Well Told Grants

Grants / National Science Foundation / U.S. National Science Foundation

NSF 15-553: Software Infrastructure for Sustained Innovation

Closed Closed Opportunity NSF 15-553

This grant is closed. Who won this program's grants before is below, and similar open grants are at the end of the page. It is in our archive of U.S. National Science Foundation notices from 2025.

U.S. National Science Foundation offered grants of up to $20.0 million (at least $500,000) to the applicants described in the notice. It expected to make about 8 awards worth $13.5 million in total. It is no longer open on Grants.gov.

From the official notice on Grants.gov, last changed June 7, 2025. Checked November 7, 2026.

Key dates

PostedJune 6, 2025
Archived by Grants.govJune 7, 2025

Who can apply

This opportunity was open to the applicants described in the notice.

*Who May Submit Proposals: Proposals may only be submitted by the following: -For-profit organizations: U.S.-based commercial organizations, including small businesses, with strong capabilities in scientific or engineering research or education and a passion for innovation. -Non-profit, non-academic organizations: Independent museums, observatories, research laboratories, professional societies and similar organizations located in the U.S. that are directly associated with educational or research activities. -Other Federal Agencies and Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs): Prospective proposers from other Federal Agencies and FFRDCs, including NSF sponsored FFRDCs, must follow the guidance in PAPPG Chapter I.E.2 regarding limitations on eligibility. -Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs): Two- and four-year IHEs (including community colleges) accredited in, and having a campus located in the US, acting on behalf of their faculty members. Special Instructions for International Branch Campuses of US IHEs: If the proposal includes funding to be provided to an international branch campus of a US institution of higher education (including through use of sub-awards and consultant arrangements), the proposer must explain the benefit(s) to the project of performance at the international branch campus, and justify why the project activities cannot be performed at the US campus. - Proposals that capitalize upon productive intellectual partnerships involving investigators from academe, industry and/or other types of organizations, including international entities, are encouraged. While NSF will consider supporting SI<sup>2</sup> activities undertaken by SBIR-eligible organizations through subawards, other for-profit entities and international partners must support their participation in SI<sup>2</sup> projects from other funding sources. For those who plan to submit a proposal with international counterparts, please consult NSF's <a href="http://www.nsf.gov/od/iia/ise/index.jsp">International Science and Engineering (ISE) Section</a>.

Is this a realistic fit?

What the grant funds

SoftwareInfrastructure for Sustained Innovation (SI2) is a long-term investment focused on realizing a portion of the Cyberinfrastructure Framework for 21st Century Science and Engineering (CIF21, http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=504730) vision and catalyzing new thinking, paradigms and practices in science and engineering. CIF21 envisions a linked cyberinfrastructure architecture that integrates large-scale computing, high-speed networks, massive data archives, instruments and major facilities, observatories, experiments, and embedded sensors and actuators, across the nation and the world, and that enables research at unprecedented scales, complexity, resolution, and accuracy by integrating computation, data, and experiments in novel ways. Software is a primary modality through which CIF21 innovation and discovery will be realized. It permeates all aspects and layers of cyberinfrastructure (from application codes and frameworks, programming systems, libraries and system software, to middleware, operating systems, networking and the low-level drivers). The CIF21 software infrastructure must address the complexity of this cyberinfrastructure, accommodating: disruptive hardware trends; ever-increasing data volumes; data integrity, privacy, and confidentiality; security; complex application structures and behaviors; and emerging concerns such as fault-tolerance and energy efficiency. The programs must focus on building robust, reliable and sustainable software that will support and advance sustained scientific innovation and discovery. The Division of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure in the Computer & Information Science & Engineering Directorate (CISE/ACI) is partnering with Directorates and Offices across the NSF to support SI2, a long-term comprehensive program focused on realizing a sustained software infrastructure that is an integral part of CIF21. The goal of this program is to catalyze and nurture the interdisciplinary processes required to support the entire software lifecycle, resulting in sustainable community software elements and reusable components at all levels of the software stack. The program addresses software in all aspects of cyberinfrastructure, from embedded sensor systems and instruments, to desktops and high-end data and computing systems,to major instruments and facilities.

Category: Science and Technology and other Research and Development.

Who has won Mathematical and Physical Sciences grants before

From fiscal 2021 to 2025, Mathematical and Physical Sciences (47.049) awarded $8.5 billion across 14,898 grant awards, an average of $568,976 per award.

Largest recipients, fiscal 2021 to 2025
RecipientStateAwardsAmount
Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc.Arizona22$725 million
Associated Universities IncVirginia18$646 million
California Institute of TechnologyCalifornia148$316 million
Cornell UniversityNew York179$256 million
Florida State UniversityFlorida92$228 million

Top states: California ($1.2 billion), Arizona ($814 million), Virginia ($777 million), New York ($719 million), Illinois ($475 million).

Who has won STEM Education (formerly Education and Human Resources) grants before

From fiscal 2021 to 2025, STEM Education (formerly Education and Human Resources) (47.076) awarded $6.7 billion across 7,210 grant awards, an average of $932,576 per award.

Largest recipients, fiscal 2021 to 2025
RecipientStateAwardsAmount
The Regents of the University of CaliforniaCalifornia47$137 million
The Leland Stanford Junior UniversityCalifornia16$123 million
Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyMassachusetts12$122 million
University of Wisconsin SystemWisconsin64$92.1 million
North Carolina State UniversityNorth Carolina79$91.2 million

Top states: California ($896 million), Massachusetts ($453 million), Texas ($450 million), New York ($446 million), Pennsylvania ($284 million).

Who has won Geosciences grants before

From fiscal 2021 to 2025, Geosciences (47.050) awarded $5.4 billion across 7,605 grant awards, an average of $710,829 per award.

Largest recipients, fiscal 2021 to 2025
RecipientStateAwardsAmount
University Corporation for Atmospheric ResearchColorado78$725 million
Woods Hole Oceanographic InstitutionMassachusetts288$627 million
Texas a & M Research FoundationTexas3$287 million
University of California San DiegoCalifornia170$223 million
The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New YorkNew York160$193 million

Top states: Colorado ($905 million), Massachusetts ($785 million), California ($646 million), Texas ($442 million), New York ($304 million).

Other programs behind this notice

Applying now

This notice no longer takes applications. Agencies often post the same opportunity again under a new number, so check the program's notices on Grants.gov and the similar open grants below.

The notice on Grants.gov keeps its full text and attachments, which is useful for planning a resubmission.

Questions people ask

Is NSF 15-553 still open?

No. It is no longer open on Grants.gov.

Who can apply for Software Infrastructure for Sustained Innovation?

U.S. National Science Foundation accepted applications from the applicants described in the notice. The notice adds further conditions, so read its eligibility section.

What is the deadline for Software Infrastructure for Sustained Innovation?

Closed. Applications are no longer accepted; the program's newer notices are on this page when there are any.

How much funding is available?

Awards of up to $20.0 million each. About $13.5 million in total across about 8 awards.

Who has won Engineering grants before?

The largest recipients over five fiscal years were Georgia Tech Research Corp, Purdue University, Regents of the University of Michigan. The program made 11,244 awards worth $4.3 billion in that time.

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