Platforms for Advanced Wireless Research Program – Subawards RFP Status

On March 8, 2017, the National Science Foundation (NSF) announced a $6.1 million, five-year award to accelerate fundamental research on wireless communication and networking technologies through the foundation’s Platforms for Advanced Wireless Research (PAWR) program.

Through the PAWR Project Office (PPO), award recipients US Ignite, Inc. and Northeastern University will collaborate with NSF and industry partners to establish and oversee multiple city-scale testing platforms across the United States. The PPO will manage nearly $100 million in public and private investments over the next seven years.

Within the next four months, the PPO will develop a Request for Proposals (RFP) calling for teams of communities and research universities to propose the design, development, deployment, and initial operations of multiple platforms for advanced wireless research across the country.
If your organization is interested in responding to the RFP when it is released, go to the PAWR website and click on “Get Involved”.

About the RFP Process:

  • The PPO anticipates re-issuing the RFP annually on an as-needed basis and subject to the availability of funds to reflect the nature of the contributions from the PAWR Industry Consortium and planned investment by NSF. It is anticipated that the PPO will have annual deadlines for submission during each of the first three years (i.e., 2017, 2018, and 2019).
  • Each year, following receipt of proposals in response to the RFP, the PPO will run a merit review process, comparable to that of NSF, to evaluate the submitted proposals.
  • The awardees of the RFP will be selected based on the merit review process, in consultation with NSF and the PAWR Industry Consortium.
  • Selected awardees of the RFP will be sub-awardees of the PPO.
  • The announcement of the subawardees for the first research platforms is anticipated early next year (2018). The location(s) of the platform(s) will be announced at that time.
  • It is anticipated that the first set of platforms for advanced wireless research will be available for use by late 2019 or early 2020.