Smart and Connected Communities (S&CC)

RFP Summary provided by the agency

For the purposes of this solicitation, communities are defined as having geographically-delineated boundaries—such as towns, cities, counties, neighborhoods, community districts, rural areas, and tribal regions—consisting of various populations, with the structure and ability to engage in meaningful ways with proposed research activities. A “smart and connected community” is, in turn, a community that synergistically integrates intelligent technologies with the natural and built environments, including infrastructure, to improve the social, economic, and environmental well-being of those who live, work, or travel within it.
A proposal for an S&CC Integrative Research Grants must include the following:

Integrative research that addresses the technological and social dimensions of smart and connected communities.
Meaningful community engagement that integrates community stakeholders within the project.
A management plan that summarizes how the project will be managed across disciplines, institutions, and community entities; and
An evaluation plan for assessing short-, medium-, and long-term impacts of the proposed activities.
Scalability, Transferability and Sustainability to other communities.

What is the mission and focus of the program: research, social, economic or others?

The goal of the NSF Smart and Connected Communities (S&CC) program solicitation is to accelerate the creation of the scientific and engineering foundations that will enable smart and connected communities to bring about new levels of economic opportunity and growth, safety and security, health and wellness, and overall quality of life. This goal will be achieved through integrative research projects that pair advances in technological and social dimensions with meaningful community engagement. Read more here

How do you submit to this opportunity?

Proposers may opt to submit proposals in response to this Program Solicitation via Grants.gov or via the NSF FastLane system.

Who are the target applicants: cities, universities, companies, small business, nonprofits, or others?

Except where a program solicitation establishes more restrictive eligibility criteria, individuals and organizations in the following categories may submit proposals:
Universities and Colleges, Non-profit, Non-academic Organizations – Independent museums, observatories, research laboratories, professional societies and similar organizations located in the US that are directly associated with educational or research activities. For-profit Organizations – US commercial organizations, especially small businesses with strong capabilities in scientific or engineering research or education. State and Local Governments – State educational offices or organizations and local school districts may submit proposals intended to broaden the impact, accelerate the pace, and increase the effectiveness of improvements in science, mathematics and engineering education in both K-12 and post-secondary levels; NSF will consider proposals for cooperative projects involving US and foreign organizations, provided support is requested only for the US portion of the collaborative effort.

Example project(s) summaries from past RFPs:

Connecting the Smart-City Paradigm with a Sustainable Urban Infrastructure Systems Framework to Advance Equity in Communities, Shashi Shekhar, University of Minnesota
Shekhar conducts research in the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, and Tallahassee, Florida, leading to a smart, urban infrastructure systems framework that optimizes the spatial deployment of new infrastructures in cities and communities. The goal of this effort is to improve well-being, health and environmental sustainability outcomes for all residents.
Award size: $3,581,912.00

https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1737633&HistoricalAwards=false

(ii) Example project(s) summaries from past RFPs:

Sociotechnical Systems to Enable Smart and Connected Energy-Aware Residential Communities, Panagiota Karava, Purdue University

Karava leads multidisciplinary research team focused on large-scale data analytics and predictive modeling to provide residents with information and feedback to optimize and incentivize their energy management. The project aims to foster energy-aware communities that can be scaled across the U.S. The researchers will test their model in several hundred households through a partnership with the Indiana Housing and Community Development Agency.
Award size: $3,581,912.00
https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1737591&HistoricalAwards=false

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