Human Networks and Data Science - Infrastructure | 19 608

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): NSF Human Networks and Data Science - Infrastructure (HNDS-I)

1) What is the NSF HNDS-I grant opportunity?

Human Networks and Data Science - Infrastructure (HNDS-I) is a National Science Foundation (NSF) funding opportunity, offered through NSF's Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE), to support the creation of large-scale, next-generation data resources and related analytic techniques that advance fundamental research in the social, behavioral, and economic sciences (SBE).

2) What kind of work is HNDS-I designed to fund?

HNDS-I is designed to fund infrastructure projects that go beyond pilot concepts. Awardees are expected to build usable, user-friendly infrastructure products (for example, databases, data platforms, or broadly applicable analytic methods) that researchers can actually adopt to enable new kinds of data-intensive research in SBE.

3) What is the program's main focus area?

The overall Human Networks and Data Science (HNDS) program focuses on human networks and how data science can help researchers understand them. The infrastructure track (HNDS-I) specifically supports the underlying resources and techniques that make large-scale human networks research possible.

4) What does NSF mean by "human networks" in this context?

Within HNDS, "human networks" refers to the many forms of networked human behavior and interaction that can be studied using dynamic, distributed, and heterogeneous data, with the goal of addressing fundamental questions about individual and group behavior.

5) What types of deliverables are expected from an HNDS-I project?

Projects are expected to deliver finished, adoptable infrastructure products that the broader research community can use. Examples mentioned include databases, data platforms, and broadly applicable analytic methods or techniques tailored to networked human behavior.

6) Is HNDS-I meant to fund small pilots or proofs of concept?

The core expectation is to fund work that results in usable infrastructure, not just a pilot. Proposals are expected to present a credible plan to produce an adoptable product within the award's resources.

7) What makes a proposal a strong fit for HNDS-I?

A strong HNDS-I proposal clearly defines the data resource and/or analytic technique to be built, explains why it is genuinely next-generation and broadly enabling for SBE research on human networks, and shows a realistic plan to deliver a finished product. NSF signals the strongest fit is infrastructure that unlocks new research questions or new scales of analysis, rather than tools or datasets that are narrow, hard to use, or limited to a small niche.

8) What does "next-generation" infrastructure imply here?

Based on the description, "next-generation" implies infrastructure that meaningfully expands what researchers can study and how they can study it, with broad impacts across multiple fields or substantial advancement of a broad disciplinary area within SBE.

9) Does the infrastructure need to be broadly useful beyond a single project or team?

Yes. The opportunity emphasizes infrastructure that researchers can adopt and that enables data-intensive work for a wider community, with impacts that cut across multiple fields or substantially advance a broad disciplinary area.

10) What are examples of activities HNDS-I might support?

Examples described include enabling integration of complex datasets, improving access and usability of data resources, and providing new analytic capabilities tailored to understanding networked human behavior at scale.

11) How does HNDS-I relate to societal goals like health, prosperity, and security?

NSF signals strong interest in infrastructure that can help generate data-rich insights relevant to major societal goals such as improved health, prosperity, and security, while keeping the program's emphasis on advancing foundational scientific understanding.

12) Is this opportunity the same as the NSF RIDIR program?

No. This solicitation replaces NSF's earlier RIDIR program (Resource Implementations for Data-Intensive Research in the Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences). It continues and refocuses that line of support under the Human Networks and Data Science umbrella.

13) What are the tracks within the broader HNDS program?

HNDS is described as a two-track program. One track is HNDS-I (Infrastructure), which is the subject of this solicitation. The second track is HNDS Core Research (HNDS-R), intended for projects that use data science to produce new scientific understandings of human networks.

14) Is HNDS-R covered by this solicitation?

No. The information provided states that this specific solicitation covers the infrastructure track (HNDS-I), while HNDS-R is described for context.

15) How are HNDS-I and HNDS-R expected to connect?

NSF notes that future HNDS core research proposals are encouraged to make innovative use of HNDS infrastructure. This signals that HNDS-I awards are intended to serve as enabling foundations for a wider research community, including later core research projects.

16) What is the Funding Opportunity Number for this solicitation?

The Funding Opportunity Number listed is 19-608.

17) Which NSF directorate is offering this opportunity?

The opportunity is offered through NSF's Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE).

18) What is the grant category / CFDA listing mentioned?

The opportunity is described as a discretionary NSF grant in the Science and Technology and other Research and Development category, with CFDA 47.075.

19) Who is eligible to apply?

Eligibility is listed as unrestricted, meaning it is open to any type of entity, subject to any additional eligibility clarifications in the full solicitation.

20) When was this opportunity created and what was the original closing date?

The opportunity was created on September 22, 2019, and the original closing date was February 24, 2020.

21) How many awards did NSF anticipate making?

NSF anticipated making around 4 awards.

22) What is the maximum award amount (award ceiling)?

The summary record shows an award ceiling of 0, which typically indicates the ceiling was not specified in that summary. Applicants are expected to consult the full program solicitation for budget guidance, scope expectations, and any limits tied to project type or duration.

23) Where should applicants look for detailed budget guidance and project constraints?

The information provided indicates applicants should consult the full program solicitation for budget guidance, scope expectations, and any limits tied to project type or duration, since the summary record does not specify an award ceiling.

24) What is NSF looking for in terms of usability?

The solicitation emphasizes usable, user-friendly infrastructure products. The intent is to support resources and methods that other researchers can realistically adopt, rather than infrastructure that is difficult to use or too narrowly scoped.

25) What types of outcomes are discouraged by the fit described?

Based on the provided description, weaker fits include tools or datasets that remain narrow, are difficult to use, or are confined to a single small research niche, rather than enabling broader research questions or larger scales of analysis.