Unlocking Dataset Value for AI-Enabled Scientific Discovery

Agency: U.S. National Science Foundation
NAICS: 541715 - Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology)
Posted: 2026-07-21
Deadline: 2026-11-04
Estimated funding: 100000000
Award ceiling: 0

Description

This program will advance scientific community datasets to enable scientific discovery and innovation using artificial intelligence (AI) and other methods. Its goal is to increase the value that can be derived from existing scientific datasets by leveraging novel methods and artificial intelligence (AI). This will unlock new AI-driven insights. It can enable interdisciplinary research. It also enables investigations outside of the original motivation for data collection and analysis. The program seeks to 1) apply AI-based capabilities to feature extraction and metadata generation, and the integration of multiple datasets. 2) Develop robust data pipelines necessary for automated analysis of existing datasets and similar use-cases by AI tools and systems. 3) Augment and/or harmonize existing datasets to better enable use by AI data pipelines and automated analysis. Proposals should address dataset security and integrity. Governance and the process for scientific communities to contribute to the datasets should also be addressed. Proposals are encouraged to leverage existing resources. These may includeNSF data platforms, the NSF Integrated Data Systems and Services program, the NSF-led National AI Research Resource, the Genesis Mission platform, or other national infrastructure. NSF is open to exploring partnerships with philanthropy, private industry, or the non-profit sector to support additional proposals or collaborative opportunitiesthat will advance AI-driven scientific discovery through unlocking the value of high-impact scientific datasets. Expanding Participation in STEM, NSF Priorities, and Gold Standard Science: NSF prioritizes cutting-edge discovery science and engineering research, advancing technology and innovation, and creating opportunities for all Americans. NSF has established priorities set forth by Congress, the administration and the NSF director to promoteNSF's mission. Proposers should review the list ofNSF prioritiesand are encouraged to align their proposals with them, where appropriate. NSF also expects the highest standards of scientific rigor, integrity and adherence tenets ofGold Standard Sciencein proposals, as appropriate for the field of science and research modality.

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