Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace (SaTC) “Top 10” Tips for SaTC Proposals One program director’s observations Sol Greenspan

Disclaimers Talk shares some observations about proposals  Observations you might glean from panels  Not an official NSF FAQ – just my opinions  Other program directors may have their own lists  Use your own judgment  “Top 10” ? Not humorous, and there are 11 2

Title and Project Summary  Used to decide if proposal is in scope of SaTC (and/or other) program  Used to sort proposals into SaTC panels  Avoid distracting digressions, allusions, puns, ambiguities. Metaphors only if really good.  Multiple program directors may read them, with varying degrees of expertise in the main thrusts of the proposal 3 Make as clear and straight-forward as possible 10

Why is the research important?  Don’t assume the reviewers know why – tell them  What is the relationship of your research to “big questions” in the field?  Explain both intellectual merit and broader impacts, short-term and long-term, goals and possibilities  Bottom line: why should the nation invest in this research? 4 Explain why the research is important to fund 9

Comparison to related work  Establish that your work has not been done already by others and will be a significant advancement  Need more than “others working on this problem are [refs]” and “so-and-so takes a similar but different approach [refs]  Not helpful to say “malware has been much studied [see refs 1-23, 46-61, 78, 99, 120]”  Use related work to justify approach, highlight originality, comparative effectiveness, potential breakthroughs, etc. 5 Explain what makes your project “competitive” 8

Prior Work by You  Most research directions go beyond a single project  Where does the prior work end and the new work start?  Don’t make readers guess how your recent publications relate to the proposed project  Explain how prior/preliminary work validates assumptions, justifies further exploration  NSF requires mention of IM and BI for prior grants 6 Clearly explain the new work to be done 7

Project Management/Coordination  Collaboration Plan required for Frontiers and Medium proposals with more than one PI  Explain how you will coordinate people and activities to achieve the overall vision.  The reader wants a sense that the people and resources are well-reasoned and appropriate for the project, and that some strategic thinking will take place over the course of the project 7 Give reader confidence that there will be executive functioning at work 6

Research Process  Research outcomes are not predictable. What decision points might you encounter? How will you mitigate?  Allow for unexpected results and dynamic changes in direction  What is the process to refine your theories, algorithms, models, etc. ?  Sometimes the research requires novelty/creativity and is a contribution in itself 8 Show that you have thought about contingencies 5

Research Evaluation  What are you evaluating?  How will you evaluate it?  How do others do evaluation in this area?  What is considered an advancement?  Do benchmarks exist (or are you developing them)?  Sometimes evaluation methods require development and are contributions in themselves 9 Explain how you will evaluate progress and results 4

Pursuit of Science  Building a body of long-lasting knowledge  Devising theories that explain phenomena (represented by data, models algorithms, software, etc.)  Problem characterization and solution discovery  Paradigm shifts, different ways to conceptualize the problems, open to new and better solutions  Again: Conscious, explicit evaluation to show advances in the field  Community resources and activities 10 Where is the Science? (Engineering) 3

SaTC Mission  Topically connected: Security, privacy, etc. (e.g., ACM taxonomy)  Threats, attack models, evolving societal scenarios, etc.  Foundational (software, hardware, networks, systems, formal methods, etc.) with strong connection to SaTC  National needs and priorities (e.g., CNCI, CSIA): designed-in security, moving target, tailored trustworthy spaces, science of security, cyber-economics 11 How does your proposal support the SaTC mission? 2

Broader Impacts  What is your contribution to the SaTC mission?  You will publish, educate/train, and develop curriculum  Impact on other fields of research  Impact on business/industry or on society  Outreach to share knowledge with communities 12 1 Concrete activities

Your Career  Work on topics that you believe in and motivate you.  Always in the process of building a track record.  Network with others to build community around important areas and accelerate the pace of research.  Propose your best ideas 13 What is your passion? 0

 Further comments/suggestions from PIs?  Further comments/suggestions from PDs? Sol Greenspan 14 The End