Combinatorics | PD 18 7970

Opportunity Information: Apply for PD 18 7970

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Combinatorics program (Funding Opportunity Number PD 18-7970) is a discretionary grant opportunity that supports research in combinatorics, broadly defined as the study of discrete structures. The program’s scope spans many core areas of the field, including algebraic combinatorics, enumerative combinatorics, existential and extremal combinatorics, geometric combinatorics, and probabilistic combinatorics, with graph theory explicitly included. In practical terms, this means the program is aimed at advancing fundamental theory and methods related to discrete objects such as graphs, hypergraphs, set systems, discrete geometries, permutations, partitions, and related algebraic or probabilistic structures, along with new techniques for proving structural, counting, and optimization-style results in these settings.

The opportunity is administered by the NSF, and awards are made through the grant funding instrument under the “Science and Technology and other Research and Development” activity category. The listing identifies CFDA number 47.049, which corresponds to NSF’s general research support umbrella. Eligibility is listed as “Unrestricted,” indicating that proposals are not limited to a narrow class of applicants within the posting itself; however, applicants should still follow NSF’s standard eligibility rules and institutional requirements that typically apply to NSF proposals.

In addition to research proposals, the program description highlights support for community activities such as conferences, workshops, and summer or winter schools. For proposals that center on organizing such events, NSF directs principal investigators to consult the separate NSF solicitation titled “Conferences and Workshops in the Mathematical Sciences,” which lays out specific expectations for conference-style proposals (for example, what content should be included, how to justify the need and impact, how to address participant selection and diversity, how the agenda is structured, and how outcomes will be disseminated). A key administrative requirement is timing: conference proposals must be submitted at least six months before the event is scheduled to occur. NSF also notes a preference that the proposal be submitted within the same fiscal year as the conference when possible; NSF’s fiscal year begins on October 1, so organizers typically need to plan submissions with that calendar in mind to reduce scheduling and budgeting complications.

The opportunity’s original closing date is listed as 2024-09-24, meaning applicants should treat late September 2024 as a critical deadline marker for planning purposes, while also verifying current due dates and submission windows on NSF’s site since NSF programs sometimes use target dates, recurring deadlines, or updated solicitations. The record does not specify an award ceiling or expected number of awards, which usually implies that award sizes and counts may vary depending on proposal type (research vs. conference), project scope, available program funds in a given year, and the quality and relevance of submissions.

Overall, this NSF program is designed to fund high-quality research and scholarly convenings that push forward the theory and methods of combinatorics and graph theory, including work that develops new results about discrete structures, introduces novel proof techniques, connects combinatorics with neighboring areas of mathematics, and strengthens the research community through well-structured, well-justified meetings and training activities.

• The National Science Foundation in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Combinatorics" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 47.049.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2018-03-29.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-09-24. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted.

Apply for PD 18 7970

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