2025 NSF Program: Verticals-enabling Intelligent Network Systems (VINES)

The overall goal of the partnership between the RCF and the NSF is to enable and facilitate bilateral research collaboration between Finnish and US researchers. This collaboration expects to generate valuable discoveries and innovations that may lead to enhancements in multiple areas of science and technology. The partnership achieves its goals through research projects in which the funding agencies fund the elements of research undertaken by researchers based in their respective nations.

The NSF and the RCF collaborate via a Lead Agency Opportunity, in which the NSF acts as the Lead Agency. In this approach, proposers from both countries will collaborate to write a single proposal. It is the responsibility of the US proposer to submit the proposal to the appropriate NSF programme for review. Researchers from Finland participating in the joint research project will apply for funding separately from the RCF in accordance with the guidelines and procedures provided in this call text.

To be eligible for consideration for RCF funding within the programme, support will be provided on relevant thematic areas in which Finland has widespread demonstrated expertise, represented by the thematic areas of the Finnish Research Flagships.

To be eligible for submission to the NSF, the project must provide significant added value that is not achievable by the Finnish principal investigator (PI) working alone. Funding through RCF will be provided for applications that are selected for funding by the NSF through their standard procedures.

The requirements in this call announcement relate only to applicants applying for funding from the RCF. Before you start preparing to apply for the funding, please read carefully the entire call text, which is published by NSF and only in English:

https://www.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/vines-verticals-enabling-intelligent-network-systems

Moreover, the prospective applicants are asked to note that both the RCF and Business Finland are partner agencies in this programme. Their awards may complement each other. RCF has allocated 6 million euros (Track 1) and Business Finland 10 million euros (Track 2) to this call. For the Business Finland’s funding opportunity, see:

https://www.businessfinland.fi/en/whats-new/calls/2024/partnership-funding-call-6g-bridge-and-quantum-computing

To enable smooth preparation and processing of applications, Finland applicants are advised to contact the RCF or Business Finland as early as possible.

Partners

• U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF)
  • Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering, Division of Computer and Network Systems (CISE)
  • Directorate for Engineering (ENG)
  • Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS)
  • Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (TIP)
• Ericsson Inc.
• Innovation Funding Agency Business Finland (BF)
• Intel Corporation
• Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST)
• The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, India (MeitY)
• National Institute of Information and Communications Technology, Japan (NICT)
• Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.
• Research Council of Finland (RCF)
• Swedish Research Council (SRC)
• U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Science and Technology Directorate (S&T)
• U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
• U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD R&E)

Synopsis of programme

The VINES program seeks to support both fundamental research and verticals-driven technology development, demonstration, and translation activities that will lead to leaps in performance and capabilities of next generation (NextG) advanced intelligent network systems that span the user-edge-core-cloud continuum. The program seeks to go beyond the current research portfolios within individual participating NSF directorates and partner organizations by simultaneously emphasizing gains in performance and capabilities without compromising resilience and interoperability across all layers of the networking protocol and computation stacks. Innovations are sought across the various aspects of next generation communications, networking, and computing systems.

This program is a multisector effort led by the National Science Foundation (NSF), in partnership with several industry and international agency partners, and in cooperation with other U.S. Federal agencies.  It recognizes the importance of advanced telecommunications as a key technology area. The program seeks to enhance U.S. competitiveness in advanced telecommunications technologies to establish itself as a global leader in both NextG wireless telecommunications and emerging potential NextG vertical industries, as well as address the need for skilled workforce and expertise in these technology areas. VINES expects to increase investments in foundational technology innovations and their translation while leveraging international eco-system partners to drive the principles of open and trustworthy networks. It seeks to fund collaborative research that transcends the traditional boundaries of individual disciplines or geographic boundaries to achieve the program goals.

This program is organized into two Tracks:

• Track 1 (Use-inspired Fundamental Research) will support activities focused on use-inspired fundamental research to develop novel networking techniques and solutions.
• Track 2 (Verticals-Driven Technology Development, Demonstration, and Translation) will support activities focused on technology development, maturation, demonstration, integration, and translation of solutions with higher technology readiness levels (TRLs), with the goal of producing adoption-ready technologies. Industry contributions will not be used to fund Track 2.

Companies specifically listed in this solicitation have committed to providing annual unrestricted donations to NSF for the purpose of funding proposals in Track 1. The reference to “industry partners” in this document refers specifically to Ericsson, Intel, and Qualcomm in their role as funding partners in this solicitation. The donations from these partners have been agreed upon based on a shared belief in the importance of advancing use-inspired fundamental research, education, and workforce development goals identified in Track 1.

In the spirit of a whole-of-government approach, the collaborating U.S. Federal agencies listed on this solicitation, NIST, OUSD (R&E), and DHS, referred to as “Federal partners,” have participated in the development of this solicitation. NIST, OUSD (R&E), and DHS intend to consider co-funding proposals subject to availability of funds. Proposals will be recommended for funding in accordance with the NSF Selection Process. The collaborating U.S. agencies may consider funding or co-funding of proposals from either track in this solicitation. Any funds transferred from these partners to NSF will be combined with NSF and other partner funds where applicable to make awards under this program.

As the NextG networks eco-system is global, this program also partners with international agencies to advance research and accelerate technology translation in the spirit of principles and values outlined in the February 26, 2024, “Joint Statement Endorsing Principles for 6G: Secure, Open, and Resilient by Design.”  International funding agencies listed in this solicitation, referred to as “international partners,” from Finland, India, Japan, and Sweden have participated in the development of this solicitation. This program seeks proposals formed entirely by U.S. funded teams, as well as international collaborative proposals formed by U.S. and international partner funded teams. Personnel requesting funding from international partners on international collaborative proposals are referred to as foreign collaborators. For international collaborative proposals, this program supports bi-lateral international projects with the U.S., i.e., projects seeking funding from the U.S. in partnership with only one of the participating international partners. Proposals will be recommended for funding in accordance with the NSF Selection Process. International collaborative proposals are expected to have the international team funded by the respective international partner.

For US-Finland international collaborative projects, the Finnish component of the collaboration will be awarded by the Research Council of Finland for Track 1 and by Business Finland for Track 2, in accordance with their policies and regulations. Anticipated total funding amount available for Finland teams is 6 million euros for Track 1 and 10 million euros for Track 2.

How the programme works – study in detail before application preparation

Proposers from Finland and US will collaborate to write a single proposal. It is the responsibility of the US proposer to submit the proposal to the appropriate NSF programme for review. In this joint call, applicants from Finland can participate in the NSF funding opportunities ‘Verticals-enabling Intelligent Network Systems (VINES)’ via proposals submitted to the NSF between 19 May and 25 August 2025. Intention to submit must be submitted to the RCF on 18 August2025 at the latest (see below for details).

Proposers should comply with the proposal preparation requirements outlined in NSF’s Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG) and submit the proposal through NSF’s FastLane system or Grants.gov and include any additional documents required by the NSF programme.

It is required that the researchers from Finland participating in the joint research project apply for funding separately from the RCF in accordance with the guidelines and procedures provided in this call text.

The steps in the application procedure for researchers from Finland are as follows:

1. Intention to Submit is emailed to the RCF at flagship@aka.fi
2. RCF assesses the eligibility of the project
3. If assessed eligible, the RCF issues ‘Confirmation of Eligibility for Funding’ letter to the applicant
4. US proposer submits the proposal including the ‘Confirmation of Eligibility for Funding’ letter to the appropriate NSF programme for review
5. The proposal is reviewed in accordance with the standard NSF review criteria
6. If the project is selected for funding by the NSF, the RCF first invites the applicant from Finland to submit an application to the RCF and then decides whether it will support the Finnish sub-project.

The steps are described in detail below.

1. Notification of intention to submit

In order to be considered for funding by the RCF, applicants who are eligible (see ‘Who can apply’) must have identified a US collaborator(s) who is (are) willing to develop a joint grant application. The Finnish principal investigator (PI) must send a mandatory ‘Intention to Submit’ form to the RCF using the template provided (see below). The document must be submitted to the RCF at least one week before the proposal is planned to be submitted to the NSF.

In this joint call, the last possible day to submit a ‘Intention to Submit’ to the RCF is 18 August 2025.

The information required is summarised below and the ‘Intention to Submit’ form can be accessed here. Please submit the form to flagship@aka.fi.

1. Contact details of the PIs from both countries
2. NSF target programme/call and planned proposal submission date and funding period
3. Proposed topic, keywords, collaboration and link to the thematic area of the program
4. Description of how the proposed project contributes to the goals of the Flagship programme
5. Costs to be requested from the RCF and indicative total budget figure to be requested from the NSF

1. Free-form commitment by site of research in which the site commits to administering and funding the project must be included as the last page of the letter. Make sure you have a commitment from your site of research (usually a university or research institute) to supporting the project. Read more in the guidelines on the commitment by site of research.

The information in the form will be used for planning purposes and for an eligibility assessment by the RCF (see below).

2. Eligibility assessment

The RCF aims to perform the eligibility assessments as soon as possible after having received ‘Intention to Submit’ forms by email. The RCF will assess the information in the Intention to Submit letter to:

• verify the eligibility of the Finnish applicant(s)
• confirm that the topic links to the thematic area of the program
• determine if there is evidence of significant participation by partners from both countries
• determine if the project advances the goals of the Flagship programme
• pre-approve the budget for the Finnish subproject
• verify the site of research is willing to commit to administering and funding the project

The RCF will confirm via email within a few days of the eligibility assessment whether the project has been deemed eligible. The confirmation email will be accompanied by a ‘Confirmation of Eligibility for Funding’ letter for inclusion in the full proposal submission to the NSF if, and only if, the project has been deemed eligible (see below).

It is important to note that only proposals assessed eligible and having received the ‘Confirmation of Eligibility for Funding’ letter from the RCF will be considered to receive funding from the RCF.

3. Confirmation of Eligibility for Funding

The ‘Confirmation of Eligibility for Funding’ letter issued by the RCF for eligible projects will outline the maximum level of budget commitment subject to NSF selecting the proposal for funding following established NSF grant review/selection processes. The RCF will issue a single ‘Confirmation of Eligibility for Funding’ letter to the RCF applicant(s), who is responsible for ensuring its inclusion in the final proposal submission to the NSF by the US PI.

If, after issuance of the ‘Confirmation of Eligibility for Funding’ letter, the applicant decides not to submit their final proposal to NSF, the applicant is requested to notify the RCF.

4. Submission of final proposal to NSF

In order to be considered for funding by the RCF, the final proposal needs to be submitted to the NSF between 19 May and 25 August 2025 (U.S. Eastern Time Zone). It is the responsibility of the US proposer to submit the proposal including the ‘Confirmation of Eligibility for Funding’ letter to the appropriate NSF programme for review. Proposers should comply with the proposal preparation requirements outlined in the NSF’s PAPPG and submit the proposal through the NSF’s FastLane system or Grants.gov and include any additional documents required by the NSF programme.

5. NSF review

The collaborative RCF-NSF projects will be reviewed in accordance with the standard NSF merit review criteria of intellectual merit and broader impacts of the proposed effort, along with any additional solicitation-specific review criteria. In general, proposal review is completed within six months of submission.

More details on NSF peer review and review criteria are available online.

6. Selections

If a collaborative RCF-NSF project is selected for funding by the NSF, the RCF aims to provide funding for the Finnish component of the project. If the NSF does not select a RCF-NSF project for funding, the RCF will not fund the Finnish subproject alone.

If the overall funding applied by the PIs from Finland in the projects recommended for funding by the NSF exceeds the available funding, the RCF will select the projects it will provide funding for. The selections will be made only after NSF has provided its recommendations on each RCF-NSF application submitted to the NSF within this joint call. Note that in case of individual projects there may be a period of a few months between NSF recommendation and RCF’s selection.

The selections will be made based on:

• availability of RCF budget authority
• results of the NSF review and recommendation by the NSF for projects to be funded. We note that the PIs from Finland are required to attach the review report(s) to their application in the invitation call.
• negotiations between the NSF and the RCF of projects to be selected
• assessment of how well the project is expected to advance the goals of the Flagship programme (based on information in the ‘Intention to Submit’ form)
• maximising diversity of the programme in terms of the program’s thematic fields of research
• RCF’s criteria for research funding decisions and other policies that guide the RCF’s activities (e.g. prioritising applicants in the gender minority in the case of projects of equal merit).

Alternative to making selections and if possible, for both the RCF and NSF, issuing awards may be delayed and the funding decisions may be rolled over to the subsequent funding cycle in a synchronised and coordinated fashion between the RCF and the NSF. This option will be investigated jointly between the RCF and the NSF to avoid situations in which the NSF funds the US component of the project and the RCF does not fund the Finnish component. It is important to note that this possibility does not guarantee that such situations can be avoided.

If the project is selected for funding by the NSF, the RCF first invites the applicant from Finland to submit an application to the RCF via an invitation-only call and then decides following the criteria above whether it will support the Finnish sub-project. When preparing the proposal to be submitted to the RCF, the guidelines provided in this call text and possible further instructions provided by the RCF should be followed.

Applicants are recommended to contact the RCF early on to check national eligibility requirements.

The funding from the RCF can be applied for by individual research teams or consortia composed of two or more research teams from Finnish research organisations. The consortium parties may represent one or several research organisations.

A consortium application is an application built around a joint research plan, where each party to the consortium applies for funding. The RCF treats the consortium application as a single application, although the funding is granted to each subproject separately. Consortium compositions cannot be changed after the call deadline. Read the guidelines for consortium applications.

In addition to a doctoral degree, the PI of the proposed project must also have other significant scientific merits. Usually, the PI is a researcher at the professor or docent (adjunct professor) level. These criteria also apply to subproject PIs in consortia. In addition, the applicant must have a close connection with Finland to support the implementation of a multi-year project. This connection must be evident from the application.

The PI of the application cannot be changed while the application is being processed at the RCF (after the call has closed but before the decision). The only exception to this is if the PI deceases.

Special terms and restrictions

To be eligible for consideration by the RCF, each proposal must have a minimum of one applicant from Finland and the US, and significant research participation by both countries. The collaborative projects must add significant added value that is not achievable by the PI working alone, and the topics proposed must link to advanced wireless communications and/or intelligent network systems research.

A PI requesting funding from the RCF can have only one active RCF-NSF partnership proposal. A proposal is considered active from its submission until the date of the RCF’s funding decision.

If the application includes cooperation with Russia or Belarus, you must take into account the RCF’s policies on the matter.

Members of the Board, Scientific Councils and the Strategic Research Council of the RCF will not be granted RCF funding during their terms.

Funding cannot be granted to a person who has participated in the planning of the call to an extent likely to give them a comparative advantage over other applicants.

We will not process an application if the applicant has been found guilty of research misconduct in the three years preceding the year of the call.

Project duration is expected to be up to 36 months. The funding period must be within the funding period identified in the NSF programme call to which the full proposal is submitted for. The recommended project start date is 1 January 2026.

The RCF is prepared to fund the Finnish components of the collaborative FI-US projects.

The site of research is a Finnish organisation (usually a university or research institute) via which the funding is paid. The maximum funding granted for a three-year project is 750,000 euros.

Funding from the RCF is primarily intended towards the salaries of researchers who work full-time on the project and for other project costs. The PI’s salary costs may, under certain limitations, be incorporated into the total project costs. Read more about the salary of the research project’s PI on the RCF website.

This call is financed with the Research Council of Finland's budget authority for 2025. In case of delays in the processing of the applications resulting in the need to commit the RCF’s budget for 2026 to this call, the funding to be distributed will depend on the Finnish Parliament’s decision to allocate the necessary funds to the RCF in its budget for 2026.

If the project is selected for funding by the NSF, the RCF invites the applicant from Finland to submit an application to the RCF via an invitation-only call following the guidelines provided later by the RCF. The invited application must contain a funding plan drafted in line with the full cost model, including the funding to be applied for from the RCF (up to 70% of the total project costs). Read more about the full cost model.

In general, the funding comes under the conditions and restrictions applicable to RCF Projects. For more details, see the latest version of the funding terms.

How to submit and supplement the application

In this call, applicants from Finland can participate in the NSF funding opportunity ‘Verticals-enabling Intelligent Network Systems (VINES)’ via proposals submitted to the NSF between 19 May and 25 August 2025. The Finnish PI(s) must send a mandatory ‘Intention to Submit’ form to the RCF at least one week before the proposal is planned to be submitted to the NSF.

In this joint call, the last possible day to submit a ‘Intention to Submit’ to the RCF is 18 August 2025.

The PIs of the Finnish subprojects recommended for funding by the NSF will be invited to submit applications to the RCF following the guidelines provided later by the RCF. For more details, study how the programme works in the section ‘Background and objectives’.

The collaborative RCF-NSF projects will be reviewed in accordance with the standard NSF merit review criteria of intellectual merit and broader impacts of the proposed effort, along with any additional solicitation-specific review criteria.

More details on NSF peer review and review criteria are available online.

Funding decisions at RCF will be made by the International Research Collaboration Subcommittee.

If a collaborative RCF-NSF project is selected for funding by the NSF, the RCF aims to provide funding for the Finnish component of the project. If the NSF does not select a RCF-NSF project for funding, the RCF will not fund the Finnish subproject alone.

If the overall funding applied by the PIs from Finland in the projects recommended for funding by the NSF exceeds the available funding, the RCF will select the projects it will provide funding for. The selections will be made only after NSF has provided its recommendations on each RCF-NSF application submitted to the NSF. Note that in case of individual projects there may be a period of a few of months between NSF recommendation and RCF’s selection.

The selections will be made based on:

• availability of RCF budget authority
• results of the NSF review and recommendation by the NSF for projects to be funded. We note that the PIs from Finland are required to attach the review report(s) to their application in the invitation call.
• negotiations between the NSF and the RCF of projects to be selected
• assessment of how well the project is expected to advance the goals of the Flagship programme (based on information in the ‘Intention to Submit’ form)
• maximising diversity of the programme in terms of research topics in the fields of the programme
• RCF’s criteria for research funding decisions and other policies that guide the RCF’s activities (e.g. prioritising applicants in the gender minority in the case of projects of equal merit).

If the project is selected for funding by the NSF, the RCF first invites the applicant from Finland to submit an application to the RCF via an invitation-only call and then decides following the criteria above whether it will support the Finnish sub-project.

• Risto Vilkko, Senior Science Adviser
• Oskari Miettinen, Science Adviser

Our email addresses are in the format firstname.lastname(at)aka.fi.

Feedback and questions, please select Application guidelines, international calls