Safe-OSE aims to "address safety, security, and/or privacy vulnerabilities proactively in existing, mature OSEs". It encourages submissions which aim to address both technical and socio-technical issues within existing mature OSEs. Importantly, Safe-OSE is inclusive of all types of OSEs, not limited to software-based ones, but also encompassing scientific methodologies, manufacturing processes, materials formulations, programming languages, hardware instruction sets, system designs, and data platforms.
Proposers are expected to demonstrate a thorough understanding of their OSE's threat landscape and provide a realistic plan to mitigate identified risks. The goal is to catalyze meaningful improvements that the OSE currently lacks the resources to undertake. Proposals should not focus on fundamental research or resolving known bugs but rather on strategies that will fundamentally improve the OSE's resilience against adverse events over the long term.
Safe-OSE requires the submission of a preliminary proposal in order to be invited to submit a full proposal.
Preliminary proposals should have the following qualities & objectives (as per the solicitation):
Describe the current status of the targeted OSE and provide pointers to the OSE managing organization and the public repositories for the open-source product. As the PAPPG does not permit URLs in the Project Description, use the References Cited section of the proposal to identify the appropriate resources.
Describe the national/societal/economic impacts of the OSE.
Articulate the targeted classes of safety, security, and/or privacy vulnerabilities to be addressed and the broader impacts of addressing them. Discuss, as appropriate, the potential attacks that could take advantage of these vulnerabilities.
Briefly describe a development plan to address these vulnerabilities.
Briefly describe an evaluation plan to assess the efficacy of the work.
Provide information to substantiate compliance with the eligibility requirements.
Preliminary proposals require the above to be up to 5 pages.
Full proposals are submitted according to the NSF PAPPG guidelines. Further details can be found on the solicitation.
10 Total
Each award will be for 24 months. The budget for Year 1 should be up to a maximum of $500,000 and the budget for Year 2 should be up to a maximum of $1,000,000, for a total budget of up to $1,500,000 per award.
Estimated program budget, number of awards and average award size/duration are subject to the availability of funds.
According to the latest solicitation:
Proposals may only be submitted by the following:
- Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) - Two- and four-year IHEs (including community colleges) accredited in, and having a campus located in the US, acting on behalf of their faculty members. Special Instructions for International Branch Campuses of US IHEs: If the proposal includes funding to be provided to an international branch campus of a US institution of higher education (including through use of sub-awards and consultant arrangements), the proposer must explain the benefit(s) to the project of performance at the international branch campus, and justify why the project activities cannot be performed at the US campus.
- Non-profit, non-academic organizations: Independent museums, observatories, research laboratories, professional societies and similar organizations located in the U.S. that are directly associated with educational or research activities.
- For-profit organizations: U.S.-based commercial organizations, including small businesses, with strong capabilities in scientific or engineering research or education and a passion for innovation.
- State and Local Governments
- Tribal Nations: An American Indian or Alaska Native tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village, or community that the Secretary of the Interior acknowledges as a federally recognized tribe pursuant to the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994, 25 U.S.C. §§ 5130-5131.
Proposals must be submitted in accordance with the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG).
January 13 2026 - Next preliminary proposal
April 22 2025 - Next Full Proposal