FUNDING OPPORTUNITY: Proposal solicitation for ecological forecasting/conservation projects

Announcement from NASA:

Hello Biological Diversity and Ecological Forecasting/Conservation Community,

NASA is pleased to announce the release of the A.40 Earth Science Applications: Ecological Conservation (formerly Ecological Forecasting) solicitation. This program element solicits proposals that would enable:

1. Decision-making to combat the spread of invasive species,
2. Advance the use of ecosystem service assessment for decision-making, and
3. Inform management, establishment, or protection of protected areas.

Proposals must outline activities and products that will achieve operational deployment and sustained use in decision-making by the end user(s) (i.e., ARL 9) before the end of the award. To feasibly achieve this objective, all submissions must show a demonstrated maturity in development beyond initial discovery, feasibility, and development (i.e., start at ARL 5 or greater) and an established relationship with an end user. Like past solicitations, proposals must combine three components: Earth observations, in-situ biological observations, and ecological models to develop decision-support tools.

Notices of intent are requested by March 14, 2023, and proposals are due April 14, 2023. A virtual meeting for potential proposers will occur January 13, 2023, from 2-4 pm eastern time. Connect information will be posted under other documents on the NSPIRES page for this program element no later than December 13, 2023.

This release marks the official name change of the Ecological Forecasting Application Area to Ecological Conservation Application Area. After over a year of consultation with our community, we have made this change to better reflect the program’s objectives. Forecasting remains the principle methodological approach for the work we support but achieving sustainable decision support for conservation is the end goal. You will see this change is now reflected on our program websites (here and here).