Below is a summary assembled by the Research & Innovation Office (RIO). Please see the full solicitation for complete information about the funding opportunity.

Program Summary

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) and the Directorate for Engineering (ENG) solicit the submission of proposals to set up a Virtual Organization (VO) for the Resilient & Intelligent NextG Systems (RINGS) program. The RINGS program () is a partnership with the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD R&E), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and a number of industry partners to enhance both resiliency as well as performance across the various aspects of Next Generation (NextG) communications, networking and computing systems. The goal of this solicitation is to invite the submission of proposals to set up a Virtual Organization (VO) for the RINGS program. The VO will facilitate coordination, collaboration, and community-building across academia, government, and industrial partners. The VO will serve the broader RINGS community, including Principal Investigators (PIs), researchers, and students, to coordinate their efforts and streamline their interactions with the RINGS partners in order to reduce burden on and improve synergies within the PI community. The VO will work closely with the RINGS partners to build a strong and effective research community to bolster U.S. leadership across wireless, cloud, and networking sectors.

Deadlines

Â鶹Ãâ·Ñ°æÏÂÔØInternal Deadline: 11:59pm MST June 6, 2022

Sponsor Application Deadline: 5:00pm MST August 1, 2022

Internal Application Requirements (all in PDF format)

  • Project Description (3 pages maximum): Please include the following: proposed mission, objectives, and approach; activities and program elements (optional activities must be clearly identified); organizational structure including key personnel; key personnel qualifications and experience; VO’s organizational and management structure; and the approach to avoidance of bias.
  • PI Curriculum Vitae
  • Budget Overview (1 page maximum): A basic budget outlining project costs is sufficient; detailed OCG budgets are not required.

To access the online application, visit:

Eligibility

See the solicitation for full eligibility requirements.

Limited Submission Guidelines

Only one application per institution is allowed.

Award Information

Award Amount: $1,000,000

Expected Number of Awards: 1

Award Duration: Up to 3.5 years

Review Criteria

  • Qualifications of the key personnel. Excellent proposals will be staffed by people that have experience in VO-like activities and have adequate knowledge in the subject matter as well as familiarity with the NextG ecosystem. Proposal activities should be justified as adding value and should not include activities that are not contributing towards VO responsibilities.
  • Avoidance of unnecessary or unrealistic burden for program participants. Excellent proposals will demonstrate realistic understanding of participant capabilities, academic and corporate culture/environments, and will take these into account by proposing coordination approaches that minimize duplicative or extraordinary effort. Proposals should not have unrealistic process expectations of participants, not require the learning of arcane or custom tools where commonly used tools are available and should accurately reflect an understanding of participant workstyle constraints.
  • Strength of argument for necessity and sufficiency of proposed activities. Excellent proposals will propose a set of activities and argue effectively that those activities are necessary and sufficient to support the VO goals. Proposals should not include extraneous activities that do not align with the project goals.
  • Cost realism. Excellent proposals will be realistic in terms of costing the proposed activities. The proposed activities and costs should be necessary and sufficient to support the VO goals as described in other evaluation criteria.
  • Neutrality and avoidance of bias. There should not be sector bias, nor excessive ties to specific partners. Excellent proposals will demonstrate awareness of, and approaches to, ensuring that the VO is equally responsive to the needs of all participants.