The following is a special contribution to the blog from Farnam Jahanian, Assistant Director for the Computer & Information Science & Engineering (CISE) Directorate at the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Dear Computer and Information Science and Engineering Community,

It is my pleasure to let you know that NSF is offering a new opportunity, CISE Research Initiation Initiative (CRII), to support early-career researchers in our discipline.  This program reaffirms CISE’s commitment to the support and growth of future generations of computer and information scientists and engineers and complements our investments in the Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) program.

The goal of CRII is to contribute to the growth and development of future generations of scientists and engineers who will dedicate their careers to advancing CISE research and education.  This program provides the opportunity for individuals who are in their first academic position post-PhD to recruit and mentor their first graduate students, a critical step that is expected to lead to research independence and a subsequent stream of discoveries and impact.

CRII encourages potentially transformative proposals in any area of CISE research.  To be eligible, Principal Investigators (PIs) must be in the first two years of an academic position, exclusive of postdoctoral or other traineeship appointments.  In addition, applicants may not have received any other grants in the PI role from any Federal institution or agency (though individuals could have served as a co-PI or Senior Personnel on another grant or have received a Fellowship award).  Early-career researchers who are members of underrepresented groups are especially encouraged to apply.

A thriving research community serves as the foundation for long-term discovery and innovation, economic prosperity, and national security.  Our hope is that CRII will enable future generations of researchers to achieve independence early in their careers.

Best,
Farnam

While CRII is not a prerequisite for a CAREER award, this program will help new faculty to establish a research program and collect preliminary data to help the PI be more competitive for a CAREER grant later.  Further differentiators for CRII from CAREER are the limited submission and time frame, the shorter project description, and the allowance for a full budget focused on student support.