Questions and Answers from the 17 December 2024 ORCC Webinar

Below, please find answers to questions asked during the webinar. The answers have been edited for brevity and clarity.   

If you have specific questions about the fit of your proposal to the ORCC solicitation, please prepare a 1–2-page project summary that includes the overarching biological question, specific aims, and how the project would address the solicitation specific criteria. You can then email this summary to any of the program officers listed on the solicitation and the program webpage, or to the ORCC alias (. The working group will discuss your summary and give you feedback regarding its fit to the program. 

Is it OK to have a microbial component to a regular ORCC?
Yes.

Are proposals addressing plant-microbe interactions appropriate for MMORCC tracks?
Yes as long as they address the ORCC specific solicitation criteria. You can send a 1-pager to the Program Directors and we would be able to better advise.

Is the MMORCC focused on microbial resilience to climate change or microbial-mediated other organisms' (like plants) resilience?
Both. But it is important the work addresses the solicitation specific criteria.

Does MMORCC need to be 100% microbes, or can something that is focused on the mechanism of microbial adaptation but has a phenotypic readout of microbial interactions with other organisms still be MMORCC?
No, MMORCC does not need to be only microbes. Proposals that address microbe-mediated resiliency are also appropriate for this track

Will meritorious MMORCC proposals be considered for ORCC funding if funding support in MMORCC is quickly exhausted?
Yes. All meritorious proposals will be considered for funding based upon available funds and other factors including portfolio balance amongst others

What is the timeline for funding decisions?
NSF's goal is to provide our recommendation 6 months from submission

For the MMORCC track, is the travel for the PI award meeting in Seattle every year of the funding or only in 1 year?
Currently, only 1 PI award meeting in Seattle is planned, and the specifics will be determined at a later date.

Climate change is a global phenomenon. Are international collaborations fundable?
Please see: https://new.nsf.gov/policies/pappg/24-1/ch-1-pre-submission#ch1E2c

Should MMORCC proposals not include indirect costs on 50% of the budget?
Please submit a single budget in your proposal that includes your institutional IDC. Once an award recommendation is made, budget revisions will be requested that take into account NSF and PGAFF budget splits and IDCs.

In ORCC, will research on “wild” species be favored over research on crop species?
No.

Does it mean that for MMORCC the F&A rate should be capped at 50%?
No. Half of the budget will have no indirect costs, whatever the F&A rate is for an institution

Review criteria require “integrated with research at other levels of organization”, does it mean the research needs to involve multiple organizations?
No, this is meant to reflect levels of biological organization (e.g. individuals vs. populations)

Do both track 1 and 2 draw funds from the total $15M total budget (i.e. $15 M / 15-20 awards?)
Yes - both tracks draw from the same $15M total

Could you expand upon assessment expectations for broader impacts elements of the project? In particular, any insights into expectations for research on educational broader impacts components of a ORCC award would be helpful.
Broader impacts review in ORCC follows conventions at NSF, though the expectation for a "plan and/or predictive framework may have societal benefits" is specific to ORCC.

Is it possible to submit more than one grant application?
Yes

If a project has a team that ranges from benchtop experiments to modeling, is it more appropriate to apply as research or a research coordination network?
We encourage you to contact an ORCC Program Director with a 1-pager of your proposal idea so we can give more substantive feedback.

Can a Canadian institution also be part of collaboration and fundable?
Per the PAPPG” NSF rarely provides direct funding support to foreign organizations. NSF will consider proposals for cooperative projects involving U.S. and foreign organizations, provided support is requested only for the U.S. portion of the collaborative effort.” However, under certain well-justified conditions, your budget can include such funding via subawards, consultant arrangements etc. Please see the PAPPG: https://new.nsf.gov/policies/pappg/24-1/ch-1-pre-submission#ch1E2c

Would an RCN allow for foreign collaborators?
Please see the PAPPG: https://new.nsf.gov/policies/pappg/24-1/ch-1-pre-submission#ch1E2c

If the PI is from the US institution, can collaborator from Canada also be allowed to spend the research fund?
Awards are made to institutions, not individuals. Please pay close attention to the PAPPG guidance around funding to foreign organizations: https://new.nsf.gov/policies/pappg/24-1/ch-1-pre-submission#ch1E2c

This is my first NSF application and my institution has limited experience. Where can I find a checklist of all the documents that need to be included?
The instructions for how to apply and what documents are needed would be in the solicitation itself, as well as the Proposal and Award Policies & Procedures Guide. https://new.nsf.gov/policies/pappg/24-1

Is collaboration essential?
No. If you think you can undertake a successful project, you do not need a collaboration

For a computational/modeling-only proposal under MMORCC, what level of experimental validation or connection to experimental data is expected? Would leveraging existing public datasets be sufficient?
ORCC panels evaluate proposals using the 3 solicitation specific criteria. This requires panelists to consider the data sources and the extent to which the results advance understanding on mechanisms of response, eco-evolutionary processes, and a plan/predictive framework to that benefits society

Are studies that are focused on community ecology (including multiple interacting species) welcomed, as long as they involve ecological or evolutionary mechanisms that can be applied to the ecosystem?
Yes

For the $15M total budget, will it fund 15-20 awards for the full duration of their project or just one year (ie, each year there will be 15M for all current projects)?
The $15M budget will fund the full duration of the projects

Will EPSCoR funding be available to help fund these awards?
Yes

Can marine-based proposals request ship time like typical OCE proposals (I see BIO OCE is participating)?
Please see: https://new.nsf.gov/geo/oce/updates/guidance-proposals-ship-time 

Can you clarify on how “applied” the proposal needs to be? I personally don’t read criterion #3 (plan for predictive framework) to mean the research itself is “applied research” but it seems others do.  Would a project that is fundamentally basic/mechanistic/eco-evolutionary science in nature but includes a clear PLAN for how these results could be applied in the future be appropriate?
The plan/predictive framework is meant to meet a societal challenge associated with climate change. This can be a tool that the community uses, or something more applied like a management plan. The key here is that the work will be useful to a community that works on climate change issues.

If an application is submitted to MMORCC but needs > 3 years will it only be funded for 3 if awarded?
MMORCC awards are limited to a maximum of 3 years, so PIs should plan your scope accordingly. Alternatively, the proposal can be submitted to the Track 1 ORCC (that allows for 4 years).

Could you share some examples of “societal impact” that could be part of the MMORCC? Working to conserve microbial functions with local governments? Formulating microbial inoculants with an industry partner?
Yes, either of those examples could fit that criterion. However, we don't want to be prescriptive of what you're going to do to fit criterion #3. There are several microbe proposals funded through the ORCC track previously. See previously funded projects for examples

What is considered mechanistic?
To get a better idea of what might be considered mechanistic - look up some of the previous awards from the program, https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/advancedSearchResult?PIId=&PIFirstName=&PILastName=&PIOrganization=&PIState=&PIZip=&PICountry=&ProgOrganization=&ProgEleCode=208Y00&BooleanElement=All&ProgRefCode=&BooleanRef=All&Program=&ProgOfficer=&Keyword=&AwardNumberOperator=&AwardAmount=&AwardInstrument=&ActiveAwards=true&OriginalAwardDateOperator=&StartDateOperator=&ExpDateOperator=

Can mechanisms apply to taxonomic groups as a whole, or must it apply to a particular species?
Mechanisms can apply to more than one species