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2025: Global Engagement Program

Highlights

 

  • Funds are available to support researchers from CCI SWVA institutions in activities that promote Virginia as a global leader in cybersecurity through international activities
  • Examples of potential projects include collaborative research visits, working groups, workshops, partnership development, and student internships. 
  • Investigators are encouraged to consider creative approaches to international engagement that advances discovery and application, cultivates ties for high-impact scholarship or large-scale proposal efforts, integrates approaches, widely disseminates results, or promotes global training in cybersecurity.
  • Researchers should recognize that while collaboration internal toCCI is not required,
    •  CCI values diversity and inclusion in its research teams.
    •  CCI encourages faculty to consider inviting researchers new to the CCI network to join proposals related to their expertise.
    •  CCI is interested in research that can serve as a foundation for security-related startups or spinouts.

Objective  

The Commonwealth Cyber Initiative (CCI) is establishing Virginia as a global center of excellence at the intersection of intelligence, autonomy, and security. With a mission of research, innovation, and workforce development, CCI serves as a catalyst for the commonwealth's long-term leadership in this sector through the collaboration of a central hub and four regional nodes. Virginia Tech (VT) leads the CCI Southwest Node. The CCI Global Engagement Program exists to fuel major research thrusts via diverse approaches and teams, furthering Virginia’s reputation as a leader in cybersecurity through international activities. Examples of potential projects include collaborative research visits, working groups, workshops, partnership development, and student internships. Investigators are encouraged to consider creative approaches to international engagement that advances discovery and application, cultivates ties for high-impact scholarship or large-scale proposal efforts, integrates approaches, widely disseminates results, or promotes global training in cybersecurity.

Focus areas should be within the intersection of data, autonomy, and security. The CCI Southwest Node has a particular emphasis on cybersecurity related to fast, secure, and customizable communications systems and technologies, including 5G, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), defense-in-depth cybersecurity solutions, emerging technologies (such as NextG and quantum information science, technology, and engineering) and cryptographic protocols, applications in transportation, energy, space, autonomous systems, manufacturing, agriculture, and healthcare, as well as issues surrounding human factors, privacy, ethics, and global security in society. CCI is interested in research that may lay the foundation for startups or spinouts in the cybersecurity sector.

Eligibility  

The PI must be from a public institution of higher education in CCI Southwest Virginia and be deemed eligible by their home institution to serve as a Principal Investigator (PI) on an external grant. Women, gender and underrepresented minorities, and persons with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply. Applicants are advised to consider diversity and inclusion in their teams. 

We welcome researchers, professors, instructors, industry professionals, students, and government professionals from all racial, ethnic, gender, religious, sexual orientation, and cultural backgrounds; disabled and nondisabled; veterans; career changers — anyone with an interest in cyber-related research, innovation, and experiential learning opportunities. There are a number of underrepresented groups and perspectives in cybersecurity, and we are creating a space where everyone can share, learn, and connect around research, innovation, and experiential learning in cybersecurity. Priority may be given to faculty without current CCI SWVA funding. 

Budgets must be approved by the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) at the PI’s institution prior to the proposal deadline. 

Awards  

Anticipated award amount: up to $10,000 

Period of Performance: January 1, 2025 – July 31, 2025

Award conditions

A successful applicant is expected to participate fully in the activities of CCI including participating in the node annual meeting, providing materials needed for reports, serving as a reviewer on other CCI Call for Proposals (CFP), and responding to CCI data collection requests. All publications and presentations resulting from the grant should acknowledge support from Commonwealth Cyber Initiative (CCI).

Proposal format 

Proposals must use 1-inch margins, 12-point Calibri font, and adhere to the following outline: 

 

  1. Title page (1 page) 
    • Title of proposed activity, names of faculty team members, contact information including units, titles, and email addresses for Principal Investigator (PI) and co-Principal Investigators (co-PIs)
    • Lay summary of the project limited to 250 words.  Describe the activity, including proposed objectives, impact, and results to a general audience
  2. Project description (2 pages) 
    • Overview and objective of proposed activity 
    • Statement of intellectual merit
    • Description of prior collaboration related to activity (if any)
    • Statement of alignment with CCI mission
    • Explicit milestones and specific deliverables, such as external proposals, publications, and IP, should be clearly articulated to indicate how this CCI support will seed future efforts
    • Qualifications of team including past performance with attracting external funds
    • References (not included in the page count)
  3. Budget
    • OSP-approved budget spreadsheet
    • Budget items, amount, and justification 
    • Travel is a required budget item, supporting team attendance at CCI events
    • No indirect cost is allowed 
    • Collaborators from outside Virginia are allowed to take part in CCI research. However, out-of-state investigators and those at private institutions cannot receive any CCI funding as part of this program
    • Industry engagement is encouraged, but companies may not receive any CCI funding as part of this program
  4. Biosketches (NSF-format, up to 3 pages for each investigator)
  5. Current & pending support for each investigator, including for each project/proposal
    • Title
    • Status of Support: Current, Pending, Submission Planned, or Transfer of Support
    • Source of Support
    • Primary Place of Performance 
    • Project/Proposal Start and End Dates (MM/YYYY) if available
    • Total Award Amount (including Indirect Costs)
    • Person-Month(s) (or Partial Person-Months) Per Year Committed to the Project
    • Statement of Potential Overlap 
    • Overall Objectives

No particular format is required. An investigator may use a current NSF Current & Pending Support document that contains this information. 

Proposal submission  

VT researchers must select CCI SWVA as sponsor in Summit. Proposals must be submitted to Machelle Hall mhall1@vt.edu with subject “FY25 Global Engagement Program” by the PI institution’s OSP no later than 5:00 pm Eastern on Friday, November 22, 2024. All proposals must be submitted as a single PDF document labeled lastname_firstname_Global_25. Submissions will be acknowledged by email to the PI.   

Evaluation criteria 

Proposals will be evaluated by a panel of reviewers according to the following criteria: 

Intellectual merit (40%) 

  • Clearly defined problem or need within the scope of CCI and how proposed activity will address it

Broader impacts (20%) 

  • Potential to benefit society, including talent development, and contributions to the achievement of specific, desired societal outcomes, as it aligns with CCI mission

Value of the funding (20%) 

  • Concrete plans to use the results from this activity to secure external funding or IP

Alignment and qualifications (20%) 

  • Suitability of team, including any named non-CCI researchers, for proposed activity