Utilizing the Rules of Life to Address Societal Challenges (NSF)

Utilizing the Rules of Life to Address Societal Challenges (NSF) is sponsored by National Science Foundation (NSF). This program supports research that uses biological principles to tackle pressing societal challenges, including carbon capture.

NSF 23-512: Using the Rules of Life to Address Societal Challenges (URoL:ASC) | NSF - U.S. National Science Foundation Archived funding opportunity This solicitation is archived. Important information for proposers and award recipients All proposals must be submitted in accordance with the requirements specified in the funding opportunity and in the Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) and its supplements .

All NSF grants and cooperative agreements are subject to the applicable set of NSF award terms and conditions . NSF has updated its research security policies for NSF funded projects. NSF 23-512: Using the Rules of Life to Address Societal Challenges (URoL:ASC) Download the solicitation (PDF, 0.

4mb) National Science Foundation Directorate for Biological Sciences Office of Integrative Activities Office of International Science and Engineering Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering Directorate for Geosciences Directorate for Engineering Directorate for STEM Education Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships Full Proposal Deadline(s) (due by 5 p.

m. submitter's local time): Important Information And Revision Notes Innovating and migrating proposal preparation and submission capabilities from FastLane to Research. gov is part of the ongoing NSF information technology modernization efforts, as described in Important Notice No. 147 .

In support of these efforts, proposals submitted in response to this program solicitation must be prepared and submitted via Research. gov or via Grants. gov and may not be prepared or submitted via FastLane.

Any proposal submitted in response to this solicitation should be submitted in accordance with the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) that is in effect for the relevant due date to which the proposal is being submitted.

The NSF PAPPG is regularly revised and it is the responsibility of the proposer to ensure that the proposal meets the requirements specified in this solicitation and the applicable version of the PAPPG. Submitting a proposal prior to a specified deadline does not negate this requirement.

Summary Of Program Requirements Using the Rules of Life to Address Societal Challenges (URoL:ASC) Using the Rules of Life to Address Societal Challenges (URoL:ASC) will support use-inspired research that builds on knowledge from previous investments in the NSF "Big Ideas", including in the Understanding the Rules of Life program.

The Big Ideas were designed to position the Nation at the cutting edge of global science and engineering by bringing together diverse disciplinary perspectives to support convergent research (see details here ). The goal of the Understanding the Rules of Life Big Idea was to develop predictive understanding of how key properties of living systems emerge from interactions of factors such as genomes, phenotypes, and evolving environments.

Examples of projects that have examined some of these rules can be found here . Following from the fundamental principles revealed from these and related projects, an important goal of the current solicitation is to use the predictive capability of rules of life to address some of the greatest challenges we currently face as a society.

Through use-inspired research using convergent, multidisciplinary approaches , URoL:ASC seeks to apply lessons learned from studying rules of life across a broad array of living systems to tackle pressing societal concerns.

These concerns include but are not limited to: climate change and associated risks, including geohazards, extreme events, and loss of biodiversity; environmental degradation, including impacts on land and water resources; inequalities in availability of and access to essential natural assets; lack of sustainability, including for food, energy, and waste production; and threats from pandemic disease, among others.

As in previous Big Idea solicitations, this new activity, URoL:ASC, is a cross-directorate NSF program. Proposals in response to this solicitation must be submitted to the Emerging Frontiers (EF) Division in the Directorate for Biological Sciences (BIO). Review will be managed by a multidisciplinary, cross-directorate team of program officers.

1 Djenontin, I. N. S.

, Meadow, A. M. The art of co-production of knowledge in environmental sciences and management: lessons from international practice.

Environmental Management 61: 885 (2018). https://doi. org/10.

1007/s00267-018-1028-3 2 Iwaniec, D. M. et al.

, The co-production of sustainable future scenarios. Landscape and Urban Planning 197 : 103744 (2020). https://doi.

org/10. 1016/j. landurbplan.

2020. 103744 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.

Clifford Weil, Program Director, NSF/BIO, telephone: (703) 292-4668, email: URoL-ASC@nsf. gov Ellen M. Carpenter, Program Director, NSF/EDU, telephone: (703) 292-5104, email: URoL-ASC@nsf.

gov Angel Garcia, Program Director, NSF/MPS, telephone: (703) 292-8897, email: URoL-ASC@nsf. gov Justin Lawrence, Program Director, NSF/GEO, telephone: (703) 292-2425, email: URoL-ASC@nsf. gov Hector Muñoz-Avila, Program Director, NSF/CISE, telephone: (703) 292-4481, email: URoL-ASC@nsf.

gov Erik Pierstorff, Program Director, NSF/TIP, telephone: (703) 292-2165, email: URoL-ASC@nsf. gov Aleksandr Simonian, Program Director, NSF/ENG, telephone: (703) 292-2191, email: URoL-ASC@nsf. gov Trisha Van Zandt, Program Director, NSF/SBE, telephone: (703) 292-7437, email: URoL-ASC@nsf.

gov Applicable Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number(s): 47. 049 --- Mathematical and Physical Sciences 47. 070 --- Computer and Information Science and Engineering 47.

074 --- Biological Sciences 47. 075 --- Social Behavioral and Economic Sciences 47. 076 --- STEM Education 47.

079 --- Office of International Science and Engineering 47. 083 --- Office of Integrative Activities (OIA) 47. 084 --- NSF Technology, Innovation and Partnerships Anticipated Type of Award: Standard Grant or Continuing Grant Estimated Number of Awards: 10 to 15 Anticipated Funding Amount: $28,000,000 Estimated program budget, number of awards and average award size are subject to the availability of funds.

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.

A minimum of one PI and one co-PI must be named on a proposal, representing expertise in different disciplines pertinent to at least two of the following directorates : Biological Sciences (BIO), Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE), STEM Education (EDU), Engineering (ENG), Geosciences (GEO), Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS), Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences (SBE), and Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (TIP) at the National Science Foundation.

More than one investigator from within one discipline is permitted, as long as the minimum described above is also met. Expertise may be demonstrated by earned degrees from disciplines, current departmental and center affiliations, or experience, such as papers published in that disciplinary field or research supported by a relevant NSF Directorate(s).

Proposals should also explicitly state a minimum of two NSF directorates that map to their proposal in the "Convergent Research Plan" section of the Project Description. Limit on Number of Proposals per Organization: There are no restrictions or limits. Limit on Number of Proposals per PI or co-PI: There are no restrictions or limits.

Proposal Preparation and Submission Instructions A. Proposal Preparation Instructions Letters of Intent: Not required Preliminary Proposal Submission: Not required Full Proposals submitted via Research. gov: NSF Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG) guidelines apply.

The complete text of the PAPPG is available electronically on the NSF website at: https://www. nsf. gov/publications/pub_summ.

jsp? ods_key=pappg . Full Proposals submitted via Grants.

gov: NSF Grants. gov Application Guide: A Guide for the Preparation and Submission of NSF Applications via Grants. gov guidelines apply (Note: The NSF Grants.

gov Application Guide is available on the Grants. gov website and on the NSF website at: https://www. nsf.

gov/publications/pub_summ. jsp? ods_key=grantsgovguide ).

Cost Sharing Requirements: Inclusion of voluntary committed cost sharing is prohibited. Indirect Cost (F&A) Limitations: Other Budgetary Limitations: Other budgetary limitations apply. Please see the full text of this solicitation for further information.

Full Proposal Deadline(s) (due by 5 p. m. submitter's local time): Proposal Review Information Criteria National Science Board approved criteria.

Additional merit review criteria apply. Please see the full text of this solicitation for further information. Award Administration Information Additional award conditions apply.

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

Over the past several years, NSF's Understanding the Rules of Life Big Idea has supported a series of new research programs designed to use convergent, multidisciplinary approaches to elucidate rules of life at different levels: "minimal rules" (building a synthetic cell), "rules of complexity" (epigenetics), "rules of interaction" (microbiomes), and "rules of emergence" (emergent networks).

Many of the projects supported by this Big Idea share common features: they address a fundamental question that crosses disciplines, including the life sciences; they cross different scales, for example, spatial, temporal, levels of biological organization, and complexity; they produce results that will be broadly generalizable beyond the system under investigation, so that a rule can be formulated; and they enable forecasting change in a biological system in the context of other systems including Earth, human, natural, and/or human-engineered systems.

The predictive capability of rules of life, such as those discovered from these and other prior studies, now offers the opportunity to take the next step and use what has been learned about these rules to address some of the greatest challenges facing life on Earth. The goal of the URoL:ASC program is to support use-inspired research that tackles pressing societal challenges.

Principles that govern living systems, their architecture, metabolism, physiology, communication, and regulation provide valuable insights into how those systems effectively interact with each other and with the environment.

Cells, organisms, ecosystems, and biomes all develop mechanisms to utilize and share resources, recycle nutrients and materials, and adapt to environmental perturbations, both individually and collectively, thereby addressing challenges similar to those faced by society today.

The enormous potential for use-inspired research to help solve such challenges has been the subject of many recent NSF-sponsored workshops on a range of topics, including: feeding the planet sustainably, creating a world without waste, mitigating climate change, innovating for adaptive sustainable health (reports can be found here ); re-thinking innovative solutions from nature (abstract can be found here ), stewarding an integrated biodiversity-climate system, achieving a sustainable future, harnessing microbiomes for societal benefit, and leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) and data science to predict mechanisms (link here ).

Use-inspired URoL-ASC research refers to basic and translational research that has use for society in mind. We use the phrase "use-inspired" rather than "applied" to emphasize that this solicitation seeks to support work that goes beyond merely applying known techniques.

Ideally there is a virtuous cycle between foundational and use-inspired research, where foundational results provide a starting point for use-inspired research, and the results from use-inspired research can be generalized and made foundational. URoL:ASC projects must be multidisciplinary.

Studies have shown that a convergent, multidisciplinary research framework — like those inherent to the NSF Big Ideas and to this URoL:ASC program--holds great promise for addressing grand, societally relevant problems (e.g., see this report ).

Successful projects will be built across the intersection of scientific disciplines pertinent to at least two of the following NSF directorates : Biological Sciences (BIO), Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE), STEM Education (EDU), Engineering (ENG), Geosciences (GEO), Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS), Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences (SBE) and Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (TIP).

More than one investigator from within one discipline is permitted, as long as the minimum described above is also met. Working across broad disciplines has clear benefits; as experts from different scientific backgrounds 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, leading to sustained interactions across multiple communities. URoL:ASC projects should show strong connections across the contributing disciplines, while demonstrating innovation in the integrated research approaches being applied to address the societal challenge.

URoL:ASC projects must emphasize a co-production process that involves producers and users of the knowledge in substantial partnership through all phases of the project, from design to eventual outcomes.

In this context, users might include those most likely to benefit from outcomes of the research, perhaps by virtue of their association with communities that have been disproportionately and negatively impacted by the particular challenge.

Such groups might include, but are not limited to, indigenous people whose unique perspective and knowledge can prove beneficial in defining and devising solutions to challenges that impact their communities, as well as other communities who are members of the Missing Millions and underrepresented in STEM.

The benefits of co-production strategies, especially when coupled with elements of social and behavioral research on humans, are to help ensure that outcomes are accessible to relevant communities, feasible to implement, and thereby likely to produce actionable knowledge that will be acted upon. URoL:ASC proposals should make explicit the synergy across such integrated strategies.

Letters of collaboration from users involved in co-production are strongly encouraged.

URoL:ASC projects must include a robust, integrated education and training component that emphasizes effective and sustainable training paradigms that are inclusive, equitable, and accessible to all and that aim to produce a new generation of STEM researchers and other STEM practitioners reflective of the diversity of peoples and cultures in the Nation.

Education and training plans should have a convergent focus that draws from a range of approaches, including integrating and applying knowledge from research on STEM learning and learning environments, broadening participation in STEM fields, AI-driven education, and STEM workforce development.

The plans should aim to prepare the next generation of scientists to navigate, communicate, and collaborate across multiple, diverse scientific fields and with public users of STEM research outcomes.

Training for students and postdoctoral scholars should provide them with the skills to overcome barriers posed by terminology, language, and cultural differences between fields and among people; interpret a variety of data types with rigor; interrogate hypotheses that transcend narrow systems or sub-disciplines; engage in use-inspired research through collaboration with team members in co-producing knowledge and other products, such as patents; and communicate how the results of their research will have or have had societal benefit.

URoL:ASC Projects must demonstrate commitment to establishing a climate of inclusion, equity, and accessibility to broaden participation by involving broadly diverse groups of individuals, including those who are underrepresented in STEM, e.g., women, minorities, veterans, and those with disabilities, as PIs, co-PIs, postdoctoral researchers, students, or other personnel.

Proposals are encouraged from PIs or co-PIs from a broad range of institutions, including PUIs, MSIs that are not among the nation's most research-intensive institutions, other institutions that are classified as R2, D/PU, or M1-3 (see Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education ), and institutions in jurisdictions eligible for EPSCoR.

To facilitate proposal planning, as hallmarks for success, URoL:ASC proposals must include the following elements in the Project Description and in the relevant supplementary documents described below in Section V: Provide a clear explanation of the broader impacts of the research, specifically including the expected societal impact, what segment(s) of society will be affected, and how impact will be assessed.

Provide a detailed description of the intellectual merit of the research, identifying a rule(s) of life around which the proposed research is oriented, or which the research addresses, and including a compelling, convergent, use-inspired research plan with deep integration across disciplines and with diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility principles embedded in the research.

Describe the collaborative team with emphasis on their complementary scientific expertise and how their participation contributes to the project goals for diversity, equity, and inclusion. Diversity may be attained by inclusion of individuals from a variety of career stages and members of underrepresented groups such as women, minorities, and those with disabilities. This diversity should extend to the team leadership.

Provide a description of how co-production of knowledge approaches will be incorporated to ensure that the project research design, implementation, evaluation, and dissemination will be conducted in authentic partnership with individuals and communities most impacted by this research.

Provide explicit ideas for multidisciplinary ways to train the next generation of scientists, to engage and develop the Missing Millions who are underrepresented in STEM, and to enhance diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility for full participation in, and equitable benefit from, the proposed research.

Within the above framework, there are many research opportunities for using rules-of-life lessons, including about how key properties of living systems emerge from interactions of factors such as genomes, phenotypes, and evolving environments--to address pressing questions that impact all of society.

A wide range of truly imposing challenges are relevant to using the rules of life; examples include, but are not limited to : Stewarding an integrated biodiversity-climate system. Achieving a sustainable future (encompassing topics like feeding the planet sustainably, renewable energy for all, bringing population growth and resource use into balance, and creating a circular bioeconomy). Harnessing microbiomes for societal benefit.

Leveraging artificial intelligence and data science to put biological complexity to beneficial societal use. Understanding and disrupting the biological and human behavioral networks of pandemic disease. There is a similarly wide array of potential projects that could be envisioned to address such challenges.

Below are examples of some that would fall within this solicitation. This list is meant to be illustrative and should not be construed as limiting. Use knowledge of the rules governing short- and long-term, bio-diverse responses to fluctuating availability and quality of water to improve how water resources are managed, stored, and equitably distributed.

Use knowledge of the diversity of fundamental cellular and organismal mechanisms for sensing and adapting to environmental stress to devise natural, biotechnological or hybrid food supply chain systems that are resilient to climate change.

Use novel, artificial intelligence methods to devise strategies for mitigating the spread of antibiotic resistance by inferring, interpreting, and applying knowledge of how interactions among genetic factors, microbiome composition, and environment influence microbial evolution.

Use principles whereby biological systems process waste to identify the trade-offs between biotechnological and natural solutions to waste management, while leveraging economic and ecological principles to improve efficiency, reduce energy use, and redefine 'waste' in a manner that is likely to be societally adopted.

Use knowledge of microbial capacity to sense, and integrate cellular responses to, external small molecules to create synthetic microbiomes that can detect and quantify the presence of environmental toxins and inform natural, biotechnological or hybrid approaches for remediation.

Use insights from plant, animal, and microbial systems--such as those associated with flocking, symbiosis, and recognition of self vs. non-self--to examine, model, and potentially mitigate negative impacts of homophilic behavior and its effects, e.g., polarization, xenophobia, and inequity, in human social systems.

Projects may be laboratory, field, and/or simulation and theory based and may include a focus on terrestrial, aquatic, marine or polar organisms and ecosystems.

Projects are encouraged to extend laboratory, experimental, theoretical, or other research approaches beyond well-established model systems, individual populations, and controlled environments, and should address how the systems under study will be used to impact the targeted societal challenge and how the impact will be assessed. Outreach activities that successfully overcome societal communication barriers are encouraged.

Efforts could include, for example, educating the general public about the research, developing citizen science activities, etc., as driven by the team's expertise and interests, and the needs of the community. Plans to assess the success of such efforts should be included. Projects that would be supported normally through regular core programs of the participating NSF Directorates and Offices are discouraged.

Proposals that are not responsive to this solicitation or that fall outside the purview of NSF will be returned without review, as described in the PAPPG: " NSF does not normally support technical assistance, pilot plant efforts, research requiring security classification, the development of products for commercial marketing, or market research for a particular project or invention.

Biological research on mechanisms of disease in humans , including on the etiology, diagnosis, or treatment of disease or disorder, is normally not supported. Biological research to develop animal models of such conditions, or the development or testing of procedures for their treatment, also are not normally eligible for support.

However, research with etiology, diagnosis- or treatment-related goals that advances knowledge in engineering, mathematical, physical, computer, or information sciences is eligible for support. Bioengineering and assistive information technology research to aid persons with disabilities also are eligible.

The agency operates no laboratories itself but does support National Research Centers, user facilities, certain oceanographic vessels, and Antarctic research stations. See " Funding " and " Awards " on the NSF website for additional information." The Program estimates an FY2023 Budget of $28,000,000 and expects to make 10-15 awards.

Estimated program budget, number of awards and average award size are subject to the availability of funds. URoL:ASC proposal total budget requests may not exceed $3 million to support a project plan up to five years in duration , although the program anticipates funding projects with a range of budgets and durations. IV.

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.

A minimum of one PI and one co-PI must be named on a proposal, representing expertise in different disciplines pertinent to at least two of the following directorates : Biological Sciences (BIO), Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE), STEM Education (EDU), Engineering (ENG), Geosciences (GEO), Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS), Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences (SBE), and Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (TIP) at the National Science Foundation.

More than one investigator from within one discipline is permitted, as long as the minimum described above is also met. Expertise may be demonstrated by earned degrees from disciplines, current departmental and center affiliations, or experience, such as papers published in that disciplinary field or research supported by a relevant NSF Directorate(s).

Proposals should also explicitly state a minimum of two NSF directorates that map to their proposal in the "Convergent Research Plan" section of the Project Description. Limit on Number of Proposals per Organization: There are no restrictions or limits. Limit on Number of Proposals per PI or co-PI: There are no restrictions or limits.

Additional Eligibility Info: This program encourages participation of PIs or co-PIs from a broad range of institutions, including (see below) predominantly undergraduate institutions (PUIs), minority-serving Institutions (MSIs) that are not among the nation's most research-intensive institutions, other institutions classified in the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education as R2, D/PU, or M1-3, and institutions in jurisdictions eligible for EPSCoR.

If PIs are unclear about the status of their institution, they are encouraged to reach out to the program officers in advance. Primarily Undergraduate Institutions (PUIs): PUIs are accredited colleges and universities (including two-year community colleges) that award Associates degrees, Bachelor's degrees, and/or Master's degrees in NSF-supported fields but have awarded 20 or fewer Ph. D.

/D. Sci. degrees in all NSF-supported fields during the combined previous two academic years.

Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs): MSIs, as defined by the U.S. Department of Education , include historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs), tribal colleges or universities (TCUs), and other institutions that enroll a significant percentage of underrepresented minority students.

These other institutions include Alaska Native-serving institutions, Native Hawaiian-serving institutions, predominantly Black Institutions, Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-serving institutions, and Native American-serving non-tribal institutions.

EPSCoR institutions include those in jurisdictions (state, territory, or commonwealth) eligible for NSF investments to enhance research competitiveness by strengthening STEM capacity and capability aimed at contributing to the national and global STEM research enterprise. V. Proposal Preparation And Submission Instructions A.

Proposal Preparation Instructions Full Proposal Preparation Instructions : Proposers may opt to submit proposals in response to this Program Solicitation via Research. gov or Grants. gov. Full Proposals submitted via Research.

gov: Proposals submitted in response to this program solicitation should be prepared and submitted in accordance with the general guidelines contained in the NSF Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG). The complete text of the PAPPG is available electronically on the NSF website at: https://www. nsf.

gov/publications/pub_summ. jsp? ods_key=pappg .

Paper copies of the PAPPG may be obtained from the NSF Publications Clearinghouse, telephone (703) 292-8134 or by e-mail from nsfpubs@nsf. gov . The Prepare New Proposal setup will prompt you for the program solicitation number.

Full proposals submitted via Grants. gov: Proposals submitted in response to this program solicitation via Grants. gov should be prepared and submitted in accordance with the NSF Grants.

gov Application Guide: A Guide for the Preparation and Submission of NSF Applications via Grants. gov . The complete text of the NSF Grants.

gov Application Guide is available on the Grants. gov website and on the NSF website at: ( https://www. nsf.

gov/publications/pub_summ. jsp? ods_key=grantsgovguide ).

To obtain copies of the Application Guide and Application Forms Package, click on the Apply tab on the Grants. gov site, then click on the Apply Step 1: Download a Grant Application Package and Application Instructions link and enter the funding opportunity number, (the program solicitation number without the NSF prefix) and press the Download Package button. Paper copies of the Grants.

gov Application Guide also may be obtained from the NSF Publications Clearinghouse, telephone (703) 292-8134 or by e-mail from nsfpubs@nsf. gov . In determining which method to utilize in the electronic preparation and submission of the proposal, please note the following: Collaborative Proposals.

All collaborative proposals submitted as separate submissions from multiple organizations must be submitted via Research. gov. PAPPG Chapter II. D.

3 provides additional information on collaborative proposals. See PAPPG Chapter II. C.

2 for guidance on the required sections of a full research proposal submitted to NSF. Please note that the proposal preparation instructions provided in this program solicitation may deviate from the PAPPG instructions. Special instructions for submitting to this solicitation Proposal Preparation Instructions Where to submit: Proposals must be submitted to BIO/Emerging Frontiers (EF).

Once received the proposals will be managed by a cross-disciplinary, multi-directorate team of NSF Program Officers. Proposal Title: Titles of proposals should begin with "URoL:ASC:" followed by a substantive title.

Project Description (up to 15 pages): For all proposals, the project description must : Begin with a section (titled Broader Impacts) clearly describing the societal challenge, the expected, beneficial, societal impact of the research, what segment(s) of society will be affected, and how impact will be assessed.

Follow with a section (titled Intellectual Merit: Convergent Research Plan) presenting a compelling, convergent, use-inspired research plan to address the societal challenge, with deep integration across disciplines and with diversity, equity and inclusion principles embedded in the research. Explicitly identify a rule(s) of life around which the proposed research is oriented or to which the research is addressed.

The proposed research plan must tackle critical, cross-cutting questions that are larger in scope than typical proposals to NSF Core Programs. The proposed research should include a range of specific aims and use-inspired research approaches that are clearly integrated under a coordinated vision.

Convergent research requires an open and inclusive culture, wherein practitioners become conversant across disciplines and develop a common set of concepts, metrics, and understanding of goals.

The proposal must involve two or more diverse and complementary disciplines (each corresponding to those supported by distinct NSF directorates) and include a description of and an explicit plan for how approaches and researchers from these disciplines (e.g., biological sciences, chemistry, computer science, education, engineering, geology, mathematics, physics, behavioral and social sciences, among others) will be integrated via multidisciplinary efforts to use the indicated rule(s) of life to address the indicated societal challenge.

Describe the collaborative team with emphasis on their complementary scientific expertise and how their participation contributes to the project goals for diversity, equity, and inclusion. Diversity may be attained by inclusion of individuals from a variety of career stages and members of underrepresented groups such as women, minorities, and those with disabilities. This diversity should extend to the team leadership.

Describe how the project research design, implementation, evaluation, and dissemination, as well as knowledge co-production, will be conducted in authentic partnership with individuals and communities most impacted by this research.

Provide explicit ideas for multidisciplinary ways to train the next generation of scientists, to engage and develop the Missing Millions, and to enhance diversity, equity, and inclusion for full participation in, and equitable benefit from, the proposed research.

PIs may wish to consult the Dear Colleague Letter, "A Broader Impacts Framework for Proposals Submitted to NSF's Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences Directorate"( NSF 21-059 ) for suggestions on writing a strong Broader Impacts section. In addition, strong Broader Impacts descriptions should include assessment of those impacts .

Budgets should be well-justified and commensurate with the research activities proposed Proposals Requiring Research Facilities: Budgets should include all costs charged to the project for platforms and facilities supporting the proposed research, except those facilities separately supported by NSF (e.g., research aircraft or field equipment).

PIs are responsible for filing the appropriate requests for major research platforms; a copy of the request must be included as a supplementary document. For proposals with international collaborators, the collaborators are encouraged to seek support from their respective funding organizations.

Funding guidelines for involving international collaborators allow the following expenses to be included in the NSF budget: Travel expenses for U.S. scientists and students participating in exchange visits integral to the project. Project-related expenses for international partners to engage in research activities while in the U.S. as project participants.

Project-related expenses for U.S. participants to engage in research activities while abroad. Data Management Plan (up to two pages): Each