Opportunity Information: Apply for 14 530
Apply for 14 530
- The National Science Foundation in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Data Infrastructure Building Blocks" 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 47.079 Office of International Science and Engineering.
- This funding opportunity was created on Jan 8, 2014 and posted on Jan 8, 2014.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Apr 9, 2014 Full Proposal Deadline(s) April 09, 2014. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- The funding agency has allocated a total of $20,000,000.00 to eligible and selected applicants.
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $5,000,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 9 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).
- Who May Submit Proposals Proposals may only be submitted by the following Organizations eligible to serve as lead are U.S. academic institutions or U.S. non profit research organizations directly associated with educational and/or research activities. Organizations eligible to serve as subawardees are all those organizations eligible under the provisions of the NSF Grant Proposal Guide (GPG). In the interest of project management, there must be a single centralized award with subawardees as needed.
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Opportunity Summary:
The National Science Foundation (NSF) Data Infrastructure Building Blocks (DIBBs) program is a grant opportunity designed to strengthen the data-focused cyberinfrastructure that modern research depends on. It sits under NSF's broader Cyberinfrastructure Framework for 21st Century Science and Engineering (CIF21), which emphasizes building cyberinfrastructure that is integrated, scalable, and sustainable so it can support long-term innovation across science and engineering. In practical terms, DIBBs is about creating shared, robust building blocks for handling research data, so researchers in many fields can collaborate more easily and do more ambitious work driven by large, complex, or fast-growing datasets.
A central theme of the opportunity is that successful projects should be built jointly by cyberinfrastructure experts (people who build platforms, tools, workflows, and services) and domain researchers (the scientists and engineers generating and using the data). NSF is signaling that data infrastructure only works when it is shaped by real research needs, including the conventions, formats, standards, and day-to-day practices of specific communities. The solicitation uses "community" to mean a group of researchers working toward linked scientific questions, while "domains" or "disciplines" refer to areas of expertise or application. Projects can target data challenges within a single discipline or span multiple disciplines, but they should be grounded in clear community needs and demonstrate how the resulting capability will be shared and reused beyond a single lab or narrow project.
The program offers two main award types. Pilot Demonstration Awards are meant to address broad community needs, either within a large research domain or in ways that extend across disciplines. These projects typically demonstrate the value of an approach, prototype a capability, or show that a shared data-centric component can work at meaningful scale for a community. Early Implementation Awards are intended to go further by developing frameworks that can serve multiple research communities across multiple scientific and engineering domains. These projects emphasize consistency and commonality of design across communities, recognizing existing standards and practices rather than replacing them, and focusing on meeting real user needs. In other words, the Early Implementation track is aimed at efforts that can help align and connect different communities around interoperable approaches to data infrastructure.
DIBBs is explicitly multi-directorate, meaning NSF expects proposals to be relevant across more than one NSF area and encourages interdisciplinary scope. The solicitation also advises prospective principal investigators (PIs) to review related NSF program descriptions, Dear Colleague Letters, and directorate initiatives to understand current priorities in the scientific areas their projects would impact. NSF strongly recommends that applicants contact an appropriate cognizant program officer ahead of submission to confirm that the proposed scientific focus and the planned budget align well with the solicitation and with the directorate most closely tied to the proposal's primary disciplinary impact.
From a funding and administrative standpoint, this is a discretionary NSF grant competition (Funding Opportunity Number 14-530) in the category of science and technology research and development. NSF anticipated making about 9 awards, with an estimated total funding amount of $20,000,000. Individual awards were expected to range from $1,500,000 (floor) to $5,000,000 (ceiling), and cost sharing was not required. The opportunity was posted January 8, 2014, with a full proposal deadline of April 9, 2014, and it was later archived (May 9, 2014). While those dates reflect the specific cycle described, they help illustrate the intended scale and competitiveness of the program.
Eligibility is focused on organizations capable of leading substantial, coordinated cyberinfrastructure work. Eligible lead organizations are U.S. academic institutions or U.S. nonprofit research organizations directly associated with education and/or research activities. Subawardees can include organizations allowed under the NSF Grant Proposal Guide (GPG). NSF also notes a preference for a single centralized award for project management purposes, with subawards used as needed rather than multiple independent awards.
Finally, the solicitation spans a wide range of NSF program areas, reflected in the listed CFDA numbers, including Engineering, Mathematical and Physical Sciences, Geosciences, Computer and Information Science and Engineering, Biological Sciences, Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences, Education and Human Resources, and the Office of International Science and Engineering. That breadth reinforces the core intent of DIBBs: to create data infrastructure components and frameworks that are not only technically sound, but broadly reusable, community-driven, and capable of accelerating interdisciplinary research.
NSF DIBBs (Data Infrastructure Building Blocks) Program FAQs
What is the NSF Data Infrastructure Building Blocks (DIBBs) program?
DIBBs is a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant opportunity focused on strengthening the data-focused cyberinfrastructure that modern research relies on. The goal is to create shared, robust "building blocks" for handling research data so researchers across many fields can collaborate more easily and pursue more ambitious work driven by large, complex, or rapidly growing datasets.
How does DIBBs relate to NSF's broader cyberinfrastructure priorities?
DIBBs sits under NSF's Cyberinfrastructure Framework for 21st Century Science and Engineering (CIF21). CIF21 emphasizes cyberinfrastructure that is integrated, scalable, and sustainable, supporting long-term innovation across science and engineering. DIBBs contributes by focusing specifically on reusable, community-driven data infrastructure components and frameworks.
What kinds of outcomes is DIBBs trying to support?
The program is aimed at practical, shared capabilities for research data: tools, platforms, workflows, services, components, and frameworks that enable better data management and use. A key expectation is that results are broadly reusable and shared beyond a single lab or narrowly scoped project.
What is the central theme NSF is emphasizing for successful DIBBs projects?
NSF emphasizes joint development by cyberinfrastructure experts (people building platforms, tools, workflows, and services) and domain researchers (the scientists and engineers generating and using the data). The solicitation signals that data infrastructure is most effective when shaped by real research needs, including community conventions, formats, standards, and day-to-day practices.
What does the solicitation mean by "community," "domain," and "discipline"?
In this solicitation, a "community" is a group of researchers working toward linked scientific questions. "Domains" or "disciplines" refer to areas of expertise or application (for example, a particular scientific or engineering field). Projects may focus on one discipline or span multiple, but should be grounded in clear community needs.
Can a DIBBs project focus on a single discipline, or must it be interdisciplinary?
Projects can target data challenges within a single discipline or span multiple disciplines. However, DIBBs is described as multi-directorate, and NSF expects proposals to be relevant across more than one NSF area and encourages interdisciplinary scope.
What are the two main DIBBs award types?
The program describes two main award types: Pilot Demonstration Awards and Early Implementation Awards.
What are Pilot Demonstration Awards intended to do?
Pilot Demonstration Awards are intended to address broad community needs either within a large research domain or across disciplines. These projects typically demonstrate the value of an approach, prototype a capability, or show that a shared data-centric component can work at meaningful scale for a community.
What are Early Implementation Awards intended to do?
Early Implementation Awards are intended to go further by developing frameworks that can serve multiple research communities across multiple scientific and engineering domains. They emphasize consistency and commonality of design across communities, while recognizing existing standards and practices rather than replacing them, and focusing on meeting real user needs. This track is aimed at aligning and connecting different communities through interoperable approaches to data infrastructure.
What does "multi-directorate" mean in the context of DIBBs?
Multi-directorate means the solicitation spans and is expected to be relevant to more than one NSF directorate or major area. NSF encourages proposals with interdisciplinary scope and cross-area relevance.
Does NSF recommend contacting a program officer before submitting?
Yes. NSF strongly recommends that applicants contact an appropriate cognizant program officer ahead of submission to confirm that the proposed scientific focus and the planned budget align with the solicitation and with the directorate most closely tied to the proposal's primary disciplinary impact.
What should prospective PIs review when preparing a DIBBs proposal?
The solicitation advises prospective principal investigators (PIs) to review related NSF program descriptions, Dear Colleague Letters, and directorate initiatives to understand current priorities in the scientific areas their projects would impact.
What is the funding opportunity number for this solicitation?
The Funding Opportunity Number listed is 14-530.
What type of NSF funding category is DIBBs?
The opportunity is described as a discretionary NSF grant competition in the category of science and technology research and development.
How many awards did NSF anticipate making under this cycle?
NSF anticipated making about 9 awards.
What was the estimated total funding amount?
The estimated total funding amount was $20,000,000.
What was the expected award size range?
Individual awards were expected to range from $1,500,000 (floor) to $5,000,000 (ceiling).
Was cost sharing required?
No. Cost sharing was not required.
When was this opportunity posted, and what was the deadline?
The opportunity was posted January 8, 2014. The full proposal deadline was April 9, 2014.
Is this solicitation still open?
No. It was later archived on May 9, 2014. The dates provided reflect the specific cycle described, and help illustrate the intended scale and competitiveness of the program.
Who is eligible to serve as the lead organization?
Eligible lead organizations are U.S. academic institutions or U.S. nonprofit research organizations directly associated with education and/or research activities.
Can subawards be included, and who can be a subawardee?
Yes. Subawardees can include organizations allowed under the NSF Grant Proposal Guide (GPG).
Does NSF have a preference for how awards are structured across collaborating organizations?
Yes. NSF notes a preference for a single centralized award for project management purposes, with subawards used as needed rather than multiple independent awards.
What research areas does DIBBs span?
The solicitation spans a wide range of NSF program areas, reflected in the listed CFDA numbers. These include Engineering; Mathematical and Physical Sciences; Geosciences; Computer and Information Science and Engineering; Biological Sciences; Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences; Education and Human Resources; and the Office of International Science and Engineering.
What is the overarching intent of DIBBs across these areas?
The core intent is to create data infrastructure components and frameworks that are technically sound, broadly reusable, community-driven, and capable of accelerating interdisciplinary research.
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