Opportunity Information: Apply for 16 601
Apply for 16 601
- The National Science Foundation in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Smart and Connected Health" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 47.041, 47.070, 47.075, 93.172, 93.286, 93.396, 93.865, 93.866.
- This funding opportunity was created on Sep 10, 2016.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Dec 08, 2016. (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 $2,000,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 16 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).
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Opportunity Summary:
The Smart and Connected Health (SCH) program is a federal research grant opportunity led by the National Science Foundation (NSF), coordinated with other agencies including the National Institutes of Health (NIH), aimed at speeding up a major shift in US healthcare. The central idea is to move healthcare away from a reactive, hospital-centered model and toward approaches that are preventive, proactive, evidence-based, and centered on individuals and overall well-being rather than treating disease only after it appears. SCH is designed to fund research that tightly couples advanced technology with biobehavioral and clinical health research, with the expectation that technology alone is not enough unless it is built around how people behave, make decisions, and interact with care systems.
The program targets "next generation" health and healthcare solutions, with an emphasis on breakthrough, high-risk/high-reward work. It encourages projects that advance areas such as sensor technologies (including wearable or ambient sensing), networking and connected computing, health data systems, machine learning and information technologies, decision support for clinicians and patients, and models of behavioral and cognitive processes. It also supports system and process modeling that can improve how healthcare is delivered. A recurring theme is that real-world health solutions face messy constraints that basic tech prototypes often ignore: clinical and medical requirements, social dynamics between patients and caregivers, cognitive limits and usability challenges, barriers to behavior change, highly diverse data sources, semantic mismatches across systems, and limitations in current cyber-physical and connected infrastructures. SCH is explicitly looking for teams that can handle those constraints rather than treating them as afterthoughts.
A key motivation behind the solicitation is that advances in high-throughput computing and connected computing have positioned medicine for a large-scale transformation. If pursued with rigorous research, these capabilities could accelerate scientific discovery, improve outcomes, and lower costs, while helping address complex and costly conditions such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and neurodegenerative disorders. The scope ranges from foundational biological science applications (for example, work involving genomics and proteomics data) to applied decision support using data mining and analytics for clinicians, patients, and caregivers, and to technology-enabled social and motivational supports that help people sustain healthier behaviors over time. The opportunity also recognizes that improving healthcare delivery and cost-effectiveness is not just a medical issue but a major economic and societal challenge in the United States, and that innovation has to address both care quality and efficiency.
SCH is positioned as an interagency, cross-cutting response to widely recognized national recommendations from groups such as the Presidents Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), the National Research Council (NRC), the Institute of Medicine (IOM), the Computing Community Consortium (CCC), and the National Academy of Engineering. It also aligns with conclusions from a congressionally mandated review of Networking and Information Technology Research and Development (NITRD), which highlighted networking and IT as essential drivers for solving national-scale problems, starting with health and healthcare. The solicitation reflects calls for NSF and the Department of Health and Human Services agencies (including NIH, AHRQ, and ONC-related health IT efforts) to coordinate and jointly fund research that spans technology, analytics, and the social, cognitive, and behavioral factors that determine whether new digital health tools will actually be used effectively.
In terms of what applicants can submit, the solicitation describes a single proposal class: Integrative Projects (INT). These projects are expected to be genuinely multidisciplinary and can run from 1 to 4 years. The integrative requirement is central: proposals should demonstrate deep collaboration across relevant fields, typically combining computing/information science or engineering with behavioral and social science and clinical or health domain expertise. The program strongly encourages collaboration across academia, industry, nonprofit organizations, and other partners to strengthen the pipeline from fundamental research to clinical relevance, real-world deployment, and sustained use.
Key administrative details from the opportunity listing include that it is a discretionary grant program administered by NSF, with an award ceiling of $2,000,000 and an expected total of 16 awards under this particular posting. The funding opportunity number is 16-601, originally posted September 10, 2016, with an original closing date of December 8, 2016. The eligible applicant category is listed broadly as "Others" with additional eligibility details referenced in the full solicitation. The opportunity is associated with multiple CFDA numbers across NSF and NIH-related areas, reflecting its multi-agency and interdisciplinary nature. Overall, SCH is best understood as funding ambitious teams that can combine cutting-edge connected technologies with a serious understanding of clinical realities and human behavior, with the goal of enabling disruptive improvements in health and healthcare delivery.
Smart and Connected Health (SCH) Program (NSF) - FAQs
What is the Smart and Connected Health (SCH) program?
The Smart and Connected Health (SCH) program is a federal research grant opportunity led by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and coordinated with other agencies, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It funds research intended to accelerate a major shift in US healthcare by enabling preventive, proactive, evidence-based, and individual-centered approaches to health and well-being.
What problem is SCH trying to solve in healthcare?
SCH aims to move healthcare away from a reactive, hospital-centered model and toward approaches that focus on prevention, earlier intervention, and sustained well-being. The program emphasizes that real improvements require not only new technologies, but also an understanding of how people behave, make decisions, and interact with care systems.
Who leads and coordinates the SCH program?
The program is led by NSF and coordinated with other agencies, including NIH. The solicitation reflects interagency collaboration across technology and health-related federal efforts.
What types of projects does SCH fund?
SCH supports "next generation" health and healthcare solutions, particularly breakthrough, high-risk/high-reward research. Funded projects are expected to tightly couple advanced technologies with biobehavioral and clinical health research.
What is the core research emphasis of SCH?
The central emphasis is integrative research that combines advanced technology with clinical realities and human factors. SCH explicitly notes that technology alone is not sufficient unless it is designed around behavioral, cognitive, social, and clinical constraints that shape real-world use and impact.
What technology areas are emphasized in the SCH program?
The solicitation encourages advances in areas such as sensor technologies (including wearable or ambient sensing), networking and connected computing, health data systems, machine learning and information technologies, decision support for clinicians and patients, and system/process modeling to improve healthcare delivery.
Does SCH support work related to sensors and wearables?
Yes. The program highlights sensor technologies, including wearable and ambient sensing, as a relevant area for SCH research when integrated with health and behavioral/clinical considerations.
Does SCH support AI and machine learning approaches?
Yes. Machine learning, information technologies, data mining, and analytics for decision support are explicitly included among the areas SCH encourages, particularly when paired with clinical and biobehavioral research.
Is clinical decision support within the scope of SCH?
Yes. The scope includes applied decision support for clinicians, patients, and caregivers using data mining and analytics, as part of broader smart and connected health solutions.
Does SCH fund research related to behavior change and sustained healthy habits?
Yes. The program recognizes the importance of technology-enabled social and motivational supports that help individuals sustain healthier behaviors over time, and it emphasizes behavioral and cognitive processes as central to effective solutions.
What health conditions or domains are mentioned as motivating examples?
The solicitation highlights complex and costly conditions such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and neurodegenerative disorders as examples of areas where rigorous research combining computing and health science could improve outcomes and reduce costs.
Does SCH include foundational biological science applications?
Yes. The opportunity scope ranges from foundational biological science applications, including work involving genomics and proteomics data, to applied analytics and decision support and to social/motivational supports enabled by technology.
What does SCH mean by "smart" and "connected" in healthcare?
Based on the solicitation description, "smart" reflects advanced computation, analytics, decision support, and modeling, while "connected" reflects networking and connected computing, cyber-physical and connected infrastructures, and the ability to integrate diverse data sources and systems involved in real healthcare settings.
Why does SCH emphasize "real-world constraints"?
SCH notes that real-world health solutions face constraints that basic technology prototypes often ignore, including clinical requirements, social dynamics between patients and caregivers, cognitive and usability limits, barriers to behavior change, highly diverse data sources, semantic mismatches across systems, and limitations in current cyber-physical and connected infrastructures. The program looks for teams prepared to address these issues directly rather than treating them as afterthoughts.
What is meant by "integrative" research in this solicitation?
The solicitation describes a single proposal class called Integrative Projects (INT). These projects are expected to be genuinely multidisciplinary, demonstrating deep collaboration across relevant fields, typically combining computing/information science or engineering with behavioral and social science and clinical or health domain expertise.
What proposal types are allowed under this opportunity?
The solicitation describes one proposal class: Integrative Projects (INT).
How long can an SCH Integrative Project last?
Integrative Projects (INT) can run from 1 to 4 years.
Is multidisciplinary collaboration required?
Yes. The integrative requirement is central. Proposals should show deep collaboration across disciplines, commonly spanning computing/engineering, behavioral and social science, and clinical/health domain expertise.
Are partnerships outside academia encouraged?
Yes. The program strongly encourages collaboration across academia, industry, nonprofit organizations, and other partners to strengthen the pathway from fundamental research to clinical relevance, real-world deployment, and sustained use.
What is the maximum award amount (award ceiling) for this posting?
The award ceiling listed for this opportunity is $2,000,000.
How many awards are expected under this posting?
The opportunity listing indicates an expected total of 16 awards.
What kind of grant program is SCH under this listing?
It is described as a discretionary grant program administered by NSF.
What is the funding opportunity number for this SCH solicitation?
The funding opportunity number is 16-601.
When was this opportunity originally posted and when did it close?
It was originally posted on September 10, 2016, with an original closing date of December 8, 2016.
Who is eligible to apply based on the listing?
The eligible applicant category is listed broadly as "Others," with additional eligibility details referenced in the full solicitation.
Are multiple agencies and CFDA numbers associated with this opportunity?
Yes. The opportunity is associated with multiple CFDA numbers across NSF and NIH-related areas, reflecting its multi-agency and interdisciplinary nature.
What national recommendations or reviews does SCH align with?
SCH is positioned as a cross-cutting, interagency response to national recommendations from groups such as the Presidents Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), the National Research Council (NRC), the Institute of Medicine (IOM), the Computing Community Consortium (CCC), and the National Academy of Engineering. It also aligns with conclusions from a congressionally mandated review of Networking and Information Technology Research and Development (NITRD), which emphasized networking and IT as essential drivers for national-scale challenges, starting with health and healthcare.
What does SCH say about healthcare cost and efficiency?
The solicitation frames improving healthcare delivery and cost-effectiveness as not only a medical concern but also a major economic and societal challenge in the United States, and it emphasizes that innovation needs to address both care quality and efficiency.
What kind of teams is SCH trying to fund?
SCH is best understood as funding ambitious, integrative teams that can combine cutting-edge connected technologies with serious attention to clinical realities and human behavior, aiming for disruptive improvements in health and healthcare delivery.
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