The National Science Foundation has issued a new solicitation for research proposals under the rubrik of Navigating the New Arctic, one of the agencys 10 Big Ideas. The solicitation estimates that – pending the availability of the anticipated funding amount of $30 million – 25 awards will be made.
The solicitation is the first of what is envisioned to be at least a five-year agency-wide program to support the research needed to inform decisions about the economy, security, and resilience of the nation, the larger region, and the globe with respect to Arctic change. NSF anticipates that future calls will further define “large scope”, with the potential to include projects up to the scale of centers and/or consortia.
In 2016, unveiled its set of "Big Ideas", 10 bold, long-term research and process ideas that identify areas for future investment at the frontiers of science and engineering. The Big Ideas represent unique opportunities to position the nation at the cutting-edge of global science and engineering leadership by bringing together diverse disciplinary perspectives to support convergence research. As such, even though proposals to this solicitation must be submitted to the Directorate for Geosciences, once received, they will be managed by a cross-disciplinary team of NSF program directors.
Navigating the New Arctic (NNA) seeks innovations in Arctic observational networks and fundamental convergence research across the social, natural, environmental, and computing and information sciences, and engineering that address the intersection of natural, social, and built systems. NNA promotes initiatives that empower new research communities, diversifies the next generation of Arctic researchers, integrates the co-production of knowledge, and engages partnerships, particularly among international stakeholders. NNA also strongly encourages projects that include or focus on advancing STEM education and workforce development objectives on the scientific themes described below.
Major goals of NSF's NNA Big Idea include:
- Improved understanding of Arctic change and its local and global effects that capitalize on innovative and optimized observation infrastructure, advances in understanding of fundamental processes, and new approaches to modeling interactions among the natural environment, built environment, and social systems;
- New enhanced research communities that are diverse, integrative, and well-positioned to carry out productive research at the intersections of Arctic natural and built environments and social systems; and
- Research outcomes that inform U.S. national security and economic development needs and enable resilient, sustainable Arctic communities.
The solicitation is aimed at proposals that fall within two tracks:
- Track 1 supports research activities,
- Track 2 is dedicated to planning grants to develop convergence research teams to tackle projects of larger scope in the future.
Proposal submission deadline has been extended to March 4 2019, submitter’s local time
For more information, including eligibility information and submission instructions, go to:
Full NSF Solicitation 19-511
NSF announces availability of five virtual office hours with NNA Program Officers to learn more about the Navigating the New Arctic Solicitation and get questions answered.
Monday, 4 February 2019, 2:00-3:00 p.m. (EST)
NSF Program Officer in attendance: Bob O'Connor (SBE)
Meeting link
Meeting number: 904 164 903
Meeting password: nKwUuX$6
Tuesday, 5 February 2019, 3:00-4:00 p.m. (EST)
Program Officer in attendance: Irina Dolinskaya (ENG)
Meeting link
Meeting number: 906 971 690
Meeting password: uUjxFP$4
Wednesday, 6 February 2019, 2:00-3:00 pm (EST)
Program Officer in attendance: Karl Rockne (ENG)
Meeting link
Meeting number: 907 465 581
Meeting password: Zw3GKzr*
Wednesday, 6 February 2019, 3:00-4:00 p.m. (EST)
Program Officer in attendance: Colleen Strawhacker (GEO/OPP)
Meeting link
Meeting number: 903 084 586
Meeting password: Gm4H6Jv?
Friday, 8 February 2019, 2:00-3:00 p.m. (EST)
Program Officers in attendance: Colleen Strawhacker (GEO/OPP) and Irina Dolinskaya (ENG)
Meeting link
Meeting number: 900 760 878
Meeting password: 3eDYmvv*
For more information, visit the NNA web pages: https://www.nsf.gov/geo/opp/arctic/nna/index.jsp.
