The U.S. National Science Foundation is an independent federal agency that supports science and engineering in all 50 states and U.S. territories. NSF was established in 1950 by Congress to promote the progress of science, advance the national health, prosperity and welfare, and secure the national defense.
The Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) Community Research Infrastructure (CCRI) grant program aims to support the development and enhancement of research infrastructures within the CISE domains to drive discovery and learning. It looks to fund projects that not only build or improve research infrastructures but also focus on developing user services and engagement strategies to cultivate and expand a research community that contributes to the infrastructure's direction and management. The program targets the involvement of diverse communities, including researchers from minority-serving institutions, predominantly undergraduate institutions, and non-profit, non-academic organizations. It categorizes its awards into three types: Planning Community Infrastructure awards for planning efforts, Medium Community Infrastructure awards for creating or enhancing infrastructures with community outreach and innovative opportunities, and Grand Community Infrastructure awards for significant projects that enable world-class research opportunities for extensive CISE researcher communities. These efforts are designed to create sustainable research infrastructures that enable advancements beyond the capabilities of current setups.