The U.S. National Science Foundation is an independent federal agency that supports science and engineering in all 50 states and U.S. territories. NSF was established in 1950 by Congress to promote the progress of science, advance the national health, prosperity and welfare, and secure the national defense.
The Research Coordination Networks (RCN) program is designed to support groups of investigators in advancing fields or creating new directions in research or education through the facilitation of communication and coordination across disciplinary, organizational, geographic, and international boundaries. It aims to foster new collaborations and address interdisciplinary topics, encouraging innovative ideas for networking strategies, collaborative technologies, training, broadening participation, and the development of community standards for data and metadata. The RCN program emphasizes the creation and nurturing of new collaborations rather than supporting existing networks or ongoing research activities. It supports a wide array of networking activities focused around a coherent theme, such as a broad research question or specific technologies or approaches, to advance science and education through shared ideas and information. Participating programs span several Directorates: Biological Sciences (BIO), Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE), Geosciences (GEO), Education and Human Resources (EHR), Engineering (ENG), and Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE), with potential suitability discussions encouraged with program officers, especially within CISE.