Should NSF CISE Implement a No-Deadlines Approach?

Our friends at the National Science Foundation (NSF) have asked for research community input on a proposed policy change to eliminate/reduce deadlines for core programs in the CISE Directorate.

The question comes as two other directorates at the Foundation — the Directorate for Geosciences (GEO) and the Directorate for Biological Sciences (BIO) – have announced they will implement a “no-deadline” full-proposal mechanism for receiving and reviewing proposals submitted to core programs.  A Dear Colleague Letter released by the BIO directorate explains their plan:

In order to promote interdisciplinary research that crosses biological scales and traverses current divisional boundaries, BIO will implement a “no-deadline,” full-proposal mechanism for receiving and reviewing proposals submitted to core programs….

By accepting proposals at any time, investigators will have greater opportunities to prepare their proposals, build strong collaborations, and think more creatively, thereby resulting in more complex, interdisciplinary projects that have the potential to dramatically advance biological science. We anticipate that the elimination of deadlines will reduce the burden on institutions and the community by expanding the submission period over the course of the year, in contrast to the previous fixed yearly deadlines.

Given the increased pressures on securing federal funding and, in some cases, reduced capacity for grant management at computing research institutions, do you think the Computer & Information Science & Engineering (CISE) Directorate should follow the lead of the BIO and GEO directorates and consider eliminating or reducing deadlines for proposal submissions? What positive or negative impact could such a shift have on our community?

Please fill out this informal, non-scientific survey and let us know. We’ll collect responses through May 15th and then share the collective feedback with NSF.