Harnessing the Data Revolution (HDR): Transdisciplinary Research in Principles of Data Science Phase II | 21 604

Opportunity Information: Apply for 21 604

Harnessing the Data Revolution (HDR): Transdisciplinary Research in Principles of Data Science Phase II (HDR TRIPODS Phase II) is a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant opportunity designed to strengthen the core theoretical foundations of data science through large, institute-style efforts that deliberately bridge multiple disciplines. It sits under NSF's broader HDR Big Idea, one of the agency's 2016 "Big Ideas" meant to push long-term, high-impact research at the frontiers of science and engineering. The basic motivation is that modern science and engineering are being reshaped by data at every scale, and major advances increasingly depend on principled ways to collect, represent, learn from, and reason about data. HDR, as a national-scale activity, is intended to enable new forms of data-driven discovery so that researchers can ask and answer fundamental questions that were previously out of reach.

The specific focus of TRIPODS Phase II is the "principles of data science" work that underlies many applied breakthroughs: the mathematics and theory behind learning, inference, optimization, generalization, uncertainty, robustness, privacy, and computation at scale. Rather than funding isolated projects, the program supports transdisciplinary institutes that integrate research and training, building sustained communities that can set shared agendas and produce foundational results that influence many application areas over time.

A defining requirement is that each institute must include significant and integral participation from four research communities: electrical engineering, mathematics, statistics, and theoretical computer science. The intent is not for one field to simply provide tools to another, but for the institute's research direction to be shaped jointly by these perspectives, with real intellectual interdependence across the teams. The solicitation explicitly notes the ordering of these communities is alphabetical and does not imply priority, reinforcing the convergence goal.

Phase II is also structured as a continuation and scaling step from earlier investments. Phase I (covered under NSF solicitation 19-550) funded smaller, collaborative institutes to establish early research programs and partnerships. Phase II narrows the field to a smaller number of larger institutes, and eligibility is tied to those Phase I efforts: awards are made through a second competitive proposal process that selects from the Phase I institutes. In other words, this round is meant to expand the most promising initial institutes into larger, more durable centers with broader reach and deeper capacity for both research and workforce development.

From an administrative standpoint, proposals are submitted through NSF's Directorate for Engineering, specifically the Division of Electrical, Communications, and Cyber Systems, but they are managed after submission by a cross-disciplinary team of NSF Program Directors. That management approach matches the program's transdisciplinary nature and signals that review and oversight will incorporate multiple disciplinary lenses rather than being confined to a single program area.

Key opportunity details from the posted notice include: it is a discretionary NSF grant in the Science and Technology and other Research and Development category; the opportunity number is 21-604; the CFDA numbers listed are 47.041, 47.049, and 47.070; the award ceiling is up to $10,000,000 per award; and NSF expected to make about 4 awards under this Phase II competition. The opportunity was created on October 14, 2021, with an original closing date of January 18, 2022. Eligibility is listed as "Others" with additional clarification referenced in the solicitation, and the description indicates the Phase II competition is targeted to Phase I institute participants.

Overall, HDR TRIPODS Phase II is best understood as NSF's effort to invest in a small set of high-capacity, cross-field institutes that can drive long-term progress on the deep theoretical questions that power data science, while also training researchers who can operate fluently across electrical engineering, math, statistics, and theoretical computer science.

• The National Science Foundation in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Harnessing the Data Revolution (HDR): Transdisciplinary Research in Principles of Data Science Phase II" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 47.041, 47.049, 47.070.
• This funding opportunity was created on Oct 14, 2021.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jan 18, 2022. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $10,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 4 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

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