The Computer and Information Science and Engineering Research Expansion Program (CISE MSI), funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), aims to support research expansion at Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs). The program seeks to broaden participation in NSF-funded research projects by increasing the number of MSIs receiving funding and fostering research capacity development to enhance the competitiveness of MSIs in submitting proposals to NSF's CISE core programs. The initiative aligns with the NSF's strategic goals of promoting diversity and inclusion in science and engineering, recognizing that MSIs play a critical role in fostering innovation and training future researchers in computer and information science.

The funding opportunity includes four different project "Threads," each designed to address specific aspects of research expansion. Thread 1: Research Capacity Building Projects (RCBP) supports infrastructure development and interdisciplinary collaborations at MSIs with a maximum award of $400,000 for up to three years. Thread 2: Research Demonstration Projects (RDP) funds new or expanded collaborations among departments within an MSI or between MSIs and other institutions, with a funding limit of $600,000 for up to three years. Thread 3: Research Partnerships Enhancement Projects (RPEP) focuses on forming large-scale partnerships between MSIs and research-intensive institutions or national laboratories, with awards ranging from $600,000 to $1,200,000 over a three to four-year period. Finally, Thread 4: Research Planning Projects (RPP) provides seed funding of $100,000 to $200,000 over two years to support new investigators or institutions preparing for future research funding opportunities.

The total anticipated funding amount for the CISE MSI program is $10 million, and NSF expects to make 15 to 20 awards per year, subject to the availability of funds and the quality of proposals received. The program requires that proposals be submitted by accredited Minority-Serving Institutions, and institutions that have received more than $2 million in NSF CISE funding in the past five years are ineligible to serve as lead applicants, though they may participate as collaborators. Each MSI faculty member serving as a Principal Investigator (PI) is limited to participating in no more than two proposals annually across all Threads.

The application process requires full proposals to be submitted via Research.gov or Grants.gov by the specified deadlines: May 2, 2024; February 7, 2025; and February 6, 2026. Proposals must follow the guidelines in the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) and should include a Collaboration Plan, a Data Management Plan, a Departmental Letter of Support, and a Certification of MSI Eligibility. Proposals are reviewed based on NSF’s Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts criteria, with additional emphasis on the project’s ability to foster long-term research collaborations, build institutional research capacity, and engage MSI students in research.

For further details, applicants can contact the program officers via cise-research-expansion@nsf.gov or reach out to specific program leads such as Subrata Acharya (acharyas@nsf.gov, 703-292-2451) and other listed contacts. Additional information is available on the NSF funding page.