December 03, 2003

Deadline Dates for CNH and IDEA

December 17, 2003

Deadline Date for GEN-EN

January 22, 2004

Deadline Date for CBC

February 11, 2004

Deadline Date for MUSES

November 17, 2004

Deadline Date for CNH

February 08, 2005

Deadline Date for MUSES

Biocomplexity in the Environment (BE): Integrated Research and Education in Environmental Systems

• Dynamics of Coupled Natural and Human Sys
• Coupled Biogeochemical Cycles
• Genome-Enabled Environmental Sci & Eng
• Instrumentation Development for Envir Activities
• Materials Use: Sci, Eng, & Society

This competition continues the Foundation's support of the Biocomplexity in the Environment Priority Area and promotes comprehensive, integrated investigations of environmental systems using advanced scientific and engineering methods. The concept of biocomplexity stresses the richness of biological systems and their capacity for adaptation and self-organizing behavior. By placing biocomplexity studies in an environmental context, this competition emphasizes research with the following characteristics: (a) a high degree of interdisciplinarity; (b) a focus on complex environmental systems that includes non-human biota or humans; and (c) a focus on systems with high potential for exhibiting non-linear behavior. In FY 2004 and FY 2005, five topical areas will be emphasized:

1. Dynamics of Coupled Natural and Human Systems (CNH);
2. Coupled Biogeochemical Cycles (CBC);
3. Genome-Enabled Environmental Science and Engineering (GEN-EN);
4. Instrumentation Development for Environmental Activities (IDEA);
5. Materials Use: Science, Engineering, & Society (MUSES).

In all areas, quantitative modeling, simulation, analysis, and visualization methods are emphasized, as well as integration of education and a global perspective. Consistent with the guidance provided in each of the five topical areas, individuals or small groups may submit proposals to conduct research projects or exploratory and planning activities. This comprehensive approach to research on biocomplexity in the environment is expected to improve science-based predictive capabilities for decision-making.

Emphasis is also placed on developing the people and tools needed to advance biocomplexity studies. To establish and strengthen interdisciplinary areas of investigation, new communities of investigators need to be formed. This can be accomplished by bringing members of disparate disciplines into teams, by developing new methodologies and expertise, and by reaching beyond the borders of the United States for partners in inquiry. In the process, the next generation of researchers learns to work in diverse teams, cross disciplinary boundaries, and use advanced sensing and monitoring, communication and information technologies to work across many scales of time and space. Plans for the development of new instrumentation and novel modes of access to information are also included.

Five topical areas will be emphasized and supported in this competition, pending availability of funds. These areas are:

• Dynamics of Coupled Natural and Human Systems (CNH), promoting quantitative, interdisciplinary analyses of relevant human and natural system processes and the complex interactions among human and natural systems at diverse scales.
• Coupled Biogeochemical Cycles (CBC), focusing on the interrelations of biological, geochemical, geological, and physical processes at all temporal and spatial scales, with particular emphasis on understanding linkages between chemical and physical cycles and the influence of human and other biotic factors on those cycles.
• Genome-Enabled Environmental Science and Engineering (GEN-EN), encouraging the integrated use of genomic and computational approaches to gain novel insights into environmental questions and problems.
• Instrumentation Development for Environmental Activities (IDEA), supporting the development of instrumentation and software that takes advantage of microelectronics, photonics, telemetry, robotics, chemical and physical sensing systems, modeling, data mining, and analysis techniques to bring recent laboratory instrumentation advances to bear on the full spectrum of environmental biocomplexity questions.
• Materials Use: Science, Engineering, & Society (MUSES), supporting projects that study reducing adverse human impact on the total interactive system of resource use, the design and synthesis of new materials with environmentally benign impacts on biocomplex systems, as well as maximizing the efficient use of individual materials throughout their life cycles.

To view awards that have been made in prior BE competitions, link to www.nsf.gov/ere and click on "List of BE Awardees" at the bottom of the page.

1. Integrative Elements
   1. Quantitative Approaches
   2. Education
   3. Global Perspective  
2. Topical Areas
   1. Dynamics of Coupled Natural and Human Systems (CNH)
   2. Coupled Biogeochemical Cycles (CBC)
   3. Genome-Enabled Environmental Science and Engineering (GEN-EN)
   4. Instrumentation Development for Environmental Activities (IDEA)
   5. Materials Use: Science, Engineering, & Society (MUSES)

 Quantitative approaches and education activities must be incorporated in all projects. International partnerships are also strongly encouraged.

• An integrated, quantitative, systems-level method of inquiry is essential in biocomplexity studies.
• Education must be addressed and integrated effectively with all research plans. Educational activities provide learning opportunities for students at appropriate levels (ranging from grades K-12 through graduate school), and the general public.               
• A global perspective is expected in all proposals. Wherever appropriate and practical, specific international collaborations and networks for research and education are strongly encouraged.

2. Education. Competitive projects must integrate research and education. Those benefiting from educational experiences can include participants (such as undergraduates, graduate students, teachers, and postdoctoral associates) and individuals beyond those directly involved in the project. Investigators are encouraged to include students as active participants on interdisciplinary teams. Informal education channels, such as science centers, aquariums, and similar facilities, that are easily accessible and attractive to the public may be used to help enhance the public's ability to deal with complex environmental information and make informed decisions about the environment. Educational efforts at the K-12 level should promote the acquisition of scientific inquiry skills and take advantage of technology and use it appropriately.

Examples of specific education plans, as well as other activities likely to demonstrate broader impacts, are available electronically at www.nsf.gov/pubs/2002/nsf022/bicexamples.pdf. Some specific examples of products that will benefit society include exhibits, databases, computer-based simulations, or kits that could be used by students or the public to collect and analyze data.

Reviewers will be asked to consider and evaluate the educational activities. Please refer to the section, “Integration of Research and Education” in Section VI.A of this solicitation.

Consistent with NSF’s emphasis on the integration of research and education in projects solicited and funded by the Foundation, investigators are encouraged to include a section that describes the educational implications of their research work in their papers submitted for publication.

3. Global Perspective. Because environmental processes transcend national boundaries, collaborations between U.S. investigators and foreign counterparts are encouraged wherever appropriate. Many research projects offer excellent opportunities for students at U.S. and foreign institutions to gain experience in the conduct of research in other countries. NSF awards are normally limited to support of the U.S. portion of the collaboration. In the case of some developing countries, limited funds may be available to support the involvement of the foreign collaborator. Investigators may wish to consult with the cognizant program officers for Global Perspectives listed in the section on contact information. For information about NSF support for international collaborative programs, see the Office of International Science and Engineering.

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B. TOPICAL AREAS

Proposals must be focused on biocomplexity questions in one of the following five topical areas:

1. Dynamics of Coupled Natural and Human Systems (CNH)

This topical area focuses on the complex interactions among human and natural systems at diverse spatial, temporal, and organizational scales. To be competitive for support, teams of investigators drawn from natural and human sciences must examine the dynamics of appropriate natural and human systems as well as the interactions that link those human and natural systems.  These relationships are symbolized by the arrows in the accompanying figure.

Competitive projects in the CNH topical area will be those examining problems that draw on and show promise of enhancing theoretical insights about human and natural system processes and their interactions.

The interdisciplinary teams undertaking these projects must have appropriate expertise from relevant natural sciences (biological sciences, geosciences, physical sciences) and relevant human sciences (social sciences, engineering, behavioral sciences) to effectively examine appropriate natural and human systems and their interactions.  Teams should have appropriate expertise from the mathematical sciences to undertake proposed quantitative analyses.  They should have expertise in education and pedagogy to formulate, conduct, and analyze educational activities associated with the research.  If research will take place in locations outside the U.S., teams should include individuals experienced in the conduct of research in the study region, including collaborations with foreign researchers.

Proposals may be submitted on any topic associated with the Dynamics of Coupled Natural and Human Systems. Among topics that could be appropriate for consideration in the competition are landscapes and land use; natural capital, ecosystem services, and social valuation of the natural environment; maintenance of biodiversity; propagation and control of invasive species; interplay of the built environment with other human and natural systems; natural resource use and conservation; the dynamics of uncertainty; the resilience and vulnerability of social institutions to environmental change; the resilience and vulnerability of biophysical systems to human-generated stresses; and the role of scientific information in environmental justice.

Examples of research projects that have been funded through this competition include:

• Development of an integrated model that links economic models of urban development with models of land-cover change and ecosystem processes in order to assess relationships between urban development and species diversity.
• Cross-national research that explores spatial complexity, the value of natural capital in grazed ecosystems, the costs of complexity loss due to fragmentation, and the trade-offs between economic inputs and ecological complexity.
• Integration of circulation, population, habitat, and socioeconomic models to assess how biological reserves function in a coral reef ecosystem, how different stakeholder groups influence the operation of the reserves, and the efficacy of different reserve designs in promoting both local economic development and ecosystem preservation.
• Analysis and modeling of complex interactions within and across stream and human transportation networks.

A full list of awards supported in past CNH competitions can be accessed at https://www.nsf.gov/geo/ere/ereweb/fund-biocomplex.cfm.

Projects may be totally independent activities, or they may be conducted in association with existing projects or activities, including Long-Term Ecological Research sites, NSF-supported Human Dimensions of Global Change centers and teams, NSF Science and Technology Centers or NSF Engineering Research Centers, or similar venues. If the proposed activity is associated with other activities currently supported by NSF or other funders, the project description should make clear how the proposed work is different from lines of inquiry and activities for which support has already been acquired. A letter from the director of the ongoing activity or center agreeing to the proposed project should be included as Supplementary Documentation.

Nearly all of the approximately $9.5 million in FY 2004 and $10.1 million in FY 2005  expected to be available in this topical area will be used to support multi-investigator research and education projects and programs of three to five years duration. Support for any award will not exceed a cumulative total of $2 million for the duration of the award. Budgets should be developed at scales appropriate for the project to be conducted. A very limited number of small awards (not to exceed $100,000) may be made to support developmental activities, such as workshops or symposia; proof-of-concept studies; or high-risk exploratory research. To receive a developmental award, a team must outline activities that will result in new information and insights that are disseminated to the broader community. Developmental awards will not be made to support teams whose primary output will be a new proposal for a larger project. NSF anticipates making 4 to 6 major CNH awards and 1 to 3 CNH developmental awards.

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2. Coupled Biogeochemical Cycles (CBC)

One of the central challenges of environmental research is understanding how the physical, chemical, geological, and biological processes of Earth's natural systems are functionally interrelated. The study of coupled biogeochemical cycles across wide spatial and temporal scales enables the development of quantitative knowledge and integrative models for the cycling of water, carbon and other bioactive elements.  These research efforts illuminate the complex web of material and energetic pathways connecting environmental processes to the dynamics of life on Earth. Such research will also provide the basis for understanding the co-evolution of Earth and its biosphere and the limits of environmental predictability.

The CBC topical area stresses the systems approach to understanding interrelationships among earth system cycles at both the molecular and macroscopic levels. Proposals should address linkages between two or more biogeochemical cycles together with the underlying biology and ecology,  the fundamental chemical reactions and physical processes that drive them. While all proposals should focus on complex interactions between organisms and elemental cycling, investigators are also encouraged to make provision for the study of associated abiotic phenomena when appropriate. 

Some examples of areas of interest include, but are not limited to: 

• Interrelationships of biolimiting elements in terrestrial, atmospheric, polar, freshwater and marine environments, and the feedback relationships between biolimiting element cycling and ecological dynamics, population genetics, ecosystem structure and productivity, and the evolution of species; studies of biological, geochemical and physical mechanisms regulating biogeochemistry may focus on the present or the geologic past.
• Intersections of the hydrological and ecological sciences, for example, climate alteration by terrestrial vegetation, ecosystem and hydrological functions of riparian zones, hydrological controls on aquatic ecosystems, and ecosystem vulnerability and resilience to extreme hydrological events. 
• The effect of soil physical and chemical properties on rhizosphere functioning, alteration of the rhizosphere by changes in land use, and the responses of soil processes to global change.  
• Innovative investigations into the coupling of chemical and physical processes or the kinetics and mechanisms of complex chemical reaction pathways that are critically important to achieving a quantitative, mechanistic understanding of a biogeochemical system.

Proposals may be submitted by single investigators or by teams, but must be highly interdisciplinary. Proposals may be submitted for projects up to 5-year duration. No project will be supported for more than $2 million. Approximately $13 million is expected to be available in this topical area to support 6-8 large awards.

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Anticipated funding is $51 million for new awards based on the FY 2004 competition and $17 million for new awards based on the FY 2005 competition.  The estimated number of awards is 40 standard or continuing grants.

Estimated program budget, number of awards and average award size/duration are subject to the availability of funds. The estimated number of awards and anticipated funding amount for each topical area are provided in Section II, Program Description.

Proposal Format

Proposals not in conformance with the proposal-preparation requirements of the NSF  Grant Proposal Guide  will be returned without review.  Please note, however, that the page limits contained in this announcement take precedence over those given in the GPG.

Proposals submitted for this competition should clearly specify all relevant facets of the proposed project. With respect to the proposed research, the proposal should outline the theoretical foundations of the project as based in relevant literature. It should specify the research methods that will be used, the expertise that different researchers will bring to different facets of the project, and how and where results will be disseminated. With respect to education, the proposal should specify educational goals, what methods will be used to attain those goals, and the expertise of individuals who will participate in educational efforts. The proposal should also identify the proposed educational products, how those products will be disseminated, and how the educational activities will be evaluated.

Proposal Cover Sheet

Work on the Cover Sheet first. Check that the Awardee and Performing Organizations are correct. Highlight the Program Solicitation Number NSF 03-??? and click on the "Select" button. Next highlight one of the five relevant topical areas (i.e., CNH, CBC, GEN-EN, IDEA, MUSES) listed in the Program Box and click on the "Select Program" button.  Your proposal will automatically be assigned to the correct directorate and division on the Cover Sheet.  Prepare remainder of the Cover Sheet.

If you think that your proposal may be relevant to more than one topical area, make the selection you think is topically most appropriate and follow the guidance (monetary and otherwise) for that topical area. Do not submit duplicate or substantively similar proposals to more than one topical area.  Submit your proposal to meet the earliest topical area deadline. However, you may suggest possible joint review through an e-mail message sent to the program officers of relevant competitions. Be sure to include the proposal number in your e-mail message. After the proposal is received, NSF program officers from relevant topical areas will consult and determine the most appropriate course of action, which may involve joint review or transfer of the proposal from one topical area to another. In the case of a transfer from the topical area you selected, you will be informed. You may submit more than one proposal to the same or different topical areas only if they are substantively different from one another.

Project Description

All project descriptions are limited to 20 pages in length.  With the exceptions noted below, proposers may organize the different components of the project description as they wish. 

The following sections MUST be included under separate headings in the project description:

• Results from Prior NSF Support.  This section is required only for principal investigators and co-investigators who have received NSF funding in the last five years.  Refer to GPG for more information. (This section may contain, but does not require, up to five pages to describe the results).
• Education Plan. The research plan should include integrated educational activities as a part of the narrative. Highlight these integrated activities in this section by specifying the project's educational goals, the methods that will be used to attain those goals, how the educational activities will be evaluated, and the role of project personnel in educational efforts. If educational products are expected to result, describe those products and indicate how they will be disseminated.  (This section is usually between 1 and 2 pages in length).
• Management Plan. The following information should be provided: (1) a description of the management structure that will enable the team to work effectively; and (2) specification of the qualifications of each of the senior personnel as well as the contribution they are expected to make to the project.  This section increases in importance as the number of senior personnel or institutions involved in the project increases.  (This section is usually between 1 and 2 pages in length).
• Project Significance.  This section should clearly specify what proposers expect will be the results and contributions of the project.  The section should describe both the anticipated intellectual merit of the proposed work as well as its anticipated broader impacts.  Intellectual merit and broader impacts are NSF's two primary merit review criteria, and major items to be considered in each one are specified in GPG.  Examples illustrating activities likely to demonstrate broader impacts also are available electronically at https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2002/nsf022/bicexamples.pdf.  Education and international activities are among the examples.  (This section is usually about 1 page in length.)

Biographical Sketches

A biographical sketch with a 2 page limit must be provided for each investigator and each person identified as senior personnel.

Current and Pending Support

Each person identified as a principal investigator or as senior personnel must submit a current and pending support form.  This proposal is considered a pending support activity.

Conflicts of Interest

In addition to the formal submission of the proposal, the principal investigator must send a compilation of conflicts of interest information in a spreadsheet format (preferably in MS-Excel format) by e-mail directly to BE topical area to which the proposal was submitted (contact information is listed at www.geo.nsf.gov/be-04.htm). The spreadsheet must be submitted no later than one week after the proposal-submission deadline for that BE topical area.

The top of the list should include the proposal number of the proposal submitted to the BE topical area.  Include the full names of all people for whom there would be a conflict of interest related to reviewing this proposal because of their association with one or more of the senior personnel on the project.  Conflicts to be identified are: (1) Ph.D. thesis advisors or advisees, (2) postdoctoral advisors or advisees, (3) collaborators or co-authors for the past 48 months, and (4) any other individuals or institutions with which the investigator has financial ties (please specify type). For further clarification of conflicts of interests, please refer to the NSF Grant Policy Manual, Section 510. Three columns are suggested for the spreadsheet:  People for whom there is a conflict, the senior personnel whose relationship makes the person in that row conflicted, and the relationship that causes the conflict of interest.

Supplementary Documentation

Appropriate items for inclusion in the Supplementary Documentation sections are specified in GPG. For example, letters of commitment from collaborating institutions, including foreign institutions, should be placed in this section, as well as documents associated with the use of human subjects, hazardous materials, vertebrate animals, or endangered species.

Proposals that include materials in this section that belong in the project description may be returned without review.

Appendices 

Not permitted.

Proposals Involving Multiple Institutions

If proposed activities involve multiple organizations, a single proposal describing the entire project should be submitted by only one of the organizations. If need be, funds may be distributed among partner institutions via subawards from the submitting organization. A budget on the standard NSF budget form should be submitted for each subawardee. Letters confirming collaborations can be scanned and submitted via FastLane as Supplementary Documentation. Collaborative proposals (i.e., multiple proposals from different organizations submitted for a single project) are not permitted and shall be returned without review.

Proposals Involving Collaborators at Foreign Institutions

Proposers are reminded they must provide biographical sketches of all senior project personnel, including those at foreign institutions. In addition, as supplementary documentation, proposals involving foreign collaborators must provide letters of commitment from the foreign counterpart institutions.  Please note that although eligibility for this competition is restricted to U.S. organizations, as described in the GPG, collaborations with foreign institutions may be considered.

Pre-Submission Checklist 

BE Proposals must be in compliance with GPG and special requirements in the announcement in order to be considered for review. Proposals not in compliance with these requirements will be returned without review. Please refer to the following checklist to address some of the items for which proposals often are non-compliant:

• Font and margin requirements
• Paginated pages
• Project summary that includes a brief description of broader impacts
• Project description that is 20 pages or less and includes separate sections for Results from prior Support, Education Plan, Management Plan, and Project Significance.
• Biographical Sketches for all senior personnel
• Conflict of Interest spreadsheet submitted to appropriate program leader by e-mail.

Budgets should include travel funds for Principal Investigators to attend a workshop or meeting of those supported in this program every 2 or 3 years.

Research Platform Support.  Specific amounts for research cruises, polar logistics, arctic logistics, or use of aircraft or other atmospheric sciences field facilities should not be included in the budget request. However, the PI should submit the UNOLS request, OPP logistics form, or ATM facilities form with the proposal.

December 03, 2003

Deadline Dates for CNH and IDEA

December 17, 2003

Deadline Date for GEN-EN

January 22, 2004

Deadline Date for CBC

February 11, 2004

Deadline Date for MUSES

November 17, 2004

Deadline Date for CNH

February 08, 2005

Deadline Date for MUSES