Advanced Computing Systems & Services: Adapting to the Rapid Evolution of Science and Engineering Research 2.0 | 24 583

Opportunity Information: Apply for 24 583

The National Science Foundation (NSF) grant opportunity "Advanced Computing Systems and Services: Adapting to the Rapid Evolution of Science and Engineering Research 2.0" (ACSS 2.0) is designed to fund organizations that can serve as national resource providers of advanced cyberinfrastructure. In practical terms, NSF is looking for teams that can stand up and operate computing systems and related services in real, production settings, then make those resources broadly usable by researchers across the full spectrum of science and engineering. A central theme of the solicitation is that access should be democratized and equitable, meaning the funded providers are expected to lower barriers for a wide range of institutions and researchers, not just the groups that already have strong high-performance computing footprints.

ACSS 2.0 positions itself as a complement to NSF investments in leadership-class computing by focusing on a technically diverse federation of nationally available advanced computing resources. The intent is to provide computational scale and variety that goes beyond what a single university or regional consortium could typically offer on its own. NSF emphasizes that these resources are meant to support the modern research mix of computation, large-scale data analysis, and AI-driven workflows, reflecting how quickly research methods and infrastructure needs are changing. Successful projects will therefore be expected to deliver not only raw computing capability, but also the operational maturity, reliability, and service orientation necessary for national-scale use.

The solicitation defines two main categories of resources that proposals can target. Category I, Capacity Resources, is aimed at production computing resources that maximize usable capacity for the community. These are the kinds of systems that many researchers can rely on day-to-day to run simulations, data analytics pipelines, and AI model training or inference at meaningful scale. Category II, Innovative Prototypes and Testbeds, is aimed at more forward-looking infrastructure: novel technologies, new architectures, experimental usage modes, and exploratory platforms that let the community test emerging approaches and new paradigms. While Category I is about delivering substantial operational throughput, Category II is about shaping what the next generation of research computing could look like and proving it out with real users and compelling target applications.

A major operational expectation is that the majority of what gets funded will be made nationally accessible through an open, peer-reviewed allocation process. NSF anticipates that at least 90 percent of the provisioned resource will be available to the science and engineering research community through that national allocation pathway. Allocation and user-facing support are expected to be coordinated through NSF-supported ecosystem services such as ACCESS (Advanced Cyberinfrastructure Coordination Ecosystem: Services and Support), the National AI Research Resource, or another NSF-approved coordination mechanism if one emerges. This signals that awardees are not expected to operate in isolation; instead, they should plan to integrate into the broader national cyberinfrastructure ecosystem so users can discover, request, and use resources in consistent ways.

Because simply deploying hardware is not enough to achieve broad impact, the solicitation highlights the need for strong user support at national scale. Resource providers should expect to help researchers who may need onboarding, troubleshooting, performance guidance, workflow integration, and training. The opportunity explicitly points to multiple support modes, such as training sessions, documentation, direct engagement through ticketing systems (for example, those routed via ACCESS), and integration of NSF-funded software tools that improve usability. This emphasis reflects NSF's expectation that funded resources will be usable by a wide community, including those without specialized local support teams or deep experience on advanced systems.

ACSS 2.0 also makes workforce and participation goals part of the program's direction. NSF seeks broad representation among principal investigators and project teams and explicitly encourages participation by groups that have been traditionally underrepresented in the cyberinfrastructure community. The program is also aiming to expand the set of institutions involved in providing nationally allocatable cyberinfrastructure, not just the organizations that have historically hosted major national resources. Consistent with that, submissions from or partnerships with EPSCoR institutions, and institutions that have not previously received ACSS awards, are encouraged. In effect, NSF is trying to grow both the user base and the provider base, widening who can build, operate, and benefit from national-scale advanced computing.

Eligible applicants include U.S.-based accredited institutions of higher education (both two-year and four-year, including community colleges), nonprofit non-academic organizations directly tied to education or research activities (such as museums, observatories, research labs, and professional societies), and other federal agencies or federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs), with the note that these entities should consult the appropriate NSF program contacts before preparing a submission. If a proposal involves funding for an international branch campus of a U.S. institution (including via subawards or consultants), the proposer must explain the specific benefits of performing work at that branch campus and justify why the work cannot be done at the U.S. campus.

From a funding and timing standpoint, this is an NSF discretionary grant opportunity (CFDA 47.070) with an expected three awards and an award ceiling of $20,000,000 per award. The opportunity number is NSF 24-583, and the original closing date listed is October 29, 2024. Overall, ACSS 2.0 is best understood as NSF's push to keep national research computing aligned with fast-moving scientific practice by funding operators who can deliver reliable, widely accessible capacity today while also piloting the innovative platforms that will define research computing tomorrow.

• The National Science Foundation in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Advanced Computing Systems & Services: Adapting to the Rapid Evolution of Science and Engineering Research 2.0" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 47.070.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-06-19.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-10-29. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $20,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 3 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for 24 583

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