Computer and Network Systems (CNS) Core Programs | Apply Online

Opportunity Summary:

The National Science Foundation (NSF), through the Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) and its Division of Computer and Network Systems (CNS), offered this grant opportunity to support research and education projects that advance fundamental knowledge in core areas of computer systems and networking. The opportunity is centered on two long-running CNS core programs: Computer Systems Research (CSR), which broadly targets innovations in the design, implementation, and evaluation of computer systems, and Networking Technology and Systems (NeTS), which focuses on new networking technologies, architectures, and system-level approaches that shape how networks are built and used. In practical terms, the solicitation is meant to fund work that pushes the state of the art in systems and networks, often including both theoretical contributions and experimental or prototype-driven validation, along with associated educational impacts.

A key feature of the solicitation is that it supports three different project classes, which mainly differ by budget size and project duration. Small Projects can request up to $500,000 in total funding for projects lasting up to three years. Medium Projects can request from $500,001 to $1,200,000 total funding for projects lasting up to four years. Large Projects can request from $1,200,001 to $3,000,000 total funding for projects lasting up to five years. This tiered structure is designed to accommodate everything from tightly scoped efforts led by a small team to larger, multi-year, multi-investigator projects with more ambitious research agendas and broader deliverables. The solicitation notes that full details for these classes are provided in the program description section of the announcement.

The program is positioned as part of a broader CISE funding ecosystem. Specifically, it is described as complementary to the separate Expeditions in Computing program, which supports much larger efforts at up to $10,000,000 total funding over up to five years. That comparison helps clarify where CNS core projects fit: they are substantial and can be multi-year, but they are generally smaller than the very large, center-scale “expedition” style awards. Together, these mechanisms allow CISE to fund both focused advances and larger, community-shaping initiatives.

From an administrative standpoint, this is a discretionary grant opportunity in the Science and Technology and other Research and Development category, identified under Funding Opportunity Number 09-556 and CFDA 47.070 (Computer and Information Science and Engineering). The NSF anticipated making about 120 awards under this solicitation, with an estimated total funding amount of $60,000,000. Individual awards were expected to range from a floor of $50,000 up to a ceiling of $3,000,000, matching the upper bound of the Large Project category. No cost sharing or matching was required, which is consistent with many NSF research programs and lowers the barrier for applicants who may not have non-federal funds to commit.

Eligibility was listed as “unrestricted,” meaning the opportunity was broadly open to any entity type, subject to any specific clarifications that might appear in the full solicitation text. The proposal submission was organized around annual windows that differed by project class. Historically, the solicitation listed Small Projects as due in an August window (8/1 to 8/30 annually), Medium Projects in a November window (11/1 to 11/28 annually), and Large Projects in a December window (12/1 to 12/17 annually). The posting date was April 24, 2009, and the opportunity was later archived on June 9, 2010, with references to an updated opportunity (noted as “10-573”) and a “current closing date” field that pointed to that update.

For support and access issues, the contact guidance emphasized using NSF’s Grants.gov support channel for help accessing the full announcement or resolving electronic submission and linking problems. Overall, the solicitation’s purpose was to seed and scale strong systems and networking research efforts across a wide range of budgets and timelines, while maintaining alignment with CNS’s two core technical thrusts (CSR and NeTS) and NSF’s broader goals of advancing foundational research and associated educational outcomes.

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