Training-based Workforce Development for Advanced Cyberinfrastructure | 17 507

Opportunity Information: Apply for 17 507

The National Science Foundation (NSF) grant opportunity titled Training-based Workforce Development for Advanced Cyberinfrastructure (often referenced as the CyberTraining solicitation, Funding Opportunity Number 17-507) is designed to strengthen the U.S. scientific and engineering workforce by expanding practical skills in advanced cyberinfrastructure (CI). In this context, advanced CI is defined broadly to include the resources, tools, and services needed for advanced computation, data-intensive workflows, networking, and security. The program is positioned as a workforce response to national priorities such as the National Strategic Computing Initiative, federal big data strategy goals, and National Academies recommendations emphasizing the growing dependence of modern research on high-performance computing and data-driven discovery. The underlying idea is that the nation needs more people who can not only use these systems effectively, but also build, operate, and support them so that cutting-edge research can scale.

A central emphasis of the solicitation is training that is innovative, scalable, and oriented toward real bottlenecks that limit workforce readiness. NSF is looking for projects that can move the needle both in the short term (by piloting and validating training models that work) and in the long term (by contributing to a broader educational ecosystem where computational and data science skills are common across disciplines). The solicitation explicitly prioritizes informal and out-of-class training approaches, especially for students, because NSF does not want the training to increase time-to-degree. That typically points to workshops, bootcamps, short courses, summer schools, institute-style programs, mentored experiences, modular online training, and other flexible models that complement existing academic curricula rather than replacing or extending them.

Broadening participation is not treated as optional; it is a primary program goal. The solicitation calls for increasing access to CI methods and resources for institutions and scientific communities that historically have had lower CI adoption, and for bringing in larger numbers of participants from groups that are underrepresented in computing- and data-intensive fields. Proposals that originate from, or are built in partnership with, those communities are particularly encouraged. The intended outcome is not just more training opportunities, but a measurable expansion in who can realistically take advantage of advanced CI for research, learning, and career development.

Another strong theme is coordination and shared ownership. NSF encourages principal investigators to engage relevant stakeholders by forming alliances and building a “collective impact” backbone, meaning a structured collaboration where multiple organizations align around shared goals, defined roles, and reinforcing activities. This reflects an expectation that persistent workforce bottlenecks (for example, shortages of research computing staff, limited training pathways, or uneven CI literacy across domains) are hard to solve with isolated efforts. The solicitation also welcomes public-private partnerships when they improve relevance to real workforce needs, add new training venues or expertise, extend national or international reach, or strengthen sustainability after NSF funding ends.

The program is organized into three submission tracks, each targeting a different segment of the CI workforce. The CI Professionals (CIP) track focuses on the training and career pathway development of the people who build, deploy, manage, and support cyberinfrastructure for research, such as research computing facilitators, system administrators for scientific computing, data engineers supporting research labs, and related professional staff. The Domain Science and Engineering (DSE) track is aimed mainly at domain-focused researchers who are CI contributors or sophisticated CI users, aligning training with the needs and priorities of participating scientific and engineering directorates. The Computational and Data Science Literacy (CDL) track targets broader undergraduate-level CI users, aiming to raise baseline competence in computational and data approaches so that more students across more majors can effectively use CI-enabled methods in their fields.

On funding and project scale, each award is intended to be relatively focused but impactful: awards range from $300,000 to $500,000, with project durations of up to three years. NSF anticipated around 15 awards for this cycle, while also noting that future expansions might accommodate larger projects depending on demand and demonstrated need. Eligibility is listed as unrestricted (open to any type of entity), subject to any clarifications in the full solicitation. The original closing date for the referenced posting was January 18, 2017, and the opportunity is categorized as a discretionary grant in the science and technology R and D area, associated with CFDA numbers 47.041, 47.049, 47.050, 47.070, and 47.076.

The solicitation spans multiple NSF organizational units, reflecting the cross-cutting nature of cyberinfrastructure. Participating areas include Engineering (ENG), Geosciences (GEO), and Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS), along with Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) through its Advanced Cyberinfrastructure (ACI) and Computing and Communication Foundations (CCF) divisions, and the Division of Graduate Education (DGE) in Education and Human Resources (EHR). NSF stresses that not all directorates participate equally and that some have specific priorities. Because of that, prospective PIs are strongly encouraged to consult with the cognizant program officers in CISE/ACI and in the relevant domain directorates at least one month before submission. Applicants are expected to list the program officers they consulted in the Project Summary, signaling that program alignment is an important part of proposal readiness.

Within the programmatic interests, EHR highlights workforce development research and education innovation topics, including training related to data security and privacy (connected to CyberCorps Scholarships for Service and Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace investments), broader technical workforce preparation for CI proficiency (including connections to Advanced Technological Education), and strong attention to assessment, learning evaluation, and broad participation strategies. ENG emphasizes training around sustainable and reusable high-performance computing software, big data management and analytics tools, and advanced modeling and simulation approaches, including multiscale and multiphysics methods and applications such as natural hazards mitigation using community infrastructure like NHERI/DesignSafe. MPS emphasizes workshops and summer schools that teach computational and data analytics methods on advanced architectures, with a clear expectation that lectures be paired with problem sessions and hands-on use of real systems, and that materials and recorded content be shared online. GEO, ACI, and CCF do not single out narrow topical areas for this solicitation, instead inviting broadly relevant training proposals that strengthen CI professionals, contributors, and users, ideally shaped through consultation with program leadership.

Taken together, the opportunity is best understood as a national capacity-building effort: it funds practical training models that can be reused, scaled, and adopted across institutions to make advanced computation and data-driven methods more common in U.S. research and education. The near-term deliverables are pilots and training programs that demonstrably work; the longer-term vision is an ecosystem where computation is treated as a core pillar of scientific practice and data-driven discovery is broadly accessible, supported by more ubiquitous online training and credentialing infrastructure.

• The National Science Foundation in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Training-based Workforce Development for Advanced Cyberinfrastructure" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 47.041, 47.049, 47.050, 47.070, 47.076.
• This funding opportunity was created on Oct 21, 2016.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jan 18, 2017. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $500,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 15 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.

Apply for 17 507

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: