The National Science Foundation program Strengthening the Cyberinfrastructure Professionals Ecosystem (SCIPE) focuses on enhancing the role of Cyberinfrastructure Professionals (CIPs) within the advanced cyberinfrastructure ecosystem. The program aims to deepen the integration of CIPs into research and education while fostering innovative training, education, and development initiatives. It seeks to address gaps in workforce needs, promote diversity, and democratize access to resources and expertise. By supporting scalable and sustainable networks of CIPs, the program intends to broaden participation in the use of advanced cyberinfrastructure tools and methods to enable transformative research in science and engineering disciplines.

The purpose of the SCIPE program is to build a robust, agile, and diverse CIP workforce that can address critical national needs. Objectives include creating CIP communities tailored to specific scientific disciplines or geographic regions, improving career pathways and institutional support for CIPs, and fostering collaboration between CIPs and researchers. Additionally, the program emphasizes developing best practices, mentoring frameworks, and training resources that address both local and national research needs while ensuring equity and inclusion in workforce development.

The program will allocate up to fifteen million dollars to support up to four awards, each lasting up to five years. Funding can be used to support CIP positions (up to four full-time equivalents annually) and other project-related expenses. Projects should address immediate goals such as providing researcher-facing CIP services, delivering scalable training, and fostering career development. Longer-term outcomes should include establishing sustainable career paths for CIPs, broadening access to cyberinfrastructure tools, and advancing diversity within the CIP workforce.

Eligibility is limited to institutions as defined in the NSF Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide. Institutions may submit only one proposal per competition, and individuals may participate as principal investigator or co-principal investigator on only one proposal. Proposals must include at least one investigator with expertise relevant to the Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure and, for domain-focused projects, additional expertise in the targeted research discipline. NSF encourages partnerships with underrepresented groups, institutions with low levels of cyberinfrastructure adoption, and disciplines with significant workforce needs.

Proposals must include a detailed project description, addressing objectives, anticipated outcomes, recruitment and evaluation strategies, and integration with NSF’s broader cyberinfrastructure programs. Required supplementary documents include a management plan, a mentoring and professional development plan, a sustainability plan, and letters of collaboration. Applications must be submitted through Research.gov or Grants.gov by January 18, 2024, with annual submission deadlines on the third Thursday of January.

Evaluation criteria include intellectual merit, broader societal impacts, and solicitation-specific goals such as broadening access to cyberinfrastructure resources, promoting workforce diversity, and fostering sustainable CIP communities. Proposals should include clear plans for recruitment, training, and career development of CIPs, as well as strategies for measuring project success. NSF expects projects to demonstrate innovative approaches to workforce development while contributing to long-term institutional and national needs.

Award recipients will be required to participate in annual meetings in Washington, DC, and provide regular progress reports through NSF’s reporting system. These reports will document the impacts of funded activities on workforce development, research productivity, and broader societal goals. The program emphasizes sustainability and accountability, ensuring that projects deliver lasting benefits to the national research community.