21st Century Research-Cyberinfrastructure for MSIs through the Minority Serving - Cyberinfrastructure Consortium (MS-CC): A phased approach to engage the Missing Millions

This project expands access to the cyberinfrastructure necessary for research relevant to Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs), first targeting several Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and a Tribal College. In collaboration with Internet2, through a Cyberinfrastructure Center of Excellence Demonstration Pilot award, the Minority Serving-Cyberinfrastructure Consortium (MS-CC) supports HBCUs, Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), and other MSIs by providing cyberinfrastructure-focused professional development opportunities, advocacy, and community engagement.

This project further accelerates cyberinfrastructure-centric research capacity at MS-CC campuses, taking an approach that can become a repeatable model that drives transformational change in research cyberinfrastructure on a wide range of MSI campuses.

Through Proof-of-Concept Grants (PoCGs) and three shared Tiger Teams, Cyberinfrastructure, Stakeholder Alignment, and Research and Education, the MS-CC is taking the necessary steps to address challenges faced by many MSIs. The PoCGs support the funding of key cyberinfrastructure technology investments (e.g., network services, data storage) as well as local capacity for facilitating researchers and educators in their identification and pursuit of local and external cyberinfrastructure resources for research and STEM education activities.

The Tiger Teams provide facilitation and capability building support for these investments, conducting campus-specific cyberinfrastructure assessments, as well as the expertise to drive implementation of cyberinfrastructure plans and engagement with the greater research and education community.

The MS-CC is a prism and change agent that advances strategies and programs to directly engage and support the 21st century digital STEM workforce by advancing the important research and education work of HBCUs, TCUs, Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), and other MSIs.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.