Opportunity Information: Apply for 11 502
Apply for 11 502
- The National Science Foundation in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Cyber Enabled Discovery and Innovation" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 47.041 Engineering Grants 47.049 Mathematical and Physical Sciences 47.050 Geosciences 47.070 Computer and Information Science and Engineering 47.074 Biological Sciences 47.075 Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences 47.076 Education and Human Resources 47.078 Polar Programs 47.079 Office of International Science and Engineering 47.080 Office of Cyberinfrastructure 47.081 Office of Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research.
- This funding opportunity was created on Dec 13, 2010 and posted on Oct 19, 2010.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Jan 20, 2011 Submission Window Date(s) (due by 5 p.m. proposers local time) December 01, 2010 January 19, 2011 Type I Full Proposal Submission Window December 01, 2010 January 20, 2011 Type II Full Proposal Submission Window. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- The funding agency has allocated a total of $36,000,000.00 to eligible and selected applicants.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 30 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).
- Organization Limit Proposals may only be submitted by the following Non profit, non academic organizations Independent museums, observatories, research labs, professional societies and similar organizations in the U.S. associated with educational or research activities. Universities and Colleges Universities and two and four year colleges (including community colleges) accredited in, and having a campus located in the US, acting on behalf of their faculty members. Such organizations also are referred to as academic institutions.
[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal:
Opportunity Summary:
The National Science Foundation (NSF) Cyber Enabled Discovery and Innovation (CDI) program was a major, five-year research initiative designed to push science and engineering forward by leveraging advances in computational thinking. In this context, computational thinking is meant broadly, not just as programming, but as the full toolbox of computational concepts, methods, models, algorithms, and cyber tools that can reshape how research is done. The central idea behind CDI is that new computational approaches can unlock discoveries that would be difficult or impossible to achieve otherwise, leading to genuinely transformative outcomes, including new scientific understanding and innovations with real societal and economic value.
CDI specifically sought bold, high-risk, high-reward, multidisciplinary proposals that either fit within or bridge across three core themes. The first theme, From Data to Knowledge, focuses on extracting insight from large, diverse, and often messy digital data, with an emphasis on improving human cognition and converting heterogeneous data streams into usable knowledge. The second theme, Understanding Complexity in Natural, Built, and Social Systems, targets fundamental advances in understanding complex systems made of many interacting parts, including stochastic, nonlinear, or chaotic behavior. This theme supports work that uses abstraction, modeling, simulation, and prediction to explain phenomena across a wide range of scales, from subatomic to galactic and from subcellular biology to ecosystem and biosphere dynamics, as well as from individual behavior to societal-level patterns. The third theme, Virtual Organizations, is about accelerating discovery by using cyberinfrastructure to connect people, tools, data, and facilities across institutional, geographic, and cultural boundaries, enabling collaborations that are difficult to sustain through traditional, local research models.
Across these themes, the program emphasized outcomes such as finding patterns and structure in massive datasets, using computation to deepen understanding across science, engineering, and the social sciences, and building better ways to model and predict complex interacting systems. CDI also highlighted workforce and education impacts, aiming to train future scientists and engineers who can effectively use and advance cyber resources. Another explicit goal was to encourage boundary-crossing collaborations, including partnerships with industry and international entities, and to broaden participation in STEM fields by creating research and education agendas that open doors to more people and institutions.
For the FY 2011 competition (Funding Opportunity Number 11-502), NSF anticipated making around 30 awards with an estimated total funding level of $36,000,000, and it required cost sharing or matching. The opportunity was offered as a discretionary grant and spanned a wide range of NSF directorates and offices, reflected in the CFDA listings across engineering, mathematical and physical sciences, geosciences, computer and information science and engineering, biological sciences, social, behavioral and economic sciences, education and human resources, polar programs, international science and engineering, cyberinfrastructure, and EPSCoR.
The solicitation supported two award sizes. Type I awards were smaller, three-year projects scoped roughly around summer support for two investigators with complementary expertise, two graduate students, and associated research costs such as materials, supplies, and travel. Type II awards were larger, four-year projects scoped roughly around summer support for three investigators with complementary expertise, three graduate students, and one or two additional senior personnel such as postdoctoral researchers or staff, plus their collective research needs. A key expectation for Type II proposals was genuine integration: the combined project should produce outcomes that are clearly more than what the individual researchers could achieve separately, meaning the team science component needed to be central rather than incidental.
Eligibility was geared toward U.S.-based organizations engaged in research and education, including accredited U.S. universities and colleges (two-year and four-year, including community colleges) submitting on behalf of faculty, as well as certain U.S. non-profit, non-academic organizations such as independent museums, observatories, research laboratories, and professional societies associated with educational or research activities. The proposal deadlines were structured as submission windows, with Type I full proposals due between December 1, 2010 and January 19, 2011 (by 5 p.m. local time), and Type II full proposals due between December 1, 2010 and January 20, 2011. The solicitation was posted October 19, 2010, with an NSF publication reference of 11-502 for full details.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): NSF Cyber Enabled Discovery and Innovation (CDI) Program (FY 2011, 11-502)
What is the NSF Cyber Enabled Discovery and Innovation (CDI) program?
Cyber Enabled Discovery and Innovation (CDI) was a major, five-year National Science Foundation (NSF) research initiative aimed at advancing science and engineering by leveraging advances in computational thinking. The program centered on the idea that new computational approaches can enable discoveries and innovations that would be difficult or impossible using traditional methods.
What does NSF mean by "computational thinking" in CDI?
In CDI, computational thinking is defined broadly. It is not limited to programming. It includes computational concepts, methods, models, algorithms, and cyber tools that can reshape how research is conducted and how new knowledge is produced.
What kinds of outcomes was CDI intended to produce?
CDI emphasized transformative outcomes, including new scientific understanding and innovations with real societal and economic value. Across its themes, it highlighted goals such as finding patterns and structure in massive datasets, improving modeling and prediction of complex systems, and accelerating discovery through cyberinfrastructure-enabled collaboration.
What types of proposals did CDI seek?
CDI sought bold, high-risk, high-reward, multidisciplinary proposals. Proposals were expected to either fit within one of CDI's core themes or bridge across themes, using computational approaches to enable new discoveries or innovations.
What were the three core CDI themes?
The CDI solicitation described three themes:
- From Data to Knowledge - extracting insight from large, diverse, and often messy digital data; improving human cognition; and converting heterogeneous data streams into usable knowledge.
- Understanding Complexity in Natural, Built, and Social Systems - advancing understanding of complex systems with many interacting parts, including stochastic, nonlinear, or chaotic behavior, using abstraction, modeling, simulation, and prediction across many scales.
- Virtual Organizations - accelerating discovery by using cyberinfrastructure to connect people, tools, data, and facilities across institutional, geographic, and cultural boundaries to enable sustained collaborations beyond traditional local models.
What does the "From Data to Knowledge" theme focus on?
This theme focuses on deriving insight from large-scale and heterogeneous data sources, especially when data are diverse, noisy, or poorly structured. It emphasizes improving human cognition and transforming multiple data streams into knowledge that can be used for discovery and decision-making.
What does the "Understanding Complexity in Natural, Built, and Social Systems" theme cover?
This theme targets fundamental advances in explaining and predicting complex systems composed of many interacting elements, including systems with nonlinear, stochastic, or chaotic dynamics. The scope spans many scales (for example, subatomic to galactic, subcellular biology to ecosystems, and individual behavior to societal patterns).
What does the "Virtual Organizations" theme mean in CDI?
Virtual Organizations refers to using cyberinfrastructure to link people, tools, data, and facilities across boundaries (institutional, geographic, and cultural). The goal is to enable collaborations that are hard to sustain under traditional, locally centered research models.
How did CDI emphasize collaboration and multidisciplinary work?
CDI explicitly encouraged boundary-crossing collaborations. This included multidisciplinary research teams and partnerships that could span academia, industry, and international entities, with the expectation that computational approaches would be central to the work.
Did CDI include education and workforce development goals?
Yes. CDI highlighted workforce and education impacts, aiming to train future scientists and engineers who can effectively use and advance cyber resources. It also aimed to broaden participation in STEM by fostering research and education agendas that open opportunities to more people and institutions.
Which FY 2011 CDI solicitation is described here?
The information provided corresponds to the FY 2011 competition under Funding Opportunity Number 11-502, with an NSF publication reference of 11-502. The solicitation was posted on October 19, 2010.
What was the anticipated award volume and total funding level for FY 2011?
For FY 2011 (11-502), NSF anticipated making around 30 awards with an estimated total funding level of $36,000,000.
Was cost sharing or matching required?
Yes. The FY 2011 CDI opportunity required cost sharing or matching.
What type of funding mechanism was used for this opportunity?
The opportunity was offered as a discretionary grant.
What are Type I and Type II CDI awards?
The solicitation supported two award sizes:
- Type I: smaller, three-year projects.
- Type II: larger, four-year projects.
How were Type I awards scoped (in general terms)?
Type I awards were described as three-year projects scoped roughly around summer support for two investigators with complementary expertise, two graduate students, and associated research costs such as materials, supplies, and travel.
How were Type II awards scoped (in general terms)?
Type II awards were described as four-year projects scoped roughly around summer support for three investigators with complementary expertise, three graduate students, and one or two additional senior personnel (such as postdoctoral researchers or staff), plus related research needs.
What special expectation applied to Type II proposals?
A key expectation for Type II proposals was genuine integration. The project was expected to deliver outcomes that are clearly more than what the individual researchers could achieve separately, meaning team science needed to be central rather than incidental.
Who was eligible to apply?
Eligibility was geared toward U.S.-based organizations engaged in research and education. This included accredited U.S. universities and colleges (two-year and four-year, including community colleges) submitting on behalf of faculty. It also included certain U.S. non-profit, non-academic organizations such as independent museums, observatories, research laboratories, and professional societies associated with educational or research activities.
Can community colleges apply under this solicitation?
Yes. The eligibility description explicitly includes accredited U.S. colleges, including two-year institutions and community colleges, submitting proposals on behalf of faculty.
Are non-academic, non-profit organizations eligible?
Yes, certain U.S. non-profit, non-academic organizations were included, such as independent museums, observatories, research laboratories, and professional societies, as long as they are associated with educational or research activities.
What were the Type I proposal submission dates for FY 2011?
Type I full proposals were due within a submission window from December 1, 2010 through January 19, 2011, by 5 p.m. local time.
What were the Type II proposal submission dates for FY 2011?
Type II full proposals were due within a submission window from December 1, 2010 through January 20, 2011.
Did the solicitation specify a submission time?
Yes. For the Type I window, submissions were due by 5 p.m. local time.
Which NSF directorates and offices were associated with CDI?
The solicitation spanned a wide range of NSF directorates and offices, reflected in CFDA listings across engineering; mathematical and physical sciences; geosciences; computer and information science and engineering; biological sciences; social, behavioral and economic sciences; education and human resources; polar programs; international science and engineering; cyberinfrastructure; and EPSCoR.
What is the main purpose of CDI across all themes?
The central idea behind CDI is that computational approaches can fundamentally change research workflows and capabilities, enabling new discovery, deeper understanding, and innovation. This includes extracting usable knowledge from large datasets, improving the ability to model and predict complex systems, and building cyberinfrastructure-enabled collaborations that accelerate research.
Where can applicants find the official details for this opportunity?
The solicitation was posted on October 19, 2010, and referenced as NSF publication 11-502. The full details were provided in that publication reference.
Browse more opportunities from the same category: Science and Technology and other Research and Development
Next opportunity: Research in Engineering Education (REE)
Previous opportunity: Substance Use and Abuse, Risky Decision Making and HIV/AIDS (R21)
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 11 502
[Watch] how do funding administrators access proposals?
Applicants also applied for:
Applicants who have applied for this opportunity (11 502) also looked into and applied for these:
| Funding Opportunity |
|---|
| Research in Engineering Education (REE) Apply for PD 10 1340 Funding Number: PD 10 1340 Agency: National Science Foundation Category: Science and Technology and other Research and Development Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Supporting of Advanced Fossil Resource Utilization Research By Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Other Minority Institutions (HBCUs/OMIs) Apply for DE FOA 0000409 Funding Number: DE FOA 0000409 Agency: National Energy Technology Laboratory Category: Science and Technology and other Research and Development Funding Amount: $200,000 |
| Pharmacy on Demand (PoD) Apply for DARPA BAA 11 05 Funding Number: DARPA BAA 11 05 Agency: DARPA Defense Sciences Office Category: Science and Technology and other Research and Development Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| ROSES 2010 Science Definition Team for Carbon Monitoring System Apply for NNH10ZDA001N CMS Funding Number: NNH10ZDA001N CMS Agency: NASA Headquarters Category: Science and Technology and other Research and Development Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| ROSES 2010 Members of the Euclid Science Team Apply for NNH10ZDA001N EUCLID Funding Number: NNH10ZDA001N EUCLID Agency: NASA Headquarters Category: Science and Technology and other Research and Development Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Virtual Organizations as Sociotechnical Systems Apply for 11 501 Funding Number: 11 501 Agency: National Science Foundation Category: Science and Technology and other Research and Development Funding Amount: $4,000,000 |
| Biomechanics and Mechanobiology Apply for PD 11 7479 Funding Number: PD 11 7479 Agency: National Science Foundation Category: Science and Technology and other Research and Development Funding Amount: $400,000 |
| Anamoly Detection at Multiple Scales (ADAMS) Apply for DARPA BAA 11 04 Funding Number: DARPA BAA 11 04 Agency: DARPA Information Processing Technology Office Category: Science and Technology and other Research and Development Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Reliable Peripheral Interfaces (RPI) Apply for DARPA BAA 11 08 Funding Number: DARPA BAA 11 08 Agency: DARPA Microsystems Technology Office Category: Science and Technology and other Research and Development Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Reconnaissance of Sonoran pronghorn habitat Apply for NWRS R2 2010 SPH1 Funding Number: NWRS R2 2010 SPH1 Agency: Region 2 Category: Science and Technology and other Research and Development Funding Amount: $5,000 |
| Sonora desert grasslands Apply for NWRS R2 2010 SGL1 Funding Number: NWRS R2 2010 SGL1 Agency: Region 2 Category: Science and Technology and other Research and Development Funding Amount: $5,000 |
| 2011 National Spatial Data Infrastructure Apply for 11HQPA0011 Funding Number: 11HQPA0011 Agency: Geological Survey Category: Science and Technology and other Research and Development Funding Amount: $60,000 |
| Center for the Study of Terrorism and Behavior (CSTAB) Center Lead Apply for DHS 11 ST 061 001A Funding Number: DHS 11 ST 061 001A Agency: Office of Procurement Operations Grants Division Category: Science and Technology and other Research and Development Funding Amount: $3,300,000 |
| Center for the Study of Terrorism and Behavior (CSTAB) Partner Apply for DHS 11 ST 061 001B Funding Number: DHS 11 ST 061 001B Agency: Office of Procurement Operations Grants Division Category: Science and Technology and other Research and Development Funding Amount: $500,000 |
| Plant Feedstock Genomics for Bioenergy A Joint Research Funding Opportunity Announcement USDA, DOE Apply for DE FOA 0000417 Funding Number: DE FOA 0000417 Agency: Chicago Service Center Category: Science and Technology and other Research and Development Funding Amount: $1,500,000 |
| Young Faculty Award Apply for DARPA RA 11 02 Funding Number: DARPA RA 11 02 Agency: DARPA Microsystems Technology Office Category: Science and Technology and other Research and Development Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Californian CESU Apply for 11HQPA0012 Funding Number: 11HQPA0012 Agency: Geological Survey Category: Science and Technology and other Research and Development Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Great Basin CESU Apply for 11HQPA0010 Funding Number: 11HQPA0010 Agency: Geological Survey Category: Science and Technology and other Research and Development Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| A.5 Hypersonics (HYP1) Apply for NNH10ZEA001N HYP1 Funding Number: NNH10ZEA001N HYP1 Agency: NASA Headquarters Category: Science and Technology and other Research and Development Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
| ROSES 2010 ospheric Composition Southeast Asia Composition, Cloud, Climate Coupling Regional Study Apply for NNH10ZDA001N SEAC4RS Funding Number: NNH10ZDA001N SEAC4RS Agency: NASA Headquarters Category: Science and Technology and other Research and Development Funding Amount: Case Dependent |
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 "11 502", 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.