Focused Research Groups in the Mathematical Sciences | 23 621

Opportunity Information: Apply for 23 621

The National Science Foundation (NSF) funding opportunity titled Focused Research Groups in the Mathematical Sciences (Funding Opportunity Number 23-621) supports small, collaborative research teams that want to tackle a specific, high-impact problem in the mathematical sciences. The central idea is to fund groups that can bring focused, coordinated effort to a "major research challenge," meaning an important, well-recognized open problem or barrier where progress is unlikely to come from isolated work and instead benefits from sustained collaboration, complementary expertise, and a shared plan. NSF is looking for projects where solving (or making decisive progress on) the challenge would matter broadly across mathematics and statistics, and could also influence other fields that rely on mathematical ideas.

A key feature of this program is the emphasis on synergy and innovation. Proposed teams are expected to use innovative methods or approaches, not just continue business-as-usual research. The program explicitly welcomes risky projects, which signals that NSF is open to proposals that may not have guaranteed outcomes but have the potential for outsized payoff if successful. Interdisciplinary work is also encouraged: while the core focus is mathematical sciences, teams may include researchers from other science and engineering disciplines when that expertise is essential to the problem. In practice, this could include collaborations with computer science, physics, biology, economics, engineering, or other areas where mathematical theory, modeling, computation, or statistical methodology plays a critical role.

The projects are intended to be timely and bounded. Awards are designed for a duration of up to three years, with the expectation that the scope is substantial enough to make meaningful progress within that window. NSF also includes an incentive for strong momentum: projects that demonstrate substantial progress in the first two years may be recommended for a "creativity extension" of up to an additional two years, allowing particularly promising groups to push further without having to immediately compete in a new full proposal cycle.

From an administrative standpoint, this is a discretionary grant opportunity issued by NSF under the Science and Technology and other Research and Development category, associated with CFDA number 47.049. The listed award ceiling is $1,500,000, and NSF anticipated making around 10 awards under this solicitation. The original closing date in the posted source data was December 6, 2023, and the opportunity was created on September 7, 2023. Eligibility is listed as "Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification)," which indicates that eligibility details are not fully captured in the excerpt and would normally require checking the full solicitation for specifics on what organizations or applicant types can apply and under what conditions.

Overall, this program is best suited for research groups that can clearly articulate (1) a major mathematical sciences challenge with field-wide importance, (2) why it requires a tightly coordinated team rather than individual investigators working separately, (3) what new ideas or methods will be brought to bear, and (4) a concrete plan to deliver significant advances within a three-year timeframe, with the possibility of an extension if progress is exceptional.

• The National Science Foundation in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Focused Research Groups in the Mathematical Sciences" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 47.049.
• This funding opportunity was created on Sep 07, 2023.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Dec 06, 2023. (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 $1,500,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 10 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for 23 621

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