National Academy of Sciences (NAS) Synthesis Grants 2016 Connecting Environmental, Social, and/or Health Data

Need help finding collaborators for this funding oportunity? Fill out this Doodle poll with your availability for a Collabotion Pop-Up meeting with other UM Researchers. http://doodle.com/poll/xi6gd7mgwpvvq3xp

Opportunity Overview:

This funding opportunity seeks projects that will use environmental data in combination with individual-level or population-level socio-cultural, economic, and/or health data to either (1) advance the development of tools, methodologies, and approaches for understanding interactions between the environment, social systems, and human health; or (2) integrate existing data to generate novel insights and address important questions. Proposed projects should address one of two themes:

·      Coastal Communities: Advancing understanding of the short-term and long-term impacts of offshore oil and gas operations on human communities in coastal regions adjacent to the U.S. outer continental shelf by developing new knowledge about these impacts or new approaches for monitoring and assessing the consequences of social or economic conditions and/or environmental exposures as they act together to affect human communities.

·      Human Exposure: Advancing study design, tools, models and technologies for assessing human exposure to environmental contaminants, particularly those related to oil and gas operations. This could include chronic exposure or acute exposure from oil spills or other sudden and large-scale environmental disturbances/disasters, and their related impacts on the social, physical, and/or mental health and well-being of individuals and populations.

Key Dates:

3/7/16:          NAS Announcement
3/14/16:       This UM ORSP Announcement
Immediately:  Inform your ORSP Program Development Specialist of intent to apply
4/27/16:       Required Letters of Intent Due to Sponsor
4/28/16:       Online Submission of Full Proposal Opens
6/15/16:       Complete applications due to ORSP
6/22/16:       Full Proposal Due to Sponsor

Eligibility:

·      UM Oxford and UM Jackson (UMMC) are each eligible to apply. An applicant may submit multiple applications on behalf of different project directors, but it may submit only one application for each project director. Individuals may be involved in up to three proposals, as a project director and key personnel. Each individual may serve as project director on only one proposal.

·      This funding opportunity is for new activities only. The applicant must not have received any other support for this project, and the project must not be currently under consideration for funding by another funder.

Application Process:

1.     Letter of Intent:  A letter of intent (LOI) is required for this funding opportunity. UM (Oxford) LOIs must be submitted on your behalf by UM ORSP via the online application system.  https://gulfresearchprogram.fluidreview.com

2.     No later than 3 weeks after the LOI submission deadline, the project director will be notified of the Gulf Research Program’s decision to either encourage or discourage submission of a full proposal. The Gulf Research Program's decision is advisory only, which means that submitters of both favorably and unfavorably reviewed LOIs are eligible to submit full proposals. The intent of encourage/discourage decisions is to improve the overall quality of the full proposal and encourage re-thinking, particularly if a LOI is not specifically responsive to the RFA topic.

3.     Full UM (Oxford) proposals must be submitted by ORSP via the online application systems, and they cannot be submitted without LOIs. The online form for submission of a full proposal will be available on April 28, 2016, to applicants who have submitted a LOI. It is important that all proposals conform to the instructions provided. Conformance is required and will be strictly enforced. The Gulf Research Program may reject without review proposals that are not consistent with the instructions.

Review Criteria: Proposals will be evaluated on the basis of four broad review criteria. The sub-bullets under each criterion are meant to guide peer reviewers on what to consider in a proposal and are not intended to be all encompassing or comprehensive. Some sub-bullets under each review criterion may not apply to all aspects of proposals. Reviewers may raise additional concerns that are not covered by the sub-bullets under each review criterion.

1.     Relevance and Impact (35%)

·      Relevance to Grant Type: Does the project propose to apply one of the modes of synthesis described in the RFA or to otherwise bring together data, concepts, and/or methods, and or/data from different disciplines and sectors?

·      Relevance to RFA Topic: Would outputs of the proposed project:

o   Advance understanding of the short and long-term impacts of offshore oil and gas operations on coastal communities living along the U.S. outer continental shelf by developing new knowledge about these impacts or new approaches for monitoring and assessing the consequences of social or economic conditions and/or environmental exposures as they act together to affect human communities, or

o   Advance study design, tools, and technologies for assessing human exposure to environmental contaminants, particularly those related to acute oil spills or other sudden and large-scale environmental disturbances/disasters, and their related impacts on the social, physical, and/or mental health and well-being of individuals and populations.

o   Impact: How important and/or what is the potential impact if this project is funded and successful (societal and scientific)?

 

2.     Technical or Scientific Merit (35%)

·      Does the proposal clearly articulate what existing observations or monitoring data will be used and the specific purpose that they will be used for (i.e. to test hypotheses; develop models, new approaches, or methods; or for other purposes)? 

·      Does the proposal outline an implementation strategy that demonstrates the feasibility of the project?

·      Are the overall strategy, methodology, and analyses well-reasoned and appropriate to accomplish the specific aims of the project?

·      Does the proposal include a data management plan that is appropriate for the scope of work?

·      Is the budget commensurate with the proposed work?

 

3.     Originality (15%)

·      To what extent does the proposed project suggest and explore creative, original, or potentially transformative concepts, approaches, or methodologies? Please provide examples.

·      Does the proposal clearly define the novel insights to be gained or outcomes that will increase the generality and applicability of research? 

·      What is the likelihood that the proposed project would lead to important insights or outcomes?

 

4.     Project Personnel and Institutional Support (15%)

·      If data access is necessary to accomplish the proposed project, does the proposal demonstrate the project personnel’s knowledge of how to get access to the data?

·      Relative to the stage of career, how well qualified is the project director, and other project personnel if applicable to conduct the proposed activities?

·      Does the proposal demonstrate that the project personnel would have adequate resources (for example, institutional support, equipment and/or other physical resources) to conduct the proposed scientific synthesis or associated activities?

·      Will the project benefit from unique features of the work environment or collaborative arrangements?

 

Award Information:

Anticipated Project Duration: 24 months
Estimated Number of Awards: 10 to 14 awards
Anticipated Total Amount for this Funding Opportunity: $5 million.

 

 

Questions about the Grants? Ask your ORSP Program Development Specialist, or gulfgrants@nas.edu.