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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): NSF Science of Learning: Collaborative Networks (NSF 16-528)

What is the NSF funding opportunity "Science of Learning: Collaborative Networks" (16-528)?

It is a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant opportunity created to fund new interdisciplinary research networks that tackle major, integrative questions about how learning works. The focus is on building collaborative networks that bring multiple disciplines together to produce more unified, evidence-based understanding of learning.

What is the overall purpose of this solicitation?

The solicitation aims to advance fundamental learning science by supporting networks designed to generate a more consilient (integrated and mutually reinforcing) body of knowledge. NSF also emphasizes connecting learning research to real-world scientific, technological, educational, and workforce challenges so discoveries can benefit society and also strengthen learning theory.

What does NSF mean by an "interdisciplinary research network" in this program?

In this program, an interdisciplinary research network is a structured collaboration among researchers representing different disciplinary perspectives, organized around a shared, integrative research goal. The expectation is that the network creates shared frameworks, coordinated approaches, and combined outputs that go beyond what any single discipline could accomplish alone.

What is the central requirement for a proposed network?

Each proposed network must define a clear integrative research goal that depends on convergence across the different disciplinary perspectives included in the network. The work is expected to be genuinely collaborative and integrative, not a set of parallel projects that happen to be grouped together.

What kinds of research questions is the program designed to support?

The program is designed to support major, integrative questions about how learning works, especially those that require multiple disciplines or multiple levels of analysis to address. The solicitation highlights the value of robust and integrated accounts of learning that explain learning contexts, underlying mechanisms, and effective strategies.

Does the solicitation require networks to study learning across different settings or populations?

The solicitation highlights learning studied across different settings and populations as an important part of building integrated accounts of learning. It also highlights studying learning across multiple levels of analysis and using methods that help synthesize findings into cohesive explanations.

What "levels of analysis" are mentioned in the opportunity description?

Examples of levels of analysis mentioned include neural, cognitive, behavioral, social, and technological levels. The broader idea is to support research that links insights across levels rather than producing isolated findings.

What are the two major activities funded networks were expected to do?

Funded networks were expected to (1) invest in partnership-building activities that strengthen collaboration, support scientific exchange, and enable co-design and coordinated execution of the network goals, and (2) carry out collaborative, integrative research addressing significant questions across multiple disciplines or levels of analysis.

What are "partnership-building activities" in the context of this solicitation?

Partnership-building activities are efforts that strengthen collaboration among network participants. The solicitation notes that high-quality interdisciplinary work often needs intentional structures for collaboration, including shared language, shared standards of evidence, effective coordination, and mechanisms for scientific exchange and co-design.

Does the research have to be basic science, or can it be applied?

The research could be primarily basic (for example, theory development and experiments to uncover learning mechanisms). It could also include translation of foundational learning science into practical applications that produce societal benefit and, in turn, sharpen or revise fundamental learning theories.

How does the solicitation connect learning research to societal needs?

NSF emphasizes linking learning research to real-world scientific, technological, educational, and workforce challenges. The intent is for discoveries to benefit society and also provide feedback that improves theories and evidence-based understanding of learning.

What makes this solicitation different from other NSF programs?

This solicitation was intended for proposals that would not fit neatly into existing NSF programs specifically because of the emphasis on interdisciplinarity in service of knowledge integration. The network format is presented as a tool for accelerating progress on complex learning problems requiring sustained cross-field collaboration and coordinated research agendas.

Why does the solicitation emphasize integration instead of parallel projects?

The opportunity is framed around producing insights that would not be possible within a single field. NSF explicitly indicates the work should not be a collection of side-by-side projects; it should be integrative and collaborative, producing cohesive explanations rather than fragmented results.

What kinds of outcomes does NSF appear to value in network research?

Based on the description, NSF values outcomes that contribute to robust and integrated accounts of learning, including explanations of contexts, mechanisms, and effective strategies, as well as findings that synthesize across disciplines and levels of analysis into a unified body of knowledge.

Who was eligible to apply?

Eligibility was broadly open (unrestricted), subject to any additional eligibility clarifications that may have been included in the full solicitation text.

What is the award mechanism for this opportunity?

The award mechanism was a grant.

When was the opportunity posted and created?

The opportunity was posted on December 31, 2015, and it was created on the same day.

What was the application deadline?

The application deadline was April 4, 2016.

Which federal agency offered this opportunity?

The opportunity was offered by the National Science Foundation (NSF).

What is the Funding Opportunity Number?

The Funding Opportunity Number was 16-528.

What CFDA numbers are associated with this opportunity?

The opportunity was associated with multiple CFDA numbers: 47.041, 47.070, 47.074, 47.075, 47.076, and 47.079, reflecting the cross-cutting nature of the program across NSF directorates and research areas.

What does it mean that the opportunity is "cross-cutting" across NSF?

In this context, it means the solicitation spans multiple NSF research areas and directorates, which aligns with the program's emphasis on interdisciplinarity and integration across fields.

What is meant by a "consilient" body of knowledge in the solicitation?

In the solicitation's framing, "consilient" refers to a more unified and integrated body of knowledge about learning, built by aligning evidence and theory across disciplines so the combined understanding is stronger and less fragmented.