This monthly newsletter has been created to assist FAS researchers across all domains who are looking for funding opportunities related to "Big Data". In response to the need for new conceptual and computational approaches for big data processing and storage, as well as the need for educational opportunities in this area for up and coming researchers, sponsors like NSF, DOD, DOE, NIH and private foundations are offering a growing number of funding opportunities for Big Data research and training programs.

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Funding Opportunities for BIG DATA  
 
Social Science
 (Computer-) Science and Engineering
 
 
Biomedical Science
 
 
Education and Training
 
  • N/A

* Indicates a funding announcement that was added to the newsletter this month.
 
  SOCIAL SCIENCE  
NSFCyberlearning
National Science Foundation (NSF) Directorate for Computer & Information Science & Engineering (CISE)
Cyberlearning and Future Learning Technologies
Sponsor Deadline: January 18, 2016 for Development and Implementation Projects (DIP); May 9, 2016 for Integration Projects (INT) LOIs; July 11, 2016 for Full INT Proposals 
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission
Award Information: DIP awards are $1,350,000 over 3-4 years; INT awards are $2,500,000 over 4-5 years

The purpose of the Cyberlearning and Future Learning Technologies program is to integrate opportunities offered by emerging technologies with advances in what is known about how people learn to advance three interconnected thrusts: Innovation; Advancing understanding of how people learn in technology-rich learning environments; and Promoting broad use and transferability of new genres. Proposals are expected to address all three of the program's thrusts. 

Applications in the following area are encouraged:

What new technology and socio-technical models are needed so that the big data generated by scientists and engineers can be made available and accessible to learners at all levels in ways that will engage them and help them learn? Under what conditions do these approaches work and why? What can be learned about learning processes and influences on learning by examining the effects with and of these new technologies? 

Awards will be made in several research categories, each focusing on a different stage of research and development, including Design and Implementation (DIP), and Integration (INT). The program will also continue to participate in NSF's Foundation-Wide programs: EAGER, RAPID, INSPIRE, and CAREER.

Additional information:
NSFNetherlandsPrivacy
National Science Foundation (NSF) 
Dear Colleague Letter: Enabling US-Netherlands Collaboration for Privacy Research
Sponsor Deadline for Pre-Applications (required): January 15, 2016
Sponsor Deadline for Full Applications: April 1, 2016
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission

NSF and the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) are interested in supporting long-term research collaboration among scientists from the two countries who are studying technical and social aspects of privacy. NSF and NWO encourage submission of joint research proposals, one for US-based researchers to collaborate with Netherlands-based researchers, and one for Netherlands-based researchers to collaborate with US-based researchers. The research topics should fit the privacy research goals of NSF's Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace (SaTC) program. NSF expects to fund a small number of EArly-Concept Grants for Exploratory Research (EAGER) proposals to enable U.S.-based researchers to collaborate with Netherlands-based researchers. NWO (physical and social sciences) expects to fund the same number of grants based on its Cybersecurity and Privacy program to enable Netherlands-based researchers to collaborate with U.S.-based researchers. Investigators interested in submitting a proposal are required to submit a two-page description of the proposed joint research via the NSF and NWO channels. US-based researchers should send their descriptions via email to the cognizant program directors, Heng Xu (hxu@nsf.gov) and Nan Zhang (nanzhang@nsf.gov), including the name(s) of the US-based principal investigators and their intended Dutch collaborator(s), and the proposed collaboration plan. Netherlands-based researchers send their descriptions through the NWO webportal, including the name(s) of the Netherlands-based principal investigators and their intended US collaborator(s), and the proposed collaboration plan. Each proposal must include at least one US-based PI and at least one Dutch PI. There is a limit of one proposal per PI. This limit does not count towards the proposal limits of NSF's SaTC or CISE core programs. 

Additional information:
S2
National Science Foundation (NSF) Directorates for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences (SBE) and Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE)
Dear Colleague Letter: Research on Privacy in Today's Networked World
Sponsor Deadline: Program-dependent, contact program officer Dr. Heng Xu at hxu@nsf.gov
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission

The directorates for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences (SBE) and Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) invite investigators to submit proposals that address the need to develop new and deeper understandings of privacy in today's networked world. Our interest spans both disciplinary and interdisciplinary research in an array of SBE sciences. Proposals for workshops to explore novel and interdisciplinary SBE and SBE/CISE approaches to privacy are also welcome. This is not a special competition or new program. Proposals in response to this Dear Colleague Letter must meet the requirements and deadlines of the program to which they are submitted. Interested investigators are encouraged to contact Program Officer Dr. Heng Xu (hxu@nsf.gov) with up to a two-page statement explaining the core idea of their projects. Dr. Xu will assist investigators in identifying the most appropriate program(s) to which to submit their proposals.

Additional information:
NSFINSPIRE
National Science Foundation (NSF) 
Dear Colleague Letter: Integrated NSF Support Promoting Interdisciplinary Research and Education (INSPIRE)
Sponsor Deadline for Full Applications: Applications may be submitted in FY16 anytime after October 15, 2015
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission
Award Information: Up to $1 million for up to 5 years

The Integrated NSF Support Promoting Interdisciplinary Research and Education (INSPIRE) pilot continues to support bold interdisciplinary projects in all NSF-supported areas of science, engineering, and education research in FY16. INSPIRE has no targeted themes and serves as a funding mechanism for proposals that are required both to be interdisciplinary and to exhibit potentially transformative research (IDR and PTR, respectively). Complementing existing NSF efforts, INSPIRE was created to handle proposals whose:
  • Scientific advances lie outside the scope of a single program or discipline, such that substantial funding support from more than one program or discipline is necessary.
  • Lines of research promise transformational advances.
  • Prospective discoveries reside at the interfaces of disciplinary boundaries that may not be recognized through traditional review or co-review.
Prospective PIs must receive approval to submit a proposal from at least two NSF Program Officers, in intellectually distinct programs, whose expertise is most germane to the proposal topics. Consultations with POs prior to submission are required in order to aid in determining the appropriateness of the work for consideration under the INSPIRE mechanism. Only after approval is provided by at least two NSF POs in distinctly different research areas may a proposal be submitted.

Additional information:
NSFRIDIR2
National Science Foundation (NSF) Directorate for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences (SBE)
Resource Implementations for Data Intensive Research in the Social Behavioral and Economic Sciences (RIDIR)
Sponsor Deadline: February 29, 2016
OSP Deadline: February 22, 2016
Award Information: Subject to the availability of funds. Total maximum amount for all awards per year is $4.5 million and 3-4 awards will be made per year.

As part of NSF's Cyberinfrastructure Framework for 21st Century Science and Engineering (CIF21) activity, the Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE) seeks to develop user-friendly large-scale next-generation data resources and relevant analytic techniques to advance fundamental research in SBE areas of study. Successful proposals will, within the financial resources provided by the award, construct such databases and/or relevant analytic techniques and produce a finished product that will enable new types of data-intensive research. The databases or techniques should have significant impacts, either across multiple fields or within broad disciplinary areas, by enabling new types of data-intensive research in the SBE sciences.

Additional information:
 (COMPUTER-) SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
DARPABTO
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
Biological Technologies Office 
Biological Technologies
Sponsor Deadline for Abstracts (strongly recommended) and Full Proposals: Rolling through April 28, 2016
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission
Award Information: Awards will be commensurate with project needs and the availability of funds
 
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is soliciting innovative research proposals of interest to the Biological Technologies Office (BTO). Proposed research should investigate leading edge approaches that enable revolutionary advances in science, technologies, or systems at the intersection of biology with engineering and the physical and computer sciences. Specifically excluded is research that primarily results in evolutionary improvements to the existing state of the art. BTO seeks unconventional approaches that are outside the mainstream, challenge assumptions, and have the potential to radically change established practice, lead to extraordinary outcomes, and create entirely new fields.

BTO is interested in receiving applications in the following area: Leveraging new computational techniques from computer science, big data, and biology to enable investigation and generation of knowledge from biological data at scale. 
 
Additional information:
DARPAI2O
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
Information Innovation Office (I20)
Information Innovation Office (I2O) Office-wide
Sponsor Deadline for Abstracts (strongly encouraged): Rolling through June 10, 2016
Sponsor Deadline for Full Proposals: Rolling through August 2, 2016
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission
Award Information: Awards will be commensurate with project needs and the availability of funds
 
I2O develops high-payoff information science and technology to provide a decisive information advantage for the U.S. and its allies. I2O invites research proposals in its thrust areas: 1) Empower the human within the information ecosystem; and 2) Guarantee trustworthy computing and information. I2O may also consider submissions outside these areas if the proposal involves the development of novel software-based capabilities having promise to provide decisive information advantage for the U.S. and its allies.

I2O seeks unconventional approaches that are outside the mainstream, challenge accepted assumptions, and have the potential to radically change established practice. Proposed research should investigate innovative approaches that enable revolutionary advances in science, devices, or systems. Specifically excluded is research that primarily results in evolutionary improvements to the existing state of the art. 
 
Additional information:
CS1
United States Department of Commerce
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
Measurement Science and Engineering (MSE) Research Grant Program for the Information Technology Laboratory (ITL) 
Sponsor Deadline: Rolling
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission
Award Information: $10,000 - $500,000
 
The ITL Grant Program provides financial assistance to support research in the broad areas of advanced network technologies, big data, cloud computing, computer forensics, information access, information processing and understanding, cybersecurity, health information technology, human factors and usability, mathematical and computational sciences, mathematical foundations of measurement science for information systems, a metrology infrastructure for modeling and simulation smart grid, software testing, and statistics for metrology. Proposals on product development and commercialization are not considered responsive to this funding opportunity.
 
Additional information:
Fusion
United States Department of Defense (DOD)
Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR)
Broad Agency Announcement: Research Interests of the Air Force Office of Scientific Research - Science of Information, Computation and Fusion 
Sponsor Deadline: Rolling (current BAA is active until superseded)
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission 

This program seeks fundamental research that potentially leads to scientific advancements in informatics and computation which can support processing and making sense of disparate information sources. Successes in addressing the research sub-areas stated below would give the U.S. Air Force new capabilities to: (1) shift emphasis from sensing to information; (2) understand the underpinning of autonomy; (3) relieve human's cognitive overload in dealing with the data deluge problem; (4) enhance human-machine interface in information processing. To accomplish the research objectives, this program focuses on, but is not limited to, new techniques in mathematics, computer science, statistics and logic which have potentials to: (1) cope with various disparate and complex data types; (2) construct expressive data structures for reasoning and computation; (3) bridge correlational with causal discovery; (4) determine solutions or obstructions to the local-to-global data-fusion problem; (5) mechanize reasoning and computing in the same computational environment; (6) yield provably efficient procedures to enable or facilitate data analytics; (7) deal with high-dimensional and massive datasets with provably guaranteed performance. 
 
Additional information:  
AROcs
United States Department of Defense (DOD)
Army Research Office (ARO)
Broad Agency Announcement for Basic and Applied Scientific Research for Fiscal Years 2012 through 2017 - Computing Science 
Sponsor Deadline: Rolling (current BAA is active until March 31, 2017 or until superseded)
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission 

Proposals are expected to be for cutting-edge innovative research that could produce discoveries that would have a significant impact on enabling new and improved Army operational capabilities and related technologies. One of ARO's priority research areas is computing science, with a particular emphasis on visualization. Specific research areas of interest are, but not limited to, discrete mathematics, computational geometry, robust geometric computing, graph theory, geometric and solid modeling, interactive graphics, 3D visualization tools, verification & validation, and synthetic environments. Special emphasis is placed on making very large simulations and the visualization of massive data sets faster, more computationally efficient, and more interactive for the user while maintaining an appropriate level of fidelity and physical realism.
 
Additional information:  
Math
United States Department of Defense (DOD)
Army Research Office (ARO)
Broad Agency Announcement for Basic and Applied Scientific Research for Fiscal Years 2012 through 2017 - Mathematical Sciences 
Sponsor Deadline: Rolling (current BAA is active until March 31, 2017 or until superseded)
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission 

Proposals are expected to be for cutting-edge innovative research that could produce discoveries that would have a significant impact on enabling new and improved Army operational capabilities and related technologies. One of ARO's priority research areas is mathematical science, with a particular emphasis on: Probability and Statistics (Statistical Theory and Techniques for Real Time Analysis of Data Stream, and Statistical Analysis of Very Large and Very Small Data Sets); Biomathematics (Multiscale Modeling/Inverse Problems); and Computational Mathematics. 
 
Additional information:  
CS5
United States Department of Defense (DOD)
U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC)
Broad Agency Announcement - Geospatial Research Laboratory - Big Spatial Data
Sponsor Deadline: Rolling (current BAA is active until January 31, 2016 or until superseded)
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission 
 
The GEOSPATIAL RESEARCH LABORATORY's (GRL) mission is to provide the Warfighter with a superior knowledge of the battlefield. GRL's Information Generation and Management Branch invites proposals related to big spatial data. The prevalence of new sensing technologies and extensive modalities of recording human generated content have caused a surge in the amount and growth of spatiotemporal data. The data can manifest under various forms: large repositories of static geographic data to fast arriving evolving datastreams. The objective of this research is to investigate new techniques to process, manage, and analyze this massive set of spatiotemporal data. However, the research is not limited to structured geographic data but can include unstructured sources that may contain highly ambiguous geospatial information. Of particular interest are research that advance the state of the art distributed processing/management of spatial data, generalizable methods for online spatial data mining, and summarization approaches of spatiotemporal data. 
 
Additional information:
CS6
United States Department of Defense (DOD)
U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC)
Broad Agency Announcement - Geospatial Research Laboratory - On Demand Complex Spatio-Temporal Information Delivery
Sponsor Deadline: Rolling (current BAA is active until January 31, 2016 or until superseded) 
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission
 
The GEOSPATIAL RESEARCH LABORATORY's (GRL) mission is to provide the Warfighter with a superior knowledge of the battlefield. GRL's Information Generation and Management Branch invites proposals related to on demand complex spatio-temporal information delivery. With extensive amounts of information available, some spatial, some temporal, some spatial-temporal, some neither, decision makers are surrounded by an unprecedented amount of data inputs when making decisions. When applied to the domain of Humanitarian Assistance/Disaster Relief, information feeds shift even more rapidly. The object of this program is to conduct research and development in the areas of foundational information pre-event, necessary information for decision making during and shortly after an event, and long-term information requirements. Of particular interest is the ability to exploit different decision making paradigms, the relationship of the actors, the physical, social, natural environments, and the event. Additional work to create new spatial-temporal statistics that enhance decision making of social phenomena can be explored. Research is needed in topic areas related to a) spatial-temporal statistics and b) information retrieval for near real-time to real-time decision making; and c) visualization of static and dynamic 3/4/Nth dimension information.

Additional Information:
ONR
United States Department of Defense (DOD)
Office of Naval Research (ONR)
Broad Agency Announcement for Navy and Marine Corps Science and Technology - Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance 
Sponsor Deadline: Rolling (current BAA is active until September 30, 2016 or until superseded)
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission 

The Office of Naval Research (ONR) is interested in receiving proposals for Long-Range Science and Technology (S&T) Projects which offer potential for advancement and improvement of Navy and Marine Corps operations. ONR's Division of Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance invests in areas of science and their applications such as data science, mathematical and computational science, computer and information sciences, quantum information sciences, cyber security, electronics, command and control and combat systems, communications, cyber operations, electronic warfare, sensing and surveillance, and precision timing and navigation. One of this Division's specific thrusts and focused research areas is: Mathematics, Computers and Information Sciences, which sponsors basic and applied research, and advanced technology development efforts in mathematics, computer and information sciences that address Navy and Department of Defense needs in computation, information processing, information operation, information assurance and cybersecurity, decision tools, and command and control with specific focus on enabling rapid, accurate decision making. Specific scientific and technical areas include: a) Applied and computational analysis; b) Command and control; c) Computational methods for decisionmaking; d) Cyber security and complex software systems; e) Machine learning, reasoning, and intelligence; f) Mathematical data science; g) Mathematical optimization and operations research; h) Quantum information sciences.
 
Additional information:  
DOEASCR
United States Department of Energy (DOE)
FY 2016 Continuation of Solicitation for the Office of Science Financial Assistance Program - Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR) 
Sponsor Deadline: Rolling (current solicitation is active until September 30, 2016 or until superseded)
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission 

The Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR) program's mission is to advance applied mathematics and computer science; deliver, in partnership with disciplinary science, the most advanced computational scientific applications; advance computing and networking capabilities; and develop, in partnership with the research community, including U.S. industry, future generations of computing hardware and tools for science. The strategy to accomplish this has two thrusts: developing and maintaining world-class computing and network facilities for science; and advancing research in applied mathematics, computer science and advanced networking.

The priority areas for ASCR include the following:
  1. Develop mathematical models, methods and algorithms to accurately describe and predict the behavior of complex systems involving processes that span vastly different time and/or length scales.
  2. Advance key areas of computer science that enable the design and development of extreme scale computing systems and their effective use in the path to scientific discoveries; and transform extreme scale data from experiments and simulations into scientific insight.
  3. Advance key areas of computational science and discovery that support the missions of the Office of Science through mutually beneficial partnerships.
  4. Develop and deliver forefront computational, networking and collaboration tools and facilities that enable scientists worldwide to work together to extend the frontiers of science.
DOEBER
United States Department of Energy (DOE)
FY 2016 Continuation of Solicitation for the Office of Science Financial Assistance Program - Biological and Environmental Research (BER)  
Sponsor Deadline: Rolling (current solicitation is active until September 30, 2016 or until superseded)
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission 

The mission of the Biological and Environmental Research (BER) program is to support fundamental research and scientific user facilities to achieve a predictive understanding of complex biological, climatic, and environmental systems for a secure and sustainable energy future.

Areas of interest relevant to Big Data include:
NSFAitF
National Science Foundation (NSF) Directorate for Computer & Information Science & Engineering (CISE)
Algorithms in the Field  (AitF)
Sponsor Proposal Window: February 18-March 3, 2016
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission
Award Information: Applicants may request up to $800,000 for a maximum of 4 years. 15 awards are anticipated.
 
Algorithms in the Field encourages closer collaboration between two groups of researchers: (i) theoretical computer science researchers, who focus on the design and analysis of provably efficient and provably accurate algorithms for various computational models; and (ii) other computing and information researchers including a combination of systems and domain experts (very broadly construed - including but not limited to researchers in computer architecture, programming languages and systems, computer networks, cyber-physical systems, cyber-human systems, machine learning, artificial intelligence and its applications, database and data analytics, etc.) who focus on the particular design constraints of applications and/or computing devices. Each proposal must have at least one co-PI interested in theoretical computer science and one interested in any of the other areas typically supported by CISE. Proposals are expected to address the dissemination of both the algorithmic contributions and the resulting applications, tools, languages, compilers, libraries, architectures, systems, data, etc.

Additional information:
NSFBDSpokes
National Science Foundation (NSF) 
Big Data Regional Innovation Hubs: Establishing Spokes to Advance Big Data Applications (BD SPOKES)
Sponsor Deadline for LOIs (required): January 12, 2016
Sponsor Deadline for Full Applications: February 25, 2016
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission
Award Information: Each BD Spoke will be funded up to a maximum of $1,000,000 total for up to 3 years. Each planning grant will be funded up to a maximum of $100,000 total for up to 1 year.
 
This Big Data Regional Innovation Hubs: Establishing Spokes to Advance Big Data Applications (BD Spokes) solicitation extends the BD Hubs network (4 BD Hubs were established in 2012 to foster multi-sector collaborations among academia, industry, and government) by establishing multi-institutional and multi-sector collaborations focused on topics of specific interest to a given region, which build upon the capabilities and strengths of said region. Working in concert with the corresponding regional BD Hub (for example, the Northeast BD Hub is facilitated by the Data Science Institute at Columbia University), a BD Spoke would work on a particular topic that requires Big Data approaches and solutions. Each BD Spoke would function similar to a BD Hub--in that it will take on a convening and coordinating role as opposed to primarily carrying out research--but with a narrower and goal-driven scope. The set of activities managed by a BD Spoke would ensure that progress is made toward providing solutions in the chosen topic area. The regional BD Hub Steering Committee will provide general guidance to the BD Spoke and assist the BD Spoke in coordinating with the national BD Hub network, other BD Spokes, and the broader innovation ecosystem. All proposals to this solicitation must include a letter of collaboration from a BD Hub coordinating institution.

Please note that the BD Hubs represent four defined geographic regions, namely the Northeast, Midwest, South, and West, of the United States; however, institutions involved in a BD Spoke need not be physically located within the defined region of a certain BD Hub. The topic of the BD Spoke, and its relevance to the coordinating BD Hub region will be considered, not necessarily the location of the proposing organization.

The Big Data activities of a BD Spoke will be guided by the following broad themes:
  • Accelerating progress towards addressing societal grand challenges relevant to regional and national priority areas;
  • Helping automate the Big Data lifecycle; and
  • Enabling access to and increasing use of important and valuable available data assets, also including international data sets, where relevant.
Proposed BD Spoke projects are expected to focus on their articulated regional challenges and opportunities. In particular, this solicitation welcomes submissions addressing the following areas of emphasis: neuroscience; replicability and reproducibility in data science; smart and connected communities; data privacy; data intensive research in the social, behavioral, and economic sciences; and education.

This solicitation funds the formation of BD Spokes, as well as planning grants for future BD Spokes proposals.

Additional information:
CS7
National Science Foundation (NSF) Directorate for Geosciences (GEO)
Climate and Large-Scale Dynamics (CLD)
Sponsor Deadline: Rolling
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission
 
The goals of the Program are to: (i) advance knowledge about the processes that force and regulate the atmosphere's synoptic and planetary circulation, weather and climate, and (ii) sustain the pool of human resources required for excellence in synoptic and global atmospheric dynamics and climate research. Research topics include theoretical, observational and modeling studies of the general circulation of the stratosphere and troposphere; synoptic scale weather phenomena; processes that govern climate; the causes of climate variability and change; methods to predict climate variations; extended weather and climate predictability; development and testing of parameterization of physical processes; numerical methods for use in large-scale weather and climate models; the assembly and analysis of instrumental and/or modeled weather and climate data; data assimilation studies; development and use of climate models to diagnose and simulate climate and its variations and change.


Additional information:
NSFBIGDATA
National Science Foundation (NSF) 
Critical Techniques, Technologies and Methodologies for Advancing Foundations and Applications of Big Data Sciences and Engineering (BIGDATA)
Sponsor Deadline: February 9, 2016
OSP Deadline: February 2, 2016
Award Information: Projects will typically be funded in the range of $200,000 to a maximum of $500,000 per year, for 3 to 4 years of support. The minimum award size is $400,000 of total funding, reflecting the minimum expected level of effort for BIGDATA projects, which are expected to be multidisciplinary in nature and include significant student involvement.
 
The BIGDATA program seeks novel approaches in computer science, statistics, computational science, and mathematics, along with innovative applications in domain science, including social and behavioral sciences, geosciences, education, biology, the physical sciences, and engineering that lead towards the further development of the interdisciplinary field of data science. This solicitation invites two types of proposals:"Foundations" (F): those developing or studying fundamental theories, techniques, methodologies, and technologies of broad applicability to big data problems; and "Innovative Applications" (IA): those developing techniques, methodologies, and technologies of key importance to a Big Data problem directly impacting at least one specific application. Projects in this category must be collaborative, involving researchers from domain disciplines and one or more methodological disciplines, e.g., computer science, statistics, mathematics, simulation and modeling, etc. While IA proposals may address critical big data challenges within a specific domain, a high level of innovation is expected in all proposals which should, in general, strive to provide solutions with potential for a broader impact on data science and its applications. IA proposals may focus on novel theoretical analysis and/or on experimental evaluation of techniques and methodologies within a specific domain. Proposals in all areas of sciences and engineering covered by participating directorates at NSF are welcome.
 
Additional information:
CS9
Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
Digital Information Technology - Data and Computational Research
Sponsor Deadline: Rolling, requires Letter of Inquiry
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission
Award Information: Two types of applications, <$125,000 and >$125,000

From the natural sciences to the social sciences to the humanities to the arts, the availability of more data and cheaper computing is transforming research. As costs for sensors, sequencing, and other forms of data collection decline, researchers can generate data at greater and greater scale, relying on parallel increases in computational power to make sense of it all and allowing the investigation of phenomena too large or complex for conventional observation. Grants in the Data and Computational Research sub-program aim to help researchers develop tools, establish norms, and build the institutional and social infrastructure needed to take full advantage of important developments in data-driven, computation-intensive research. Emphasis is placed on projects that encourage access to and sharing of scholarly data, that promote the development of standards and taxonomies necessary for the interoperability of datasets, that enable the replication of computational research, and that investigate models of how researchers might deal with the increasingly central role played by data management and curation.

Grant requests can be made at any time. A brief letter of inquiry is the first step for an applicant.

Additional information:
BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH
AHRQR03
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
Special Emphasis Notice (SEN) Announcing Interest in Innovative Methods Research to Increase the Utility of Systematic Reviews (R03)
Sponsor Deadline: February 16, 2016 
OSP Deadline: February 9, 2016
Award Information: Up to $100,000 in total costs for up to 1 year

This SEN is intended to generate new methods for systematic review that address the opportunities and challenges of the current era of data abundance and that facilitate the integration of systematic reviews into healthcare decisions. Now that there are widely shared standards for how to conduct a high quality systematic review, the next challenge is developing novel or improved methods that optimize the efficiency, comprehensiveness, and predictive value of systematic reviews. Some potential areas of interest are described below:

  • Efficiency. Traditional systematic review approaches may not be sustainable given the ever increasing volume of studies and increasing demand for timely synthesized evidence.  Faster techniques, without sacrificing validity and reliability, are increasingly valuable.  
  • New forms of data. We are on the verge of having access to large data sets - both observational data and individual patient data from randomized controlled trials and patient registries. Tapping directly into this data could greatly enhance the power of systematic reviews and reduce the lag between knowledge generation and implementation.  
  • Predictive value. Systematic review methodology is highly detailed for processes, but much less developed regarding outcomes. Now that a substantial number of systematic reviews have been completed and indexed, it may be possible to empirically examine how accurately different reviews predict future research findings and to use this information to develop more robust methods.  

Innovative applications addressing systematic review methods and issues not mentioned above are also welcomed. Applicants should describe the significance of their proposed research to enhancing the speed, power, predictive value, or otherwise advancing the utility of systematic reviews.

 
Additional information:
USAMRMC
Department of Defense (DOD) United States Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (USAMRMC)
FY16 Broad Agency Announcement for Extramural Medical Research
Sponsor Deadline for Preliminary Proposals (required): Rolling through September 30, 2016 
Sponsor Deadline for Full Proposals (by invitation only): Rolling through September 30, 2016
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission
Award Information: No budget limits; award duration is up to 5 years

The USAMRMC mission is to provide solutions to medical problems of importance to the American Service member at home and abroad, as well as to the general public at large. Projects must be for scientific study and experimentation directed toward advancing the state of the art or increasing knowledge or understanding rather than focusing on a specific system or hardware solution. Research and development funded through this BAA are intended and expected to benefit and inform both military and civilian medical practice and knowledge. 

Under USAMRMC's Health Informatics and Health Information Technology Portfolio, one of its priority areas is Big Data/Analytics as they relate to Military Healthcare Services. USAMRMC is interested in the development and application of methods for analysis, interpretation, prediction, and modeling of health system and patient-generated data. The objective is to use mathematical and/or intelligent learning/machine learning tools to extract practical information, usable/actionable clinical knowledge, and/or predict disease or adverse events from health system and patient-generated data.
 
Additional information:
NIHNCIR21
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Development of Innovative Informatics Methods and Algorithms for Cancer Research and Management (R21)
Sponsor LOI Deadline (requested): 30 days prior to deadline 
Sponsor Deadlines for Full Proposals: June 14, 2016; November 21, 2016
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission
Award Information: Up to $275,000 in direct costs over a 2 year period

The purpose of this FOA is to invite exploratory/developmental research grant (R21) applications for the development of innovative methods and algorithms in biomedical computing, informatics, and data science addressing priority needs across the cancer research continuum, including cancer biology, cancer treatment and diagnosis, cancer prevention, cancer control and epidemiology, and/or cancer health disparities.  As a component of the NCI's Informatics Technology for Cancer Research (ITCR) Initiative, this FOA encourages applications focused on the development of novel computational, mathematical, and statistical algorithms and methods that can considerably improve acquisition, management, analysis, and dissemination of relevant data and/or knowledge. 
 
Additional information:
NIHECHOU24
Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Data Analysis Center (U24)
Sponsor LOI Deadline (requested): March 15, 2016 
Sponsor Deadlines for Full Proposals: April 15, 2016
OSP Deadline: April 8, 2016
Award Information: Application budgets are limited to $3,000,000 in direct costs for Year 1, $6,250,000 in direct costs for Year 2, and $9,500,000 in direct costs for other project years. The project period may not exceed 7 years.

The purpose of this FOA is to support a Data Analysis Center (DAC) for the Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) program. The ECHO DAC will provide the data repository and the data analysis functions for all common ECHO activities.

NIH is establishing the new ECHO program to investigate the longitudinal impact of prenatal, perinatal, and postnatal environmental exposures on pediatric health outcomes with high public health impact. To do so, NIH will support multiple synergistic, prospective longitudinal studies using extant cohorts that represent variable environmental exposures (e.g., physical, chemical, biological, behavioral, social). These studies will collaborate on standardization and collection of core data elements to answer research questions of how environmental exposures impact one or more of four key pediatric outcomes. The program will be overseen by a Steering Committee of Investigators and an NIH Program Director, and an External Scientific Board. A separate, but related research effort, will support an IDeA States National Pediatric Clinical Research Network to help address access gaps for rural children by leveraging the infrastructure at existing IDeA state centers.
 
Additional information:
NIHGDACU24
National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Genomic Data Analysis Network: 
Processing Genomic Data Center (U24) (RFA-CA-15-018)
Visualization Genomic Data Center (U24) (RFA-CA-15-019)
Specialized Genomic Data Center (U24) (RFA-CA-15-020)
Sponsor LOI Deadline (requested): December 27, 2015 
Sponsor Deadline for Full Proposals: January 27, 2016
OSP Deadline: January 20, 2016
Award Information: Application budgets are limited to $660,000 in direct costs per year. The project period is 5 years.

These FOAs are part of a cancer genomics program supported by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and managed by its Center for Cancer Genomics (CCG). The overall goal of all CCG programs is to help elucidate the mechanisms of cancer initiation and evolution, as well as resistance to therapy by means of genomic characterization of well-annotated, high quality tumor samples. The acquired knowledge could facilitate and accelerate the development of new diagnostic and prognostic markers, new targets for pharmaceutical interventions, and new cancer prevention and treatment strategies. The collective goal for all types of Genomic Data Analysis Centers (GDACs) is to enable the cancer research community to develop tools and strategies to analyze the data generated from large-scale genomics projects and support the scientific community at-large in their investigation of the results. 

The Processing Genomic Data Center will be expected to focus on the integration and analysis of data generated by the GCCs and other project participants, development of innovative bioinformatic and computational tools and the implementation of advanced bioinformatic analyses.

The Visualization Genomic Data Center will be expected to focus on the development of visualization tools to facilitate  the integration and analysis of data generated by the GCCs and other project participants, development of innovative bioinformatic and computational tools and the implementation of advanced bioinformatic analyses.

The Specialized Genomic Data Center will be expected to focus on the intensive analysis of discrete sets of genomic platforms (core competencies) to facilitate  the integration and analysis of data generated by the GCCs and other project participants, deployment  of innovative bioinformatic and computational tools and the implementation of advanced bioinformatic analyses. 
 
Additional information:
NIHNIAU24
Genetics of Alzheimer's Disease Data Storage Site (U24)
Sponsor LOI Deadline (requested): April 25, 2016 
Sponsor Deadline for Full Proposals: May 25, 2016
OSP Deadline: May 18, 2016
Award Information: Direct costs should not exceed $1,000,000 per year for up to 5 years. NIH intends to fund one award in FY 2016.

The National Institute on Aging (NIA) invites applications specific to infrastructure that will support storage and analysis of primary and secondary data for the genetics and genomics of Alzheimer's Disease. 

This FOA addresses NIA's vital need for a central database for the storage and exchange of AD genetics and related data. The NIA is committed to facilitating the collection and sharing of data related to research in the area of the genetics of AD. Applications considered for funding should effectively leverage the investments already made related to investigation of the root causes of the disease. The research resource should provide a large database of publicly available sequence and annotation data along with an integrated tool set for examining and comparing the genomes of affected and unaffected individuals, aligning sequence to genomes, and displaying and sharing users' own annotation data. Besides data storage and data processing, the database should provide effective mechanisms for data distribution.
 
Additional information:
NIHMetabolomicsR03
Sponsor Deadline for LOIs (requested): January 11, 2016
Sponsor Deadline for Full Proposals: February 11, 2016
OSP Deadline: February 4, 2016
Award Information: Up to $100,000 in direct costs for 1 year 

The purpose of this small research grant FOA is to foster collaboration between bioinformaticians, metabolomics experts, and/or biomedical researchers in efforts to improve the ability to analyze metabolomics data to address biomedical questions. It is also expected that these grants would complement the current efforts of the Common Fund Metabolomics Program and maximize the value of existing metabolomics databases and resources.

Collaborations between computational and biomedical experts for the secondary analysis of existing metabolomics datasets to probe specific biomedical questions or to validate a new analytical approach could include, but are not limited to:
  • Improved methods of processing raw data for compound identification from MS/NMR peaks/features
  • Integration of metabolite data acquired across different metabolomics technological platforms
  • Metabolic modeling of known or unknown pathways with regard to a disease or disorder
  • Novel data visualizations that better uncover relationships between diseases and metabolites.
  • Validation of new methods or statistical analyses to test a specific biomedical question
  • Integration of metabolomics data with other 'omics data to test specific biomedical questions
Additional information:
NICHDP41
National Institutes of Health (NIH) Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
Resource Program Grants in Bioinformatics (P41)
Sponsor Deadlines for LOIs (requested): December 24, 2015 and April 25, 2016
Sponsor Deadlines for Full Applications: January 25, 2016 and May 25, 2016
OSP Deadlines: January 20, 2016 and May 20, 2016
Award Information: $500,000-$1,750,000 in direct costs per year for up to 5 years
 
This FOA announces the Resource Program Grants in Bioinformatics program supporting the continued operation, enhancement, and dissemination of databases or software tools that are unique, and of major importance to research using animal models of embryonic developmental processes. These grants will support ongoing research, maintenance, and enhancement, of the tool or resource, user training and services, provision of community generated data storage and archiving, and wide dissemination of the tool or resource. To qualify for support, bioinformatics resources software, algorithms, or knowledge resources must be of demonstrable value toward advancing research utilizing animal model systems in the biomedical sciences and must also be of particular importance to those seeking to understand the biological basis of human and animal development and the etiology of structural birth defects. The resources must be sufficiently mature to have verifiable support and utility for users within the developmental biology research community.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to consult with the Scientific/Research Contact for this program to ensure that the proposed project reflects the objectives of this FOA and the programmatic interests of the NICHD.  

Additional information:
NIHVAU2C
National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
Collaborative Aging (in Place) Research Using Technology (CART) (U2C)
Sponsor Deadline for LOIs (requested): December 28, 2015 
Sponsor Deadline for Full Applications: January 28, 2016 
OSP Deadline: January 21, 2016 
Award Information: up to $1.25M in direct costs per year for 4 years
 
The purpose of this Inter-Agency Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to develop and validate the infrastructure for rapid and effective conduct of future research utilizing technology to facilitate aging in place, with a special emphasis on people from underrepresented groups. This FOA is designed to support Collaborative Aging (in Place) Research Using Technology (CART) by developing and validating a research infrastructure that has the capacity to integrate data across different projects, incorporates existing technologies, and can accommodate future technologies, designed to assess and intervene across a variety of observational and clinical research studies and settings, and for a range of measures, diseases and populations. The infrastructure development will include a demonstration project, to test feasibility for operating on a larger scale. The infrastructure and demonstration project accomplished by this FOA (Phase I) will serve as the foundation for the subsequent large-scale development project for technology research to help reduce hospitalizations, emergency room visits, and admissions to a nursing home for the older population (Phase II). Phase I is designed to be both disease and technology agnostic. Successful multidisciplinary applicants with strong partnerships in engineering, computer science, health and medical research (both public and private sector) are encouraged to apply.

Additional information:
OpenSciencePrize
National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Wellcome Trust
The Open Science Prize
Sponsor Deadline: February 29, 2016
OSP Deadline: February 22, 2016
Award Information: Up to 6 international teams will be awarded $80,000 each to develop their ideas into a prototype or to advance an existing early stage prototype. The prototype judged to have the greatest potential to further open science will receive $230,000.
 
The volume of digital information generated by biomedical research often called "big data" is growing at a rapidly increasing pace. Researchers' ability to derive knowledge from data is hindered by their ability to find, access and use it. The goal of the Open Science Prize is to support the development and prototyping of services, tools and platforms to overcome these hurdles to ensure data can be used to advance discovery and spur innovation. This is a global science competition for new products or services to advance "open science," a movement to make scientific research data broadly accessible to the public. Each international team must include at least one individual or group based in the United States, and at least one individual or group based in another country. 

The Open Science Prize is made possible through a Memorandum of Understanding between NIH and Wellcome Trust. The Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, Maryland, is also contributing funds to Wellcome Trust for the effort. The NIH effort is part of the Big Data to Knowledge Initiative. 

Additional information:
NSFCogNeuro
National Science Foundation (NSF) Directorate for Social, Behavioral & Economic Sciences (SBE)
Cognitive Neuroscience (CogNeuro)
Sponsor Deadlines: February 11, 2016 and August 15, 2016
OSP Deadlines: February 4, 2016 and August 8, 2016
Award Information: Award size will be commensurate with the scope of the project 
 
Cognitive neuroscience is an interdisciplinary field of research dedicated to the understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying human cognition. As this field continues to grow, the National Science Foundation intends for cognitive neuroscience emphases to spur the development of highly novel theories, techniques and models directed toward enabling basic scientific understanding of a broad range of issues involving brain, cognition, and behavior. The emphasis at NSF is on the integration of cognitive, social and economic science in service of insights into healthy functions of brain, cognition, and behavior.  Additionally, NSF highly values the exploration of new methodologies, utilization of the latest analytic approaches, and the convergence of cutting edge techniques for addressing basic questions about human cognition.  

NSF is interested in supporting projects that address the growing amount of data collected across disparate lab environments, which may require new standardization, curation, and sharing solutions. Proposals which describe the application of computational techniques or models for addressing cognitive questions or issues of data analysis are especially welcomed.

Additional information:
EDUCATION AND TRAINING 
Contact Us:
Questions about this announcement or proposal submission may be directed to Jennifer Corby
(jcorby@fas.harvard.edu, 617-495-1590) or Susan Gomes (sgomes@fas.harvard.edu 617-496-9448).

 

For Research Development Support (Finding Funding, Proposal Development Resources), go to research.fas.harvard.edu/research-development-support.