ACCESS is looking to expand our services to research communities. The National Science Foundation (NSF) recently announced they are accepting proposals for a new ACCESS service area, the Cyberinfrastructure Technology Acceleration Pathway (CITAP). Proposals will be accepted until September 6, 2023.

The national cyberinfrastructure (CI) ecosystem is essential to computational- and data-intensive research across all science and engineering (S&E) domains. The CI ecosystem is highly dynamic, driven by rapid advances in a wide range of technologies, increasing volumes of highly heterogeneous data, and escalating demands for CI resources and services by the research community. Innovations in CI are consequently key catalysts for new modes of discovery and play a critical role in ensuring U.S. leadership in science, engineering, economic competitiveness and national security, consistent with NSF’s mission. It is thus imperative that CI innovations become available, in a coordinated and sustainable manner, as part of the NSF-funded advanced CI ecosystem.

“NSF’s Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure envisions a process wherein S&E researchers, cyberinfrastructure professionals, and systems administrators can make decisions together regarding CI innovations that can be integrated into suitable production systems sustainably.

Tom Gulbransen, Cognizant Program Officer, ACCESS

This CITAP solicitation is focused on the translation of innovative research CI software such as system software, libraries, application codes and software enabling data services. NSF seeks proposals that aim to design, test, and subsequently operate a pathway service within the ACCESS program that manages and accelerates the translation of promising research CI software to production-quality services across the NSF advanced CI ecosystem in support of the NSF S&E research community. CITAP proposals are expected to create a new workflow process (represented notionally in the image below) within the ACCESS program that: 

• identifies novel CI software from diverse sources in a strongly community-informed way 
• establishes an open and merit-based process for selecting and prioritizing/sequencing which of the identified innovations are of highest and most immediate value to users of the advanced CI ecosystem and can be feasibly translated to production level and made available for use by researchers using ACCESS resources
• establishes an operational process that translates innovations into production services, including the creation of partnerships where necessary to address each of the technical challenges and intellectual property (IP) considerations faced when integrating novel CI software within the advanced CI ecosystem.

A total of $10,000,000 is available for this solicitation for a period of performance of up to five years. One award is anticipated.

The estimated program budget size/duration is subject to the availability of funds.

There is the potential for a subsequent renewal award for operational services for up to five years commencing at the end of the fifth year of the original award. A possible renewal award focused on full operations would be contingent upon the availability of funds, successful evaluation of CITAP services performed and NSF merit review recommendation of award for the renewal proposal.

Review full program guidelines and learn how to submit a proposal in the latest solicitation.