Directorate for Computer & Information Science & Engineering
Core Techniques and Technologies for Advancing Big Data Science & Engineering
(BIGDATA)
CONTACTS
PROGRAM GUIDELINES
Solicitation
12-499
Important Notice to Proposers
A revised version of the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG), NSF 13-1, was issued on October 4, 2012 and is effective for proposals submitted, or due, on or after January 14, 2013. Please be advised that, depending on the specified due date, the guidelines contained in NSF 13-1 may apply to proposals submitted in response to this funding opportunity.
Please be aware that significant changes have been made to the PAPPG to implement revised merit review criteria based on the National Science Board (NSB) report, National Science Foundation's Merit Review Criteria: Review and Revisions. While the two merit review criteria remain unchanged (Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts), guidance has been provided to clarify and improve the function of the criteria. Changes will affect the project summary and project description sections of proposals. Annual and final reports also will be affected.
A by-chapter summary of this and other significant changes is provided at the beginning of both the Grant Proposal Guide and the Award & Administration Guide.
SYNOPSIS
The Core Techniques and Technologies for Advancing Big Data Science & Engineering (BIGDATA) solicitation aims to advance the core scientific and technological means of managing, analyzing, visualizing, and extracting useful information from large, diverse, distributed and heterogeneous data sets so as to: accelerate the progress of scientific discovery and innovation; lead to new fields of inquiry that would not otherwise be possible; encourage the development of new data analytic tools and algorithms; facilitate scalable, accessible, and sustainable data infrastructure; increase understanding of human and social processes and interactions; and promote economic growth and improved health and quality of life. The new knowledge, tools, practices, and infrastructures produced will enable breakthrough discoveries and innovation in science, engineering, medicine, commerce, education, and national security -- laying the foundations for US competitiveness for many decades to come. The phrase "big data" in this solicitation refers to large, diverse, complex, longitudinal, and/or distributed data sets generated from instruments, sensors, Internet transactions, email, video, click streams, and/or all other digital sources available today and in the future. This solicitation is one component in a long-term strategy to address national big data challenges, which include advances in core techniques and technologies; big data infrastructure projects in various science, biomedical research, health and engineering communities; education and workforce development; and a comprehensive integrative program to support collaborations of multi-disciplinary teams and communities to make advances in the complex grand challenge science, biomedical research, and engineering problems of a computational- and data-intensive world. Today, US government agencies recognize that the scientific, biomedical and engineering research communities are undergoing a profound transformation with the use of large-scale, diverse, and high-resolution data sets that allow for data-intensive decision-making, including clinical decision making, at a level never before imagined. New statistical and mathematical algorithms, prediction techniques, and modeling methods, as well as multidisciplinary approaches to data collection, data analysis and new technologies for sharing data and information are enabling a paradigm shift in scientific and biomedical investigation. Advances in machine learning, data mining, and visualization are enabling new ways of extracting useful information in a timely fashion from massive data sets, which complement and extend existing methods of hypothesis testing and statistical inference. As a result, a number of agencies are developing big data strategies to align with their missions. This solicitation focuses on common interests in big data research across the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF). This initiative will build new capabilities to create actionable information that leads to timely and more informed decisions. It will both help to accelerate discovery and innovation, as well as support their transition into practice to benefit society. As the recent President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) 2010 review of the Networking Information Technology Research and Development (NITRD) [http://www.nitrd.gov/pcast-2010/report/nitrd-program/pcast-nitrd-report-2010.pdf] program notes, the pipeline of data to knowledge to action has tremendous potential in transforming all areas of national priority. This initiative will also lay the foundations for complementary big data activities -- big data infrastructure projects, workforce development, and progress in addressing complex, multi-disciplinary grand challenge problems in science and engineering.
RELATED URLS
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1st BIGDATA Webinar (Presentation, Audio File and Transcript)
2nd BIGDATA Webinar - May 21, 2012 (Presentation, Audio File and Transcript)
THIS PROGRAM IS PART OF
Additional Funding Opportunities for the CCF Community
Additional Funding Opportunities for the CNS Community
Additional Funding Opportunities for the IIS Community
Special Research Programs
What Has Been Funded (Recent Awards Made Through This Program, with Abstracts)
Map of Recent Awards Made Through This Program
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