Building Community and Capacity for Data Intensive Research in the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences and in Education and Human Resources | Apply Online

Opportunity Summary:

The National Science Foundation (NSF) funding opportunity titled "Building Community and Capacity for Data Intensive Research in the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences and in Education and Human Resources" (NSF 14-517) was a discretionary grant program designed to accelerate the ability of research communities to do large-scale, data-intensive work across the social, behavioral, and economic sciences (SBE) and education and human resources (EHR). Positioned under NSF's broader Cyberinfrastructure Framework for 21st Century Science and Engineering (CIF21) effort, the program focused less on funding isolated, single-investigator projects and more on helping communities organize around a shared, forward-looking vision for next-generation data resources and the analytical methods needed to use them effectively. In practice, the opportunity emphasized capacity-building: forming teams, aligning disciplines, and creating the foundations that make ambitious data-intensive research possible and scalable.

A central aim of the program was to support activities that enable the creation of new, large-scale data resources and the development of relevant analytic techniques that can push fundamental research forward. NSF encouraged proposals that could unlock new kinds of questions and new modes of inquiry, particularly those that become possible only when data are larger, more complex, more integrated across sources, or paired with advanced computation. Rather than narrowly prescribing what those data resources or techniques must look like, the solicitation asked investigators to think broadly and propose efforts that could meaningfully change what is feasible for multiple fields. The intent was for successful projects to have impacts that extend beyond a single subdiscipline by establishing shared assets, practices, and capabilities that others can adopt.

The opportunity explicitly promoted cross-disciplinary thinking. While it was anchored in SBE and EHR, NSF signaled that strong proposals should extend intellectually across multiple disciplines and could include areas outside SBE and EHR if doing so strengthened the overall vision and impact. That framing reflects a recognition that modern data-intensive research often depends on combining expertise in domain science with statistics, machine learning, computer science, information science, and cyberinfrastructure. In other words, the program was built around the idea that breakthrough progress in social science and education research increasingly requires community-level coordination: shared data infrastructures, common standards, reusable tools, and collaborative networks that can sustain long-term innovation.

From a funding and administrative perspective, this was a grant program in the "Science and Technology and other Research and Development" activity category. NSF anticipated making about 20 awards, with an estimated total funding level of $6,000,000. There was no cost sharing or matching requirement, which typically lowers barriers for participation and allows a wider range of institutions or organizations to compete. Eligibility was listed as unrestricted, meaning it was generally open to any type of applicant entity, subject to any clarifications in the full solicitation text. The program referenced two CFDA numbers aligned to the participating NSF directorates: 47.075 (Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences) and 47.076 (Education and Human Resources).

Key dates indicate that the opportunity was posted on December 16, 2013, with a full proposal deadline of March 3, 2014. The listing is now archived (archive date November 24, 2014), meaning it is no longer accepting applications. For applicants at the time, NSF directed anyone with access issues to Grants.gov support, and the opportunity pointed to the NSF publication number (NSF 14-517) as the primary reference for the complete program guidance.

Overall, this solicitation can be understood as NSF investing in the "connective tissue" for data-intensive social science and education research: community building, shared visions, team formation, and the development of large-scale data resources and analytic capabilities that can serve many researchers at once. The program's success criteria were tied to broad, field-spanning impact and the ability to enable new types of data-intensive research that would otherwise be difficult or impossible within traditional, siloed project structures.

Browse more: Education Grants, Education Loans, Pell Grants

Browse more opportunities from the same agency: National Science Foundation

Browse more opportunities from the same category: Science and Technology and other Research and Development

Next opportunity: Petascale Computing Resource Allocations

Previous opportunity: SNPLMA Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area Trails Project Phase II

USGrants.org Applicant Portal:

Are you interested in learning about about how to apply for this government funding opportunity? You can create a free applicant account and receive instant access to our applicant portal that many business owners like you have benefited from.

Apply for 14 517

 

[Watch] how do funding administrators access proposals?

Applicants also applied for:

Applicants who have applied for this opportunity (14 517) also looked into and applied for these:

 

Grant application guides and resources

It is always free to apply for government grants. However the process may be very complex depending on the funding opportunity you are applying for. Let us help you!

Apply for Grants

 

 

Premium leads for funding administrators, grant writers, and loan issuers

Thousands of people visit our website for their funding needs every day. When a user creates a grant proposal and files for submission, we pass the information on to funding administrators, grant writers, and government loan issuers.

If you manage government grant programs, provide grant writing services, or issue personal or government loans, we can help you reach your audience.

Subscribe to Leads

 

Request more information:

Would you like to learn more about this funding opportunity, similar opportunities to "14 517", eligibility, application service, and/or application tips? Submit an inquiry below:

Don't forget to subscribe to our grant alerts mailing list to receive weekly alerts on new and updated grant funding opportunities like this one in your email.