Training-based Workforce Development for Advanced Cyberinfrastructure | 19 524

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1) What is the NSF CyberTraining opportunity?

The National Science Foundation (NSF) funding opportunity titled Training-based Workforce Development for Advanced Cyberinfrastructure (commonly called the CyberTraining program) supports projects that strengthen the U.S. research workforce in the practical creation, use, and support of advanced cyberinfrastructure (CI). The emphasis is on training and education that directly enables (and may transform) fundamental science and engineering research, while also supporting national economic competitiveness and security.

2) What does NSF mean by "advanced cyberinfrastructure (CI)" in this program?

In this solicitation, "advanced CI" is defined broadly. It includes high-end computing, large-scale data management and analytics, and the networking and security capabilities needed to operate and protect large-scale systems.

3) Is this program mainly about buying or building new infrastructure?

No. The focus is less on building new infrastructure and more on the training, educational pathways, curriculum or instructional materials, and community adoption needed for researchers and students to use existing and evolving CI effectively and responsibly.

4) What are the two main goals of the solicitation?

The solicitation is organized around two goals:

• Goal 1: Drive broad adoption of CI tools, methods, and resources across the research community so more fields benefit from computational and data-intensive approaches, including developing depth for researchers to lead future CI advances within their disciplines.
• Goal 2: Integrate CI literacy and discipline-appropriate computational and data-driven skills into undergraduate and graduate education through curricula and instructional materials.

5) Who are the intended audiences for CyberTraining projects?

The program spans audiences from postsecondary students (undergraduate and graduate) to active researchers. Projects are expected to lead to measurable improvements in preparedness in the near term and over longer time horizons.

6) What kinds of activities or outputs does NSF want to support?

NSF is looking for innovative and scalable training, education, curriculum, and instructional-material efforts that address emerging needs and persistent bottlenecks in workforce preparation. The solicitation emphasizes efforts grounded in real community needs and designed for broad usability, reuse, and adoption.

7) What does "broad adoption" mean in practice for a proposed project?

Based on the solicitation description, broad adoption implies that project deliverables should be widely available and usable by the broader research community rather than narrowly tailored to a single institution or small group. This often means materials and resources should be portable, well-documented, and designed for reuse across multiple settings.

8) How does the program address broadening participation and access?

A central feature of the opportunity is to broaden access and participation in advanced CI. NSF highlights priorities to (1) expand CI accessibility to disciplines and institutions that historically have lower adoption of advanced CI, and (2) increase participation from underrepresented groups in the CI-enabled research ecosystem. Proposals originating from these communities or built through genuine partnerships with them are especially encouraged.

9) What are the project classes, and how do they differ?

The solicitation offers three project classes with different scopes, timelines, and budgets:

• Pilot Projects: Up to $300,000 total for up to two years, suited for testing training models, developing prototype materials, or validating approaches with an initial community.
• Implementation Projects: Up to four years, suited for more mature efforts such as larger-scale rollouts, sustained training programs, broader curricular integration, and robust evaluation and dissemination. Two budget levels are available:
  • Small Implementation: Up to $500,000 total.
  • Medium Implementation: Up to $1,000,000 total.
• Large-scale Project Conceptualization Projects: Up to $500,000 total for up to two years, intended to lay the groundwork for future large, coordinated efforts. These projects must address both solicitation goals.

10) Which project type is appropriate if we want to test a new training approach before scaling?

Pilot Projects are explicitly described as supporting smaller, shorter efforts for testing training models, developing prototype materials, or validating approaches with an initial community, with up to $300,000 total over up to two years.

11) Which project type supports a larger rollout or sustained program?

Implementation Projects are described as suited to larger-scale rollouts, sustained training programs, broader curricular integration, and more robust evaluation and dissemination, with award sizes up to $500,000 (Small) or $1,000,000 (Medium) over up to four years.

12) What is the purpose of a Large-scale Project Conceptualization Project?

Conceptualization Projects provide support to lay the groundwork for future large, coordinated efforts. Unlike Pilot and Implementation projects, Conceptualization projects must address both solicitation goals (broad CI adoption and curricular integration), consistent with their role in shaping comprehensive initiatives.

13) What are the maximum budgets and durations for each project class?

• Pilot: up to $300,000 total; up to 2 years
• Small Implementation: up to $500,000 total; up to 4 years
• Medium Implementation: up to $1,000,000 total; up to 4 years
• Large-scale Project Conceptualization: up to $500,000 total; up to 2 years

14) Which NSF office leads this program?

The program is led by NSF's Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure (OAC) within the Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE), with participation from multiple NSF directorates and divisions.

15) Why does the solicitation emphasize early communication with NSF Program Officers?

Because participating NSF units may engage at different levels and may have specific priorities, the solicitation places strong emphasis on early communication with the appropriate Cognizant Program Officers to discuss fit, scope, and budget. Prospective PIs are encouraged to speak with OAC and any relevant participating domain directorate or division at least a month before submission.

16) Do proposers need to document Program Officer consultations?

Yes. As described, proposers are expected to document which program officers they consulted as part of the submission process.

17) Does the program encourage co-funding across NSF units?

Yes. The opportunity is designed to encourage co-funding between OAC and one or more domain directorates or divisions (with CISE units outside OAC treated as domain divisions for this purpose).

18) What expertise is required on the project team?

All proposals must include at least one PI or co-PI with expertise relevant to OAC. In addition, proposals targeting one or more domain communities must include at least one PI or co-PI with expertise in the targeted research discipline to ensure disciplinary relevance and adoption.

19) What if a proposal primarily targets a community aligned with an NSF unit not participating in this solicitation?

The solicitation indicates that such projects are directed toward other education and workforce programs in those NSF units instead.

20) What is NSF ultimately trying to accomplish through this opportunity?

Overall, this opportunity is framed as a national-scale workforce and education investment to make advanced computing, data, networking, and security skills more common, more rigorous, and more equitably distributed across the U.S. research enterprise, while enabling and potentially transforming fundamental science and engineering research.