1.
The Future of Smart & Connected Communities:
Driving Research and Community Impact
Erwin Gianchandani, PhD
Deputy Assistant Director
Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering
National Science Foundation
June 27, 2017

2.
The Federal Smart Cities and
Communities Landscape

3.
Smart Cities and Communities
Activities across the Federal Government since 2015
Smart Cities and
Communities Task Force
(SCC)
Coordination efforts began in June 2016

4.
Agencies’ Investments Align with their Missions
Spanning research and development and on to deployment

5.
Smart Cities and Communities Task Force
Publishes Draft Federal Strategic Plan and Resource Guide

6.
The Role of NSF

7.
National Science Foundation’s Mission
“To promote the progress of science; to advance the
national health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the
national defense...”

8.
Tremendous Economic Impact of Computing Research
Advances in computing, communications,
information technologies, and
cyberinfrastructure:
 drive U.S. competiveness
- IT accounts for 25% of economic growth since 1995;
- resulted in many billion-dollar industries: networking,
software, digital communications, computer graphics, AI and
robotics, and more
 have profound impacts on our daily lives.
Source: National Research Council. 2012. Continuing Innovation in Information Technology.
1970
1980
1990
2000
2010
University
Industry
Product
($B,$10B)

9.
Computer Science
Education
Manufacturing, Robotics, &
Smart Systems
Big Data R&D
Image Credit: CCC and SIGACT CATCS
National Strategic Computing
Initiative
Image Credit: Texas Advanced Computing Center
Image Credit: Eliza Grinnell/HarvardSEAS
Understanding the Brain
Image Credit: ThinkStock
Image Credit: Calvin Lin, University of Texas, Austin
Smart & Connected
Communities
Image Credit: US Ignite
Cybersecurity
Image Credit: ThinkStock
Computing Research Addresses National Priorities

10.
NSF Provides the Foundation of
Knowledge for Smart and
Connected Communities

11.
Cyberlearning: $1M
Cyber-physical Systems: $4M
BIGDATA: $1MUS IGNITE: $10M
Smart and Connected Health: $1M
Big Data Hubs & Spokes: $2M
Partnerships for
Innovation: $7M
Global Cities Teams Challenge: $1M
NSF Invested >$35M in Smart and Connected Communities
in FY 2016
Smart and Connected Communities DCL: $8M
Energy &
Environment
Transportation
Health
Networking
Public Safety
Energy
Environment
Health
Learning
Networking
Public Safety
Transportation
Image Credit: iStock

12.
Builds Upon, Expands NSF’s Investments in US Ignite
• Launched in June 2012;
celebrating five years this
month
• Supported over two dozen
projects directly pursuing
next-gen application
prototypes, pilots
• Nontraditional approaches:
US Ignite, Inc., and Mozilla
Foundation
NSF Smart & Connected Communities
Scaling up across communities
US Ignite, Inc.:
Smart Gigabit Communities
Mozilla Foundation:
Gigabit Community Fund
Application prototypes, leveraging “gig” islands
NSF grants
Micro-grants,
Challenge prizes

13.
Builds Upon, Expands NSF’s Investments in US Ignite
• Launched in June 2012;
celebrating five years this
month
• Supported over two dozen
projects directly pursuing
next-gen application
prototypes, pilots
• Nontraditional approaches:
US Ignite, Inc., and Mozilla
Foundation
• Advanced networks are a
core building block for smart
and connected communities

14.
Platforms for Advanced Wireless Research (PAWR)
 Platforms enabling at-scale experimentation on advanced wireless technology (e.g., robust new
wireless devices, communication techniques, networks, systems, and services).
 PAWR Project Office established (PPO; US Ignite, Inc.; Northeastern University) to lead design,
development, deployment, and initial operations of a set of research platforms.
 Platforms will be supported by public and private partners:
• $50M NSF/CISE.
• $50M in-cash & in-kind contributions from Industry Consortium of 24 leading technology companies and
associations.
• First RFP for platforms preliminary proposals were due June 9th, 2017.

15.
NSF Support for GCTC Project Team
& DOT Smart City Challenge Researchers
Electric Shuttles for Safe and Reliable First-Mile, Last-Mile Mobility
• Developing scalable and adaptable
architecture and control system for first-mile,
last-mile autonomous shuttle solution, part of
DOT Smart City Challenge winning team
• Partnerships with Easton Town Center, the
proof-of concept demo site; the City of
Columbus to replicate results in other parts of
the city; and Innova UEV, manufacturer of the
electric vehicles
• Partnering to scale and replicate technology
to several U.S. cities
(Guvenc, et al., Ohio State University)
Image Credit: Meghan Murphy

16.
NSF’s Smart & Connected
Communities (S&CC) Program

17.
Smart and Connected Communities (S&CC) Program
Approximately $18.5M cross-agency FY 2017 investment
Community
Impact
Fundamental
Science and
Engineering
• What are the fundamental science and engineering research questions that
must be addressed within and across disciplines, for community impact?
• How do partnerships enable piloting, testing, and future research in
communities to improve community functioning and quality of life?

18.
Integrative
Research
Community
Engagement
Capacity-Building
for Long-term
Sustainability
Integrated social and
technological advances in
fundamental science
Developing interdisciplinary and
multi-sector teams and
developing sustainability models
Interaction with individuals,
institutions and organizations in
target communities
S&CC Program: Conceptual Framework
Three Components of Successful Proposals

19.
Key Themes for S&CC Research
• Integration of Sectors:
Research and solutions that integrate across sectors (e.g., energy, health,
transportation) and address the interdependencies
• Diversity of Communities:
Inclusivity of all types of geographic communities (e.g., rural, tribal, urban,
suburban), including a range of populations sizes.

20.
How do communities get involved?
• Through programs like S&CC, NSF helps to facilitate partnerships
between community stakeholders and researchers to work
collaboratively.
• You can also partner with NSF to initiate new opportunities to address
issues facing your communities and your residents.

21.
Summary
1. Agencies across the U.S. government are engaging in and
coordinating Smart Cities and Communities efforts.
2. NSF’s Smart & Connected Communities program is focused on
fundamental science and engineering research, with a strong
emphasis on community engagement and long-term sustainability.
3. Community stakeholder and universities have a key role in enabling
Smart and Connected Communities of the future.
4. You can get involved! Reach out to your local universities, or
contact us: SCCquestions@nsf.gov.

22.
It All Starts With You!
1. Agencies across the U.S. government are engaging in and
coordinating Smart Cities and Communities efforts.
2. NSF’s Smart and Connected Communities program is focused on
fundamental science and engineering research, with a strong
emphasis on community engagement and long-term sustainability.
3. Community stakeholder and universities have a key role in
enabling Smart and Connected Communities of the future.
4. You can get involved! Reach out to your local universities, or
contact us: SCCquestions@nsf.gov.

23.
• Copyrighted material used under Fair Use. If you are the copyright holder and believe
your material has been used unfairly, or if you have any suggestions, feedback, or
support, please contact: ciseitsupport@nsf.gov.
• Except where otherwise indicated, permission is granted to copy, distribute, and/or
modify all images in this document under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation
license, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with
no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover Texts. A copy of the
license is included in the section entitled “GNU Free Documentation license” at
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Commons:GNU_Free_Documentation_License.
• The inclusion of a logo does not express or imply the endorsement by NSF of the
entities' products, services, or enterprises.
Credits

24.
Partner No.
Solicitations
NSF
investment
Partner
investment
Semiconductor
Research
Corporation (SRC)
5 $32 million $16 million
Intel Labs 4 $12 million $12 million
VMware, Inc. 1 $4 million $2 million
PAWR Industry
Consortium
(comprising 24
companies)
1 $50 million $50 million
Amazon, Google,
and Microsoft
1 $24 million $9 million
Totals 12 $122 million $89 million
Investment Overview: Joint investments
between CISE and industry in FY 2014-2017

25.
Key Themes for S&CC Research
• Interdisciplinary Research that Advances Fundamental Science:
Research that integrates and advances social, behavioral, and economic sciences, policy
and implementation, and technical disciplines
• Community Engagement and Iterative Research with Authentic Evaluation:
Research questions inspired by community needs and iterative cycle of conducting
research, and piloting and evaluating solutions in the community
• Capacity Building and Sustainability for Long-term Benefit:
Enabling university-community partnerships, civic engagement, and education and
workforce development to facilitate long-term benefits of innovation

26.
Smart and Connected Communities is a priority for CISE, and universities
have a key role, in partnership with community stakeholders, in achieving
the vision of enhanced community functioning and quality of life.