Campus Cyberinfrastructure | 18 508

Opportunity Information: Apply for 18 508

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Campus Cyberinfrastructure (CC) grant opportunity supports projects that strengthen and modernize campus networking in ways that directly enable scientific research and distributed, collaborative projects. The program is built around the idea that campus networks are not just basic IT utilities; they are core research infrastructure that must be engineered, integrated, and continuously improved to meet data-intensive science needs. Proposals are expected to be driven first and foremost by science requirements, meaning applicants should clearly connect requested networking capabilities to specific research workflows, instruments, collaborations, data movement needs, or advanced computing use cases. In addition to technical upgrades and engineering work, the program explicitly includes learning and workforce development (LWD) in cyberinfrastructure, so projects are encouraged to build campus expertise through training, student involvement, professional development, community engagement, and other activities that grow the local talent pipeline for research networking and cyberinfrastructure operations.

The opportunity is a discretionary NSF grant (Funding Opportunity Number 18-508; CFDA 47.070) in the Science and Technology and other Research and Development category. NSF anticipated making about 26 awards under this solicitation, with an overall award ceiling up to $3,500,000 depending on the project track. The solicitation lists eligibility broadly as "Others" with further clarification expected in the full eligibility text, indicating the program may include a range of institution types beyond only traditional research universities, particularly because one track is designed specifically for smaller institutions.

Funding is organized into four program areas, each with a different purpose, scale, and maximum duration. First, "Data Driven Networking Infrastructure for the Campus and Researcher" supports improvements that help campuses and individual researchers move, manage, and use research data more effectively; awards in this category can be up to $500,000 total for up to two years. Second, "Network Design and Implementation for Small Institutions" targets smaller institutions that may need foundational design help and implementation support to reach modern research networking capabilities; awards can be up to $750,000 total for up to two years. Third, "Network Integration and Applied Innovation" focuses on connecting and integrating systems and services, and on applying new networking approaches in practical campus research environments; awards can be up to $1,000,000 total for up to two years. Fourth, "Network Performance Engineering and Outreach" supports deeper performance-focused engineering work and broader community-facing activities, reflecting larger and longer efforts that can include measurement, tuning, operational practices, and sharing expertise beyond a single campus; awards in this category can be up to $3,500,000 total for up to four years.

Overall, the CC program is aimed at coordinated campus-level efforts rather than isolated, piecemeal upgrades. Competitive proposals typically emphasize integration across campus stakeholders (researchers, central IT, research computing, libraries, and domain science teams), demonstrate how networking changes will translate into real research outcomes, and include a clear plan for developing people alongside technology through training, documentation, mentoring, and outreach. The original solicitation timeline in the source data shows a creation date of October 31, 2017 and an original closing date of January 30, 2018, which is useful for historical reference even if the program has evolved in later NSF cycles.

• The National Science Foundation in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Campus Cyberinfrastructure" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 47.070.
• This funding opportunity was created on Oct 31, 2017.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jan 30, 2018. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $3,500,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 26 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for 18 508

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