The goal of the RCN program is to advance a field or create new directions in research or education by supporting groups of investigators to communicate and coordinate their research, training and educational activities across disciplinary, organizational, geographic and international boundaries.

RCN

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provides opportunities to foster new collaborations,including international partnerships,and addressinterdisciplinary topics.Innovative ideas for implementing novel networking strategies, collaborative technologies, and development of community standards for data and meta-dataare especially encouraged.

RCN awards are not meant to support existing networks;nor are they meant to support the activities of established collaborations.

RCN awards do not support primary research.

RCN supports the means by which investigators can share information and ideas, coordinate ongoing or planned research activities, foster synthesis and new collaborations, develop community standards, and in other ways advance science and education through communication and sharing of ideas.

Proposed networking activities directed to the RCN program shouldfocus ona theme to give coherence to the collaboration, such as a broad research question or particular technologies or approaches.

Participating core programs inthe Directorates for Biological Sciences(BIO), Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE), Geosciences (GEO), Engineering (ENG) andSocial, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE) will accept General (non-targeted) RCNproposals.

Some submission deadlines for the general RCN proposals vary by program; consult program websites.

BIO is joined by the Directorate for Education and Human Resources(EHR) in the Undergraduate Biology Education (RCN-UBE) track described below.

The following targeted track within the RCN programs is intended to foster linkages between BIO and EHR.

• RCN-UBE:
  The Undergraduate Biology Education track focuses on any topic likely to lead to improved participation, learning, or assessment in undergraduate biology education and follows the same guidelines outlined below for the general RCN program.

Note:
Because it addresses undergraduate biology education, the RCN-UBE track is offered in alignment with the NSF-wide undergraduate STEM education initiative, Improving Undergraduate STEM Education (IUSE).

More information about IUSE can be found in the Program Description section of this solicitation.

Several other NSF solicitations accept RCN proposals, or supportresearch networkingactivities ifappropriate to the solicitation.

Please see section IX.

Other Information of this solicitation for a listing of these programs.