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

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the NSF funding opportunity "Building Community and Capacity for Data Intensive Research in the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences and in Education and Human Resources" (12-538)?

It is a National Science Foundation (NSF) discretionary grant program created under NSF's Cyberinfrastructure Framework for 21st Century Science and Engineering (CIF21). The opportunity focused on helping research communities build shared visions, collaborative teams, and practical capacity to create large-scale, next-generation data resources and the analytic methods needed to use them, with emphasis on the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences (SBE) and Education and Human Resources (EHR).

What was the main goal of this program?

The central goal was to move research communities beyond small, isolated projects by enabling coordinated, community-driven efforts that support data-intensive research. This includes building the broad infrastructure (technical and organizational) needed to work with larger, more complex, or more integrated data than individual investigators or single fields can typically manage on their own.

Which research areas were emphasized?

The solicitation emphasized fundamental advances in the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences (SBE) and in Education and Human Resources (EHR). At the same time, it encouraged ideas that reach beyond those areas and connect meaningfully with multiple disciplines.

Was this opportunity limited to hardware or computing infrastructure?

No. The opportunity framed "infrastructure" broadly. It was not only about hardware or computing, but also about building community-level capacity for data-intensive science, including shared practices, coordination processes, and capabilities that enable sustained, collaborative research.

What kinds of activities did NSF expect proposals to support?

Based on the description, the program typically supports efforts such as establishing shared data assets, developing interoperable platforms and standards, improving data management and access practices, creating analytic techniques suited to large and complex datasets, and organizing community processes that coordinate work across institutions and fields.

What did NSF imply would make a proposal "strong" for this opportunity?

Strong proposals were expected to unlock new kinds of research by making it possible to work with larger, more complex, or more integrated data than would otherwise be feasible. The description also implied that successful proposals would articulate a compelling, field-spanning vision and present concrete activities to make that vision real, including the teams, practices, and technical foundations needed to support large-scale data resources and analytics.

Did NSF encourage cross-disciplinary work?

Yes. The solicitation emphasized significant impacts across multiple fields and encouraged ideas that connect meaningfully with multiple disciplines, not just within SBE and EHR.

Was the program aimed at building tools for a narrow use case?

No. The emphasis was on creating resources, approaches, or collaborative ecosystems that many researchers could build upon, rather than tools tailored to a narrow or single-project use case.

Which NSF organizations sponsored this solicitation?

The solicitation was jointly backed by NSF's Directorate for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences (CFDA 47.075), the Directorate for Education and Human Resources (CFDA 47.076), and the Office of Cyberinfrastructure (CFDA 47.080). This joint sponsorship reflects the crosscutting focus at the intersection of disciplinary research and advanced cyberinfrastructure.

What was the estimated total funding amount and expected number of awards?

The estimated total funding amount was $5,000,000, and NSF expected about 60 awards. This suggests the program was designed to seed a relatively broad range of community-building and capacity-building projects.

Was cost sharing or matching required?

No. The opportunity stated that there was no cost sharing or matching requirement.

Who was eligible to apply?

Eligibility was listed as unrestricted (open to any type of entity), subject to any clarifications in the full program text. The description notes NSF's common approach of allowing applications from universities, colleges, nonprofits, for-profits, and other research-performing organizations as long as they meet the solicitation requirements.

When was the opportunity posted and what were the key dates?

The opportunity was posted and created on February 24, 2012. The full proposal deadline was May 22, 2012. The archive date was June 22, 2012.

Is this funding opportunity still open?

No. The archive date (June 22, 2012) indicates it is no longer open.

What is CIF21 and how does it relate to this program?

CIF21 refers to NSF's Cyberinfrastructure Framework for 21st Century Science and Engineering. This program was created under CIF21 to help SBE and EHR communities more fully take advantage of modern data systems, large-scale computation, and advanced analytics through community-building and capacity-building efforts.

What broader impact did NSF appear to be seeking?

The description suggests NSF was looking for proposals that could catalyze new research directions across multiple domains by creating shared data resources and analytics capabilities that extend beyond the scope of individual investigators, single institutions, or isolated projects.

Why is this archived solicitation still useful as a reference?

Even though it is no longer open, it remains a useful reference for understanding NSF priorities around community-driven cyberinfrastructure and data-intensive research approaches in SBE and EHR, including the emphasis on shared visions, collaboration, and broadly reusable resources.