Image Credit: Douglas Pancoast & Satya Mark Basu, School of the Art Institute of Chicago/Array of Things

NSF's Smart & Connected Communities Effort

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has long been a leader in advancing the fundamental science and engineering research and education that will revolutionize our Nation's cities and communities for the 21st century. NSF investments create the scientific and engineering foundations for smart cities and communities and help to enhance economic vitality, safety, security, health and wellbeing, and overall quality of life.

A number of NSF solicitations support research in this important area. The flagship Smart & Connected Communities (S&CC) program was launched in 2016 to support iterative research advances in technological and social dimensions at colleges and universities across the U.S. with meaningful community engagement. For fiscal years (FY) 2017-2021, the S&CC program invested $117 million to support 179 projects.

To receive program updates, join the S&CC mailing list by sending "subscribe SCCINFO" (in the body of the email) to "listserv@listserv.nsf.gov."

For general inquires or to schedule time to speak with an NSF program director, contact us at: sccquestions@nsf.gov

Learn more about the program:

S&CC Program Page

In-Depth S&CC Overview Video (05:46)

Short S&CC Overview Video (02:37)

S&CC Program Overview - PDF

S&CC Awards

Integrated Research Grant (IRG) Awards

1. FY 2021 Awards
2. FY 2020 Awards
3. FY 2018 Awards
4. FY 2017 Awards

Planning Grant (PG) Awards

1. FY 2021 Awards
2. FY 2020 Awards
3. FY 2017 Awards

International Awards

1. FY 2021 NSF-JST IRG Awards: joint funding of full awards with the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) supporting collaborative research opportunities in Smart and Connected Communities - NSF 21-535
2. FY 2019 NSF-JST PG Awards: joint funding of planning grants with the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) supporting collaborative research opportunities in Smart and Connected Communities - Dear Colleague Letter (19-077)
3. ASEAN Awards with the Department of State supporting transition of research into cities through the U.S. ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations Cities) Smart Cities Partnership - Dear Colleague Letter (NSF 20-024)

Research Coordination Networks

1. FY 2017 Awards

Other Awards

1. S&CC Virtual Organization Award
2. S&CC Awards (NSF-19-026) and Dear Colleague Letter (19-026) supporting transition to practice supplemental funding requests in the NSF Cyber-Physical Systems and Smart and Connected Communities Programs.
3. S&CC Awards (NSF-16-140) and Dear Colleague Letter (16-140) on opportunities for research in Smart and Connected Communities
4. US Ignite (16-553) Smart Gigabit Communities and Award for US Ignite Application Summits
5. EAGER Award to City Innovate

NSF-Sponsored Workshops

• 2021 S&CC PI Meeting - Virtual. April 2021.
• 2019 S&CC Annual PI Meeting. Denver, CO. April 2019.
• 2018 S&CC Aspiring PI Workshop. Kansas City, MO. September 2018.
• NSF-Sponsored Workshop on Effective Community-University-Industry Collaboration Models for Smart and Connected Communities Research. Arlington, VA. December 2017.
• 2017 National Workshop on Developing a Research Agenda for Connected Rural Communities (CRC17). Charlottesville, VA. September 2017.
• NSF Visioning Workshop: Towards Effective Community-University-Industry Collaboration Models. Boston, MA. July 2017.
• Smart and Connected Communities Researchers' Summit: Connecting Science and Communities. Austin, TX. June 2017.
• US-India Smart & Connected Communities Workshop. Delhi, India. June 2016.
• Smart and Connected Communities for Learning: A Cyberlearning Innovation Lab. Menlo Park, CA. May 2016. Blog Post
• NSF West Coast S&CC Visioning Workshop. Seattle, WA. January 2016.
• NSF East Coast S&CC Visioning Workshop. Arlington, VA. December 2015.

Related NSF Programs and Funding Opportunities

• The Civil Innovation Challenge
• Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) - Program webpage & Virtual Organization
• Smart and Connected Health (SCH)
• Communities in the 21st Century
• Platforms for Advanced Wireless Research (PAWR)
• AI Institutes
• Partnerships for Innovation (PFI)

NSF Press Releases

• Press Release 19-021: NSF leads federal partners in accelerating the development of transformational, AI-powered innovation - New funding opportunity anticipates $200 million in long-term investments in AI research and education over the next 6 years.
• Press Release 18-091: NSF announces $24.2 million to support research fueling smart cities and communities - Smart and Connected Communities program supports researchers collaborating with local communities; NSF-WINS Challenge winners apply innovative wireless internet technologies to connect the unconnected.
• Press Release 18-025: Powering advances in wireless connectivity for the future - NSF joins leading networking companies and associations to support wireless research platforms in Salt Lake City and New York City.
• Press Release 17-102: NSF announces $19.5M in awards to support fundamental research to advance the nation's local cities and communities - First-ever awards through Smart & Connected Communities program seek to address transportation, infrastructure, health and other rural and urban challenges.
• Press Release 17-055: NSF-funded researchers demonstrate advanced network applications at 2017 Smart Cities Connect Conference & Expo. NSF connects research with local communities, builds a foundation for smart and connected communities.
• Press Release 16-113: NSF commits more than $60 million to Smart Cities Initiative - Agency-wide effort to further science, engineering and education will address challenges in cities and communities nationwide.
• Press Release 15-107: Gigabit application prototypes to help cities and communities serve citizens better - NSF awards nearly $12 million to expand innovation ecosystem for next-generation Internet applications.
• Press Release 15-106: NSF invests $10 million in smart, human-centered service systems - Awards to spur innovation for smart health, manufacturing, and infrastructure.
• Press Release 15-105: Laying the foundation for smart and connected cities and communities - NSF issues 12 new awards in support of the Global City Teams Challenge.
• Press Release 15-104: NSF supports urban-scale instrument to measure city's fitness - $3 million grant to the University of Chicago will prototype smart city technology.
• Press Release 15-103: Cultivating smart and connected communities - NSF exhibits commitments in support of White House Smart Cities Initiative.