USGS Earthquake Hazards Program External Research Support Announcement for Fiscal Year 2027

PLEASE NOTE:  No submissions through Grants.gov will be accepted. All submissions must follow SAM.gov instructions. For full opportunity announcement reference the SAM.gov link.

The ARO is soliciting proposals for Staff Research Program opportunities. The purpose of the program is to enable ARO scientific staff to maintain and expand professional competence in support of fulfilling the ARO mission through the conduct of hands-on, basic research. The staff research will be performed collaboratively with institutions external to ARO. Staff research efforts will involve scientific study directed toward advancing the state-of-the-art or increasing knowledge and scientific understanding in engineering, physical, life and information sciences, when there is an intersection with the interests and capabilities of the participating external institutions in these basic research areas. Protection of Mission Integrity: The primary role of the ARO scientific staff is to objectively assess and fund extramural research at numerous institutions across the U.S. and throughout the world. Since it is vitally important that the ARO be impartial in its actions, ARO scientists cannot engage in activities that could compromise the perceived objectivity of that scientist with respect to the institution, or with respect to the areas of science/engineering that they are responsible for as Program Managers. Consequently, ARO Program Managers will be disqualified from taking official actions regarding any institution at which that PM conducts Staff Research. Staff research will be conducted, directed and managed by an ARO scientist at the institution's laboratory facilities or field research sites, in collaboration with a PI designated by the institution. ARO scientists will not be named as a PI on any proposal or resulting award. Results of the Staff Research Program may include publication or co-authorship of research results and presentation at scientific forums, and contribute to the education and training of students, in accordance with the terms of the cooperative agreement. NOTE: ARO scientific staff will seek out a collaborating institution to engage in staff research as opportunities arise and at the discretion of ARO.

NSF-supported science and engineering research increasingly relies on cutting-edge infrastructure. With its Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) program and Major Multi-user Facilities ("Major Facilities") projects, NSF supports infrastructure projects at the lower and higher range of infrastructure project costs, Foundation-wide, across science and engineering research disciplines. The Foundation-wide Mid-scale Research Infrastructure opportunity is intended to provide NSF with an agile, Foundation-wide process to fund experimental research capabilities in the mid-scale range between MRI and Major Multi-user Facilities. NSF defines Research Infrastructure (RI) as any combination of facilities, equipment, instrumentation, or computational hardware or software, and the necessary human capital in support of the same. Major facilities and mid-scale projects are subsets of research infrastructure. The NSF Mid-scale Research Infrastructure-1 Program (Mid-scale RI-1) supports either design activities or implementation of unique and compelling RI projects. Mid-scale implementation projects may include any combination of equipment, instrumentation, cyberinfrastructure, broadly used large scale datasets and the personnel needed to successfully commission the project. Mid-scale RI-1 design activities include the design efforts intended to lead to eventual implementation of a mid-scale class RI project. Mid-scale RI-1 projects should involve the training of a diverse workforce engaged in the design and implementation of STEM research infrastructure. Mid-scale RI-1 projects should directly enable advances in any of the research domains supported by NSF. Projects may also include upgrades to existing research infrastructure. Mid-scale RI-1 emphasizes strong scientific merit, a response to an identified need of the research community and/or fulfillment of a national need to enable U.S. researchers to be competitive in a global research environment. Well-conceived technical and management plans are essential for both design and implementation proposals, as are well-developed plans (e.g., mentoring and professional development) for student training and the involvement of a diverse STEM workforce in all aspects of mid-scale design and/or implementation activities. The inclusion of individual project participants that will lead to a supportive working environment is especially encouraged at all levels of the project team. Within Mid-scale RI-1, proposers may submit two types of projects, “Implementation” (e.g., acquisition and/or construction) or “Design”. The “Design” track is intended to facilitate progress toward readiness for a mid-scale range implementation project. Both Implementation projects and Design activities may involve new or upgraded research infrastructure. Mid-scale RI-1 "Implementation" projects may have a total project cost ranging from $4 million up to but not including $20 million. Mid-scale RI-1 "Design" activities may request less than $4 million, with a minimum request of $400,000 and a maximum request up to but not including $20 million, as appropriate, to prepare for a future mid-scale range implementation project. Note: Successful award of a Mid-scale RI-1 design activity does not imply NSF's commitment to the future implementation of the project being designed, nor is a Mid-scale RI-1 design award required for the submission of an implementation project. The Mid-scale RI-1 Program seeks to broaden the representation of PIs and institutions in its award portfolio, including a geographically diverse set of institutions (especially those in EPSCoR jurisdictions). Proposals submitted by, or involving partnerships between institutions are encouraged. Participation in this opportunity is encouraged for the full spectrum of diverse talent society has to offer to include PIs who are women, early-career researchers, persons with disabilities, or members of other groups underrepresented in STEM. To improve participation in science and engineering research for persons with disabilities, Mid-scale RI-1 encourages PIs to incorporate accessibility as part of Mid-scale RI-1 design activity and implementation projects. Please consult NSF's Research Infrastructure Guide, or RIG (available at https://www.nsf.gov/bfa/lfo/lfo_documents.jsp ), for definitions of certain terms used in this solicitation, such as the Project Execution Plan (PEP) and Design and Execution Plan (DEP). The RIG provides guidance specific to Mid-scale Research Infrastructure Projects, including references to other parts of the RIG as needed. Note that PEP or DEP should be appropriately scaled for the complexity of the project and may not require all of the elements described in the RIG. Mid-scale research infrastructure projects with total project costs beyond the Mid-scale RI-1 Program limit are separately solicited through the Mid-scale RI-2 Program. Proposals to the Mid-scale RI-1 Program with total project costs outside of this solicitation's budgetary limits, either during initial submission or after cost analyses/revisions during subsequent review, are subject to return without further review.

The Division of Environmental Biology (DEB) Coresupports research and training on evolutionary and ecological processes acting at the level of populations, species, communities, ecosystems, macrosystems, and biogeographic extents. DEB encourages research that elucidates fundamental principles that identify and explain the unity and diversity of life and its interactions with the environment over space and time. Research may incorporate field, laboratory, or collection-based approaches; observational or manipulative studies; synthesis activities; phylogenetic discovery projects; or theoretical approaches involving analytical, statistical, or computational modeling. Proposals should be submitted to the core clusters ( Ecosystem Science , Evolutionary Processes , Population and Community Ecology , and Systematics and Biodiversity Science ). DEB also encourages interdisciplinary proposals that cross conceptual boundaries and integrate over levels of biological organization or across multiple spatial and temporal scales.Research addressing ecology and ecosystem science in the marine biome should be directed to the Biological Oceanography Program in the Division of Ocean Sciences; research addressing evolution and systematics in the marine biome should be directed to the Evolutionary Processes or Systematics and Biodiversity Science programs in DEB.

The Defense Security Cooperation Agency’s (DSCA) Defense Security Cooperation University (DSCU) promotes access to and production of knowledge on security cooperation. Security cooperation refers to “all Department of Defense (DoD) interactions with foreign security establishments that build and develop allied and partner security capabilities and capacity for self-defense and multinational operations, provide the Armed Forces of the United States with access to the foreign country during peacetime or a contingency operation, and build relationships that promote specific United States security interests” (Joint Publication 3-20, Security Cooperation, 1-2; see also 10 USC § 16, “Security Cooperation”).  Evidence-, theory, and data-building activities that contribute to the body of knowledge on security cooperation or irregular warfare, and that result in lessons that can be applied to practice, are the primary focus of this notice of funding opportunity (NFO). Research products sponsored through this NFO must be unclassified and publicly accessible. DSCU expects awardees to participate in conferences, seminars, focus groups and events, and to make final research products and supporting data (if applicable) easily accessible to the public, in order to enhance dissemination of research findings and facilitate application of lessons learned in areas of policy, practice, and workforce professionalization. The DSCU research grant program, conducted pursuant to 10 USC § 4001 and 10 USC § 384(g), is generally open to a broad range of researchers, although individual DSCU components may have restrictions on who may receive grants. Please see the full NFO for complete details.

The Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) is designed to fulfill the mandate of the National Science Foundation (NSF) to promote scientific progress nationwide. NSF EPSCoR facilitates the establishment of partnerships among academic institutions, government, industry, and non-profit sectors that are designed to promote sustainable improvements in an EPSCoR-eligible jurisdiction’s research infrastructure, Research and Development (R&D) capacity, and R&D competitiveness. Eligibility to participate in NSF EPSCoR funding opportunities, including the EPSCoR Workshop Opportunities program, is described on the EPSCoR website (see criteria for eligibility link ). EPSCoR welcomes proposals for workshops only from institutions within EPSCoR-eligible jurisdictions (i.e. states, territories, commonwealths). These workshops must focus on innovative ways to address multi-jurisdictional efforts on themes of regional or national importance with relevance to the goals and mission of NSF and EPSCoR .