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 foundational knowledge in computer systems and networking. The solicitation is centered on two long-running CNS core programs: the Computer Systems Research (CSR) program, which broadly targets advances in the design, implementation, and analysis of computer systems, and the Networking Technology and Systems (NeTS) program, which focuses on networking architectures, protocols, and systems that enable communication and distributed computing. In practical terms, the opportunity is meant to fund work that pushes the state of the art in how computing and networked systems are built, managed, secured, and scaled, while also strengthening the education and research workforce in these areas.

A defining feature of the solicitation is its tiered project structure, which allows proposers to align the ambition and scope of their ideas with an appropriate budget and timeline. Three project classes are available. Small Projects support awards with total budgets up to $500,000 and project durations up to three years, typically suitable for tightly focused research contributions, exploratory system prototypes, or smaller teams. Medium Projects range from $500,001 to $1,200,000 in total budget with durations up to four years, often aligning with more substantial system-building efforts, broader evaluations, or multi-investigator collaborations. Large Projects range from $1,200,001 to $3,000,000 with durations up to five years, intended for efforts that require significant coordination, extensive infrastructure or experimentation, larger teams, and more comprehensive validation. The solicitation notes that more detailed expectations for each class are described in the program description section of the full announcement.

The opportunity also situates these Small, Medium, and Large awards within CISEs broader funding ecosystem. Specifically, it highlights that CNS core investments complement the Expeditions in Computing program, which funds larger-scale, high-impact efforts at levels up to $10,000,000 for up to five years. This framing signals that the CNS core programs are designed to support a wide range of research scales, from targeted advances to substantial system research programs, while reserving the very largest, most ambitious multi-year initiatives for Expeditions.

From an administrative and funding standpoint, this was a discretionary grant opportunity under the NSF. It carried an estimated total program funding level of $60,000,000 and anticipated approximately 120 awards. Individual awards could be as small as $50,000 (award floor) and as large as $3,000,000 (award ceiling), depending on the selected project class and scope. There was no cost sharing or matching requirement. The opportunity was listed under CFDA 47.070 (Computer and Information Science and Engineering), reflecting its alignment with NSFs core mission of supporting fundamental research and education in computing.

Eligibility was described as unrestricted, meaning it was open to any type of entity, subject to any clarifications provided in the solicitations detailed eligibility text. This is consistent with many NSF research programs that generally allow proposals from a broad set of organizations (for example, higher education institutions, nonprofit research organizations, and other eligible entities), provided they meet NSFs standard proposal and award requirements.

In terms of timing and status, the original closing date was November 30, 2012. The record indicates the opportunity is archived and was later replaced by NSF 13-581. The posting date was July 10, 2012, with an archive date of September 19, 2013. For applicants seeking the complete requirements, the solicitation is referenced as NSF Publication 12-582, and the listing provides a grants.gov support contact for technical issues accessing the announcement.

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