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Deadline: Dimensions of Biodiversity (NSF)

Grants.gov Announcement 

Program Title:

Dimensions of Biodiversity

Synopsis of Program:

Despite centuries of discovery, most of our planet’s biodiversity remains unknown. The scale of Earth’s unknown diversity is especially troubling given the rapid and permanent loss of biodiversity across the globe. The goal of the Dimensions of Biodiversity campaign is to transform how we describe and understand the scope and role of life on Earth.

This campaign promotes novel integrative approaches to fill the most substantial gaps in our understanding of the diversity of life on Earth. It takes a broad view of biodiversity, and focuses on the intersection of genetic, phylogenetic, and functional dimensions of biodiversity. Successful proposals must integrate these three dimensions to understand interactions among them. While this focus complements several core programs in BIO, it differs by requiring that multiple dimensions of biodiversity be addressed simultaneously, in novel ways, to understand their synergistic roles in critical ecological and evolutionary processes, especially pertaining to the mechanisms driving the origin, maintenance, and functional roles of biodiversity.

The 2019 Dimensions of Biodiversity program is restricted to projects supported by international partnerships with the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) of Brazil, and the National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa. Proposals are to be submitted jointly, with the US PIs submitting to NSF and the collaborating Chinese, Brazilian, or South African PIs submitting to their appropriate national funding agencies.

Investigators wishing to inquire about the suitability of potential projects for Dimensions of Biodiversity are encouraged to email a brief summary and contact information to Dimensions@nsf.gov.

Cognizant Program Officer(s):

Please note that the following information is current at the time of publishing. See program website for any updates to the points of contact.

Applicable Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number(s):

  • 47.074 — Biological Sciences

Award Information

Anticipated Type of Award: Standard Grant or Continuing Grant

Estimated Number of Awards: 3 to 5

Awards are contingent on availability of funds and the quality of proposals.

Anticipated Funding Amount: $6,000,000 to $10,000,000

NSF anticipates that at least $6.0M will be available in fiscal year 2019. Research awards will be up to five years duration and up to a total of $2.0M for the US component of collaborative projects. This upper limit does not include costs of NSF facilities.

Up to two US-China Collaborative Research Projects may be funded at a level of up to up to ¥3.0M from NSFC (National Natural Science Foundation of China) for the Chinese component of the collaboration.

Up to two 5-year US-São Paulo Collaborative Research Projects may be funded. FAPESP will fund Thematic Project investigators at a level up to the equivalent of $2.0M (this total value includes both the overhead for researcher direct use and the overhead for institutional infrastructure) and Young Investigator Award researchers at a level up to the equivalent of $1.5M (this total value includes both the overhead for researcher direct use and the overhead for institutional infrastructure) for the São Paulo components. Please note that for the Dimensions of Biodiversity competition only, FAPESP will consider Young Investigator Award proposals with a duration of 5 years.

Up to two 5-year US-South Africa Collaborative Research Project awards may be funded at a level of up to up to R10.0M (Rand) from NRF (National Research Foundation of South Africa). Please consult the NRF guidelines for how the funds should allocated per allowed activities.

Multilateral collaborative projects, involving NSF and more than one international partner among NSFC, FAPESP, and NRF will also be considered.

Eligibility Information

Who May Submit Proposals:

Proposals may only be submitted by the following:

  • Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) – Two- and four-year IHEs (including community colleges) accredited in, and having a campus located in the US, acting on behalf of their faculty members. Special Instructions for International Branch Campuses of US IHEs: If the proposal includes funding to be provided to an international branch campus of a US institution of higher education (including through use of subawards and consultant arrangements), the proposer must explain the benefit(s) to the project of performance at the international branch campus, and justify why the project activities cannot be performed at the US campus.
  • Non-profit, non-academic organizations: Independent museums, observatories, research labs, professional societies and similar organizations in the U.S. associated with educational or research activities.

Who May Serve as PI:

There are no restrictions or limits.

Limit on Number of Proposals per Organization:

There are no restrictions or limits.

Limit on Number of Proposals per PI or Co-PI: 1

An individual may appear as Principal Investigator (PI) or co-PI on only one proposal per submission deadline.

If an individual is listed as PI or co-PI on more than one proposal to this solicitation, all proposals in excess of the limit for any person will be returned without review in the reverse order received.

Proposal Preparation and Submission Instructions

A. Proposal Preparation Instructions

  • Letters of Intent: Not required
  • Preliminary Proposal Submission: Not required

B. Budgetary Information

  • Cost Sharing Requirements:Inclusion of voluntary committed cost sharing is prohibited.
  • Indirect Cost (F&A) Limitations:Not Applicable
  • Other Budgetary Limitations:Not Applicable

C. Due Dates

  • Full Proposal Deadline(s) (due by 5 p.m. submitter’s local time):February 28, 2019

Proposal Review Information Criteria

Merit Review Criteria:

National Science Board approved criteria. Additional merit review considerations apply. Please see the full text of this solicitation for further information.

Award Administration Information

Award Conditions:

Additional award conditions apply. Please see the full text of this solicitation for further information.

Reporting Requirements:

Additional reporting requirements apply. Please see the full text of this solicitation for further information.