Title
Strengthening the Cyberinfrastructure Professionals Ecosystem(SCIPE)
Agencies
National Science Foundation (NSF)
Description
The overarching goal of this solicitation is to democratize access to NSF’s advanced
cyberinfrastructure (CI) ecosystem and ensure fair and equitable access to resources, services, and
expertise by strengthening how Cyberinfrastructure Professionals (CIP) function in this ecosystem.
It aims to achieve this by (1) deepening the integration of CIPs into the research enterprise, and
(2) fostering innovative and scalable education, training, and development of instructional
materials, to address emerging needs and unresolved bottlenecks in CIP workforce development.
Specifically, this solicitation seeks to nurture, grow and recognize the national CIP [1] workforce
that is essential for creating, utilizing and supporting advanced CI to enable and potentially
transform fundamental science and engineering (S&E) research and education and contribute to the
Nation's overall economic competitiveness and security. Together, the principal investigators
(PIs), technology platforms, tools, and expert CIP workforce supported by this solicitation operate
as an interdependent ecosystem wherein S&E research and education thrive. This solicitation will
support NSF’s advanced CI ecosystem with a scalable, agile, diverse, and sustainable network of
CIPs that can ensure broad adoption of advanced CI resources and expert services including
platforms, tools, methods, software, data, and networks for research communities, to catalyze major
research advances, and to enhance researchers' abilities to lead the development of new CI.
The SCIPE program is led by the Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure (OAC) in the Directorate for
Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) and has participation from other NSF
directorates/divisions, as described in Section II. Program Description, Programmatic Areas of
Interest. Not all directorates/divisions are participating at the same level, and some have
specific research and education priorities. The appropriate contact for the SCIPE program in any
directorate/division is the Cognizant Program Officer (PO) for the respective
directorate/division/office/program listed below.
All projects are expected to clearly articulate how they address essential community needs, will
provide resources that will be widely available to and usable by the research community, and will
broaden participation from underrepresented groups. Prospective PIs are strongly encouraged to
contact the Cognizant Program Officers in CISE/OAC and in the participating directorate/division
relevant to the proposal to ascertain whether the focus and budget of their proposed activities are
appropriate for this solicitation. Such consultations should be completed at least one month before
the submission deadline. PIs should include the names of the Cognizant Program Officers consulted
in a Single Copy Document as described in Section V.A. Proposal Preparation Instructions. The
intent of the SCIPE program is to encourage collaboration between CI and S&E domain disciplines.
(For this purpose, units of CISE other than OAC are considered domain disciplines.) To ensure
relevance to community needs and to facilitate adoption, those proposals of interest to one or more
domain divisions must include at least one PI/co-PI with expertise relevant to the targeted
research discipline. All proposals shall include at least one PI/co-PI with expertise pertinent to
OAC.
Prospective PIs contemplating submissions that primarily target communities relevant to
directorates/divisions that are not participating in this solicitation are directed to explore
instead the education and workforce development programs of the respective directorates/divisions.
[1] CI Professionals refers to the community of individuals who provide a broad spectrum of skills
and expertise to the scientific and engineering research enterprise by inventing, developing,
deploying and/or supporting research CI and CI users. Examples of CI Professionals include CI
system administrators, CI research support staff, CI research software engineers, data curators,
and CI facilitators,
tists and engineers who are not in traditional academic paths. See: Transforming Science
: NSF’s Blueprint for Cyberinfrastructure Learning and Workforce Development,
More Information
https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2023/nsf23521/nsf23521.htm
Submission Limits
Limit on Number of Proposals per Organization: 1
Institutions are limited to one SCIPE proposal per competition. In the event that an institution
exceeds this limit, proposals will be accepted based on earliest date and time of proposal
submission, i.e., the first proposal will be accepted, and the remainder will be returned without
review. No exceptions will be made.
Limit on Number of Proposals per PI or co-PI: 1
An individual may serve as PI, co-PI, or other senior personnel on only one SCIPE proposal per
competition. In the event that an individual
on earliest date and time of proposal submission, i.e., the first proposal will be accepted, ainder
will be returned without review. No exceptions will be made.
Deadlines
| Internal Notice of Intent |
Oct 27, 2023 |
| Notification of Internal Competition |
Oct 28, 2023 |
| Internal Pre-proposal |
Nov 10, 2023 |
| Results of Internal Competition |
Dec 4, 2023 |
| Agency Notice of Intent/Pre-proposal |
N/A |
| Agency Proposal |
Jan 18, 2024
|
|
Office of the Vice President for Research
