Opportunity Information: Apply for 14 520
Apply for 14 520
- The National Science Foundation in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Software Infrastructure for Sustained Innovation SSE SSI" 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.
- This funding opportunity was created on Mar 6, 2015 and posted on Dec 16, 2013.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 26, 2015. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- The funding agency has allocated a total of $24,500,000.00 to eligible and selected applicants.
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $5,000,000.00 in funding.
- 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 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 in span stylefont size 13px text align justifyFFRDCs may not receive funds directly from NSF under this solicitation./span
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Opportunity Summary:
The National Science Foundation (NSF) Software Infrastructure for Sustained Innovation (SI2) program, under the SSE and SSI tracks, is a grant opportunity designed to turn promising research software into robust, widely usable, and long-lasting cyberinfrastructure. The core idea is that modern science and engineering increasingly advances through software, not just as a tool but as a central driver of discovery, productivity, and new research methods. This solicitation positions software as a key pathway to achieving NSF's Cyberinfrastructure Framework for 21st Century Science and Engineering (CIF21) vision by supporting software that meaningfully integrates computation, data, networking, observation, and experimentation to tackle problems at larger scale and higher complexity than traditional approaches allow.
The program emphasizes sustainability and community impact across the full software lifecycle. NSF is looking for efforts that go beyond writing code for a single project or lab and instead create software resources that are reliable, usable, maintained, and adopted by broader communities over time. That includes building healthy user and developer communities, establishing governance and stewardship practices, improving documentation and usability, supporting training and education, and integrating software development with active research so the tools stay scientifically relevant. Education is treated as a central component, with the expectation that projects will contribute to workforce development and help train the next generation of researchers and software creators who will maintain and extend future cyberinfrastructure.
This specific solicitation includes two award classes. Scientific Software Elements (SSE) awards are intended for small teams that will create and deploy well-defined, robust software elements that meet a demonstrated community need and advance one or more significant areas of science or engineering. These projects are typically narrower in scope than SSI but still must show clear demand, strong technical execution, and a credible plan for adoption and sustainability. Scientific Software Integration (SSI) awards support larger, interdisciplinary teams building shared software infrastructure aimed at common research problems faced by NSF-funded communities. The expected outcome for SSI is a sustainable community software framework that serves a diverse group of users, often across subdisciplines or multiple fields, with stronger emphasis on integration, coordination, and long-term community support structures.
SI2 is explicitly multi-directorate, and NSF encourages proposals with broad, interdisciplinary value rather than tools that only serve a single narrow audience. Prospective principal investigators are strongly encouraged to engage early with the relevant NSF program officers, especially because different divisions participate at different levels and may have distinct priorities and budget expectations. The solicitation highlights that the Division of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure (ACI) within the Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) directorate manages SI2 and is particularly interested in multidisciplinary software cyberinfrastructure. Other CISE divisions (CCF, CNS, IIS) also support projects that sustain progress in CISE areas and translate software engineering research into sustainability benefits for other disciplines. Additional directorates signal interest areas as well: BIO is primarily interested in SSI proposals with cross-directorate impact; ENG prioritizes computational tools for CBET, CMMI, and ECCS (with ECCS calling out areas like device simulation with quantum many-body effects, computational intelligence, nonlinear optimization, and energy system design, including portability to massively parallel architectures such as GPUs); GEO seeks tools tightly connected to geoscience end users and encourages alignment with EarthCube and other NSF cyberinfrastructure investments; MPS divisions welcome sustainable software that enables advances in their research areas and also value community-building activities like visitors, postdocs, and short training courses; and SBE is interested in software infrastructure aligned with its research priorities, particularly projects that also connect to at least one other participating directorate.
In terms of funding logistics, this is an NSF discretionary grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number 14-520) with an estimated total program funding level of about $24.5 million. Individual awards range from a floor of $300,000 to a ceiling of $5,000,000, and there is no cost sharing or matching requirement. Eligible applicants include accredited US-based universities and colleges (including community colleges) submitting on behalf of their faculty, as well as certain US-based non-profit, non-academic organizations such as independent museums, observatories, research labs, and professional societies tied to education or research. Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) are explicitly noted as not able to receive funds directly under this solicitation. The opportunity was posted December 16, 2013 and operated through multiple submission windows for SSE and SSI across 2014 and 2015, with the final listed closing date of June 26, 2015 and an archive date of July 26, 2015.
Overall, the SSE and SSI SI2 opportunity is best understood as NSF's push to professionalize and sustain research software as shared infrastructure: SSE supports smaller, well-scoped software building blocks with clear scientific payoff, while SSI funds larger-scale, community-oriented frameworks that unify and serve broader research communities. Proposals are expected to treat sustainability, usability, community engagement, and training as first-class deliverables alongside technical innovation and scientific impact.
NSF SI2 (SSE and SSI) Grant Opportunity FAQs
What is the NSF SI2 program (SSE and SSI tracks)?
The National Science Foundation (NSF) Software Infrastructure for Sustained Innovation (SI2) program is a grant opportunity intended to turn promising research software into robust, widely usable, and long-lasting cyberinfrastructure. It supports software that advances science and engineering by integrating computation, data, networking, observation, and experimentation in ways that enable larger-scale and higher-complexity research than traditional approaches.
What problem is SI2 trying to solve?
SI2 targets the gap between software written for a single research project or lab and software that becomes reliable, maintained, and broadly adopted infrastructure. The program emphasizes sustainability and community impact across the full software lifecycle, not just initial development.
How does SI2 relate to NSF's cyberinfrastructure goals?
The solicitation positions software as a key pathway to achieving NSF's Cyberinfrastructure Framework for 21st Century Science and Engineering (CIF21) vision. It seeks software that meaningfully integrates multiple cyberinfrastructure components to enable new discovery, productivity, and research methods.
What are the two award classes included in this solicitation?
This solicitation includes two award classes: Scientific Software Elements (SSE) and Scientific Software Integration (SSI). SSE generally supports smaller, well-defined software elements, while SSI supports larger, community-oriented software infrastructure efforts.
What is an SSE (Scientific Software Elements) award designed to support?
SSE awards are intended for small teams to create and deploy well-defined, robust software elements that meet a demonstrated community need and advance one or more significant areas of science or engineering. Although narrower in scope than SSI, SSE projects still need clear demand, strong technical execution, and a credible plan for adoption and sustainability.
What is an SSI (Scientific Software Integration) award designed to support?
SSI awards support larger, interdisciplinary teams building shared software infrastructure aimed at common research problems faced by NSF-funded communities. The expected outcome is a sustainable community software framework serving a diverse group of users, often across subdisciplines or multiple fields, with stronger emphasis on integration, coordination, and long-term community support structures.
How should a team decide whether SSE or SSI is the better fit?
Based on the solicitation description, SSE aligns with smaller, well-scoped software building blocks that address a demonstrated need, while SSI aligns with broader frameworks intended for cross-community use and long-term shared infrastructure, typically requiring larger interdisciplinary coordination and stronger community support structures.
Is SI2 focused on software as a research product or just a tool?
SI2 treats software as central to modern science and engineering: not only a tool, but a driver of discovery, productivity, and new research methods. Projects are expected to treat software outcomes as durable infrastructure.
What does NSF mean by "sustainability" in this program?
In this solicitation, sustainability includes expectations that software will be reliable, usable, maintained, and adopted by broader communities over time. It also includes building healthy user and developer communities, governance and stewardship practices, documentation and usability improvements, and training and education activities.
Does the solicitation require community adoption and impact beyond a single lab?
Yes. The program emphasizes efforts that go beyond writing code for a single project or lab and instead create software resources that are adopted and supported by broader communities over time.
Are documentation and usability considered important deliverables?
Yes. The solicitation explicitly highlights improving documentation and usability as part of creating software that is widely usable and sustainable.
How important are user and developer communities to SI2 proposals?
They are central. The program description calls for building healthy user and developer communities and creating governance and stewardship practices so the software can be maintained and extended over time.
Does SI2 expect governance or stewardship practices for the software?
Yes. Establishing governance and stewardship practices is specifically called out as part of sustainability and long-term community impact.
Is education and training required or optional in SI2?
Education is treated as a central component. The solicitation states an expectation that projects contribute to workforce development and help train the next generation of researchers and software creators who will maintain and extend future cyberinfrastructure.
What kinds of educational activities are aligned with the solicitation?
The solicitation indicates projects should support training and education and contribute to workforce development. It also notes that some directorates (such as MPS divisions) value community-building activities like visitors, postdocs, and short training courses.
Is SI2 limited to a single NSF directorate?
No. SI2 is explicitly multi-directorate, and NSF encourages proposals with broad, interdisciplinary value rather than tools that serve only a single narrow audience.
Which NSF unit manages the SI2 solicitation?
The solicitation notes that the Division of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure (ACI) within the Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) directorate manages SI2 and is particularly interested in multidisciplinary software cyberinfrastructure.
Do other CISE divisions participate in SI2?
Yes. The solicitation states that other CISE divisions (CCF, CNS, IIS) support projects that sustain progress in CISE areas and translate software engineering research into sustainability benefits for other disciplines.
What directorate-specific interests are mentioned for BIO?
BIO is described as primarily interested in SSI proposals with cross-directorate impact.
What directorate-specific interests are mentioned for ENG?
ENG prioritizes computational tools for CBET, CMMI, and ECCS. ECCS specifically calls out interests including device simulation with quantum many-body effects, computational intelligence, nonlinear optimization, and energy system design, including portability to massively parallel architectures such as GPUs.
What directorate-specific interests are mentioned for GEO?
GEO seeks tools tightly connected to geoscience end users and encourages alignment with EarthCube and other NSF cyberinfrastructure investments.
What directorate-specific interests are mentioned for MPS?
MPS divisions welcome sustainable software that enables advances in their research areas and also value community-building activities such as visitors, postdocs, and short training courses.
What directorate-specific interests are mentioned for SBE?
SBE is interested in software infrastructure aligned with its research priorities, particularly projects that also connect to at least one other participating directorate.
Is early contact with NSF program officers encouraged?
Yes. Prospective principal investigators are strongly encouraged to engage early with the relevant NSF program officers, especially because different divisions participate at different levels and may have distinct priorities and budget expectations.
What is the Funding Opportunity Number for this solicitation?
The Funding Opportunity Number is 14-520.
How much total funding was estimated for this program?
The solicitation lists an estimated total program funding level of about $24.5 million.
What is the award size range for individual grants?
Individual awards range from a minimum of $300,000 to a maximum of $5,000,000.
Is cost sharing or matching required?
No. The solicitation states there is no cost sharing or matching requirement.
What types of organizations are eligible to apply?
Eligible applicants include accredited US-based universities and colleges (including community colleges) submitting on behalf of their faculty, as well as certain US-based non-profit, non-academic organizations such as independent museums, observatories, research labs, and professional societies tied to education or research.
Are Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) eligible to receive funds directly?
No. FFRDCs are explicitly noted as not able to receive funds directly under this solicitation.
When was this opportunity posted and when did it close?
The opportunity was posted on December 16, 2013. It operated through multiple submission windows for SSE and SSI across 2014 and 2015, with the final listed closing date of June 26, 2015 and an archive date of July 26, 2015.
Does the solicitation emphasize interdisciplinary impact?
Yes. NSF encourages proposals with broad, interdisciplinary value rather than tools that only serve a single narrow audience, and SI2 is described as explicitly multi-directorate.
What is the main takeaway for applicants about what SI2 wants to fund?
SI2 is described as NSF's push to professionalize and sustain research software as shared infrastructure. SSE supports smaller, well-scoped software elements with clear scientific payoff, while SSI funds larger-scale, community-oriented frameworks serving broader research communities. Proposals are expected to treat sustainability, usability, community engagement, and training as first-class deliverables alongside technical innovation and scientific impact.
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