Competition for the Management of Operations and Maintenance of the National Ecological Observatory Network

NSF solicits proposals to manage the operations and maintenance of the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON), an NSF-funded major facility project. NEON comprises terrestrial, aquatic, atmospheric, and remote sensing measurement infrastructure and cyberinfrastructure that deliver standardized, calibrated data to the scientific community through an openly accessible data portal. NEON infrastructure is geographically distributed across the United States, including Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico, and will generate data for ecological research over a 30-year period. NEON is designed to enable the research community to ask and address their own questions on a regional to continental scale around the environmental challenges identified as relevant to understanding the drivers and impacts of climate change, land-use change and invasive species patterns on the biosphere. The NSF NEON program, which is part of the Centers, Facilities and Additional Research Infrastructure (CFARI) Cluster in the Division of Biological Infrastructure, manages the NEON award in collaboration with the NSF Large Facilities Office and the NSF Division of Acquisition and Cooperative Support. 

The managing organization will work closely with NSF and the scientific community to ensure that NEON capabilities support and advance ecology and related sciences. In cooperation with NSF and within available resources, the managing organization will plan and execute a viable, coherent, and inclusive program to support multi-user research and education, consistent with advice of the scientific community and NSF oversight.

A single award will be made as a cooperative agreement with a duration of five years.  NSF may renew the award for an additional five years, subject to availability of funds, the managing organization's satisfactory performance, and review of a cost proposal for the second 5-year period.  NSF’s decision will be informed by the National Science Board Statement on Recompetition of Major Facilities (NSB 2015-45 or successor).