Expeditions in Computing (Expeditions)

The National Science Foundation, through its Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering, administers the Expeditions in Computing program to support ambitious foundational research intended to define the future of computing and information. The program builds on the contributions of computer and information science and engineering research to economic growth, national security, technology, and quality of life. Expeditions projects are intended to pursue transformative research agendas that look ahead by at least a decade and that require large, multidisciplinary, well-integrated teams. The program has three goals: catalyzing far-reaching research, inspiring current and future generations of Americans to pursue ambitious foundational computing research, and stimulating significant use-inspired foundational research outcomes that can provide a basis for future translation to practice. Supported projects should advance the frontiers of computer and information science and engineering and may involve other science and engineering disciplines where appropriate. Potential areas include new architectures for intelligence and computing hardware, theories of learning and generalization, neuroscience-inspired approaches, embodied intelligence and robotics, next-generation communications and networking, and other high-risk, high-reward research that cannot readily be pursued within a single discipline. Projects should foster creativity and informed risk-taking, integrate multidisciplinary contributions, accelerate use-inspired foundational research, and, where appropriate, demonstrate experimental systems or support shared facilities such as instruments, platforms, and testbeds. Proposals must establish why the proposed objectives cannot be achieved through a collection of smaller projects and why funding at the Expeditions scale is necessary. NSF anticipates up to 60000000 in total funding for each competition, subject to availability of funds, and expects to make two to four awards. Each Expeditions project may have a total budget of up to 15000000 over seven years. For full proposals, the budget is organized into three phases: up to 3000000 total during Years 1 and 2, up to 3000000 per year during Years 3 through 5 for a maximum of 9000000 during that phase, and up to 3000000 total during Years 6 and 7. Funding for Years 6 and 7 is contingent on a successful Year 5 site visit. Voluntary committed cost sharing is prohibited. No indirect cost limitation or other budgetary limitation is stated. Projects should allocate funds for Research Experiences for Undergraduates as appropriate, and post-award REU supplements will not be funded. Eligible lead or collaborative institutions are accredited institutions of higher education with a campus in the United States and undergraduate, master's, and doctoral programs in computer and information science and engineering fields. Subawardees may include two-year and four-year U.S. institutions of higher education and U.S.-based nonprofit, non-academic organizations directly associated with education or research activities in CISE fields. National laboratories, for-profit organizations, and organizations in other countries may participate only when they have independent sources of support and will not receive NSF support under this program. There are no restrictions on who may serve as PI and no limit on proposals per organization. However, an individual may participate in no more than one preliminary proposal and, if invited, one full proposal per competition as PI, co-PI, or senior/key personnel. A preliminary proposal is required and must be submitted through Research.gov. It includes a Cover Sheet, a one-page Project Summary, an 11-page maximum Project Description, a one-page budget summary covering the seven-year period with budget justification, lists of partner institutions and project personnel, and required Single Copy Documents. Lead proposers are encouraged to email the Expeditions program approximately one week before submission with a list of prospective project personnel. Immediately after submission and receipt of the proposal number, the proposer must email a single Microsoft PowerPoint slide summarizing the proposal vision. Full proposals are accepted by invitation only following evaluation of the preliminary proposal and may be submitted through Research.gov or Grants.gov as permitted by the solicitation. Full proposals include a one-page Project Summary, a Project Description limited to 25 pages, leadership and collaboration information, an intellectual property and ethics statement, a detailed phased seven-year budget, required partner and personnel information, and required Single Copy Documents. NSF evaluates proposals using Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts as well as additional Expeditions-specific criteria. Reviewers consider whether the importance, scale, and complexity of the research justify an Expeditions investment; whether the activity advances the program goals and characteristics; whether the research plan and timeline justify a seven-year project; the value of experimental systems or shared facilities where applicable; the capacity of the leadership team; the effectiveness of the collaboration plan; the presence and role of a project coordinator; institutional and other commitments; and whether the requested budget is appropriate. Review may include ad hoc review, panel review, or reverse site review. Funded projects are expected to undergo site visits during Years 2 and 5, with additional reviews possible during Years 4 and 6, and future funding is subject to satisfactory review. The required preliminary proposal deadline is December 2, 2026, at 5 p.m. in the submitting organization's local time, followed by the first Wednesday in December every other year thereafter. The full proposal deadline for invited applicants is July 27, 2027, at 5 p.m. local time, followed by the fourth Tuesday in July every other year thereafter. Preliminary proposals should use a planned start date approximately 19 months after the preliminary proposal deadline, while full proposals should use a planned start date approximately 11 months after the full proposal deadline. Awards may run for seven years. Recipients must comply with NSF reporting requirements and additional Expeditions requirements, including annual project outcome highlights in Years 4 through 7, an active project website, and participation in one PI meeting. Program questions may be directed to cise-expeditions@nsf.gov. NSF systems assistance is available through the NSF Help Desk at 1-800-673-6188 or the Research.gov Help Desk at rgov@nsf.gov.

Make a compelling case that the seven-year, large-scale investment is necessary and that the integrated project is greater than the sum of its parts. Address all three Expeditions goals and all five program characteristics. Show strong leadership, collaboration, and a designated project coordinator. Align the timeline and research activities with the need for a seven-year project, justify the requested budget, and address Intellectual Merit, Broader Impacts, and the additional Expeditions review criteria. Where applicable, explain the value of experimental systems or shared facilities.