All —
In this first issue of Inside XSEDE following the holiday break, I want to say that I hope everyone had the opportunity to spend time with family and friends and to recharge their batteries. It is so very important that we maintain an appropriate balance in our lives and it is my hope that folks had an opportunity to ensure they are maintaining that balance over the break.
In this note I want to address a topic that many have been asking about, namely: "What comes after the current XSEDE award?"
I wish there was more to say, but the short version is that the only thing we know for certain is that NSF intends to issue a solicitation for some form of follow-on investments. It is not known what form that solicitation will take and how the ongoing program will be structured.
On the positive side of this, NSF has made clear efforts over the past 12-18 months to gather community input on what directions they should take with respect to investments in national cyberinfrastructure. This has come in various forms including: requests for information soliciting feedback on specific questions, workshops exploring the current and future needs of the community, and draft "blueprint" documents that NSF has encouraged comment regarding. I and many other members of the XSEDE team have contributed to the community input through all of these mechanisms — in fact, we will be submitting a formal response to the draft "Transforming Science through Cyberinfrastructure: Coordination Services" document in the next few days and will address the additional documents as well.
At this point, we are anxiously awaiting the issuance of that solicitation to allow us, under the current award, to better understand how to prepare for any potential transitions when the current award expires. It will also inform how this team can organize for potential
response(s) to that solicitation in order to provide a smooth transition for the broader national research community with which we partner to advance science.
As we continue to monitor the communications from NSF, we will once again be ramping up our annual planning phase. I always find this period of planning for the coming year exciting as we consider what we can accomplish and how we can bring further value to the research community. While the planning process is a considerable undertaking,
imagining the possibilities and engaging our stakeholders in the process is always invigorating and inspiring.
As always, I want to reiterate my appreciation for the efforts of everyone in the collaboration. It has evolved into something that is very effective and a tremendous asset to the research enterprise of this nation. You should all be proud of this
—
I know I am.
Thanks!
John
