Proposal submissions due June 25, 2025 5:00 p.m.
Objective
The Commonwealth Cyber Initiative (CCI) is establishing Virginia as a global center of excellence at the
intersection of security, autonomous systems, and data. With a mission of research, innovation, and
workforce development, CCI serves as a catalyst for the Commonwealth’s long-term leadership in this
sector through the leadership of a central hub and four regional nodes. The Central Virginia Node (CVN)
is led by Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU).
As the CVN leader, VCU uses CCI funding to strengthen a robust research program and seeks to support
projects related to CVN’s research focus areas: cyber physical systems, autonomous systems, Internet of Things (IoT) as it applies to medical device security and smart city technology. This CCI-funded program aims to fund projects that relate directly to CCI’s overall mission and CVN’s research focus areas and aims to produce novel research.
Eligibility
Eligible applicants must be full-time faculty at a CVN institution. Eligible applicants may serve as a
Principal Investigator (PI) on one application, and as a co-PI on one additional application. Each proposal
must include a co-PI from another institution within CVN 1 . We also encourage researchers who have not previously been funded by CCI to apply. However, PIs or co-PIs who are currently funded through CCI or CVN on three or more projects at the time of award are not eligible to apply. I.E. PIs or co-PIs should have no more than three CCI or CVN projects running concurrently.
Focus areas are limited to: cyber physical systems, autonomous systems, IoT as it applies to medical
device security and smart city technology. Proposals must be approved by the lead institution’s Office of
Sponsored Programs (OSP) prior to the proposal deadline.
Awards
- Amount of Funds to be Awarded: $800,000
- Maximum Award Amount: $100,000
- Match: No match is required for this funding announcement.
Award Details: Awardees will also be required to submit periodic reporting. PIs and co-PIs are expected
to participate in CVN meetings, present research findings at CVN and CCI poster sessions, and respond
to data collection requests by CCI, and may be asked to present their research at other CCI engagements as required.
Schedule
| Event | Date |
|---|---|
| RFP Released | May 28, 2025 |
| Final Day for Q&A | June 11, 2025 |
| Submission Deadline | June 25, 2025 – 5:00 PM |
| Award Notification | By August 1, 2025 |
| Project Period | August 1, 2025 – July 31, 2026 |
Proposal Submission
Proposals must be submitted no later than the close of the business day (5:00pm) on Friday, June 25, 2025. All proposals must be uploaded to the jotform as a single PDF document. Proposals received after the deadline will not be considered. The CVN proposal jotform can be found here.
Proposal Guidelines and Evaluation Criteria
For complete details on proposal formatting requirements and evaluation criteria, please refer to the full Call for Proposals document.
Contact Information
For questions on this solicitation or technical assistance with submitting an application, contact
ccicvn@vcu.edu.
