html . In addition, the NSF Grants.

gov Application Guide (see link in Section V. A) provides instructions regarding the technical preparation of proposals via Grants. gov. For Grants.

gov user support, contact the Grants. gov Contact Center at 1-800-518-4726 or by email: support@grants. gov .

The Grants. gov Contact Center answers general technical questions related to the use of Grants. gov. Specific questions related to this program solicitation should be referred to the NSF program staff contact(s) listed in Section VIII of this solicitation.

Submitting the Proposal: Once all documents have been completed, the Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR) must submit the application to Grants. gov and verify the desired funding opportunity and agency to which the application is submitted. The AOR must then sign and submit the application to Grants.

gov. The completed application will be transferred