Funding-Limited Submission - NSF Partnerships for Innovation: Building Innovation Capacity (PFI: BIC) NSF 14-610; December 3, 2014

Description: The Partnerships for Innovation: Building Innovation Capacity (PFI:BIC) program supports academe-industry partnerships, which are led by an interdisciplinary academic research team with a least one industry partner to build technological, human, and service system innovation capacity. These partnerships focus on the integration of technologies into a specified human-centered smart service system with the potential to achieve transformational change in an existing service system or to spur an entirely new service system.

Service systems are socio-technical configurations of people, technologies, organizations, and information designed to deliver services that create and deliver value. A "smart" service system is a system capable of learning, dynamic adaptation, and decision making based upon data received, transmitted, and/or processed to improve its response to a future situation. These capabilities are the result of the incorporation of technologies for sensing, actuation, coordination, communication, control, etc. The system may exhibit a sequence of features such as detection, classification, and localization that lead to an outcome occurring within a reasonable time.

Examples of technology applied to service systems include smart healthcare, smart cities, on-demand transportation, precision agriculture, smart infrastructure, and other technologies enabling self-service and customized service solutions. Examples of other service systems where smart technologies could make a difference include disaster mitigation and humanitarian services, communication services, utilities, consulting and professional services, and hospitality services, to name a few.

PFI:BIC funds research partnerships working on projects that operate in the post-fundamental discovery space but precede being on a clear path to commercialization. These projects require additional effort to integrate the technology into a real service system with human factors considerations, which in turn might spawn additional discoveries inspired by this interaction of humans with the technology. Thus, in addition to the discipline related to the technology, the disciplines to be included in this project are 1) systems engineering or engineering design, 2) computer science/information technology, and 3) human factors/behavioral science/cognitive engineering.

Limit on Number of Proposals per PI: 1 

• The PI cannot concurrently be a PI on more than one active Partnerships for Innovation: Building Innovation Capacity award.
• A PI who submits a proposal in response to this program solicitation may not submit a proposal for funding consideration in the same fiscal year to the Partnerships for Innovation: Accelerating Innovation Research- Technology Translation program. (NSF 14-569).

Limit on Number of Proposals per Organization: 2

• Academic institutions are limited to participation on two (2) proposals as a lead institution. A lead academic institution that has submitted a proposal has the option to participate as a subawardee on any other proposal submitted under this solicitation. Lead academic institutions that have submitted a proposal may also provide consultants to other proposals submitted under this solicitation.
  
  

See the full program solicitation for more information: http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2014/nsf14610/nsf14610.htm?WT.mc_id=USNSF_25&WT.mc_ev=click

Because NSF limits the number of PFI: BIC proposals/letters of intent to two per institution (as the lead), the University of Kentucky has established an internal selection process. Researchers interested in submitting a proposal are to submit the following material electronically to the Office of the Vice President for Research at limitedsubmissions@uky.edu and a copy to their Associate Dean for Research by Tuesday, October 28, 2014:

(1) Names and departments of the PI, Senior Project Personnel, and other participating organizations;

(2) Title of the program and/or funding opportunity announcement number;

(3) Project synopsis (2 pages maximum) that includes: 1) the Service System; 2) the Primary Industrial Partner(s); and 3) Human Factors Research Tasks.

A committee will be convened to review the material and make recommendations as to the University’s submissions. Questions about the submission process may be sent to Ms. Annette Evans in the Office of the Vice President for Research (alevan4@email.uky.edu or 257-1663).

NSF Deadlines:

Letter of Intent (required, however not a screening device): December 3, 2014

Full Proposal: January 28, 2015