Global Environment for Networking Innovations (GENI) Project: Establishing the GENI Project Office (GPO)

CONTACTS

PROGRAM GUIDELINES

Solicitation  06-551

Important Notice to Proposers

A revised version of the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG), NSF 13-1, was issued on October 4, 2012 and is effective for proposals submitted, or due, on or after January 14, 2013. Please be advised that, depending on the specified due date, the guidelines contained in NSF 13-1 may apply to proposals submitted in response to this funding opportunity.

Please be aware that significant changes have been made to the PAPPG to implement revised merit review criteria based on the National Science Board (NSB) report, National Science Foundation's Merit Review Criteria: Review and Revisions. While the two merit review criteria remain unchanged (Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts), guidance has been provided to clarify and improve the function of the criteria. Changes will affect the project summary and project description sections of proposals. Annual and final reports also will be affected.

A by-chapter summary of this and other significant changes is provided at the beginning of both the Grant Proposal Guide and the Award & Administration Guide.

DUE DATES

Archived

SYNOPSIS

The availability of state-of-the-art research infrastructure is essential to advances in all science and engineering fields. For many years, NSF has supported the development and deployment of research instrumentation and facilities. Shared-use facilities in particular, including those funded through NSF's MREFC account, have been instrumental in allowing science and engineering communities to explore compelling research "grand challenges". With emerging systems-level challenges and opportunities in computer science and engineering, the time is right for the computing research community to identify the large-scale research infrastructure needs critical, not only to advances in the field, but to US competitiveness in IT overall.

The Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) is calling for the computing research community to unite in the establishment of a Computing Community Consortium (CCC). CISE will support the CCC as a community proxy responsible for facilitating the conceptualization and design of promising infrastructure-intensive projects identified by the computing research community to address compelling scientific “grand challenges” in computing. The CCC will ensure broad community engagement in the identification of compelling research agendas and in the subsequent identification and refinement of related shared use infrastructure requirements.

One of the first responsibilities of the CCC will be guiding the design of the Global Environment for Networking Innovations (GENI). GENI is a facility concept already being explored by the research community, including investigators from the disciplines supported by CISE. GENI will complement ongoing CISE research investments in networking, distributed systems and other areas. The GENI facility is expected to increase the quality and quantity of experimental research outcomes supported by CISE, and to accelerate the transition of these outcomes into products and services to enhance economic competitiveness and secure the Nation's future.