An updated solicitation has been published for the NSF-wide Growing Convergence Research (GCR) program with a submission deadline of April 12, 2024 (NSF 24-527).

What is “Convergence Research” in this context?
GCR identifies Convergence Research as having two primary characteristics:

• Research driven by a specific and compelling problem. Convergence research is generally inspired by the need to address a specific challenge or opportunity, whether it arises from deep scientific questions or pressing societal needs.
• Deep integration across disciplines. As experts from different disciplines pursue common research challenges, their knowledge, theories, methods, data, research communities and languages become increasingly intermingled or integrated. New frameworks, paradigms or even disciplines can form sustained interactions across multiple communities.

Thus, the GCR solicitation targets multidisciplinary teams who are embracing convergence research as a means of developing highly innovative solutions to complex research problems. GCR proposals are expected to be bold and address scientific or technical challenges and bottlenecks which, if resolved, have the potential to transform scientific understanding and solve vexing problems. It entails integrating knowledge, methods, and expertise from different disciplines and developing novel paradigms that catalyze scientific discovery and innovation.

What are the components of a successful proposal?
Successful GCR projects are anticipated to lead to paradigm shifting approaches within disciplines, establishment of new scientific communities, or development of transformative technologies that have the potential for broad scientific or societal impact.

The proposing team should be comprised of researchers from different disciplines that do not typically work together in the proposed research areas and are crucial to catalyze the proposed scientific discovery and innovation. Proposers must make a convincing case that the research to be conducted is within NSF’s purview, integrates across NSF directorate or division boundaries, and is currently not supported by other NSF programs or solicitations.

Opportunities to learn more
There are several ways interested members of the community can learn more about the GCR program:

• The GCR program will be holding office hours on Tuesdays or Wednesdays through the end of March 2024. To speak with a GCR Program Director about a newly planned or revised GCR proposal, an appointment may be made on the GCR Office Hours Calendar.
  • Principal Investigators seeking feedback on a planned proposal should send a one-page (maximum) synopsis to gcr@nsf.gov.
  • The synopsis must describe the specific scientific problem to be addressed, the project’s responsiveness to the GCR solicitation, and the new knowledge and changes in research paradigms that are anticipated.
• All other inquiries should be addressed to gcr@nsf.gov.
• You can always refer to the GCR program solicitation (NSF 24-527) for more details.