Opportunity Information: Apply for 10 504
Apply for 10 504
- The National Science Foundation in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Virtual Organizations as Sociotechnical Systems" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 47.080 Office of Cyberinfrastructure.
- This funding opportunity was created on Oct 18, 2010 and posted on Nov 18, 2009.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Archived. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- The funding agency has allocated a total of $3,000,000.00 to eligible and selected applicants.
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $4,000,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 18 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.
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Opportunity Summary:
The National Science Foundation (NSF) Virtual Organizations as Sociotechnical Systems (VOSS) program was a discretionary grant opportunity run through NSF's Office of Cyberinfrastructure to support basic, theory-driven research on how virtual organizations work and how they can be designed to perform better. In this context, a virtual organization is not just a set of online tools or a remote team; it is a coordinated group of people and resources that may be spread across locations but operate as a coherent unit by relying on cyberinfrastructure. NSF positioned these virtual organizations as increasingly central to modern science and engineering efforts, and the program rationale was that targeted sociotechnical research is needed to fully realize their promise for discovery, learning, and innovation.
The core purpose of VOSS was to fund fundamental scientific research that advances social, organizational, and design-science understanding of virtual organizations as a general model for doing science, engineering, and education at scale. The program emphasized figuring out the conditions under which virtual organizations succeed or struggle, and how they can be developed and governed so that distributed participants can collaborate effectively, share data and instruments, coordinate work, and produce new knowledge. Rather than treating technology as the only driver, VOSS framed virtual organizations as sociotechnical systems, meaning that outcomes depend on the interaction between people, organizational structures, incentives, norms, policies, and the technical platforms that connect them.
VOSS welcomed research at multiple levels of analysis, including individuals (for example, motivation, expertise, identity, trust, or decision-making), groups (coordination, collaboration patterns, conflict resolution, and team cognition), organizations (governance structures, leadership, roles, performance, and resource allocation), and broader institutional arrangements (policies, standards, IP and data-sharing regimes, cross-institutional partnerships, and compliance environments). It also encouraged a wide range of disciplinary perspectives, explicitly naming fields such as anthropology, complexity sciences, computer and information sciences, decision and management sciences, economics, engineering, organization theory and organizational behavior, social and industrial psychology, public administration, political science, and sociology. The underlying message was that understanding virtual organizations requires insights that span human behavior, organizational design, and technology-enabled coordination.
Methodologically, the program was intentionally broad and open to both qualitative and quantitative approaches, including ethnographies, surveys, simulation studies, experiments, comparative case studies, and network analyses. At the same time, VOSS set clear expectations about rigor: funded projects needed to be grounded in theory and rooted in empirical methods, and they needed to produce results that are broadly applicable and transferable. In other words, proposals had to go beyond describing a single collaboration or building a specific platform, and instead generate generalizable knowledge, principles, frameworks, or validated findings that can inform how virtual organizations are created and improved across many settings.
A key boundary of the program was what it would not fund. VOSS did not support proposals whose main goal was to implement a particular virtual organization or to evaluate a single virtual organization as a one-off case. The program focus was on research contributions that advance understanding of the virtual organization modality itself, not on operational rollouts or program evaluations of individual initiatives unless those were part of a broader, theory-based study designed to produce transferable insights.
From the funding details provided, the opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number 10-504) was posted on November 18, 2009, with a full proposal deadline of January 25, 2010. It is now archived (archive date October 17, 2010). NSF anticipated making about 18 awards, with an estimated total funding amount of $3,000,000. The listed award floor was $50,000 and the award ceiling was $4,000,000, and the program did not require cost sharing or matching. The assistance listing referenced CFDA 47.080, and the funding instrument type was a grant under the broader category of science and technology research and development.
Eligibility covered a range of U.S.-based organizations connected to research and education. This included universities and accredited two- and four-year colleges (including community colleges) with a campus in the United States, applying on behalf of faculty members. It also included certain non-profit, non-academic organizations such as independent museums, observatories, research laboratories, professional societies, and similar U.S. organizations associated with educational or research activities. For access or technical issues related to the announcement, the contact point referenced NSF Grants.gov support at grantsgovsupport@nsf.gov.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the NSF Virtual Organizations as Sociotechnical Systems (VOSS) program?
VOSS was a discretionary National Science Foundation (NSF) grant program, run through NSF's Office of Cyberinfrastructure, focused on supporting basic, theory-driven research on how virtual organizations function and how they can be designed to perform better.
How does VOSS define a "virtual organization"?
In VOSS, a virtual organization is a coordinated group of people and resources that may be distributed across locations but operates as a coherent unit by relying on cyberinfrastructure. It is more than a set of online tools or a remote team.
What was the main purpose of the VOSS program?
The program's purpose was to fund fundamental scientific research that advances social, organizational, and design-science understanding of virtual organizations as a general model for doing science, engineering, and education at scale.
Why did NSF emphasize virtual organizations in this program?
NSF positioned virtual organizations as increasingly central to modern science and engineering and argued that targeted sociotechnical research is needed to fully realize their promise for discovery, learning, and innovation.
What does it mean that virtual organizations are "sociotechnical systems"?
It means outcomes depend on the interaction between people, organizational structures, incentives, norms, policies, and the technical platforms that connect them, rather than technology alone.
What kinds of research questions fit within VOSS?
VOSS emphasized research that identifies the conditions under which virtual organizations succeed or struggle, and how they can be developed and governed so distributed participants can collaborate effectively, share data and instruments, coordinate work, and produce new knowledge.
At what levels of analysis did VOSS encourage research?
VOSS welcomed research at multiple levels, including:
- Individuals: motivation, expertise, identity, trust, decision-making
- Groups: coordination, collaboration patterns, conflict resolution, team cognition
- Organizations: governance structures, leadership, roles, performance, resource allocation
- Institutional arrangements: policies, standards, IP and data-sharing regimes, cross-institutional partnerships, compliance environments
Which disciplines were explicitly relevant to VOSS?
The program explicitly named a wide range of disciplinary perspectives, including anthropology, complexity sciences, computer and information sciences, decision and management sciences, economics, engineering, organization theory and organizational behavior, social and industrial psychology, public administration, political science, and sociology.
What methods were acceptable under VOSS?
VOSS was open to qualitative and quantitative approaches, including ethnographies, surveys, simulation studies, experiments, comparative case studies, and network analyses.
What did VOSS mean by requiring "rigor" and "theory grounding"?
Funded projects were expected to be grounded in theory and rooted in empirical methods, with results that are broadly applicable and transferable beyond a single collaboration or setting.
What types of results was VOSS looking for?
The program emphasized generating generalizable knowledge, principles, frameworks, or validated findings that can inform how virtual organizations are created and improved across many settings.
What types of proposals were not supported by VOSS?
VOSS did not support proposals whose main goal was to implement a particular virtual organization or to evaluate a single virtual organization as a one-off case. The focus was on advancing understanding of the virtual organization modality itself.
Can a study of a single virtual organization ever fit VOSS?
VOSS indicated that one-off evaluations were not the focus, but studies involving specific initiatives would need to be part of a broader, theory-based research design intended to produce transferable insights.
What is the Funding Opportunity Number for VOSS?
The Funding Opportunity Number listed for this program was 10-504.
When was this funding opportunity posted and when were proposals due?
The opportunity was posted on November 18, 2009, and the full proposal deadline was January 25, 2010.
Is this opportunity still active?
No. The opportunity is archived, with an archive date of October 17, 2010.
How many awards did NSF anticipate making under VOSS?
NSF anticipated making about 18 awards.
What was the estimated total funding amount for VOSS?
The estimated total funding amount was $3,000,000.
What were the minimum and maximum award sizes?
The listed award floor was $50,000, and the award ceiling was $4,000,000.
Did VOSS require cost sharing or matching funds?
No. The program did not require cost sharing or matching.
What type of funding instrument was used?
The funding instrument type was a grant, under the broader category of science and technology research and development.
What CFDA number was referenced for this opportunity?
The assistance listing referenced CFDA 47.080.
Who was eligible to apply?
Eligibility covered U.S.-based organizations connected to research and education, including:
- Universities and accredited two- and four-year colleges (including community colleges) with a campus in the United States, applying on behalf of faculty members
- Certain non-profit, non-academic organizations such as independent museums, observatories, research laboratories, professional societies, and similar U.S. organizations associated with educational or research activities
Could non-academic nonprofits apply?
Yes. The eligibility description included non-profit, non-academic organizations such as independent museums, observatories, research laboratories, and professional societies, as long as they are U.S. organizations associated with educational or research activities.
Who should be contacted for access or technical issues related to the announcement?
For access or technical issues, the contact point referenced NSF Grants.gov support at grantsgovsupport@nsf.gov.
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