Collaborative Research in Computational Neuroscience | 20 609

Opportunity Information: Apply for 20 609

The Collaborative Research in Computational Neuroscience (CRCNS) grant opportunity is a multi-agency, international program aimed at pushing forward how scientists understand the brain and nervous system using computational approaches. At its core, the program recognizes computational neuroscience as a bridge across computer science, neuroscience, engineering, mathematics, physics, and related fields, and it funds projects that use theory, modeling, data analysis, and computational methods to explain how neural systems are built, how they function, how disorders arise, and what computational principles the nervous system itself uses.

The opportunity is supported and coordinated primarily through the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), working in partnership with other U.S. and international funders. U.S. partners include the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Department of Energy (DOE). International partners include Germany's Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), France's National Research Agency (ANR), the United States-Israel Binational Science Foundation (BSF), Japan's National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT), and Spain's State Research Agency (AEI) along with Spain's National Institute of Health Carlos III (ISCIII). The program is explicitly designed to enable true collaboration across borders, with the understanding that different parts of an international team may be funded by their own national agencies through coordinated or parallel funding mechanisms.

CRCNS accepts two main types of submissions. The first category is Research Proposals, which describe collaborative research projects that develop or apply computational methods to answer substantive neuroscience questions. The second category is Data Sharing Proposals, which focus on enabling the sharing of datasets and other research resources that can accelerate discovery, improve reproducibility, and support the broader community. Both domestic (U.S.-only) and international projects are eligible, and the solicitation highlights a strong emphasis on structured collaboration rather than single-lab efforts.

A notable feature of this program is the set of defined pathways for bilateral and multilateral collaborations. The solicitation describes specific parallel-funding options for U.S. teams collaborating with Germany, France, Israel, Japan, and Spain, and it also allows multilateral projects involving the United States plus two or more CRCNS partner countries. These international configurations come with country-specific rules and limitations, which are laid out in the solicitation (particularly in the section dedicated to partner-country guidance). For non-U.S. principal investigators, the opportunity generally requires following the instructions for applying to the appropriate partner agency, since the non-U.S. portion is typically supported by that partner funder rather than directly by NSF.

In terms of subject matter, the program is broad by design and can align with the interests of any of the participating organizations. That includes fundamental work on nervous system structure and function, computational accounts of perception, cognition, learning, memory, and behavior, as well as studies aimed at understanding mechanisms underlying neurological or psychiatric disorders. The common thread is that computational ideas and methods are not treated as add-ons; they are central tools for generating explanations, making predictions, integrating complex data, and clarifying how neural systems compute and adapt.

On the process side, NSF coordinates the proposal review in collaboration with the domestic and international partners, using a joint panel review process shared across participating funders. This is meant to provide a coherent assessment of interdisciplinary, multi-team projects and to ensure that collaborative proposals are evaluated with input from the relevant communities. The solicitation also signals interest in community-driven activities, including workshops and synthesis papers, particularly when they help define new research directions at the interface of neuroscience and other disciplines and when they have the potential to reshape future brain research and downstream applications.

The posted opportunity information indicates it is a discretionary grant under the Science and Technology and other Research and Development category, with broadly unrestricted eligibility (subject to any specific eligibility clarifications in the full text). The funding opportunity was issued by NSF under Funding Opportunity Number 20-609, with an original closing date of December 10, 2020, and an expected number of awards around 25. The award ceiling is listed as 0, which typically signals that applicants should rely on the solicitation for guidance on appropriate budget levels rather than assuming a fixed maximum from the summary listing.

• The National Science Foundation in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Collaborative Research in Computational Neuroscience" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 47.041, 47.049, 47.070, 47.074, 47.075, 47.079, 81.049, 93.173, 93.213, 93.242, 93.273, 93.279, 93.286, 93.853, 93.866, 93.867.
• This funding opportunity was created on Sep 05, 2020.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Dec 10, 2020. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 25 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.

Apply for 20 609

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