NSF 17-077

Dear Colleague Letter: National Science Foundation (NSF) - Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) Collaborative Research

This document has been archived.

April 24, 2017

Dear Colleagues:

Over the last 16 months, the U.S. National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) and the Japan Science and Technology Agency’s (JST) Big Data Priority Program have facilitated cross-agency research capacity-building in the areas of big data and cyber-physical systems (CPS) via principal investigator (PI) meeting participation. This has included joint engagements by U.S. and Japanese PIs at the NSF Critical Techniques, Technologies and Methodologies for Advancing Foundations and Applications of Big Data Sciences and Engineering (BIGDATA) PI meeting in April 2016; JST Big Data PI meetings in May and November 2016; NSF CPS PI meeting in November 2016; and NSF BIGDATA and Big Data Hubs and Spokes PI meetings in March 2017, as well as workshops such as the Smart & Connected Communities (S&CC) workshop in January 2016. Building upon these engagements toward longer-term collaborations, with this Dear Colleague Letter (DCL), NSF/CISE is encouraging the submission of supplemental funding requests (of up to $15,000 each, covering travel, lodging and subsistence) to strengthen and expand collaborations between NSF- and JST-funded PIs in shared priority areas. CISE anticipates awarding up to 10 such supplemental funding requests in FY 2018.

Supplemental funding to active NSF awards is intended to enable US-based researchers (i.e., PIs and co-PIs, postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students) to collaborate with Japan-based researchers currently funded by JST. NSF is encouraging new collaborations or the participation of new researchers in existing collaborations with strong topical linkages between one or more of the following NSF programs and the corresponding JST Priority Programs:

NSF programs:

JST priority program activities (links have award information):

Advanced Core Technologies for Big Data Integration: Team-Oriented Research (CREST Program) and Individual Research (PRESTO Program)
Advanced Application Technologies to Boost Big Data Utilization for Multiple-Field Scientific Discovery and Social Problem Solving: Team-Oriented Research (CREST Program)

A PI interested in submitting a supplement funding request must first email a brief one-paragraph description of the proposed research collaboration, aligned with the programs listed above, to Meghan Houghton (mehought@nsf.gov) by August 25, 2017, with a copy to the cognizant program director for the PI’s active award. The emailed description should include the name(s) of the intended Japanese collaborator(s) and an indication that they have been contacted. Feedback will be provided to the PI regarding how well the request aligns with the priorities of this DCL and, if appropriate, the PI will be invited to submit a supplemental funding request pursuant to NSF's Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG), Part II, Chapter VI.E.4.

If invited to submit a supplemental funding request, the PI must include, as a supplemental document as part of that request in FastLane, a letter from the collaborating JST PI supporting the proposed activities. Furthermore, the supplemental funding request should budget for one trip to a 1.5-day PI meeting dedicated to NSF and JST collaborations, to be held in Washington, DC.

Supplemental funding requests must be submitted in FastLane no later than October 15, 2017 (by 5 p.m. submitter’s local time) for consideration in FY 2018. Supplemental funding requests submitted without prior communication with Meghan Houghton as outlined above will be returned without review.

For additional questions about this DCL, please contact Meghan Houghton at mehought@nsf.gov.

Sincerely,

Jim Kurose
Assistant Director, CISE
NSF