[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 144 (Friday, July 25, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43477-43478]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-16975]


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NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION


Invitation To Submit White Papers To Inform the Five-Year 
Strategic Plan for the Federal Networking and Information Technology 
Research & Development Program

AGENCY: The National Coordination Office (NCO) for Networking and 
Information Technology Research and Development (NITRD).

ACTION: Request for Input (RFI).

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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Detrice M. Wallace at (703) 292-4873.

DATES: To be considered, submissions must be received by August 25, 
2008.
SUMMARY: This plan will focus on goals and capabilities that can only 
be achieved through interagency cooperation and coordination, and will 
complement and support the strategic plans of the individual agencies. 
It will encompass vision-driven themes in multiple dimensions to show 
research & development capabilities and challenges by using scenarios 
that demonstrate societal and economic impact.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    1. Overview: The Subcommittee on Networking and Information 
Technology Research and Development (NITRD) is soliciting input from 
government, academia, and industry in the U.S. and abroad to assist in 
the development of a Five-Year Strategic Plan for the NITRD Program.
    The strategic plan will focus primarily on R&D goals that require 
interagency coordination, including multi-agency investments and joint 
programs, and respond to the priorities of the Federal government as a 
whole. This plan will complement and support each participating 
agency's strategic plan.
    This Request for Input is not a funding opportunity or a 
solicitation for proposals. Anonymized versions of some responses will 
be made publicly available to promote further discussion.
    2. Focus of the Strategic Plan: The NITRD five-year strategic plan 
will guide the coordinated R&D efforts of the Federal agencies in the 
NITRD Program (see http://www.nitrd.gov for a description of the 
program and a listing of participating agencies). The strategic plan 
will:
     Define a vision for the NITRD Program and identify 
desired, future networking and information technologies (NIT) 
capabilities.
     Provide a five-year framework for prioritizing fundamental 
research to attain major advances in the desired capabilities within 
ten years.
     Ensure collaboration across agencies, academia, industry, 
and other domains to solve challenges that cannot be met by any agency 
acting alone.
     Illustrate potential societal and economic positive impact 
on national-level and multi-disciplinary challenges (e.g., 
cybersecurity, healthcare, renewable energy, and environment).
    3. Description of Information Sought: The NITRD Subcommittee seeks 
input from a range of stakeholders with the goal of developing an 
effective strategic plan for R&D to yield high-payoff scientific and 
engineering capabilities in NIT. The submissions should seek to answer 
the following questions:
     What do you imagine as the future in terms of desired NIT 
capabilities?
     What roles do you imagine for the NITRD Program and for 
the academic, commercial, international, and other domains in achieving 
that future?
    In addressing these questions, submitters are challenged to present 
views and input on one or more of the following subjects, in relation 
to NIT:
     Development and execution of multi-agency and multi-
disciplinary programs.
     Determination of strategic goals, key challenges, 
opportunities, and research priorities.
     Examples that illustrate the impact of realizing the 
vision, achieving the proposed goals, and meeting the identified 
challenges.
     Transition of R&D results into practice.
     Role of the U.S. in the international NIT arena.
     Interactions among government, commercial, academic, and 
international sectors.
    4. Background: A unique collaboration of 13 Federal agencies, the 
NITRD Program's mission is to formulate Federal NIT R&D to meet the 
following national goals:
     Assure continued U.S. leadership in NIT to meet Federal 
goals and support U.S. 21st century government, academic, and 
industrial interests.
     Accelerate deployment of advanced and experimental NIT to 
enhance national and homeland security; maintain world leadership in 
science, engineering, and mathematics; improve the quality of life; 
promote long-term economic growth; increase lifelong learning; and 
protect the environment.
     Advance U.S. productivity and competitiveness through 
long-term scientific and engineering research in NIT.
    Currently there are two documents available for gathering 
background information. The first is the August 2007 publication, 
Leadership Under Challenge: Information Technology R&D in a Competitive 
World, an assessment of the NITRD Program by the President's Council of 
Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST). A central recommendation in 
this assessment is the development, implementation, and maintenance of 
a cohesive strategic plan for the NITRD Program. The second document is 
the NITRD Program's previous internal Strategic Plan. The documents are 
available at: http://www.nitrd.gov/pubs/index.htm
    5. Submission Information: To be considered, submissions must be 
received by August 25, 2008. Submitters of the white papers should:
     Focus on interagency coordination of major NIT research 
directions and the proposed priorities of the Federal government as a 
whole.

[[Page 43478]]

     Put all information in the main text; references may be 
used for background information.
     Transmit the submissions as electronic documents to [email protected].
     Limit the size of documents to two pages.
    Note that this is an initial opportunity for public input to the 
strategic planning process; additional opportunities are expected as 
the plan is developed.
    This invitation is not a funding opportunity or a solicitation for 
proposals. Anonymized versions of some responses will be made publicly 
available to promote further discussion.
    The NITRD public Web site at http://www.nitrd.gov provides 
background information on the activities of the NITRD Program and its 
interagency coordinating groups. For general inquiries, please send e-
mail to [email protected].

Chris Greer,
Director, NCO, Co-Chair, NITRD Subcommittee.
Jeannette Wing,
Assistant Director, NSF/CISE, Co-Chair, NITRD Subcommittee.
    Submitted by the National Science Foundation for the National 
Coordination Office (NCO) for Networking and Information Technology 
Research and Development (NITRD) on July 21, 2008.
Suzanne H. Plimpton,
Reports Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation.
[FR Doc. E8-16975 Filed 7-24-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7555-01-P