Solicitation: NSF Secure and Trustworthy CyberSpace (SaTC) [Solicitation 22-517]

Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace (SaTC)

PROGRAM SOLICITATION
NSF 22-517

REPLACES DOCUMENT(S):
NSF 21-500

National Science Foundation

Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering
     Division of Computer and Network Systems
     Division of Computing and Communication Foundations
     Division of Information and Intelligent Systems
     Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure

Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences
     Division of Social and Economic Sciences
     Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences

Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences
     Division of Mathematical Sciences

Directorate for Engineering
     Division of Electrical, Communications and Cyber Systems

Directorate for Education and Human Resources
     Division of Graduate Education

Full Proposl Deadline(s) (due by 5 p.m. submitter's local time):

     Proposals Accepted Anytime

IMPORTANT INFORMATION AND REVISION NOTES

  • The limit for SaTC Small submissions is increased from $500,000 to $600,000.
  • SaTC will not accept Large proposals in FY22 and FY23.
  • Broadening Participation in Computing (BPC) plans are required for Medium proposals at time of submission (was previously only at time of award), if the lead or non-lead organizations are
  • in CISE research areas.
  • Descriptions of topic areas have been updated and several have been renamed.

Important Information

Innovating and migrating proposal preparation and submission capabilities from FastLane to Research.gov is part of the ongoing NSF information technology modernization efforts, as described in Important Notice No. 147. In support of these efforts, research proposals submitted in response to this program solicitation must be prepared and submitted via Research.gov or via Grants.gov, and may not be prepared or submitted via FastLane.

Any proposal submitted in response to this solicitation should be submitted in accordance with the revised NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) (NSF 22-1), which is effective for proposals submitted, or due, on or after October 4, 2021.

 

SUMMARY OF PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS

General Information

Program Title: Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace (SaTC)

Synopsis of Program:

In today's increasingly networked, distributed, and asynchronous world, cybersecurity involves hardware, software, networks, data, people, and integration with the physical world. Society's overwhelming reliance on this complex cyberspace, however, has exposed its fragility and vulnerabilities that defy existing cyber-defense measures; corporations, agencies, national infrastructure, and individuals continue to suffer cyber-attacks. Achieving a truly secure cyberspace requires addressing both challenging scientific and engineering problems involving many components of a system, and vulnerabilities that stem from human behaviors and choices. Examining the fundamentals of security and privacy as a multidisciplinary subject can lead to fundamentally new ways to design, build, and operate cyber systems; protect existing infrastructure; and motivate and educate individuals about cybersecurity.

The goals of the SaTC program are aligned with the National Science and Technology Council's (NSTC) Federal Cybersecurity Research and Development Strategic Plan (RDSP) and National Privacy Research Strategy (NPRS) to protect and preserve the growing social and economic benefits of cyber systems while ensuring security and privacy. The RDSP identified six areas critical to successful cybersecurity research and development: (1) scientific foundations; (2) risk management; (3) human aspects; (4) transitioning successful research into practice; (5) workforce development; and (6) enhancing the research infrastructure. The NPRS, which complements the RDSP, identifies a framework for privacy research, anchored in characterizing privacy expectations, understanding privacy violations, engineering privacy-protecting systems, and recovering from privacy violations. In alignment with the objectives in both strategic plans, the SaTC program takes an interdisciplinary, comprehensive, and holistic approach to cybersecurity research, development, and education, and encourages the transition of promising research ideas into practice.

The SaTC program welcomes proposals that address cybersecurity and privacy, drawing on expertise in one or more of these areas: computing, communication, and information sciences; engineering; education; mathematics; statistics; and social, behavioral, and economic sciences. Proposals that advance the field of cybersecurity and privacy within a single discipline or interdisciplinary efforts that span multiple disciplines are both welcome.

The SaTC program spans the interests of NSF's Directorates for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE), Engineering (ENG), Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS), Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE), and Education and Human Resources (EHR). Proposals must be submitted pursuant to one of the following designations, each of which may have additional restrictions and administrative obligations as specified in this program solicitation.

  • CORE: This designation is the main focus of the multidisciplinary SaTC research program.

  • EDU: The Education (EDU) designation is used to label proposals focusing on cybersecurity and privacy education and training.

  • TTP: The Transition to Practice (TTP) designation will be used to label proposals that are focused exclusively on transitioning existing research results to practice.

CORE and TTP proposals may be submitted in one of the following project size classes:

  • Small projects: up to $600,000 in total budget, with durations of up to three years; and
  • Medium projects: $600,001 to $1,200,000 in total budget, with durations of up to four years.

EDU proposals are limited to $400,000 in total budget, with durations of up to three years. EDU proposals that demonstrate a collaboration, reflected in the PI, co-PI, and/or Senior Personnel composition, between a cybersecurity subject matter expert (researcher or practitioner) and an education researcher may request up to $500,000 for three years.

 

Cognizant Program Officer(s):

Please note that the following information is current at the time of publishing. See program website for any updates to the points of contact.

  • Jeremy J. Epstein, Program Director, CISE/CNS, telephone: (703) 292-8338, email: jepstein@nsf.gov
  • Nina Amla, Program Director, CISE/CCF, telephone: (703) 292-7991, email: namla@nsf.gov
  • Robert Beverly, Program Director, CISE/OAC, telephone: (703) 292-7068, email: rbeverly@nsf.gov
  • Daniel R. Cosley, Program Director, CISE/IIS, telephone: (703) 292-8832, email: dcosley@nsf.gov
  • Sol Greenspan, Program Director, CISE/CCF, telephone: (703) 292-8910, email: sgreensp@nsf.gov
  • James Joshi, Program Director, CISE/CNS, telephone: (703) 292 8950, email: jjoshi@nsf.gov
  • Sara Kiesler, Program Director, SBE/SES, telephone: (703) 292-8643, email: skiesler@nsf.gov
  • Wei-Shinn Ku, Program Director, CISE/IIS, telephone: (703) 292-8318, email: weiku@nsf.gov
  • Rosa A. Lukaszew, Program Director, ENG/ECCS, telephone: (703) 292-8103, email: rlukasze@nsf.gov
  • Daniela Oliveira, Program Director, CISE/CNS, telephone: (703) 292-4352, email: doliveir@nsf.gov
  • Victor P. Piotrowski, Program Director, EHR/DGE, telephone: (703) 292-5141, email: vpiotrow@nsf.gov
  • Andrew D. Pollington, Program Director, MPS/DMS, telephone: (703) 292-4878, email: adpollin@nsf.gov
  • Balakrishnan Prabhakaran, Program Director, CISE/IIS, telephone: (703) 292-4847, email: bprabhak@nsf.gov
  • Phillip A. Regalia, Program Director, CISE/CCF, telephone: (703) 292-2981, email: pregalia@nsf.gov
  • Alexander Sprintson, Program Director, CISE/CNS, telephone: (703) 292-8950, email: asprints@nsf.gov
  • Nigamanth Sridhar, Program Director, EHR/DGE, telephone: (703) 292-7294, email: nsridhar@nsf.gov
  • Li Yang, Program Director, EHR/DGE, telephone: (703) 292-2677, email: liyang@nsf.gov

Applicable Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number(s):

  • 47.041 --- Engineering
    47.049 --- Mathematical and Physical Sciences
    47.070 --- Computer and Information Science and Engineering
    47.075 --- Social Behavioral and Economic Sciences
    47.076 --- Education and Human Resources

 

Award Information

Anticipated Type of Award: Standard Grant or Continuing Grant

Estimated Number of Awards: 90

NSF anticipates approximately 15 EDU awards, 45 Small awards, and 30 Medium awards.

Anticipated Funding Amount: $69,000,000 per year, dependent on the availability of funds.

 

Eligibility Information

Who May Submit Proposals:

Proposals may only be submitted by the following:

  • Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) - Two- and four-year IHEs (including community colleges) accredited in, and having a campus located in the US, acting on behalf of their faculty members. Special Instructions for International Branch Campuses of US IHEs: If the proposal includes funding to be provided to an international branch campus of a US institution of higher education (including through use of subawards and consultant arrangements), the proposer must explain the benefit(s) to the project of performance at the international branch campus, and justify why the project activities cannot be performed at the US campus.
  • Non-profit, non-academic organizations: Independent museums, observatories, research labs, professional societies and similar organizations in the U.S. associated with educational or research activities.

Who May Serve as PI:

By the submission deadline, any PI, co-PI, or other senior project personnel must hold either:

  • a tenured or tenure-track position, or
  • a primary, full-time, paid appointment in a research or teaching position

at a US-based campus of an organization eligible to submit to this solicitation (see above), with exceptions granted for family or medical leave, as determined by the submitting organization. Individuals with primary appointments at for-profit non-academic organizations or at overseas branch campuses of U.S. institutions of higher education are not eligible.

Proposals from Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) are particularly encouraged.

Limit on Number of Proposals per Organization:

  • There are no restrictions or limits.

Limit on Number of Proposals per PI or Co-PI: 4

An individual can participate as PI, co-PI, or senior personnel on no more than four SaTC proposals. There is a limit of:

  • two proposals designated as CORE (across Small and Medium);
  • one proposal designated as TTP (across Small and Medium); and
  • one proposal designated as EDU.

These limits apply for the period from October 1st to September 30th of the following year to all proposals in response to this solicitation and are unrelated to any limits imposed in other NSF solicitations.

To treat everyone fairly and consistently, these eligibility constraints will be strictly enforced. If an individual exceeds these limits, only proposals received within the limits will be accepted, based on earliest date and time of proposal submission. No exceptions will be made.

Proposals that are withdrawn or returned without review will not count against this proposal limit.

More information can be found at: https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2022/nsf22517/nsf22517.htm

Submitted by Regan Williams on