Cybersecurity Innovation for Cyberinfrastructure | 18 547

NSF CICI (18-547) Grant Opportunity FAQs

1) What is the NSF Cybersecurity Innovation for Cyberinfrastructure (CICI) program?

The NSF Cybersecurity Innovation for Cyberinfrastructure (CICI) program (Funding Opportunity Number 18-547) supports research and development projects that strengthen cybersecurity across the scientific cyberinfrastructure (CI) landscape. The focus is on practical security solutions that can be developed, deployed, and integrated into real research environments.

2) What is the main goal of this funding opportunity?

The central goal is to protect the end-to-end scientific workflow by improving three key qualities across CI: integrity (confidence that results and data have not been altered improperly), resilience (the ability to withstand and recover from attacks or failures), and reliability (consistent, dependable operation of systems researchers depend on).

3) What does "scientific cyberinfrastructure (CI)" mean in this context?

In this program, CI refers broadly to the tools, platforms, networks, data pipelines, instruments, computing environments, identity and access systems, and collaborative services that support research and scientific discovery.

4) What kinds of outcomes is NSF looking for through CICI?

CICI emphasizes cybersecurity advances that are not only strong in theory, but also realistic to deploy and integrate in scientific environments. The program is aimed at strengthening security without breaking how science gets done.

5) How is CICI organized?

CICI is organized into three project categories: Secure Scientific Cyberinfrastructure; Collaborative Security Response Center; and Research Data Protection.

6) What is the Secure Scientific Cyberinfrastructure category about?

This category focuses on developing new and trustworthy security architectures and designs that can be applied across the entire CI ecosystem. Rather than isolated fixes, projects are expected to propose holistic, integrated approaches such as security models, frameworks, or end-to-end design patterns that improve how CI components fit together securely.

7) What problem is Secure Scientific Cyberinfrastructure trying to solve?

This category targets security gaps that appear when different parts of the scientific workflow are secured unevenly or rely on incompatible assumptions. The intent is to encourage integrated approaches that can realistically be adopted by the research community.

8) What is the Collaborative Security Response Center category?

The Collaborative Security Response Center category is structured as a single award to create a shared community resource. It is intended to provide security monitoring, analysis, expertise, and practical resources to Research and Education (R&E) cyberinfrastructure staff across organizations and locations.

9) Why does CICI include a Collaborative Security Response Center?

The program recognizes that many academic and research environments operate complex infrastructure with limited dedicated security staffing, while cyber threats often span multiple campuses, facilities, and networks. A collaborative response center would help coordinate detection and response and share knowledge and tooling across the community.

10) How many awards will be made for the Collaborative Security Response Center category?

The opportunity description indicates this category is structured as a single award.

11) What is the Research Data Protection category focused on?

Research Data Protection targets solutions that protect research datasets while also supporting data provenance, meaning the ability to track and verify where data came from, how it was produced, and what transformations it underwent over time.

12) What does CICI mean by "data provenance"?

Data provenance refers to tracking and verifying the origin of research data, the process used to produce it, and the transformations or changes applied to it over time.

13) Does the Research Data Protection category apply only to NSF-funded datasets?

The program stresses reducing the complexity of protecting research data regardless of funding source, suggesting that proposed solutions should be broadly applicable rather than narrowly tailored to a single grant, lab, or dataset.

14) What does CICI emphasize regarding usability and operational burden?

Especially in the Research Data Protection category, the emphasis is on scalable and usable approaches that make it easier for researchers and cyberinfrastructure operators to meet confidentiality, integrity, and stewardship expectations without excessive operational burden.

15) What kinds of cybersecurity improvements does the program prioritize?

CICI prioritizes improvements that strengthen integrity, resilience, and reliability across scientific workflows, including foundational security architecture, community-scale operational security capacity, and robust protections for research data that are practical to deploy.

16) What type of grant is this administratively?

This is described as a discretionary NSF grant under the Science and Technology and other Research and Development funding activity category.

17) What is the CFDA number for this opportunity?

The CFDA number listed for this opportunity is 47.070.

18) When was the solicitation created, and what was the closing date?

The solicitation was created on March 7, 2018, and the original closing date was June 4, 2018.

19) About how many awards did NSF anticipate making?

NSF anticipated making about 12 awards under this opportunity.

20) Is there an award ceiling (maximum award amount) listed?

The listing shows an award ceiling of $0, which typically indicates that a fixed maximum was not specified in the summarized record. Applicants would need to refer to the full solicitation for budget guidance and any category-specific funding expectations.

21) Who is eligible to apply?

Eligibility is listed as "Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification)." This implies that the full announcement defines which organizations or types of entities can apply and under what conditions.

22) What is the plain-language purpose of CICI?

In plain terms, the program is aimed at keeping the tools, platforms, networks, and data pipelines used in research more secure without disrupting the way scientific work gets done.

23) Does CICI focus on isolated security patches or broader approaches?

In the Secure Scientific Cyberinfrastructure category, the program explicitly pushes for holistic, integrated approaches rather than isolated fixes, encouraging end-to-end designs that reduce gaps between CI components.

24) What community does the Collaborative Security Response Center aim to support?

It aims to support Research and Education (R&E) cyberinfrastructure staff broadly, regardless of their institution or location.

25) What levels of the CI ecosystem does CICI aim to improve?

The structure of CICI indicates NSF is looking for improvements at multiple levels: foundational security architecture for scientific systems, shared community-scale operational security support, and strong yet usable protections for research data.