Microsoft Research Asia
Trustworthy Computing Research and Curriculum2005
Request for Proposals (RFP)

Background

Microsoft has made significant investments in Trustworthy Computing,both internally and externally through collaboration with governments, industrial partners, consortiums and policy boards, and academic researchers. However, the company also recognizes that exposing students to Trustworthy Computing concepts in the context of a rigorous program of study provides an important foundation for tomorrow’s professionals. With thousands of students graduating every year in law, business, and computing-related majors, universities need to play a key role in leading the effort to building a more secure future.

Motivation for the announcement of this Request for Proposals (RFP) is derived from the lessons learned from Microsoft’s ongoing Trustworthy Computing Initiative ( This RFP is influenced by the issues highlighted in the National Research Council Computer Science and Telecommunications Board (CSTB) study “Trust in Cyberspace” ( and Microsoft’s ongoing commitment to working with universities, industry partners, and professional and accreditation bodies to raise awareness about the importance of research and teaching Trustworthy Computing and Software Engineering across the range of technical curricula.

Goals & Objectives

Microsoft Research Asia will fund a variety of projects which either:-

  1. demonstrate innovative research, or
  2. propose the creation, testing and dissemination of new curriculum introducing advanced topics of Trustworthy Computing into technical and business curricula.

Microsoft is focused on advancing Trustworthy Computing by developing innovative technology and policy in the five areas listed below—what we refer to as the “Four Pillars” of Trustworthy Computing, plus a new emphasis on Secure Software Engineering.

Our goal in adding Secure Software Engineering as a topic of emphasis is to encourage the fundamental understanding of theories and tools used for secure design, threat analysis and modeling, security testing, and common coding challenges.

Curriculum proposalsmayfocus on the creation of fullcourses, or a series of discrete teaching modules that could be integrated into other courses or programs of study.Emphasis on deep understanding and targeted instruction of advanced topics in each of the four conceptual “pillars” of Trustworthy Computing and Secure Software Engineering principles is preferred.

  • Security—The ability of a system to protect information and system resources with respect to confidentiality and integrity.
  • Privacy—Maintaining the right to control what information is collected about a user, how it is used, who may useit, who maintains it, and thepurpose it is used for.
  • Reliability —Incorporates topics such as reliable software and services; a broader definition than stand-alone system uptime.
  • Business Integrity —Adherence to relevant laws, policies, and ethical practices germane to Trustworthy Computing.
  • Secure Software Engineering— Emphasis on writing correct, maintainable, and secure code.

Microsoft Research Asia (MSRA)

We encourage submissions that are complementary with the research groups in MSRA in order to foster closer collaboration in the region. The related groups are:

  • System Research Group ( Reliable, highly fault-tolerant distributed systems and the tools for development. Operating system support and security.. See web site for more information on this research group’s activities.
  • Internet Media Group ( protection and security, privacy protection, anti-piracy, especially for P2P systems. See web site for more information on this research group’s activities.
  • Wireless and Networking Group ( Trustworthy computing base, esp. anti-virus, device firewall, shield/patching, power-efficient security mechanisms for smart phones and portable devices; SIM/STK/Smart card based security algorithms. Secure self-management for wireless networks, esp. for network setup, key distribution, membership management.

Awards

Microsoft Research Asia anticipates giving up to 12 awards averaging US$15,000 each. All awards will be in US dollars.

All awards will be made as unrestricted gifts to the lead PI’s institution with the understanding that recipients are expected to provide Microsoft Research Asia with brief progress reports at least twice yearly.Award winners will be encouraged to attend a Theme Workshop (which will incorporate Trustworthy Computing) at Microsoft Research Asia in Beijing China in March 2006.

Funding for all associated travel is included in the awards.

Awards under this program are for one year, and are renewable at the sole discretion of Microsoft Research Asia.

Eligibility

  1. The proposing institution must be an accredited four year college or university with non-profit status.
  1. An institution will be awarded a maximum of one grant per RFP, regardless of the number of proposals submitted from the institution.However, collaborative proposals embracingmultiple groups across the organization are encouraged.
  1. Proposals that are incomplete, inaccurate, request funds in excess of the maximum award available, or are otherwise not responsive to the terms and conditions of this RFP will, at the sole discretion of Microsoft Research Asia, be excluded from consideration.
  1. Proposals must evidence a commitment to make any intellectual property (IP) created as part of a funded project broadly available for non-commercial use, including redistribution, under a non-restrictive license. (A typical example can be found at
  1. Trustworthy Computing topics address both technical and social concepts.Therefore, proposals are actively solicited from traditional, computationallyfocused scientific disciplines as well asfrom business and law.
  1. Funding requests must be in U.S. dollars.
  1. Previous Trustworthy Computing Research or Curriculum RFP winners who received awards in 2005 are eligible to submit.
  1. In addition to the above, all proposals submitted should meet the following minimum criteria:
  1. Where the response is for a research project, the response should demonstrate innovative research results in one or more of the four conceptual Trustworthy Computing “pillars” referenced above.
  1. Where the response is for a curriculum project, the response should demonstrate tangible results in the creation of content and other materials to facilitate the teaching of a course in advanced topics relating to one of the following areas: security, privacy, reliability, and business integrity.
  1. The proposalmustinclude a plan to deliver the research results or the created course material no later than the 2007–2008 academic year.
  1. The proposal must evidence a commitment to place unrestricted rights to all created materials into the public domain, and to permit all created curriculum materials to be hosted and disseminated from Microsoft Developer Network Academic Alliance Curriculum Repository (
  1. The proposal and created course materials must be in English; however, translation of these course materials into other languages is highly desirable.

Submission Process

Proposals will be accepted in electronic form only through osals submitted to Microsoft will not be returned. Microsoft cannot assume responsibility for the confidentiality of information in submitted proposals. Therefore, proposals should not contain information that is confidential, restricted or sensitive. Microsoft reserves the right to make public proposals that receive awards, except those portions containing budgetary or personally identifiable information.

The submission process via the email address above includes two components:-

  1. Brief summary and contact information. Applicants must provide full contact information for principal investigators, amount requested and a brief abstract.
  1. Complete proposal containing full detail on the proposed project. Seven (7) pages maximum, 10-point font or larger, double-spaced, in either Microsoft Word or PDF format.

Proposals should fully address each of the items listed below under separate numbered headings.

  1. Problem Statement—What is the research or curriculum area to be addressed and if curriculum, why is it important to the overall degree program of which it is a part?Who will be performing the work (faculty, research scientists, graduate students, others)?What opportunities exist for others to build on the work?
  2. For curriculum proposals only - How many students take (or are expected to take) this course annually? Will the proposed project be an update of existing core or elective course content, or new material? What other courses will this affect?
  1. Expected outcomes—What tangible assets, if any, will be created or produced as a result of this project?How will the results of this project be disseminated to others?
  1. Schedule—When will the project be completed? What milestones will be used to measure progress of the project and when will they be completed. (If the project described is part of a larger ongoing research program, estimate the time for completion of this part of the project only).
  1. Use of Funds—Need to provide a high-level budget describing how the award will be used.
  1. Dissemination and Evaluation—How will the results of this project be evaluated (if appropriate), how will they be disseminated to others? (Please refer to eligibility criteria for specific requirements.)
  1. Other Support—Including other contributions to this project (cash, goods, or services), if any, but not including such things as use of university facilities otherwise provided for an ongoing basis. Please note: authors of winning proposals will be required to submit an original letter on department letterhead certifying the commitment of any additional or matching support described in the proposal.
  1. Qualifications of Principal Investigator—Include a brief description of any relevant prior research, teaching, publication, or other professional experience. A detailed vita or list of publications is not required.

Selection Process and Criteria

All proposals received will be reviewed by Microsoft Research Asia and eligible proposals may be evaluated by a panel of subject-matter experts chosen by Microsoft Research Asia. All evaluations will be conducted anonymously. Based on evaluations by the review panel, Microsoft Research Asia will select the most worthy proposals for funding.Microsoft ResearchAsia reserves the right to fund proposals at an amount greater or less than the amount requested.

Due to the volume of submissions, Microsoft Research Asia cannot provide individual feedback on proposals that are not funded (i.e., do not receive awards).

All proposals will be evaluated based upon the following criteria:

  1. Demonstrates need—Identifies and explains the importance of research or teaching advanced topics of Trustworthy Computing. Highlights areas in the existing curricula that may be augmented with Trustworthy Computing materials. What is the impact of this proposal on the market/applications/MS products/curricula?
  1. Originality of approach or teaching strategy—Designed to make trustworthy computing topics interesting, engaging, and meaningful to students in the target discipline. What kind of related problems have been addressed by the PI/other researchers? What is new in this proposal or what is unique about this proposal in relation to what the PI/others have done?
  1. Scope and quality of deliverables—Including the range of topics addressed, the type of assets created, procedures for ensuring the quality of those assets, and rationale for the production budget.
  1. Thoroughness—Winning proposals must thoroughly demonstrate knowledge of the topic and describe the significance of the research or the importance of teaching this topic. What tools or expertise are required to complete the project?
  1. Potential for wide dissemination and use—Of intellectual property created, including specific plans for publications, conference presentations, distance learning,as well as plans to distribute content in multiple formats and/or under non-restrictive licensing terms.
  1. Demonstration of ability to complete the project—Including the adequacy of available resources,timelines, qualifications and number of identified contributors. What is the greatest challenge in this proposal?
  1. Qualifications of principal investigator—Including previous history of work in the topic area, successful completion of previous funded projects, teaching awards, books published, and so on. Why is it feasible for the PI to carry out the project?
  1. Risks - What are the risks associated with the project?

Schedule and Deadlines

Announcement:October 1, 2005

Last date for submission of proposals:December 24, 2005,

Notification of awards:January 25, 2006

MSRA Regional Theme Workshop:March 22 to 25, 2006 (Beijing)

Additional Resources

Microsoft’s Trustworthy Computing site

Trust in Cyberspace

MSDNAA Curriculum Repository

National Colloquium for Information Systems Security Education

National Information Assurance Training and Education Center

National Cybersecurity Partnership - Security Across the Software Development Life Cycle

Microsoft Research Asia, System Research Group homepage

Questions concerning this RFP should be sent to . Please include “Trustworthy Computing RFP” in the subject line of the email message to ensure prompt attention.

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