Smart and Connected Communities | 25 527

Opportunity Information: Apply for 25 527

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Smart and Connected Communities (SCC) grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number 25-527) supports high-risk, high-reward research aimed at helping US communities tackle major real-world challenges by combining advanced intelligent technologies with the places and institutions that shape daily life. In NSF terms, a "smart and connected community" is not just about deploying sensors or apps; it is a community that thoughtfully integrates intelligent technologies with the natural environment, the built environment (such as roads, buildings, utilities, and public spaces), and the functions of civic institutions and organizations. The core idea is to create new concepts and technologies that measurably improve how communities function and how people experience them.

Projects are expected to be strongly grounded in community needs and to target one or more priority outcomes: economic opportunity and growth; safety and security; human and environmental health and wellness; improved accessibility to critical services and resources; and broader quality-of-life improvements for people who live, work, learn, or travel in the community. The solicitation emphasizes that proposals should not be technology-first demonstrations. Instead, teams should engage directly with community stakeholders (for example, residents, local government, public agencies, nonprofits, or other local organizations) to identify and define the community's challenges, and then use that input to shape use-inspired basic research that advances science and engineering while also being relevant and potentially transformative in practice.

Eligibility is limited to specific organization types. Proposals may be submitted by US-based, non-profit, non-academic organizations that are directly tied to education or research activities, such as independent museums, observatories, research laboratories, and professional societies. US institutions of higher education are also eligible, including two- and four-year colleges and universities (including community colleges), as long as they are accredited and have a campus located in the United States, submitting on behalf of faculty. If a proposal plans to route any funding to an international branch campus of a US institution (including via subawards or consultants), the submission must clearly explain why work at that international site benefits the project and why those activities cannot be performed at the US campus.

This is a discretionary grant program in the science and technology research and development category, associated with CFDA numbers 47.041, 47.050, 47.070, 47.075, and 47.076. NSF anticipates making about 40 awards. The posted closing date is April 4, 2025, and the opportunity record was created on December 20, 2024. An award ceiling is not specified in the provided listing, so applicants typically need to consult the full solicitation for budget guidance, project types, and any limits tied to specific tracks or proposal categories.

• The National Science Foundation in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Smart and Connected Communities" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 47.041, 47.050, 47.070, 47.075, 47.076.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-12-20.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-04-04. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 40 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for 25 527

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