NSF and the Ministry of Universities and Research (MUR) Lead Agency Opportunity in Artificial Intelligence

The Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) of the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Italian Ministry of Universities and Research have created a partnership to support international collaboration under the NSF-MUR Lead Agency Opportunity in Artificial Intelligence. The goal of this activity is to promote collaborative research in Artificial Intelligence by reducing barriers to conducting research with international collaborators. The NSF-MUR Lead Agency Opportunity allows U.S. and Italian researchers to submit a single collaborative proposal that will undergo a single merit review process through NSF as the lead agency. 

Under the NSF-MUR Lead Agency Opportunity, proposals may be accepted for collaborative research in areas at the intersection of NSF/CISE’s and MUR's missions. Proposers should review the programs supported through NSF/CISE and through the MUR for further information on what areas of research are eligible for support through this activity. Proposals are expected to adhere to typical proposal sizes and durations for the relevant MUR and NSF/CISE program(s) from which funding is sought. Please note that this activity is limited to programs within NSF/CISE Directorate; no agency-wide special programs are eligible. 

For general inquiries about the NSF-MUR lead agency opportunity, please contact nsf-mur-ai@nsf.gov. For inquiries pertaining to the specific CISE programs to which an NSF-MUR proposal may be submitted, please contact the program officers listed on the specific programs’ webpages.

Links to participating NSF programs are below.

• CCF: Algorithmic Foundations (AF)
• CCF: Communications and Information Foundations (CIF)
• CCF: Foundations of Emerging Technologies (FET)
• CCF: Software and Hardware Foundations (SHF)
• CNS: Computer Systems Research (CSR)
• CNS: Networking Technology and Systems (NeTS)
• IIS: Human-Centered Computing (HCC)
• IIS: Information Integration and Informatics (III)
• IIS: Robust Intelligence (RI)
• OAC: OAC Core Research (OAC Core)

Full submission guidance is in the Dear Colleague Letter: NSF-Italian Ministry of Universities and Research Lead Agency Opportunity on Artificial Intelligence (NSF 24-055).

Proposals must be submitted in accordance with the deadlines of the participating NSF programs.

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