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.

This newsletter will be sent electronically each month. To receive this and other funding opportunity newsletters, please sign up here.  All opportunities will be archived and recipients may unsubscribe at any time.
Funding Opportunities for Big Data
Social Science
 (Computer) Science and Engineering
Biomedical Science
Education and Training

* Indicates a funding announcement that was updated or added to the newsletter this month.

News and Resources

Working jointly with the BD2K Centers-Coordination Center (BD2KCCC) and the NIH Office of Data Science, the BD2K Training Coordinating Center (TCC) is spearheading a new virtual lecture series on the data science underlying modern biomedical research. Beginning on September 9, 2016, the seminar series will consist of weekly webinar presentations on Friday afternoons from 12:00-1:00pm EST covering the basics of data management, representation, computation, statistical inference, data modeling, and other topics relevant to "big data" biomedicine. The seminar series will provide essential training suitable for individuals at all levels of the biomedical community. All video presentations from the seminar series will be streamed for live viewing, recorded, and posted online for future viewing and reference. These videos will also be indexed as part of TCC's Educational Resource Discovery Index (ERuDIte), shared/mirrored with the BD2KCCC, and with other BD2K resources.


On September 20, 2016 at 2:00pm EST, Brett Bobley, Director of the Office of Digital Humanities, National Endowment for the Humanities, will provide an overview of the NEH Digging into Data program and its intersections with medical research, joint activities with the National Library of Medicine, and other digital humanities endeavors at the NEH.
 
Social Science
S&T Center of Excellence for Homeland Security Quantitative Analysis - Center Lead
Sponsor Deadline: November 1, 2016
OSP Deadline: October 25, 2016
Award Information: Up to $4,000,000 (subject to availability of funds) per year for 10 years

The DHS COEs are university consortia that work closely with DHS Components and their partners to conduct research, develop and transition mission-relevant science and technology, educate the next generation of homeland security technical experts, and train the current workforce in the latest scientific applications. Each COE is led by a U.S. college or university and involves multiple partners for varying lengths of time.

The Center for Homeland Security Quantitative Analysis (CHSQA) will conduct end user-focused research to enhance the application of analytic tools that support real-time decision making to address homeland security-related threats and hazards. This Center of Excellence (COE) will also provide education and professional development to improve data management and analysis, to facilitate operations research and systems analysis, to identify the economic impact of security threats and hazards, and to critically assess future risks posed to the DHS mission set. The overarching goal of the Center will be to develop the next generation of mathematical, computational, and statistical theories (including algorithms, methods, and tools) to advance quantitative analysis capabilities of the homeland security enterprise (HSE).

Dear Colleague Letter: OFR-NSF Partnership in Support of Research Collaborations in Finance Informatics
Sponsor Deadline: Rolling
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission

The Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) of the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Office of Financial Research (OFR) of the Department of Treasury share an interest in advancing basic and applied research centered on Computational and Information Processing Approaches to and Infrastructure in support of, Financial Research and Analysis and Management (CIFRAM). NSF and OFR have established a collaboration (hereafter referred to as CIFRAM) to identify and fund a small number of exploratory but potentially transformative CIFRAM research proposals. The collaboration enables OFR to support a broad range of financial research related to OFR's mission, including research on potential threats to financial stability. It also assists OFR with the goal of promoting and encouraging collaboration between the government, the private sector, and academic institutions interested in furthering financial research and analysis. The collaboration enables the NSF to nurture fundamental CISE research on a variety of topics including algorithms, informatics, knowledge representation, and data analytics needed to advance the current state of the art in financial research and analysis. Proposals that involve collaborations between Computer Scientists, Mathematicians, Statisticians, and experts in Financial Risk Analysis and Management are especially welcome.

Principal Investigators (PIs) interested in seeking research support through the program should submit 2-page white papers to sspengle@nsf.gov and OFR_Grants@ofr.treasury.gov (please use these addresses; the one listed in the DCL is out of date). If OFR and NSF agree that the research idea falls within the scope of CIFRAM, the PI will be invited to submit an EAGER proposal. 

Special Initiative on Computational Social Science
Sponsor Deadline for Letters of Inquiry: November 30, 2016
OSP Deadline: November 21, 2016
Award Information: Up to $150,000 for up to 2 years

The Russell Sage Foundation's initiative on Computational Social Science (CSS) supports innovative social science research that brings new data and methods to bear on questions of interest in its core programs in Behavioral Economics, Future of Work, Race, Ethnicity and Immigration, and Social Inequality. Limited consideration will be given to questions that pertain to core methodologies, such as causal inference and innovations in data collection. Funding is available for secondary analysis of data or for original data collection. RSF is especially interested in novel uses of new or under-utilized data and new methods for analyzing these data. Smaller projects might consist of a pilot study to demonstrate proof-of-concept. RSF encourages methodological variety and inter-disciplinary collaboration. Proposed projects must have well-developed conceptual frameworks and research designs. Analytical models must be specified and research questions and hypotheses (where applicable) must be clearly stated.

(Computer) Science & Engineering
DOCNISTUnited States Department of Commerce (DOC)
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
Measurement Science and Engineering (MSE) Research Grant Program for the Information Technology Laboratory (ITL) 
Sponsor Deadline: Rolling (applications submitted after June 13, 2016 will be considered in FY17)
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission
Award Information: $10,000 - $500,000, with project periods of up to 5 years. In FY 2015, the ITL Grant Program funded 38 new awards totaling $6,980,364
 
The ITL Grant Program provides financial assistance to support the conduct of research or a recipient's portion of collaborative research in the broad areas of Advanced Network Technologies, Big Data, Biometrics, Cloud Computing, Cyber-Physical Systems, Forensic Science, Information Access, Information Processing and Understanding, Cybersecurity, Health Information Technology, Human Factors and Usability, Applied and Computational Mathematics, Mathematical Foundations of Measurement Science for Information Systems, Metrology Infrastructure for Modeling and Simulation, Privacy Engineering, Software Testing, Statistics for Metrology and Statistical Methods in Forensic Science.See http://www.nist.gov/itl/ for more information about ITL. Proposals on product development and commercialization are not considered responsive to this funding opportunity. Financial support may be provided for conferences, workshops, or other technical research meetings that are relevant to the mission of ITL.

DODASFORUnited 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 - Information and Networks (RTA2) Research Grants - and Conference & Workshop Support
Sponsor Deadline: Rolling (current BAAs are active until superseded)
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission 
Award Information: Research proposals budgeting between $200,000 and $400,000 per year are encouraged. Most awards are 3 years in duration, and may not exceed 5 years. Conference and workshop grants up to $50,000 are also available. AFOSR commits the bulk of its funding by the fall of each year.

The Information and Networks Team within the Engineering and Information Science Branch is organized to support many U.S. Air Force priority areas including autonomy, space situational awareness, and cyber security. The research programs within this team lead the discovery and development of foundational issues in mathematical, information and network oriented sciences. They are organized along three themes: Information, Decision Making, and Networks.

The information theme addresses the critical challenges faced by the U.S. Air Force which lie at the intersection of the ability to collect, mathematically analyze, and disseminate large quantities of information in a time critical fashion with assurances of operation and security. Closely aligned with the mathematical analysis of information is the need for autonomous decision making. Research in this theme focuses on the discovery of mathematical laws, foundational scientific principles, and new, reliable and robust algorithms, which underlie intelligent, mixed human-machine decision-making to achieve accurate real-time projection of expertise and knowledge into and out of the battle space. Information analysis and decision making rarely occur in the context of a single source. The networks theme addresses critical issues involving how the organization and interaction among large collections of information providers and consumers contributes to an understanding of the dynamics of complex information systems.

In addition to research grants, AFOSR also provides partial support for conferences and workshops in areas of science that bring experts together to discuss recent research or educational findings, or to expose other researchers or advanced graduate students to new research and educational techniques in its areas of research interest. Proposals must be submitted at least 6 months prior to the conference or workshop start date to be considered.
 
Click here for more information about the research grant program and here for guidance on how to apply for a conference or workshop grant.

Army Research Office (ARO)
Broad Agency Announcement for Basic and Applied Scientific Research for Fiscal Years 2012 through 2017 - Computing Science & Mathematical Science
Sponsor Deadline: Rolling (current BAA is active until March 31, 2017 or until superseded)
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission 


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.

Another priority research area 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.

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
Hierarchical Identify Verify Exploit (HIVE) 
Sponsor Deadline: October 19, 2016
OSP Deadline: October 12, 2016
Award Information: Multiple awards are anticipated. The amount of resources made available under this BAA will depend on the quality of the proposals received and the availability of funds.
 
The DARPA Microsystems Technology Office HIVE program is soliciting research proposals for the development of a generic and scalable graph processor specializing in processing sparse graph primitives. The program includes the development of chip prototypes, development of software tools to support programming of the new hardware, and design of a system architecture to support efficient multi-node scaling. 
 
DARPA seeks innovative proposals in the following three technical areas (TAs)
  1. Technical Area One (TA1): Graph Analytics Processor
  2. Technical Area Two (TA2) Graph Analytics Toolkits
  3. Technical Area Three (TA3): System Evaluator
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)
Information Innovation Office (I2O) Broad Agency Announcement  
Sponsor Deadline for Abstracts (strongly encouraged): June 30, 2017
Sponsor Deadline for Full Proposals: August 25, 2017
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission
Award Information: A limited number of awards are anticipated. The level of funding for individual awards made available under this BAA has not been predetermined and will depend on the quality of the proposals received and the availability of funds.
 
The Information Innovation Office (I2O) develops game-changing information science and technology to ensure information advantage for the U.S. and its allies. To accomplish this, I2O sponsors basic and applied research in three thrust areas: Cyber, Analytics and Symbiosis. 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.

This BAA seeks revolutionary research ideas for topics not being addressed by ongoing I2O programs or other published solicitations. Potential proposers are highly encouraged to review the current I2O programs (http://www.darpa.mil/about-us/offices/i2o) and solicitations (http://www.darpa.mil/work-with-us/opportunities) to avoid proposing efforts that duplicate existing activities or that are responsive to other published I2O solicitations.

Department of the Army - Materiel Command
Internet of Battlefield Things (IoBT) 
Sponsor Deadline: September 30, 2016
OSP Deadline: September 23, 2016
Award Information: Up to $333,333. Each award will have a period of performance between 9 and 12 months. 3 awards are anticipated.
 
The U.S. Army Contracting Command - Aberdeen Proving Ground, Research Triangle Park Division, on behalf of the U.S. Army Research Laboratory, Computational and Information Sciences Directorate (CISD) is soliciting proposals for the Internet of Battlefield Things (IoBT) program under Topic 3.2.4. "High-level Information Fusion, Exploitation, Social Network Analysis and Knowledge Management Research" of the ARL Core Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for Basic and Applied Scientific Research, W911NF-12-R-0011.  ARL is soliciting proposals under this Special Notice of the Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for the performance of basic research focused on extending the state-of-the-art in managing and adapting devices and information sources, localized and distributed processing, and deception stemming from the emergent Internet of Things. The aim of this Special Notice under the BAA is to address the current limitations in accessing, processing and using information from the emergent ubiquitous cyber-physical network of sensors, and information sources. Synergistic, multidisciplinary collaborative teams composed of experimental, theoretical, and computational researchers are strongly encouraged.

DODDTRAUnited States Department of Defense (DOD)
Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA)
Fundamental Research to Counter Weapons of Mass Destruction
Sponsor Deadline: Rolling (current BAA is active until September 2024 or until superseded)
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission
Award Information: Grants may range from small dollar value (e.g., $25K) up to $1M in total costs annually. Efforts may be proposed for up to 5 years 

DTRA safeguards America and its allies from weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and provides capabilities to reduce, eliminate, and counter the threat and effects from chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and high yield explosives.

One of this BAA's Thrust Areas is Network Sciences: The fundamental science of network sciences includes advancing knowledge of complex disparate but interdependent networks critical to military operations where WMD-related robustness, resiliency, recovery of, and informational and operational utility is required. It includes response, resilience, and recovery of interdependent, multi-layered physical networks after exposure from electromagnetic pulse and other nuclear weapons effects, rapid discovery and analyzing low-observable WMD-related information from large, disparate WMD-related data sets from multiple types of networks, and to develop theories and representations for low observable WMD-related radical ideation from social networks. 

The evaluation of all submissions will be conducted in two phases. Phase I is for receipt and evaluation of pre-application white papers in direct response to a published topic or by invitation based on the assessment of the idea by the Technical POC. Phase II is for receipt and evaluation of invited proposal applications. Invitation to the Phase II, invited proposal submission, will be based on the evaluation results of the Phase I pre-application white paper.
 
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, 2017 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.

National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA)
National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency Academic Research Program
Sponsor Deadline for White Papers (strongly encouraged): Rolling through August 31, 2017 
Sponsor Deadline for Full Proposals: Rolling through September 30, 2017 
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission
Award Information: NGA University Research Initiatives (NURI) awards are expected to have a 24-month base period with a value of up to $300,000, with up to three one-year options valued at up to $150,000 per option year. NGA New Investigator Program (NIP) award grants are expected to have a 24-month base period valued up to $200,000, with up to one-year option valued at $100,000.

NGA welcomes all innovative ideas for path-breaking research that may advance the GEOINT mission. The NGA mission is to provide timely, relevant, and accurate geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) in support of national security objectives. GEOINT is the exploitation and analysis of imagery and geospatial information to describe, assess, and visually depict physical features and geographically referenced activities on the Earth. The NGA Academic Research Program (NARP) is focused on innovative, far-reaching basic and applied research in science, technology, engineering and mathematics having the potential to advance the GEOINT mission. The objective of the NARP is to support innovative, highpayoff research that provides the basis for revolutionary progress in areas of science and technology affecting the needs and mission of NGA. This research also supports the National System for Geospatial Intelligence (NSG), which is the combination of technology, systems and organizations that gather, produce, distribute and consume geospatial data and information. This research is aimed at advancing GEOINT capabilities by improving analytical methods, enhancing and expanding systems capabilities, and leveraging resources for common NSG goals. NGA welcomes innovative research ideas in a number of areas, one of which is massive data.

NGA offers several award mechanisms, including NGA University Research Initiatives (NURI) awards and NGA New Investigator Program (NIP) Grants.

Naval Research Laboratory (NRL)
NRL Broad Agency Announcement
Sponsor Deadline: Rolling (current BAA is active until superseded)
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission

The Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) is the Navy's corporate laboratory. NRL conducts basic and applied research for the Navy in a variety of scientific and technical disciplines. The basic research program is driven by perceptions about future requirements of the Navy. NRL is organized into three research directorates and one center: Systems Directorate; Materials Science and Component Technology Directorate; Ocean and Atmospheric Science and Technology Directorate; and Naval Center for Space Technology.

NRL invites proposals which range from theoretical studies to proof-of-concept to include fabrication and delivery of a prototype. NRL is interested in receiving proposals for the research efforts described under this BAA, including the following which relate to Big Data: 
  • Information Management and Decision Architectures
  • Federated, Distributed Computing/Network Infrastructure 
  • Basic and Applied Research in High Temperature Plasmas
  • Airborne, Shipboard, and Overhead Data Acquisition and Analysis
DODNSWCUnited States Department of Defense (DOD)
Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC)
Naval Engineering Education Consortium (NEEC) Broad Agency Announcement for FY16
Sponsor Deadline: October 10, 2016
OSP Deadline: September 30, 2016
Award Information: The funded amount and period of performance of each proposal selected for award may vary depending on the research area and the technical approach to be pursued by the offeror selected.

This program solicits research of interest from colleges and universities in support of the Naval Engineering Education Consortium. Areas of interest include: 
  • Big Data Analytics for assessment purposes - Applications of big data analytics methodologies such as machine learning, recommendation engine, sampling, collision statistics, k-segment means, factor graph models, confusion matrices, ROC (receiving operating characteristic) curves. Ability to search for performance anomalies by querying for unique patterns within large data sets.
  • Emerging software development - Including scalable Linux and real-time virtualization support for multicore hardware, automated testing, cyber security, model based development, software certification, software verification, data analytics, computational science, big data exploitation techniques.
DODONRUnited 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.

DODONRYIPUnited States Department of Defense (DOD)
Office of Naval Research (ONR)
Young Investigator Program (YIP)
Sponsor Deadline: November 4, 2016
OSP Deadline: October 28, 2016
Award Information: Up to $170,000 per year for 3 years. Additional funds (beyond the basic $170,000 yearly amount) for capital equipment which enhances the Young Investigator's proposed research may be requested for the first budget period. As an incentive to become involved in other ONR activities, the Office may match on a 1-for-1 basis, the first $25,000 of additional funding to support additional, collaborative research with a Navy laboratory during the YIP award.
 
 
The Principal Investigator of a proposal must be a U.S. citizen, national, or permanent resident (on the date proposals are due), holding a first or second full-time tenure-track or tenure-track-equivalent faculty position at that university, and have begun her/his first full-time appointment on or after 4 November 2011.

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.
Google Faculty Research Awards
Sponsor Deadline: September 30, 2016
Award Information: Faculty members can apply for up to 150,000 USD in eligible expenses, but most awards are funded at the amount needed to support one graduate student for one year. Most awards are in the 40,000-70,000 USD range.
 
This program supports academic research in computer science, engineering, and related fields. Each funded project will be assigned a Google sponsor by the review committee. The role of the sponsor is to support the project by discussing research directions, engaging with professors and students, and enabling interactions between the project team and Google. 
 
Google Faculty Research Awards are one-year awards structured as current-use unrestricted gifts (subject to a gift assessment at the local School rate) to support the research of world-class permanent faculty members at top universities around the world. While Google's website states that Faculty Research Awards do not cover indirect costs, administrative costs, or overhead, the Office of the Vice Provost for Research and Google's University Relations group have reached an agreement that Harvard's schools are authorized to assess gifts in line with university and school policies. For FAS and SEAS, the gift assessment fee on unrestricted current-use gift funds is 15%. This includes, at certain schools, the exemption of some classes of funds such as financial aid. Any questions about the acceptance of Google Faculty Research Awards can be directed to Denise Gorayeb, Recording Secretary, at denise_gorayeb@harvard.edu or Jen Chow, Director of Foundation and Corporate Development, OVPR, at jennifer_chow@harvard.edu.

IARPABAAIntelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA)
IARPA-Wide Research BAA
Sponsor Deadline: Rolling (current solicitation is active until May 2, 2017 or until superseded)
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission 
Award Information: Budgets should be commensurate with the scope of the project. Periods of performance generally will not exceed 12 months.

IARPA invests in high-risk, high-payoff research that has the potential to provide our nation with an overwhelming intelligence advantage. IARPA is soliciting proposals for research on topics that are not addressed by emerging or ongoing IARPA programs or other published IARPA solicitations. This BAA primarily, but not solely, seeks proposals for early stage research (which IARPA refers to as "seedlings").

IARPA's areas of interest include: Analysis - Analysis focuses on maximizing insights from the massive, disparate, unreliable and dynamic data that are - or could be - available to analysts, in a timely manner. IARPA is pursuing new sources of information from existing and novel data, and developing innovative techniques that can be utilized in the processes of analysis. Analysis research efforts are diverse across technical disciplines but have the following common features: (a) they create technologies that can earn the trust of the analyst user by providing the reasoning for results; and (b) they address data uncertainty and provenance explicitly. Within the Analysis area, IARPA is particularly interested in: Rigorous mathematical or probabilistic research on state-of-the-art, or novel techniques for improving the understanding of machine learning that leads to significant progress in generalization and repeatability of learning algorithms in applications involving big data mining or high volume data streams.

NSFMPSCDSNational Science Foundation (NSF)
Directorate for Mathematical & Physical Sciences (MPS)
Computational and Data-Enabled Science and Engineering in Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (CDS&E-MSS)
Sponsor Submission Window: November 25-December 9, 2016
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission
Award Information: Award size will be commensurate with the scope of the project.
 
The CDS&E-MSS program accepts proposals that confront and embrace the host of mathematical and statistical challenges presented to the scientific and engineering communities by the ever-expanding role of computational modeling and simulation on the one hand, and the explosion in production of digital and observational data on the other. The goal of the program is to promote the creation and development of the next generation of mathematical and statistical theories and tools that will be essential for addressing such issues. To this end, the program will support fundamental research in mathematics and statistics whose primary emphasis will be on meeting the aforementioned computational and data-related challenges. 

The research supported by the CDS&E-MSS program will aim to advance mathematics or statistics in a significant way and will address computational or big-data challenges. Proposals of interest to the program will include a Principal Investigator or co-Principal Investigator who is a researcher in the mathematical or statistical sciences in an area supported by the Division of Mathematical Sciences. The program encourages submission of proposals that include multidisciplinary collaborations or the training of mathematicians and statisticians in CDS&E.

NSFMPSCPNational Science Foundation (NSF)
Directorate for Mathematical & Physical Sciences (MPS)
Computational Physics
Sponsor Deadline: December 1, 2016
OSP Deadline: November 21, 2016
Award Information: Award size will be commensurate with the scope of the project
 
Computational Physics (CP) supports research for computational and data-enabled science. The program emphasizes novel methods for high-performance computing, such as algorithm development and efficient use of novel architectures, that require significant code development. Priority will be given to proposals that, in addition to compelling scientific goals, have a computational advance or new enabling capability. 

Computational Physics is the program through which the Physics Division participates in the Computational and Data-Enabled Science and Engineering (CDS&E) program. The computational physics program is focused on investigations relevant to disciplines supported by the Physics Division, while encouraging broader impacts on other disciplines. Disciplines within the purview of the Physics Division include: atomic, molecular, optical, plasma, elementary particle, nuclear, gravitational and biological physics, particle astrophysics, and accelerator science. Proposals with intellectual focus in areas supported by other NSF Divisions should be submitted to those divisions directly. Proposals that cross Divisional lines are welcome, but the Physics Division encourages PIs to request a co-review by naming other Divisional programs on the cover sheet. This facilitates the co-review and participation of other programs in the review process.

NSFCISECNSNational Science Foundation (NSF) 
Directorate for Computer & Information Science & Engineering (CISE)
Computer and Network Systems (CNS): Core Programs
Sponsor Proposal Windows: October 12-19, 2016 for Large and Medium projects; November 2-16, 2016 for Small projects
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission
Award Information: Small Projects may request up to $500,000 total budget with durations up to 3 years; Medium Projects may request $500,001 to $1,200,000 total budget with durations up to 4 years; and Large Projects may request $1,200,001 to $3,000,000 total budget with durations up to 5 years
 
CISE's Division of Computer and Network Systems (CNS) supports research and education projects that develop new knowledge in two core programs:
  • Computer Systems Research (CSR) program; and
  • Networking Technology and Systems (NeTS) program.
Directorate for Computer & Information Science & Engineering (CISE)
Computing and Communication Foundations (CCF): Core Programs
Sponsor Proposal Windows: October 12-19, 2016 for Large and Medium projects; November 2-16, 2016 for Small projects
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission
Award Information: Small Projects may request up to $500,000 total budget with durations up to 3 years; Medium Projects may request $500,001 to $1,200,000 total budget with durations up to 4 years; and Large Projects may request $1,200,001 to $3,000,000 total budget with durations up to 5 years
 
CISE's Division of Computing and Communication Foundations (CCF) supports research and education projects that develop new knowledge in three core programs:
  • The Algorithmic Foundations (AF) program;
  • The Communications and Information Foundations (CIF) program; and
  • The Software and Hardware Foundations (SHF) program.
NSFCISEIISNational Science Foundation (NSF)
Directorate for Computer & Information Science & Engineering (CISE)
Information and Intelligent Systems (IIS): Core Programs
Sponsor Proposal Windows: October 12-19, 2016 for Large and Medium projects; November 2-16, 2016 for Small projects
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission
Award Information: Small Projects may request up to $500,000 total budget with durations up to 3 years; Medium Projects may request $500,001 to $1,200,000 total budget with durations up to 4 years; and Large Projects may request $1,200,001 to $3,000,000 total budget with durations up to 5 years
 
CISE's Division of Information and Intelligent Systems (IIS) supports research and education projects that develop new knowledge in three core programs:
  • The Cyber-Human Systems (CHS) program;
  • The Information Integration and Informatics (III) program; and
  • The Robust Intelligence (RI) program.
Proposals in the area of computer graphics and visualization may be submitted to any of the three core programs.

NSFNCNNational Science Foundation (NSF)
Directorate for Engineering (ENG)
Network for Computational Nanotechnology (NCN)
Sponsor Deadline for Letters of Intent (required): November 3, 2016
Sponsor Deadline for Full Proposals: December 2, 2016
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission
Award Information: The individual new Nodes will be funded at up to $800,000 each per year for up to five years. NSF estimates that 3 awards will be made.
Note: This is a limited submission funding opportunity. A university may submit only one proposal per Node content area in this solicitation. Therefore, one university might submit up to three separate Node proposals, but only one to each Node content area. FAS/SEAS faculty members should contact Erin Cromack at cromack@fas.harvard.edu to express an interest in applying. 
 
The goals of the Network for Computational Nanotechnology (NCN) are to: 1) accelerate the transformation of nanoscience to nanotechnology through the integration of simulation with experimentation; 2) engage an ever-larger and more diverse cyber community sharing novel, high-quality nanoscale computation and simulation research and educational resources; 3) develop open-access, open-source software to stimulate data sharing; and 4) inspire and educate the next-generation workforce. 

The NCN consists of a stand-alone Cyber Platform, which provides computation, simulation, and education services to over 330,000 researchers, educators, students, and industry members of the nanoscience and engineering community annually worldwide; and Nodes, which develop compelling new computational and simulation tools to disseminate through Cyber Platform (nanoHUB.org) and cultivate communities of users in emerging areas of nanoscale science and engineering.  For more information on NCN, please see http://nanohub.org/about#funding.

This solicitation will support the next phase of NCN Nodes Programs. Current awards for existing NCN Nodes expire in September 2017. Those who submit proposals in response to this solicitation will need to address the following questions:
  1. What compelling new nanoscience modeling and computational tool(s) will be developed and how will it advance nanotechnology to meet critical national needs?
  2. What will the Node undertake to nucleate a community of academic and industry users engaged in the new tool(s) and increase quality and quantity of nanoHUB tools, resources, and usage?
  3. How will the Node interact productively with the Cyber Platform and other Nodes to augment existing capabilities and ensure seamless and complementary advancement of the NCN's goals?
Content areas of the three new Nodes will be:
  • Engineered nanoBIO - Create integrated computational tools that support new understanding and simulation of biological phenomena from the nanoscale across length scales for the design of devices and systems;
  • Hierarchical nanoMFG - Computation and simulation software to address the challenges of hierarchical nanomanufacturing processes from nanoscale components to devices and systems, and their scale up;
  • Nano-Engineered Electronic Device and Module Application Node (NEEDMA) - Develop computation and simulation tools that can be employed for turning nanoscale science and engineering into applications through the discovery and development of nanoelectronic-based devices and modules with impact on circuit and systems responding to grand challenges.
The PI of each respective Node proposal must be a tenured faculty member at the lead university of the proposal.

Directorate for Computer & Information Science & Engineering (CISE)
Petascale Computing Resource Allocations (PRAC)
Sponsor Deadline: November 9, 2016
OSP Deadline: November 2, 2016
Award Information: Up to $40,000 for each award, with 12-15 awards expected. The maximum award duration is 2 years.
 
In 2013, a new NSF-funded petascale computing system, Blue Waters, was deployed at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The goal of this project and system is to open up new possibilities in science and engineering by providing computational capability that makes it possible for investigators to tackle much larger and more complex research challenges across a wide spectrum of domains. The purpose of this solicitation is to invite research groups to submit requests for allocations of resources on the Blue Waters system. Proposers must show compelling science or engineering challenges that require petascale computing resources. Proposers must also be prepared to demonstrate that they have science or engineering research problems that require and can effectively exploit the petascale computing capabilities offered by Blue Waters. In particular, proposals are encouraged that broaden the areas of scientific research that are actively being conducted using Blue Waters - see https://bluewaters.ncsa.illinois.edu/science-teams for details.

Successful proposals will receive allocations to access Blue Waters to support the research that they have planned, along with limited travel funds to support technical coordination with the Blue Waters project team and with other research teams with allocations on Blue Waters. Note that this program does not provide funds for the research itself or for the development of models or analysis tools.

Proposals from or including junior researchers are encouraged, as one of the goals of this solicitation is to build a community capable of using petascale computing.

Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace (SaTC)
Sponsor Proposal Windows: October 12-19, 2016 for Large and Medium projects; November 2-16, 2016 for Small projects; December 1-15, 2016 for Cybersecurity Education projects
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission
Award Information: Small Projects may request up to $500,000 total budget with durations up to 3 years; Medium Projects may request $500,001 to $1,200,000 total budget with durations up to 4 years; and Large Projects may request $1,200,001 to $3,000,000 total budget with durations up to 5 years. Education projects may request up to $300,000 total budget for up to 2 years.
 
The SaTC program welcomes proposals that address cybersecurity and privacy, and draw on expertise in one or more of these areas: computing, communication and information sciences; engineering; economics; education; mathematics; statistics; and social and behavioral sciences. Proposals that advance the field of cybersecurity and privacy within a single discipline or interdisciplinary efforts that span multiple disciplines are both encouraged.

Proposals must be submitted pursuant to one of the following designations:
  • CORE: The main focus of the SaTC research program, spanning the interests of NSF's Directorates for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE), Engineering (ENG), Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS), and Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE). Interdisciplinary proposals are welcomed to CORE.
  • EDU: The Education (EDU) designation will be used to label proposals focusing entirely on cybersecurity education.
  • STARSS: The Secure, Trustworthy, Assured and Resilient Semiconductors and Systems (STARSS) designation will be used to label proposals that are submitted to the joint program focused on hardware security with the Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC). The STARSS designation may only be used for Small proposals. This designation has additional administrative obligations.
  • TTP: The Transition to Practice (TTP) designation will be used to label proposals that are focused exclusively on transitioning existing research results to practice. The TTP designation may only be used for Small and Medium proposals.
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.

Faculty Innovation Award
Sponsor Deadline: September 30, 2016 
Award Information: Up to $100,000 for 1 year

The Sony Faculty Innovation Award provides up to $100K in unrestricted funds to conduct pioneering research in the following areas: Artificial Intelligence; Human Computer Interaction; Affective/Positive Computing; Knowledge-Based Information Extraction; Computational Neuroscience; Modular Neural Networks; Conversational Agent; Speech Recognition; Spoken Language Understanding; Active Vision; Multi-modal Sensor Data Fusion; Functional Image Sensing; Internet of Things (IoT); Multiple Sensor Networks; mm-Wave Wireless Communication & Radar System; Unlicensed Band (5GHz/2.4GHz) Co-existence; Autonomous-decentralized Wireless Network; AR / VR; Immersive Experience; Computational Photography; ADAS / Autonomous Driving; Electro-acoustic Transducer; and Robotics.

Note: These awards are likely to be received as gifts and therefore do not need to be submitted though OSP. Please check with your grant administrator before submitting your proposal.

Biomedical Science
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.

Big Data to Knowledge (BD2K) Community-Based Data and Metadata Standards Efforts (R24)
Sponsor Deadline for Letters of Intent (requested): 30 days prior to the deadline
Sponsor Deadline for Full Proposals: November 9, 2016; October 19, 2017
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission
Award Information: Application budgets are limited to $250,000 direct costs per year. The maximum project period is up to 3 years. NIH intends to fund an estimate of 5 awards, corresponding to a total of $1.5 Million for fiscal year 2017 and another 5 awards, corresponding to a total of $1.5 Million for fiscal year 2018.

This FOA is to provide time-limited, catalytic support for activities necessary to develop or extend/refine data and metadata standards and/or related tools in areas relevant to the NIH basic, translational, and clinical research mission. Projects can support activities at any point in the data standards lifecycle and should build on existing partnerships, infrastructure, and resources whenever possible. Projects must demonstrate a compelling science community interest and need for standards efforts in the specific domain(s) of interest, as well as a plan for meaningful engagement of the end-user communities and relevant stakeholders in the process. The data standard and any associated tools or products developed should be made freely available to the scientific research community via a curated, searchable portal. Projects should address long-term maintenance and sustainability of the data standard after the period of the NIH award; issues to be considered include approaches for dissemination, evaluation, and updating/refinement. Both short-term and longer-term projects are eligible.

BD2K Enhancing Diversity in Biomedical Data Science (R25)
Sponsor Deadline for Letters of Intent (requested): October 14, 2016
Sponsor Deadline for Full Proposals: November 14, 2016
OSP Deadline: November 7, 2016
Award Information: Applications may request up to $300,000 in direct costs each year. The project period may not exceed 4 years. The NIH Office of the Associate Director for Data Science intends to commit $1 million (total costs) in FY17 to fund approximately 5 awards, contingent upon the number of meritorious applications received and availability of funds.

The NIH Research Education Program (R25) supports research education activities in the mission areas of the NIH. The over-arching goal of this NIH Big Data to Knowledge (BD2K) Enhancing Diversity in Biomedical Data Science (R25) program is to support educational activities that enhance the diversity of the biomedical, behavioral, and clinical research workforce. To accomplish the stated over-arching goal, this FOA will support creative educational activities with a primary focus on research experiences and curriculum or methods development.

The program being developed by this FOA provides an opportunity for less research intensive
undergraduate institutions to build research experiences and curriculum in biomedical Big Data research education by partnering with research intensive institutions with prominence in biomedical big data research. It is expected that institutions that partner for this effort share the vision of enhancing diversity in biomedical data science as a critical means to achieve excellence in research education. Importantly, this FOA seeks to reach undergraduate participants when they are making critical decisions about choosing and persisting in a biomedical research field. In addition, this FOA provides an opportunity for faculty at applicant institutions to gain professional education and skills in Big Data science that will also improve instruction and mentoring capacity in data science. By educating undergraduate students in the emerging field of Big Data, they will obtain unique exposure and experience to compete in the biomedical workforce and contribute to research that addresses the increasingly complex health needs of the nation.

BD2K Enhancing  the Efficiency and Effectiveness of Digital Curation for Biomedical Big Data (U01)
Sponsor Deadline for Letters of Intent (requested): November 1, 2016
Sponsor Deadline for Full Proposals: December 15, 2016
OSP Deadline: December 8, 2016
Award Information: Direct costs are limited to a maximum of $350,000 in each year. The maximum project period is 4 years. NIH intends to fund an estimate of 7-10 awards, corresponding to a total of $4 million, for fiscal year 2017.

The purpose of this BD2K Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to support the development, improvement and implementation of tools and approaches that increase the efficiency and effectiveness of digital curation processes used to characterize and describe the digital data used in or resulting from biomedical research.

BD2K Open Educational Resources for Skills Development in Biomedical Big Data Science (R25)
Sponsor Deadline for Letters of Intent (requested): July 2, 2017
Sponsor Deadline for Full Proposals: August 2, 2017
OSP Deadline: July 26, 2017
Award Information: Application budgets may not exceed $200,000 in direct costs annually and need to reflect the actual needs of the proposed project. The maximum project period is 3 years.

The over-arching goal of this Big Data to Knowledge (BD2K) R25 program is to support educational activities that complement and/or enhance the training of a workforce to meet the nation's biomedical, behavioral and clinical research needs.
 
To accomplish that goal, this FOA will support creative educational activities with a primary focus on Courses for Skills Development for biomedical researchers who need the requisite knowledge and skills to extract knowledge from biomedical Big Data. To extend the reach of the course, each educational activity is required to develop open educational resources (OERs) that adhere to FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable) principles. Ideally, OERs should be useful to individuals at all career levels, from predoctoral students to established investigators. 

BD2K Research Education Curriculum Development: Data Science Overview for Biomedical Scientists (R25)
Sponsor Deadlines: December 7, 2016; December 1, 2017
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission
Award Information: Applications that request costs for curriculum development may request up to $100,000 per year in direct costs. Applications proposing to serve as the lead to coordinate the program may request an additional $50,000, for a total of $150,000 per year in direct costs. The maximum project period is 3 years. NIH intends to fund an estimate of 4-5 awards per year, corresponding to a total of $500,000 per year, for fiscal years 2017 and 2018.
NOTE: This is a limited submission funding opportunity. Harvard may only submit one application to NIH. FAS/SEAS faculty members should contact Erin Cromack at cromack@fas.harvard.edu to express an interest in applying.

The NIH Research Education Program (R25) supports research education activities in the mission areas of the NIH. The over-arching goal of this BD2K R25 program is to support educational activities that complement and/or enhance the training of a workforce to meet the nation's biomedical, behavioral and clinical research needs.
   
To accomplish the stated over-arching goal, this FOA will support creative educational activities with a primary focus on Curriculum or Methods Development in Big Data Science to augment current institutional curricula for the training of predoctoral level biomedical scientists and provide concentrated instruction in the tools, approaches and quantitative analysis concepts in data science. To facilitate the integration of data science into biomedical curricula nationally, this FOA seeks to support a cohort of institutions that will work collaboratively and collectively to produce curricular materials that are findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable (FAIR).

National Cancer Institute (NCI)
Development of Innovative Informatics Methods and Algorithms for Cancer Research and Management (R21)
Sponsor Deadline for Letters of Intent (requested): 30 days prior to deadline 
Sponsor Deadlines for Full Proposals: November 21, 2016; June 14, 2017
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.

Harnessing Big Data to Halt HIV (R01)
Sponsor Deadlines: January 7, 2017
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission
Award Information: Application budgets are not limited but need to reflect the actual needs of the proposed project. The maximum project period is 5 years. 

The purpose of this FOA is to promote research that transforms understanding of HIV transmission, the HIV care continuum, and HIV comorbidities using Big Data Science (BDS). These approaches should include projects to assemble big data sources, conduct robust and reproducible analyses, and create meaningful visualization of big data.

NIHNIGMSNational Institutes of Health (NIH)
National Institute of General Medicine (NIGMS)
Modeling of Infectious Disease Agent Study Research Projects (R01)
Sponsor Deadlines: October 5, 2016; February 5, 2017
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission
Award Information: Application budgets are not limited but need to reflect the actual needs of the proposed project. The maximum project period is 5 years.

The purpose of this FOA is to support innovative research that will develop and apply computational tools and methods for modeling interactions between infectious agents and their hosts, disease spread, prediction systems and response strategies. The models should be useful to researchers, policymakers, or public health workers who want to better understand and respond to infectious diseases. This research opportunity encourages applications from institutions/organizations that propose to provide the scientific and public health communities better resources, knowledge, and tools to improve their ability to prepare for, identify, detect, control, and prevent the spread of infectious diseases caused by naturally occurring or intentionally released pathogens, including those relevant to biodefense.

Areas of focus include conceptual development of models, particularly analytical and statistical tools for interpreting and using large data sets or model results.

NIHU24National Institutes of Health (NIH): (PAR-15-331) (PAR 15-333)
National Cancer Institute (NCI) 
Informatics Resources/Technologies for Cancer Research and Management (U24)
Sponsor Deadlines: November 21, 2016; June 14, 2017
OSP Deadlines: 5 business days prior to submission
Award Information: Application budgets for Advanced Development may not exceed $600,000 Direct Costs (excluding consortium F&A costs) per year for up to 5 years. Budgets for Sustained Support applications are not limited but need to reflect the actual needs of the proposed project; duration may be up to 5 years.
 
The purpose of PAR-15-331, Advanced Development of Informatics Technologies for Cancer Research and Management (U24), is to invite Cooperative Agreement (U24) applications for advanced development and enhancement of emerging informatics technologies to improve the acquisition, management, analysis, and dissemination of data and knowledge 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 focuses on emerging informatics technology, defined as one that has passed the initial prototyping and pilot development stage, has demonstrated potential to have a significant and broader impact, has compelling reasons for further improvement and enhancement, and has not been widely adopted in the cancer research field. The central mission of ITCR is to promote research-driven informatics technology across the development lifecycle to address priority needs in cancer research. In order to be successful, proposed development plans must have a clear rationale on why the proposed technology is needed and how it will benefit the cancer research field. In addition, mechanisms to solicit feedback from users and collaborators throughout the development process should be included. 

PAR-15-333, Sustained Support for Informatics Resources for Cancer Research and Management (U24), invites applications for the continued development and sustainment of high-value informatics research resources to serve current and emerging needs across the cancer research continuum.As a component of ITCR Program, this FOA focuses on supporting activities necessary for improved user experience and availability of existing, widely-adopted informatics tools and resources. This is in contrast to early-stage and advanced development efforts to generate these tools and resources that are supported by companion ITCR FOAs. In addition, mechanisms for assessing and maximizing the value of the resource to researchers and supporting collaboration and/or deep engagement between the resource and the targeted research community should be described.

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Informatics Methodology and Secondary Analyses for Immunology Data in ImmPort (UH2)
Sponsor Deadline for Letter of Intent (requested): 30 days prior to submission deadline
Sponsor Deadline for Full Proposal: October 4, 2016; October 4, 2017
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission
Award Information: Direct costs are limited to $275,000 over a 2 year period. No more than $200,000 may be requested in any single year. The maximum project period is 2 years.

With rapid technological advances and application of high-throughput assays, NIAID-supported research programs are not only changing the landscape of immunological studies, but also generating datasets in such large volume and complexity that specialized infrastructure is required to support data sharing as well as integrative, secondary and reproducibility analyses. Recognizing this growing need, the NIAID Division of Allergy, Immunology, and Transplantation (DAIT) has funded the development of a public data sharing repository, the Immunology Database and Analysis Portal (ImmPort), which serves as a unique resource for public data sharing of immunological studies. 

The goals of this FOA are to support the development of new or improved informatics tools and methods for the reuse of shared data in ImmPort; and to support secondary analyses of existing immunology datasets to address basic and clinical immunology questions.

National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
The Application of Big Data Analytics to Drug Abuse Research (R01)
Sponsor Deadline for Letter of Intent (requested): 30 days prior to submission deadline
Sponsor Deadlines for Full Proposals: October 5, 2016; February 5, 2017
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission
Award Information: Application budgets are not limited but need to reflect the actual needs of the proposed project. The maximum project period is 5 years. 

The purpose of this FOA is to encourage the application of Big Data analytics to reveal deeper or novel insights into the biological and behavioral processes associated with substance abuse and addiction. NIDA recognizes that to accelerate progress toward understanding how the human brain and behavior is altered by chronic drug use and addiction, it is vital to develop more powerful analytical methods and visualization tools that can help capture the richness of data being generated from genetic, epigenetic, molecular, proteomic, metabolomic, brain-imaging, micro-electrode, behavioral, clinical, social, services, environmental studies as well as data generated from electronic health records. Applications for this FOA should develop and/or utilize computational approaches for analyzing large, complex datasets acquired from drug addiction research. The rapid increase of technologies to acquire unprecedented amounts of neurobiological and behavioral data, and an expanding capacity to store those data, results in great opportunity to bring to bear the power of the computational methods of Big Data analytics on drug abuse and addiction.

National Library of Medicine (NLM)
NLM Career Development Award in Biomedical Informatics and Data Science (K01)
Sponsor Deadlines: October 12, 2016; February 12, 2017
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission
Award Information: Award budgets are composed of salary (up to $100,000 plus fringe benefits) and other program-related expenses ($50,000  per year). The total project period may not exceed 3 years.

The purpose of the NLM Career Development Award (K01) in Biomedical Informatics and Data Science is to provide support and "protected time" (a minimum of 75% of full-time professional effort for up to three years) for an intensive career development experience in biomedical informatics and data science leading to research independence. NLM invites K01 applications from junior investigators, who have either a health professional or research doctorate and who are in the first three years of their initial faculty positions. Candidates who received their training at one of NLM's university-based biomedical informatics training programs are encouraged to apply.

National Library of Medicine (NLM)
NLM Express Research Grants in Biomedical Informatics (R01)
Sponsor Deadlines: October 5, 2016; February 5, 2017
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission
Award Information: The NLM Express Research Grant has a limit of $250,000 per year in direct costs. The maximum project period is 4 years.

The National Library of Medicine (NLM) offers support for innovative research in biomedical informatics and data science. The scope of NLM's interest in the research domain of informatics is broad and interdisciplinary, developing methods and approaches in biomedical computing, data science and related information fields for application domains of health and biomedicine, including health care delivery, basic biomedical research, clinical and translational research, precision medicine, public health, biosurveillance, health information management in disasters, and similar areas. NLM defines biomedical informatics as the science of optimal representation, organization, management, integration and presentation of information relevant to human health and biology, for purposes of learning, sharing and use. 

NIHtechR01National Institutes of Health (NIH): (PA-14-155) (PA-14-156)
Technologies in Biomedical Computing, Informatics, and Big Data Science (R01)
Sponsor Deadlines: October 5, 2016; February 5, 2017
OSP Deadlines: 5 business days prior to submission
Award Information: Early Stage Awards will not exceed $300k direct costs per year for up to 3 years. Extended Development, Hardening and Dissemination Awards are not limited but need to reflect the actual needs of the proposed project. Project periods are limited to 5 years.
 
The NIH is interested in promoting a broad base of research and development of technologies in biomedical computing, informatics, and Big Data Science that will support rapid progress in areas of scientific opportunity in biomedical research.  It is expected that this research and development is conducted in the context of important biomedical and behavioral research problems.  As such, applications are intended to develop enabling technologies that could apply to the interests of most NIH Institutes and Centers and range from basic biomedicine and including research to all relevant organ systems and diseases. Major themes of research include collaborative environments; data integration; analysis and modeling methodologies; and novel computer science and statistical approaches.  New opportunities are also emerging as large and complex data sets are becoming increasingly available to the research community.  

There are two FOAs for R01 awards available in this area. The first, Early Stage Development of Technologies in Biomedical Computing, Informatics, and Big Data Science (PA-14-155), aims to address biomedical research areas in biomedical computing, informatics, and Big Data science through the early stage development of new software, tools and related resources, as well as the fundamental research (e.g., methodologies and approaches) leading up to that development.

The second, Extended Development, Hardening and Dissemination of Technologies in Biomedical Computing, Informatics and Big Data Science (PA-14-156) is to support the extended development, maintenance, testing, evaluation, hardening and dissemination of existing biomedical software. The proposed work should apply best practices and proven methods for software design, construction, and implementation to extend the applicability of existing technologies in biomedical computing, informatics and big data science to a broader biomedical research community.

Directorate for Mathematical & Physical Sciences (MPS) and 
National Institutes of Health (NIH) 
Joint NSF/NIH Initiative on Quantitative Approaches to Biomedical Big Data (QuBBD) 
Sponsor Deadline: September 28, 2016; September 12, 2017
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission
Award Information: Award sizes are expected to range from $200,000 to $300,000 (total costs) per year with durations of up to 3 years. Approximately $5,000,000 will be made available per year for new applications ($2,000,000 from NSF, $3,000,000 from NIH). 10 to 20 Awards from this competition may be made by either NSF or NIH at the option of the agencies, not the grantee.
 
Researchers now have the ability to collect, store, and analyze vast amounts of health- and disease-related data from biological, biomedical, behavioral, social, environmental, and clinical studies. The explosion in the availability of biomedical big data from disparate sources, and the complex data structures including images, networks, and graphs, pose significant challenges in terms of visualization, modeling, and analysis. NSF and the NIH recognize that fundamental questions in basic, clinical, and translational research could benefit greatly from multidisciplinary approaches that involve experts in quantitative disciplines such as mathematics, statistics, and computer science. The Quantitative Approaches to Biomedical Big Data Program is designed to support research that addresses important application areas at the intersection of the biomedical and data sciences by encouraging inter- and multi-disciplinary collaborations that focus on innovative and transformative approaches to address these challenges.

Education and Training
AERAAmerican Educational Research Association (AERA)
Research Grants
Sponsor Deadline: TBA (Winter 2016)
OSP Deadline:5 business days prior to submission
Award Information: Awards for Research Grants are up to $20,000 for 1 year projects, or up to $35,000 for 2 year projects
 
This program seeks to stimulate research on U.S. education issues using data from the large-scale, national and international data sets supported by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), NSF, and other federal agencies, and to increase the number of education researchers using these data sets. Applicants are encouraged to submit proposals that:
  • develop or benefit from new quantitative measures or methodological approaches for addressing education issues
  • include interdisciplinary teams with subject matter expertise, especially when studying science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) learning
  • analyze TIMSS, PISA, or other international data resources
  • include the integration and analysis of more than one data set
Research projects related to at least one of the strands above and to science and/or mathematics education are especially encouraged. Other topics of interest include policies and practices related to student achievement in STEM, contextual factors in education, educational participation and persistence (kindergarten through graduate school), early childhood education, and postsecondary education.

NSF Research Traineeship Program (NRT)
Harvard Pre-Proposal Deadline: October 3, 2016
Sponsor Deadline for Letters of Intent (if nominated): December 9, 2016
Sponsor Deadline for Full Proposals: February 17, 2017
OSP Deadline: 5 business days prior to submission
Award Information: Up to $3,000,000 for up to 5 years for NRT Traineeship Track Awards and $300,000-$500,000 for up to 3 years for NRT IGE Track Awards
Note: This is a limited submission funding opportunity. Harvard may only put forward two proposals in each track. FAS/SEAS faculty may contact Erin Cromack at cromack@fas.harvard.edu or 617-496-5252 for more information on Harvard's internal competition.
   
The NSF Research Traineeship (NRT) program is designed to encourage the development and implementation of bold, new, and potentially transformative models for STEM graduate education training. The NRT program seeks proposals that ensure that graduate students in research-based master's and doctoral degree programs develop the skills, knowledge, and competencies needed to pursue a range of STEM careers. The NRT program includes two tracks:

1.       The Traineeship Track is dedicated to effective training of STEM graduate students in high priority interdisciplinary research areas, through the use of a comprehensive traineeship model that is innovative, evidence-based, and aligned with changing workforce and research needs. For FY2017, there are three priority areas:
a.       Understanding the Brain (UtB),
b.      Innovations at the Nexus of Food, Energy, and Water Systems (INFEWS), and
c.       any other interdisciplinary research theme of national priority.

2.       The Innovations in Graduate Education (IGE) Track focuses on test-bed projects aimed at piloting, testing, and validating innovative and potentially transformative approaches to graduate education. IGE projects are intended to generate the knowledge required for their customization, implementation, and broader adoption. While the Traineeship Track promotes building on the current knowledge base to develop comprehensive programs to effectively train STEM graduate students, the IGE Track supports testing of novel models or activities with high potential to enrich and extend the knowledge base on effective graduate education approaches.
 
The NRT program addresses both workforce development, emphasizing broad participation, and institutional capacity building needs in graduate education. For both tracks, strategic collaborations with the private sector, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), government agencies, national laboratories, field stations, teaching and learning centers, informal science centers, and academic partners are encouraged.
Questions about this newsletter or proposal submission may be directed to:

Jennifer Corby
Research Development Officer
jcorby@fas.harvard.edu | 617-495-1590
Research Development | Research Administration Services | research.fas.harvard.edu