The National Science Foundation (NSF), through its Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure (OAC), administers the Cyberinfrastructure for Sustained Scientific Innovation (CSSI) program. This funding opportunity is managed collaboratively across several NSF directorates and divisions, including those dedicated to Computer and Information Science and Engineering, Biological Sciences, STEM Education, Engineering, Geosciences, Mathematical and Physical Sciences, and Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences. The program was announced under solicitation NSF 22-632 and posted on September 19, 2022.

The CSSI program aims to support projects that address the diverse and evolving needs of cyberinfrastructure (CI) for science and engineering research and education. The program provides funding across three distinct classes of awards: Elements, Framework Implementations, and Transition to Sustainability. Elements awards support smaller projects that create and deploy robust CI services with demonstrated need. Framework Implementations fund larger, interdisciplinary teams to develop community-based CI solutions. Transition to Sustainability awards focus on extending the impact of already established CI by executing well-defined sustainability plans.

The CSSI solicitation emphasizes the importance of measurable outcomes, sustainability, community engagement, and broadening participation in STEM. Projects are evaluated based on their scientific merit, potential for innovation, community involvement, deliverables, sustainability, and quantitative metrics for impact assessment. All proposals must include sections that explicitly address these criteria and may request supplementary resources such as cloud computing (through CloudBank) or high-throughput computing.

Eligibility is limited to U.S.-based institutions of higher education and nonprofit, non-academic organizations. NSF-sponsored Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs) are also eligible provided they do not duplicate federally funded costs. Each Principal Investigator (PI) or Co-PI may participate in only one proposal across the three funding classes per solicitation cycle.

Applicants must submit full proposals via Research.gov or Grants.gov. Letters of Intent and preliminary proposals are not required. Proposals must follow the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) and include all mandatory components. The deadline for full proposal submission is annually on December 1, with upcoming deadlines including December 1, 2023.

Review and selection of proposals involve NSF program officers and external reviewers assessing adherence to merit review criteria, which include intellectual merit and broader impacts. Award notifications and conditions are administered by the NSF Division of Grants and Agreements. Awardees must participate in annual PI meetings and submit required reports through Research.gov.

For further assistance or to address specific queries, applicants are encouraged to contact the program via CSSIQueries@nsf.gov. Multiple program officers are listed for different directorates and divisions, each with contact numbers and emails available in the full solicitation document.