Support for research in environmental biology by NSF, and other sabbatical musings… Support for...

Support for research in environmental biology by NSF, and other sabbatical

musings…

Henry Gholz

Program Director

BIO/Division of Environmental Biology

(LTER, NCEAS, Ecosystem Studies)

hgholz@nsf.gov, www.nsf.gov

INSTAARCU BoulderFeb. 1, 2010

TOPICS

• NSF in the context of Federal R&D support• NSF as an agency• Proposals and panels• Looking ahead: The expanding scope of science

(examples)• New and developing initiatives• How to think, prepare and respond• Some nitty gritty• Discussion, Q/A

NASA EPASmithsonian

Institution

Nuclear Regulatory Commission

NIST, etc.

Commerce

Science Advisor

Other boards, councils, etc.

Independent Agencies

Major Departments

Science Advisor

OSTP

Office of Management and Budget

Agriculture Health and Human Services

Interior Transportation Defense Energy

President

NSF, NASA, NIST, OSTP Appropriations sub-Committees – House: Science, State, Justice and Commerce; Senate: Commerce, Justice and Science [HR3288]

NSF is an independent government agency, with 1700

total employees (ca 1/3 “rotators”) and a $7B annual

budget

NSF is…

- unique among Federal agencies in supporting research not necessarily tied to resolving specific societal issues or

restricted to falling within the purview of agency-specific missions.

- the primary sponsor of competitively awarded “basic research” in the U.S.*

* FY10 budget is 6.7% > FY09 base, second year of authorized doubling

* FY 11 Budget rollout today; August 09 WH memo omits any mention of “basic research” and emphasizes linking research to “practical challenges”

** NSF funds no in-house research

NSF is small, in terms of R&D budgets across Federal agencies

NSF65%

Other federal

spending35%

- supplies most of the Federal support for basic research in "non-medical and non-defence biological

sciences" at U.S. academic institutions (same for "environmental biology")

However, NSF…

Typical NSF Funding Profile($6.9B in FY 10)

Education & Training

18%

Research Projects58% (grants)

MRE/FC - 19% (ships, accelerators, telescopes,

NEON, OOI)

Administration & Management

5%

National Science Board

Research Directorates

• Biological Sciences• Computer & Info. Science & Eng.• Education & Human Resources• Engineering• Geosciences• Mathematical & Physical Sciences• Social, Behaviorial & Econ. Sciences

Offices• Integrative Activities (STCs)• Polar Programs (ARC/ANT)• International Science and Engineering• CyberInfrastructure

National Science Foundation Arden Bement, Director

*** All now have some role in supporting “environment/global change research”

Annual NSF-level proposal statistics

• 44,000 Proposals processed

• 200,000 Reviews

• 50,000 Reviewers (incl. panelists)

• 10,400 Awards

• 21% Average funding rate (30% in ’99; incl. all actions; see example)

• 2.9 Average duration (yr; LTER are

longest grants at 6 yrs)

Typical Core Panel Math(e.g., Ecosystem Studies Program)

• 135 projects/panel x 2 panels/yr

• Average request = $650,000/3 yrs (wide range)

• Panel recommendation = “fund 25%”

• Funding available = $7 M/panel

• Fraction funded = ca 10% (by $ or #)

additional considerations enable a greater rate: buy-ins (cofunding from other core or special programs, EPSCoR, etc.); year-end $; mortgage manipulations = 15% perhaps?

[We ask 1620 people for 810 reviews each year, or 3/proposal]

FY 09 – ARRA (“Stimulus $”)• 50% one-time increase in budget for NSF ($3B) and most core programs (e.g., Ecosystem Studies +15 projects = 30% rate)• Enabled $6M/5 yr grant to LTER Network Office (NIS)• Provided funds for NEON airborne platform

• Supported MRI, minority fellowships• Supported 3 new CZOs

• Used only for proposals considered by FY09 panels (except for MRI and fellowships)• Non-recurring• No more left (legacy effect?)• Didn’t make up for all the cuts elsewhere in research support• Contributed to 30% increase in first term FY 10 proposals submitted and extra panels (a one-time event?)

The expanding scope of “ecological science”

• Integrating ecology and social sciences

– LTER ISSE– ULTRA-Ex (Urban)– New “Climate Change” initiatives

• Synthesis: NCEAS and new ESC AO

• How to think, prepare and respond

• Since 1980

• 26 sites

• 5 core research areas

• Network Office

• NSF, external partners

• 6 NEON core sites

• ILTER

• $30M budget in FY10

www.lternet.edu

LTER at 30

“ISSE” (LTER 2007), product of decadal strategic planning process:

• Integrating social and ecological sciences• Integrating education and research• Multi-site science• Synthesis

External drivers

Human Cognition, Behavior,

and Institutions

Q1

Ecosystem servicesQ4

Long-term pressShort-term pulse

Q3

Human Outcomes

Q5

Q2

Biotic structure

Ecosystemfunctioning

Integrative Science for Society and the Environment

ISSE: LTER 2007

[LTER historic]

Q6

External drivers

Human Cognition, Behavior,

and Institutions

Q1

Ecosystem servicesQ4

Long-term pressShort-term pulse

Q3

Human Outcomes

Q6 Q2

Biotic structure

Ecosystemfunctioning

Integrative Science for Society and the Environment

ISSE: LTER 2007

[LTER current]

Q5

External drivers

Human Cognition, Behavior,

and Institutions

Q1

Ecosystem servicesQ4

Long-term pressShort-term pulse

Q3

Human Outcomes

Q6 Q2

Biotic structure

Ecosystemfunctioning

Integrative Science for Society and the Environment

ISSE: LTER 2007

[LTER future?]

Q5

GCE

FCE

VCR

PIE

2.6 mm y-1

3.9 mm y-1

2.9 mm y-1

2.2 mm y-1

e.g., Opportunities to synthesize the effects of relative sea level rise on coastal zones across sites

M. Alber, Ecotrends

50 km

50 km

Venice lagoon, Italy

Eastern Shore, Virginia

Lagoons at VCR are similar to the Venice lagoon, with identical distributions of barrier islands, tidal flats, and salt marshes, but 2000 yrs of human history (K. McGlathery, VCR)

Also provides opportunities fordata & model intercomparisons

and expanded assessment of human impacts through

international collaborations [also GLEON]

GOAL: To develop and test theory and conduct fundamental research on human-natural interactions in an urban context, and

to generate excitement and raise general levels of awareness, interest and experience across U.S.

• Not pre-proposals• Not ULTRA • No connection to any eventual ULTRA • But conceived as precursor to an ULTRA competition for

4-6 new urban LTERs in FY11/12• 73 proposals submitted• 18 awards, $300,000/2 yrs (split USFS, NSF/BIO-SBE)

Expanding urban focus: Urban Long-Term Research Areas – Exploratory Awards (ULTRA-Ex, FY09-10)

LTER80-04

Decadal Strategic Plan

(04-07)

Multi-site(08-09)

• 4 prospecti09*

• NISARRA 09

ISSE(07)

Agency response11+

LTER20+?

A vision for LTER at 40?

[Site-based]

[ISSE: Multi-site, integrated, expanded]

*4 prospecti for synthesis and integration:

• Coastal Zone and Climate Change• The Disappearing Cryosphere• Future Scenarios• Inland Climate Change

ULTRA-Ex

Synthesis – support by NSF• National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS, UCSB) • National Evolutionary Synthesis Center (NESCent,

Duke)• Center for Plant CyberInfrastructure (“iPlant”, U AZ)• NIMBioS - Math-Bio Synthesis Center (U TN)• Individual Awards (OPUS, DEB only)

• Other NSF centers (SBE? GEO?)

• Other agencies (USGS Powell Center)

SocialSciences

Ecology

Data

Engineering

EnvironmentalKnowledge

Models

Theory

ComputationalSciences

GeologicalSciences

New AO (2011):

“Environmental Synthesis Center” -expanding the scope

of NCEAS?

Realm of NCEAS (thru 2011)

after Carpenter et al. (2009)

Synthesis

Decision support for management,

policy? [some in SBE, but still “research” and not integrated across NSF]

Stakeholderfeedback

StakeholderInput? Research

Should NSF support “boundary activities”? If so, how? Or is this “Mission Drift”?

Environmental knowledge

[NSF mission now]

New “Climate Change” Initiatives

• Water, Sustainability and Climate (WSC) - AO just released (annual, 5 yrs)

• Ocean Acidification - AO just released

• Biodiversity - ?

• Macroecology at Regional to Continental Scales (MERCS) - ?

• Modeling - ? (MSM [DCL] “will be folded into a new multi-scale modeling effort focusing on climate issues. We anticipate the related solicitation will be available on the NSF website in early 2010.”)

A shifting and complex context for “ecological” research…

• LTER/ISSE (plus CNH, etc.) - integrating disciplines• Environmental observatories - a new paradigm• Synthesis centers and informatics • Changes in core programs - depend on proposals• New initiatives - larger scale, increasing complexity• Many players, agencies• Applying results of science - leave to other agencies?

LTER80-04

Strategic Plan (04-07)

Synthesis(08-09)

• 4 prospecti09

• NISARRA 09

ISSE(07)

Agency response11

LTER20-?

ULTRA-EX09

(USFS)ULTRA11?

NEON10 OOI10

AON09

NCEAS95-11

Ecosystems70-, CNH08-, other core programs

MERCS10?

NESCentiPlantNIMBS

ESC11

Synthesis (and

application?)

Powell Ctr (USGS)other agencies? USGCRP

other NSF centers &programs (soc, inf)?

Climate change10

BIOD10?

DCLs09

Assembling the pieces…

How to think, prepare and respond(institutionally)

Actively seek opportunitiesTeach more “synthetic thinking”

Define “interdisciplinary” Optimize individuals vs teams

Group PhDs?More data-based degrees

Adapting reward structures

Be proactive; things to watch for at NSF (PIs, students)

• Use website, including award search engine, and explore• Program announcements change:

– CNH became a core program; HSD ended– MO/MIP disappeared, so where did microbe $ go?

• DCLs appear (or disappear):– MSM– ETBC , Life in Transition (LiT), MSB, ESE, etc. – same fate?

• Special/new competitions:– Ultra-Ex (and LTAP/USDA)– Environmental Synthesis Center– Climate change– Biodiversity?

• Special reports (e.g., AC-ERE “greenbook”, GEO-AC)

• Important new reviews, workshop reports, or society position papers (e.g., Carpenter 2009)

The nitty gritty: tips for a better NSF proposal Lead with ideas (not location, ecosystem, species, tools, policy

context, methods, or end application) Generate excitement NOTE SWITCH FROM TARGET DATES TO DEADLINES (DEB) Address AO, but don’t limit yourself by it (co-reviews are common) Know and express the context of your work (literature, other grants) Respond explicitly, but concisely, to previous reviews Emphasize readability and completeness; but avoid verbiage Browse new PAPPG; use it Address both review criteria Follow formatting requirements carefully (font, margins, cpi) Compliance check before submitting Suggest reviewers Include all conflicts of interest in CV; keep updated Be available by email to fix compliance problems (test your spam filters) Talk to your program officer

Progra

m O

fficers

Ad hoc Reviewers Adviso

ry P

anel

ists

DDs and ADs

And remember: NSF Needs You!• 44,000 proposals• 10,000 awards• 200,000 reviews• 50,000 reviewers

www.nsf.gov

Fun!High impact!Rewarding!Well paying!Great city!

Thank you

Questions? Discussion?

Thank you!

Questions? Discussion?

Questions for universities? • How can “synthetic thinking” be best taught?• Are reward structures adequate and appropriate?

• credit for group, interdisciplinary projects• credit for facilitating advances (e.g., LTER PIs)

• Can a PhD be a group project/degree?• Conversely, is disciplinarity being diluted or subverted by “big science”• How do you strike a balance between individual efforts and more complex

project structures, or is balance needed?• How can you avoid the “NIH effect”?• How can you be more involved in the funding process?

Reminder: Criterion 1: Intellectual Merit

• Potential to advance knowledge and understanding within and across fields

• Qualifications of investigators• Creativity and originality• Conceptualization and organization• Access to resources

Reminder: Criterion 2: Broader Impacts

• Advance science, while promoting teaching, training and learning

• Target under-represented groups • Enhance infrastructure for R & E • Disseminate results to enhance public understanding• Provide other benefits to society (e.g., in management,

policy)• No formula or template

proposals that do NOT address Broader Impacts in the Project Summary are RWR

LTER at 40? LTER is central to an international environmental science and education network, with

results informing critical societal decision making

• Led by today’s graduate students• Still focused on the 5 common core research areas • LTER NIS integral to the data system• socio-ecological science is the norm (with SBE)• Geosciences and engineering are full partners• major urban focus (via ULTRA competition with USFS; other agencies)• geographic holes filled (N. Rockies, S. Central, Gulf coast)• agricultural/energy focus expanded (with USDA, DOE)• functionally linked with NEON, AON, OOI• International component to every project in context of ILTER• predictive modeling is a central tool, validated with increasing long-term data• first set of integrated synthesis projects completed; second generation themes

underway<“DO NOT QUOTE”, “NOT ENDORSED BY NSF”, etc. etc.>

Systematic Biol. &Biodiversity

Inventory

EvolutionaryProcesses

Neural Systems

Developmental Systems

Behavioral Systems

HumanResources/Training

Research Resources FS/ML, ABI

BiomolecularSystems

CellularSystems

Genes and GenomeSystemsPlant Genome

Environmental Biology

Integrative Organismal

Systems

Biological Infrastructure

Molecular and Cellular

Biosciences

Population and Community Ecology

Ecosystem Science, (Ecos. Studies, LTER)

BIO: 5 Divisions with Clusters & Programs

Physiologicaland Structural

Systems

Emerging Frontiers: NEON; CNH; Ecology of Infectious Diseases; RCN; AToL; Life in Transition; Biodiversity Initiative; Multi-Scale Modeling; ETBC; Advancing Theory in Biology

BIO Centers (coming)

Note: microbes spread around

Alternate proposal paths at NSF• Submitted to a core program, reviewed by that program: ad hoc, panel, program

officer – or some combination of these review approaches

• Submitted to a core program, transferred with agreement to another program – see above [or RWR as “unresponsive to the solicitation]

• Submitted to a core program, co-reviewed with agreement by another program (ranges from ad hoc suggestions, to formal full panel co-review)

• Submitted to two programs: governed by the identified lead program

• Submitted to a special competition with multiple programs and/or directorates with formal inter-program review (e.g., ETBC, IGERT, IPY)

* Talk with Program Director, if confused…

Examples of education and early career programs

• Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) - supplements for undergrads (note ESA/SEEDS involvement)• Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grants (DDIG)• Postdoctoral Research Fellowships in BioInformatics• CAREER - Res & Educ integration; $500,000 for 5 years in BIO; pre-tenure PIs• Research Opportunity Award (ROA) – supplements for faculty from undergrad institutions• Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) – supplements for high

school teachers • IGERT – PhD Fellowships