IRNC: ENgage: Strengthening Global Cyberinfrastructure Ecosystems to Advance International Science Collaboration

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The Network Startup Resource Center (NSRC) develops network communications infrastructure and local engineering capacity in areas of the world where inadequate research and education network (REN) connectivity poses a significant barrier to international collaborations with US scientists and educators. By helping build physical network infrastructure and the human technical capacity to maintain and upgrade it, NSRC assists the US science community by fostering state-of-the-art global cyberinfrastructure (CI), ubiquitous access to global scientific communities, remote scientific instruments, and shared data resources. NSRC exemplifies the NSF's stated strategic goal of "encouraging collaborative research and education across organizations, disciplines, sectors, and international boundaries." NSRC incubates and builds sustainable CI consistent with the guiding principles of the International Research Network Connections (IRNC) program, including: technical training and direct engineering assistance to improve operational infrastructure from university campuses to national and regional RENs; engaging RENs to participate in globally interconnected testbed facilities with the IRNC initiative; disseminating information about best practices for design, development, and operation of CI resources; and amplifying numerous training programs to foster a new generation of network engineers and leaders in underserved communities, while providing experiential learning opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students. NSRC achieves this through targeted capacity building activities and partnerships with universities, RENs, Internet Service Providers, industry, government and supranational agencies in Africa, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, Latin America-Caribbean, and North America. Substantial financial support from industry and international partners, facilitated by NSRC, leverages NSF funds to augment the impact of its work with the global R&E community.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.