Office of Cyberinfrastructure (47.080)
Program
47.080 Office of Cyberinfrastructure
Federal Agency
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Authorization
National Science Foundation Act of 1950, as amended, Public Law 107-368, 42 U.S.C. 1861 et seq.
Program Number
47.080
Last Known Status
Active
Objectives
To coordinate and support the acquisition, development and provision of state-of-the-art cyberinfrastructure resources, tools and services essential to the conduct of frontier 21st century science and engineering research and education.
Types of Assistance
Project Grants.
Uses and Use Restrictions
Funds may be used to pay costs of conducting research, product development, resources, tools and services, as salaries and wages, equipment and supplies, travel, publication costs, other direct costs, and indirect costs.
Eligibility Requirements
Applicant Eligibility
Public and private colleges and universities; Non-profit, non-academic organizations; For-profit organizations; State and Local Governments; and unaffiliated scientists under special circumstances. See the Grant Proposal Guide for a full description of eligibility requirements.
Beneficiary Eligibility
See the Grant Proposal Guide, Section I.E. for a full description of eligibility requirements.
Credentials/Documentation
The proposal must be signed electronically by an official authorized to commit the institution or organization in business and financial affairs and who can commit the organization to certain proposal certifications. Costs will be determined in accordance with OMB Circular Nos. A-21 for educational institutions and A-122 for nonprofit organizations. This program is excluded from coverage under OMB Circular No. A-87.
Application and Award Process
Preapplication Coordination
None required, except in specific cases, but preliminary discussions with relevant National Science Foundation program officers, by telephone or mail, are encouraged. This program is excluded from coverage under E.O. 12372.
Application Procedure
Proposals being submitted to the Office of Cyberinfrastructure should follow the general instructions and guidelines in the "Grant Proposal Guide." All proposals are acknowledged. This program is subject to the provisions of OMB Circular No. A-110 for nonprofit organizations. This program is excluded from coverage under OMB Circular No. A-102.
Award Procedure
NSF staff members review and evaluate all proposals, with the advice and assistance of scientists and engineers who are specialists in the field covered by the proposal, of prospective users of research results when appropriate, and of specialists in other Federal agencies.
Deadlines
Many NSF programs accept proposals at any time. Other programs, however, establish due dates for submission of proposals. NSF utilizes Target Dates, Deadline Dates, and Submission Windows. Consult the Grant Proposal Guide, Section I.F. for a further description of these types of due dates.
Range of Approval/Disapproval Time
Appeals
The Principal Investigator may request, in writing, that the National Science Foundation reconsider its action in declining any proposal, renewal, or continuing grant proposal.
Renewals
Proposals for renewal of NSF grants compete with all other pending proposals.
Assistance Considerations
Formula and Matching Requirements
The Grant Proposal Guide (GPG, Chapter II) and the Grant Policy Manual (Sec. 330) provide information on the general NSF policy on cost-sharing.
Length and Time Phasing of Assistance
Normally 6 months to 3 years; occasionally longer.
Post Assistance Requirements
Reports
For multi-year grants (including both standard and continuing grants), the PI must submit an annual progress report to the cognizant program officer at least 90 days before the end of the current budget period. Within 90 days after the expiration of a grant, the PI is required to submit final project report. Quarterly Cash Transaction Report are required. Other reporting requirements may be imposed via the grant instrument.
Audits
In accordance with the provisions of OMB Circular No. A-133 (Revised, June 27, 2003), "Audit of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations," nonfederal entities that expend financial assistance of $500,000 or more in Federal awards will have a single or a program-specific audit conducted for that year. Nonfederal entities that expend less than $500,000 a year in Federal awards are exempt from Federal audit requirements for that year, except as noted in Circular No. A-133.
Records
Grantees are expected to maintain separate records for each grant to ensure that funds are used for the general purpose for which each grant was made. Records are subject to inspection during the life of the grant and for 3 years thereafter.
Program Accomplishments
In fiscal year 2005, 116 proposals were received and 75 awards made. In fiscal year 2006, approximately 120 proposals will be received and about 25 awards will be made. In fiscal year 2007, approximately 150 proposals will be received and about 32 awards will be made.
Financial Information
Account Identification
49-0100-0-1-251.
Obligations
FY 05 $126,115,011; FY 06 est $127,120,000; and FY 07 est $182,420,000.
Range and Average of Financial Assistance
$10,000 to $20,000,000; $339,956.
Regulations, Guidelines and Literature
48 CFR Chapter 25: 45 CFR Chapter VI; NSF Guide to Programs, fiscal year 2004, NSF 04-009 (http://www.nsf.gov/cgi-bin/getpub?/nsf04009); and "Grant Proposal Guide," (http://www.nsf.gov/cgi-bin/getpub?/nsf0423). NSF World Wide Web site URL: http://www.nsf.gov/oci/.
Related Programs
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, International Science and Engineering (OISE).
Information Contacts
Regional or Local Office
Not applicable.
Headquarters Office
Office of the Director, National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA 22230. Telephone: (703) 292-8970.
Web Site Address
Examples of Funded Projects
will be used to develop algorithms for a new system of cell-phone tower based Doppler radar, called CASA (Center for Collaborative Adaptive Sensing of the Atmosphere), projected to reduce tornado false-alarm forecasts from the current 75 percent to 25 percent. 4) The Pacific Rim Application and Grid Middleware Assembly (PRAGMA): An intensive international effort involving researcher from more than ten institutions to improve grid-based application, collaboration, discourse and exchange of scientific personnel among Pacific Rim institutions. It builds on an initial series of workshops that focused on assessing the state of grid-based infrastructure, evaluated a collection of scientific applications and provided a recurring venue to nurture sustainable collaborations across the Pacific Rim. The original award provided funds to host the first workshop and allow both computing infrastructure specialists and applications scientists to attend follow on workshops. This ongoing effort created the initial impetus to move forward in both building long long-term international collaborations and creating a venue for applications scientists to effectively understand and use grid-based systems. 5) Keeping Condor Flight Worthy: This proposal outlines an effort to sustain the Condor High Throughput Computing Software (Condor) by the Condor Project at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW). The activities proposed are categorized into four areas of work: Support, Release, Enhance, and Use. "Support" activities aid users with installation, configuration, and usage through ticket-tracked email. Support also includes outreach work in the scientific computing community. This outreach work includes hosting an annual international Condor workshop, participating in online forums dedicated to Condor and distributed computing, writing articles and book chapters on using Condor, and delivering invited tutorials at workshops and conferences. "Support" functions serve mainly to deliver new versions of the Condor software. Support also includes maintenance - ongoing bug fixing, support for new operating system releases and new versions of dependent software packages, and updates to documentation. "Enhance" activities will generate basic improvements to the Condor software, such as enhancements in scalability and reliability, new capabilities on Win32, and the incorporation of recent advances in distributed computing technology. "Use" activities leverages the Grid Laboratory of Wisconsin (GLOW) project. GLOW is a multi disciplinary team of researchers across the University of Wisconsin campus that develops, implements, tests and deploys grid-enabled capabilities.
Criteria for Selecting Proposals
with the excitement of discovery and enrich research through the diversity of learning perspectives. Integrating Diversity into NSF Programs, Projects, and Activities. Broadening opportunities and enabling the participation of all citizens -- women and men, underrepresented minorities, and persons with disabilities -- is essential to the health and vitality of science and engineering. NSF is committed to this principle of diversity and deems it central to the programs, projects, and activities it considers and supports.
