{"resourceId":"nsf-26-512-ai-datasets-solicitation-20260721","versions":[{"version":"external-81e144c199153bc8bc29119b3e3692e46a69fca827ba43ad39efac75e4654eb1","resource":{"id":"nsf-26-512-ai-datasets-solicitation-20260721","title":"NSF 26-512 AI Datasets: up to $100M; proposals must address governance, security, integrity; deadline 4 Nov 2026","organization":"U.S. National Science Foundation (multi-directorate; cognizant: aidatasets@nsf.gov)","sector":"Federal research funding / AI-enabled scientific data infrastructure","geography":"United States (eligible IHEs, nonprofits, for-profits, state/local/tribal, FFRDCs per solicitation)","publishedAt":"Posted July 21, 2026 (NSF 26-512); full proposal deadline November 4, 2026 (newly time-critical relative to Oct 2026 campus proposal cycles)","publicationDate":"2026-07-21","eventDate":"2026-11-04","sourceName":"NSF Program Solicitation 26-512","sourceLabel":"Government solicitation","sourceUrl":"https://nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/ai-datasets-unlocking-dataset-value-ai-enabled-scientific-discovery/nsf26-512/solicitation","evidenceClass":"standards-guidance","outcomeClass":"emerging","topics":["data-security","governance-procurement","infrastructure","operating-model","accessibility-workforce"],"finding":"NSF Unlocking Dataset Value for AI-Enabled Scientific Discovery (NSF 26-512) funds enhancing existing scientific datasets for AI pipelines—not de novo collection. Anticipated $60–100M; Impact awards up to $2M, Flagship up to $5M, Planning up to $200k; ~25–50 awards. Full proposals due 4 Nov 2026 (then first Wednesday in November annually). All proposals must address dataset governance (access, retirement, community contribution) and dataset security/integrity (provenance, trust, quality, privacy, authenticity), including research-security issues for sensitive data. Encouraged leverage of NSF data platforms, IDSS, NAIRR, and DOE Genesis Mission / American Science and Security Platform. Success measures include datasets expanded, AI-guided techniques, STEM training, and infrastructure usage. Out of scope: primary new data collection (stays with directorates).","sledRelevance":"University research administration and research-computing data programs preparing AI-for-science proposals need explicit governance/security/integrity plans aligned to NSF 26-512 and Genesis-adjacent infrastructure—especially with the 4 Nov 2026 deadline.","evidence":"Opened NSF solicitation page via WebFetch; confirmed deadline, award bands, and mandatory governance/security language; check_sources: not archived (NSF 26-513 hubs solicitation already archived).","architectureImplications":"Design AI-ready dataset pipelines with provenance, access controls, contribution workflows, and hooks to NAIRR/Genesis-class platforms; planning grants for community coordination before Flagship scope.","governanceImplications":"Treat governance and security sections as first-class proposal content equal to scientific vision; define access, retirement, and contribution processes before claiming AI-agent readiness.","securityPrivacyImplications":"Address sensitive datasets, authenticity/provenance, extraction risks, and research-security constraints; do not assume open release of all enhanced artifacts.","caveats":"Solicitation text is requirements/funding guidance, not measured deployment outcomes; award counts and $60–100M subject to appropriations; July posting included now because Nov 4 deadline makes it newly actionable for Oct campus cycles.","streamIds":["research"],"roles":{"sales":"Sales framing: NSF is putting up to ~$100M behind AI-ready scientific datasets with mandatory governance and security—not model seats. NSF 26-512 (posted 21 Jul 2026; deadline 4 Nov 2026) funds Impact/Flagship/Planning awards to enhance existing community datasets for AI pipelines, NAIRR/Genesis leverage encouraged. Help campuses assemble compliant data-governance packages and planning grants before the November deadline rather than pitching greenfield collection.","engineering":"Engineering framing: proposals must specify feature extraction, metadata generation, and dataset-integration methods plus AI-consumable pipelines with concrete security and integrity controls for provenance, privacy, and authenticity. Integrate with existing NSF data platforms and Genesis-adjacent services where appropriate; keep de novo collection out of scope for this solicitation. Use planning awards to settle community contribution and access models before committing to Flagship-scale build-out and sustainment.","delivery":"Delivery framing: run a pre-deadline proposal sprint—inventory enhanceable datasets, draft governance and security sections, align Keywords to directorates, and decide Impact versus Flagship versus Planning tracks. Research computing and libraries co-own pipeline sustainment; sponsored programs owns submission compliance. Acceptance is a submitted compliant package with named community beneficiaries and integrity controls by 5 p.m. local time on 4 Nov 2026—not a funded-award promise."},"roleDetails":{"sales":{"customerProblem":"Campuses hold valuable scientific datasets that are not AI-pipeline ready and lack governance/security plans NSF now requires for major AI-data investments.","stakeholders":["VPR / sponsored programs","Research data librarians","Domain PIs","Research computing / cyberinfrastructure","Research security officers"],"discoveryQuestions":["Which existing datasets could yield new AI-driven inquiries without new collection?","What access, retirement, and contribution policies exist today?","How will sensitive data and research-security constraints be handled?"],"valueHypothesis":"Compliant Impact/Planning proposals that pair dataset enhancement with governance/security can compete for NSF 26-512 while positioning for NAIRR/Genesis interoperability.","potentialEngagement":"Three-week pre-deadline proposal packaging workshop covering dataset inventory, governance/security drafts, and award-track selection.","unsupportedClaims":["Guaranteed NSF award","Funding for de novo data collection under this solicitation","Automatic Genesis Mission integration"]},"engineering":{"fit":"University data platforms enhancing legacy scientific datasets for AI training/automation with explicit governance.","architectureIntegration":"Feature/metadata/integration pipelines; provenance and access layers; contribution APIs; optional NAIRR/Genesis connectors.","prerequisites":["Dataset inventory","Identity/access model","Provenance tooling","Community contribution process"],"constraints":["No de novo collection","Sensitive-data limits","Sustainment beyond award","Single-org lead with subawards only"],"security":"Document provenance, authenticity, privacy, and research-security controls for extraction and sharing; segregate sensitive corpora.","proofOfValue":["Measurable dataset usability improvements","Documented governance artifacts","Pilot AI-pipeline consumers","Adoption metrics from target communities"]},"delivery":{"work":"Inventory datasets, draft Sections 1–4 (and Flagship 5 if needed), coordinate keywords/directorates, complete security/governance plans, submit by 4 Nov 2026 local time.","dependencies":["Sponsored programs","Data stewards","InfoSec/research security","Community letters of collaboration"],"ownership":"Lead PI owns scientific vision; research computing/libraries own pipeline sustainment; AOR owns institutional submission.","skillsAdoption":"Train data stewards on AI-pipeline readiness and contribution workflows; brief PIs on Gold Standard Science / integrity expectations.","governanceCheckpoints":["Dataset sensitivity review","Access/retirement policy sign-off","Research-security screening","Pre-submission compliance check"],"acceptanceCriteria":["Complete governance and security sections","Named beneficiary communities and keywords","Clear enhancement methods (not new collection)","On-time Research.gov/Grants.gov submission"],"risks":["Deadline slip","Scope creep into de novo collection","Unresolved sensitive-data sharing","Weak community commitment letters"]}},"retrievedAt":"2026-10-03T22:06:55-05:00","enrichedAt":"2026-10-03T22:08:30-05:00","enrichmentBasis":"retrieved source","accessibilityWorkforceImplications":"Solicitation explicitly measures undergraduates/graduate students trained in AI use of scientific datasets; planning grants can broaden community participation beyond a single lab.","procurementImplications":"Align campus data-platform procurements and cost proposals with NSF’s no voluntary cost-sharing rule and expected PI-meeting/NAIRR travel budgets.","operatingModelImplications":"Treat AI-ready dataset stewardship as an institutional program with governance owners, not a one-off PI grant artifact.","sourceVerification":{"openedUrl":"https://nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/ai-datasets-unlocking-dataset-value-ai-enabled-scientific-discovery/nsf26-512/solicitation","referenceExcerpt":"Proposals should address dataset security and integrity. Governance and the process for scientific communities to contribute to the datasets should also be addressed.","promptVersion":"sled-research-v4.0","model":null,"basis":"agent-reported inspection"}}}]}