Opportunity Information: Apply for PD 19 126Y
The National Science Foundation (NSF) Science of Science: Discovery, Communication and Impact (SoSDCI) program funds research that helps explain how science works and how it creates public value. The core aim is to build stronger theory and evidence about the processes behind scientific discovery, the ways scientific knowledge is communicated, and the real-world impacts science has on society and policy. This program is positioned as an expansion of NSF's earlier Science of Science and Innovation Policy (SciSIP) program, with a broader emphasis on understanding science as a social, organizational, and institutional system and on generating insights that can improve evidence-based decision-making.
SoSDCI is interested in rigorous empirical work that advances knowledge in three main areas. First, it supports studies on the social and structural mechanisms that shape scientific discovery, such as how teams form, how collaboration networks evolve, how incentives and norms influence research directions, and how institutions affect what gets studied and what gets published. Second, it encourages research that develops or improves theories, frameworks, models, and data resources for understanding scientific communication and outcomes, which can include how findings move through journals, preprints, conferences, media, and professional communities, and how those pathways affect credibility, uptake, replication, and downstream use. Third, it prioritizes work that clarifies the societal benefits of scientific activity, including how scientific evidence informs policy, how public value is produced, and which conditions help science translate into tangible improvements in areas like health, economic growth, public services, and national preparedness.
A key feature of the program is its openness to multiple levels of analysis and to different scales of scientific systems. Proposals may focus on individuals (for example, career trajectories, mentoring, productivity, and inclusion), organizations (such as universities, firms, labs, and funding bodies), or institutions and large-scale systems (like national research ecosystems, global collaboration patterns, and science policy regimes). NSF signals interest in micro, meso, and macro perspectives, as well as complex systems approaches, meaning proposals can range from detailed field experiments and observational studies to computational modeling, network science, and large-scale data integration, as long as the work is methodologically sound and theory-driven.
The solicitation emphasizes that proposals should do more than produce incremental improvements. Competitive projects are expected to draw clearly from science-of-science theory and push it forward, while also building models, datasets, indicators, or analytic tools that enable genuinely transformative advances. Applicants are asked to include credible, rigorous assessments of the project's potential impact, including social and policy implications, not just academic contributions. Another major expectation is a robust data management plan aligned with open science goals, with an emphasis on making research materials broadly accessible and usable while maintaining validity, reliability, and appropriate protections where needed.
NSF also highlights strategic national interests. Proposals that could strengthen U.S. global leadership in science and improve national competitiveness are of particular interest, including work that evaluates strategies to expand and strengthen the scientific workforce and efforts that identify how to cultivate high-impact discovery across sectors (academia, industry, government, and nonprofits). The program strongly encourages convergent, collaborative research, reflecting an interest in teams that bring together multiple disciplines, methods, and perspectives to answer complex questions about the scientific enterprise.
Like other NSF programs, SoSDCI is evaluated on intellectual merit and broader impacts, with explicit encouragement to treat broader impacts as a serious design element rather than an afterthought. Broader impacts can include practical benefits to society and clearer pathways to achieving specific policy-relevant outcomes. The program places a high priority on broadening participation in science and encourages submissions from early-career researchers and from investigators and regions that have historically been underrepresented in science, math, and engineering fields.
In terms of award mechanisms, SoSDCI supports standard research grants, collaborative research grants, conference grants, and a targeted topic area called SoSBIO (A Science of Science Approach to Analyzing and Innovating the Biomedical Research Enterprise). It may also participate in special NSF cross-cutting or cross-directorate funding opportunities. Administrative details from the opportunity listing include: the funding opportunity title is Science of Science: Discovery, Communication and Impact; the opportunity number is PD 19-126Y; the agency is the U.S. National Science Foundation; the instrument type is a grant; the activity category is science and technology and other research and development; applicants are listed as unrestricted; the CFDA number is 47.075; the original closing date is 2025-09-09; and the posting/creation date is 2025-05-09.Apply for PD 19 126Y
- The U.S. National Science Foundation in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Science of Science: Discovery, Communication and Impact" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 47.075.
- This funding opportunity was created on 2025-05-09.
- Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-09-09. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted.
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Science of Science: Discovery, Communication and Impact (SoSDCI) - FAQs
What is the NSF Science of Science: Discovery, Communication and Impact (SoSDCI) program?
SoSDCI is a National Science Foundation (NSF) program that funds research aimed at explaining how science works and how it creates public value. The program supports theory- and evidence-building about scientific discovery processes, scientific communication pathways, and the real-world impacts of science on society and policy.
What is the main goal of SoSDCI?
The core aim is to build stronger theory and evidence on the mechanisms behind scientific discovery, how scientific knowledge is communicated, and how scientific activity produces societal benefits and policy-relevant outcomes.
How is SoSDCI related to the earlier SciSIP program?
SoSDCI is positioned as an expansion of NSF's earlier Science of Science and Innovation Policy (SciSIP) program. It has a broader emphasis on understanding science as a social, organizational, and institutional system and on generating insights that can improve evidence-based decision-making.
What major research areas does SoSDCI fund?
SoSDCI is interested in rigorous empirical work that advances knowledge in three main areas:
- Scientific discovery: social and structural mechanisms shaping discovery (e.g., team formation, collaboration networks, incentives, norms, institutional influences on what gets studied and published).
- Scientific communication and outcomes: theories, frameworks, models, and data resources explaining how findings move through journals, preprints, conferences, media, and professional communities, and how these pathways affect credibility, uptake, replication, and downstream use.
- Societal benefits and impacts: how science informs policy, how public value is produced, and the conditions that help science translate into improvements in areas like health, economic growth, public services, and national preparedness.
What kinds of questions fit under the "scientific discovery" area?
Examples of the mechanisms highlighted include how research teams form, how collaboration networks evolve, how incentives and norms influence research directions, and how institutions affect what gets studied and what gets published.
What does SoSDCI mean by research on "scientific communication"?
This includes work that develops or improves theories, frameworks, models, and data resources for understanding how scientific findings move through journals, preprints, conferences, media, and professional communities, and how those pathways affect credibility, uptake, replication, and downstream use.
What does SoSDCI mean by "impact" or "public value" of science?
The program prioritizes research that clarifies the societal benefits of scientific activity, including how scientific evidence informs policy, how public value is produced, and what conditions help scientific knowledge translate into tangible improvements (for example in health, economic growth, public services, and national preparedness).
What levels of analysis are encouraged for SoSDCI proposals?
SoSDCI is open to multiple levels of analysis and different scales of scientific systems. Proposals may focus on individuals, organizations, or institutions and large-scale systems.
What are examples of individual-level topics SoSDCI might support?
The solicitation notes individual-level topics such as career trajectories, mentoring, productivity, and inclusion.
What are examples of organization-level topics SoSDCI might support?
Examples include studies of universities, firms, labs, and funding bodies, and how these organizations shape scientific discovery, communication, and outcomes.
What are examples of system-level or institutional topics SoSDCI might support?
The program mentions large-scale topics such as national research ecosystems, global collaboration patterns, and science policy regimes.
Does SoSDCI support micro, meso, and macro perspectives?
Yes. NSF signals interest in micro, meso, and macro perspectives, including complex systems approaches.
What research methods and approaches does SoSDCI consider responsive?
The program description highlights a wide range of methodologically sound, theory-driven approaches, including field experiments, observational studies, computational modeling, network science, and large-scale data integration.
How important is theory in a SoSDCI proposal?
Competitive projects are expected to draw clearly from science-of-science theory and push it forward, rather than only producing incremental improvements.
Does SoSDCI expect projects to produce resources or tools?
Yes. The solicitation emphasizes building models, datasets, indicators, or analytic tools that enable genuinely transformative advances.
What does SoSDCI expect regarding assessing the potential impact of a project?
Applicants are asked to include credible, rigorous assessments of the project's potential impact, including social and policy implications, not only academic contributions.
Are open science and data sharing emphasized?
Yes. The program calls for a robust data management plan aligned with open science goals, emphasizing making research materials broadly accessible and usable while maintaining validity, reliability, and appropriate protections where needed.
Does SoSDCI prioritize projects connected to U.S. national interests?
Yes. NSF highlights strategic national interests, including work that could strengthen U.S. global leadership in science and improve national competitiveness.
What kinds of workforce-related topics are of interest to SoSDCI?
The program notes interest in research that evaluates strategies to expand and strengthen the scientific workforce.
Does SoSDCI encourage cross-sector research (beyond academia)?
Yes. NSF expresses interest in understanding how to cultivate high-impact discovery across sectors, including academia, industry, government, and nonprofits.
Does SoSDCI encourage collaborative or convergent research teams?
Yes. The program strongly encourages convergent, collaborative research, reflecting interest in teams that bring together multiple disciplines, methods, and perspectives.
How are SoSDCI proposals evaluated?
Like other NSF programs, proposals are evaluated on intellectual merit and broader impacts. The solicitation explicitly encourages applicants to treat broader impacts as a serious design element rather than an afterthought.
What does SoSDCI say about "broader impacts"?
Broader impacts can include practical benefits to society and clearer pathways to achieving specific policy-relevant outcomes, and the program encourages building these considerations into the project design.
Does SoSDCI prioritize broadening participation in science?
Yes. The program places a high priority on broadening participation in science and encourages submissions from early-career researchers and from investigators and regions historically underrepresented in science, math, and engineering fields.
What types of awards or grant mechanisms are supported by SoSDCI?
SoSDCI supports standard research grants, collaborative research grants, and conference grants. It also includes a targeted topic area called SoSBIO (A Science of Science Approach to Analyzing and Innovating the Biomedical Research Enterprise).
What is SoSBIO?
SoSBIO is a targeted topic area within SoSDCI described as "A Science of Science Approach to Analyzing and Innovating the Biomedical Research Enterprise."
Can SoSDCI proposals be part of other NSF cross-cutting opportunities?
Yes. The listing notes that SoSDCI may also participate in special NSF cross-cutting or cross-directorate funding opportunities.
Who is the funding agency for this opportunity?
The agency is the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF).
What is the official funding opportunity title?
The title is "Science of Science: Discovery, Communication and Impact."
What is the opportunity number?
The opportunity number is PD 19-126Y.
What type of funding instrument is used?
The instrument type is a grant.
What is the activity category for this opportunity?
The activity category is "science and technology and other research and development."
Who is eligible to apply based on the listing?
Applicants are listed as unrestricted.
What is the CFDA number listed for this opportunity?
The CFDA number is 47.075.
What is the original closing date?
The original closing date is 2025-09-09.
When was this opportunity posted/created?
The posting/creation date is 2025-05-09.
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