08/19/2022 Edition 68
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NSF Growing Convergence Research (GCR)
$1,200,000 to $3,600,000. Proposal Deadline: 02/06/2023

Growing Convergence Research (GCR) at the National Science Foundation was identified as one of 10 Big Ideas. Convergence research is a means for solving vexing research problems, in particular, complex problems focusing on societal needs. It entails integrating knowledge, methods, and expertise from different disciplines and forming novel frameworks to catalyze scientific discovery and innovation.

GCR identifies Convergence Research as having two primary characteristics:

  • Research driven by a specific and compelling problem. Convergence Research is generally inspired by the need to address a specific challenge or opportunity, whether it arises from deep scientific questions or pressing societal needs.
  • Deep integration across disciplines. As experts from different disciplines pursue common research challenges, their knowledge, theories, methods, data, research communities and languages become increasingly intermingled or integrated. New frameworks, paradigms or even disciplines can form sustained interactions across multiple communities.

A distinct characteristic of convergence research, in contrast to other forms of multidisciplinary research, is that from the inception, the convergence paradigm intentionally brings together intellectually diverse researchers and stakeholders to frame the research questions, develop effective ways of communicating across disciplines and sectors, adopt common frameworks for their solution, and, when appropriate, develop a new scientific vocabulary. Research teams practicing convergence aim at developing sustainable relationships that may not only create solutions to the problem that engendered the collaboration, but also develop novel ways of framing related research questions and open new research vistas.

This GCR solicitation targets multi-disciplinary team research that crosses directorate or division boundaries and is currently not supported by NSF programs, initiatives and research-focused Big Ideas. Proposers must make a convincing case that the research to be conducted is within NSF's purview and cannot be supported by existing NSF programs and multidisciplinary initiatives. Proposals involving convergence in areas covered by existing programs and solicitations will be returned without review.

NASA Keck Call for Proposals

The NASA Exoplanet Science Institute is soliciting proposals to use NASA's portion of time on the Keck Telescopes for the 2023A observing semester (February 1-July 31, 2023). All proposals are due by September 15, 2022 at 4 pm Pacific. 

NASA intends the use of the Keck telescopes to be highly strategic in support of on-going space missions and/or high priority, long-term science goals. Proposals are sought to support science goals and missions in all of the following discipline areas:

  • Our Own Solar System
  • Exoplanet Exploration
  • Physics of the Cosmos
  • Cosmic Origins
  • Mission Support Proposals in any of these areas are also encouraged

Please read the Call for Proposals for complete information, semester highlights, instrument availability, and application guidelines. 

The opportunity to propose as a Principal Investigator for NASA time on the Keck Telescopes is open to all U.S.-based astronomers (i.e. who have their principal affiliation at a U.S. institution). Investigators from institutions outside of the U.S. may participate as Co-Investigators.
NEH Collaborative Research
Up to $250,000 - Application Deadline: 11/30/2022
Expected Notification Date 8/31/2023
Project Start Date: October 1, 2023 - September 1, 2024

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Division of Research Programs is accepting applications for the Collaborative Research program. This program supports groups of two or more scholars seeking to increase humanistic knowledge through convenings, manuscript preparation for collaborative publications, and the creation of scholarly digital projects. Projects must pursue significant research questions and lead to a tangible interpretive product. The collaborative work can be rooted in a single field of study or cross disciplines. NEH encourages collaboration with scholars working in the natural or social sciences, but projects must focus on humanistic content and employ humanistic methods.

NEH Scholarly Editions and Scholarly Translations
Up to $300,000 in outright funds - Application Deadline: 11/30/2022
Expected Notification Date 8/31/2023
Project Start Date: October 1, 2023 - September 1, 2024

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Division of Research Programs is accepting applications for the Scholarly Editions and Scholarly Translations program. This program supports collaborative teams who are editing, annotating, and translating foundational humanities texts that are vital to scholarship but are currently inaccessible or only available in inadequate editions or translations. Typically, the texts are significant literary, philosophical, and historical materials, but works in other humanities fields may also be the subject of an edition.

NSF Smart and Connected Communities (S&CC)
~$1,500,000 to $2,500,000. Full proposal accepted anytime until 04/01/2024. Proposers are strongly encouraged to consider the scope, scale, and budget of previous S&CC IRG awards: http://www.nsf.gov/cise/scc.

Communities in the United States (US) and around the world are entering a new era of transformation in which residents and their surrounding environments are increasingly connected through rapidly-changing intelligent technologies. This transformation offers great promise for improved wellbeing and prosperity but poses significant challenges at the complex intersection of technology and society. The goal of the NSF Smart and Connected Communities (S&CC) program solicitation is to accelerate the creation of the scientific and engineering foundations that will enable smart and connected communities to bring about new levels of economic opportunity and growth, safety and security, health and wellness, accessibility and inclusivity, and overall quality of life. For the purposes of this solicitation, communities are defined as having geographically-delineated boundaries—such as towns, cities, counties, neighborhoods, community districts, rural areas, and tribal regions—consisting of various populations, with the structure and ability to engage in meaningful ways with proposed research activities. A “smart and connected community” is, in turn, defined as a community that synergistically integrates intelligent technologies with the natural and built environments, including infrastructure, to improve the social, economic, and environmental well-being of those who live, work, learn, or travel within it.

The S&CC program encourages researchers to work with community stakeholders to identify and define challenges they are facing, enabling those challenges to motivate use-inspired research questions. For this solicitation, community stakeholders may include some or all of the following: residents, neighborhood or community groups, nonprofit or philanthropic organizations, businesses, as well as municipal organizations such as libraries, museums, educational institutions, public works departments, and health and social services agencies. The S&CC program supports integrative research that addresses fundamental technological and social science dimensions of smart and connected communities and pilots solutions together with communities. Importantly, the program is interested in projects that consider the sustainability of the research outcomes beyond the life of the project, including the scalability and transferability of the proposed solutions.

Federal
View current federal funding opportunities (pdf) 08/12/2022 curated by our Van Scoyoc partnership.
Althea Sheets, Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activities Development Manager, Office of Sponsored Programs, [email protected], 702-895-1880