Earth, Environmental, Ecological and Agricultural Mission Agencies

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Earth, Environmental, Ecological and
Agricultural Mission Agencies

• November 13, 2008
• Jean Ann Bowman, Ph.D.
• Office of Proposal Development
• http//opd.tamu.edu/

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Mission Agencies

• Government organizations with specific mission
• Employ scientists scholars - conduct research
  to address the mission and needs of the agency
• Internal research - External research
• Annual budget mainly for internal research
• External research funds to supplement mission

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Earth Mission Agencies

• US Department of Agriculture (USDA)
• US Department of Energy (DOE)
• US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
• US Geological Survey (USGS)
• National Aeronautics Space Administration
  (NASA)
• National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration
  (NOAA)

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Culture Mission General Points

• Internal research and external research
• External research supports internal research
  programs
• Missions funding priorities change with
  political landscape
• Stay informed through news, newsletters, agency
  web sites
• Missions overlap (eg. ecosystem science climate
  science)
• All agencies highly multidisciplinary

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USDA Mission and Funding Programs Priorities

• Mission
• Expand and develop markets
• Address needs of rural America
• Food safety, nutrition, and health
• Manage, protect public, private lands
• Funding Programs Priorities
• Cooperative Research
• www.csrees.usda.gov
• National Research Initiative Agriculture and
  Food Research Initiative
• Natural resources, ag markets, human nutrition,
  animal and plant genomics, crop sciences, and more

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DOE Mission and Funding Programs Priorities

• Mission
• Advance national energy security
• Promote scientific technological innovation
• Manage, protect public, private lands
• Funding Programs Priorities
• Office of Energy Efficiency Renewable Energy
• Office of Environmental Management
• Office of Nuclear Energy
• Office of Science (Advanced Computing,
  Biological Environmental research, Climate
  Change)
• http//scalerts.science.energy.gov

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EPA Mission and Funding Programs Priorities

• Mission
• To protect human health and the environment
• Funding Programs Priorities
• Environmental Education Program
• Environmental Justice Program
• Science to Achieve Results (STAR) Program
• http//www.epa.gov/ncer/grants
• Often fund only 2 3 projects per program
  announcement

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USGS Mission and Funding Programs Priorities

• Mission
• Describe and understand the Earth
• Minimize loss from natural hazards
• Manage water, biological, energy, mineral
  resources
• Funding Programs Priorities
• Biology, geology, geography, water, regional
  studies, natural hazards, environment, wildlife
  and human health
• www.usgs.gov/science
• Education
• Monitoring efforts in conjunction with the USGS
  office in your state

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NOAA Mission and Funding Programs Priorities

• Mission
• Research global oceans, atmosphere, space, and
  sun
• Science, Service Stewardship
• Funding Programs Priorities
• Atmospheric research (storms, air quality)
• Climate research (climate change, El Niño)
• Oceans and Coastal research (ocean circulation,
  coasts)
• Monitoring
• Educational programs (minority emphasis)
• www.noaa.gov/research

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NASA Mission and Funding Programs Priorities

• Mission
• Explore Universe, search for life
• Understand and protect Earth
• Inspire next generation of explorers
• Funding Programs Priorities
• Earth Space Science (ROSES)
• Biological Physical Science
• Space Flight Aerospace Technology
• Education Equal Opportunity
• http//nspires.nasaprs.com/external/solicitations

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National Science Foundation (NSF)

• While not a Mission Agency, NSF provides
  significant levels of funding for research in the
  Earth, environmental, and ecological sciences,
  and in fundamental plant and animal genomics.
• It is important to know which directorates within
  NSF are the most applicable.

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NSF Funding Programs PrioritiesMost Closely
Related to Earth and Environmental Sciences

• http//www.nsf.gov
• Funding Programs Priorities
• Biological Sciences Directorate
• Biological Infrastructure
• Environmental Biology
• Integrative Organismal Systems
• Molecular and Cellular Biosciences
• Emerging Frontiers
• http//www.nsf.gov/BIO

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NSF (continued)

• Funding Programs Priorities
• Geosciences Directorate
• Atmospheric Sciences
• Earth Sciences
• Ocean Sciences
• http//www.nsf.gov/GEO
• Environmental Research Education
• Examples
• Biocomplexity in the Environment
• Coupled Biological Physical Systems
• Coupled Human Natural Systems
• http//www.nsf.gov/ERE

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NSF (continued)

• Funding Programs Priorities
• Crosscutting Programs
• Dynamics of Coupled Natural Human Systems
• International research programs
• Cooperative Study of Earths Deep Interior
• Human Social Dynamics
• Paleo Perspectives on Climate Change
• http//www.nsf.gov/CROSSCUTTING

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Mission Agencies Requests for Proposals

• Funding Cycles
• Varies by agency and within agency
• Ranges from one-time only solicitations to 36
  months
• Proposal Review Procedures
• Individual reviewers, panel reviews, agency
  review
• Know the review criteria

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Mission Agencies Performance Expectations

• Disseminate your results
• Publish
• Conform to agency data standards
• Train students
• Serve the broader community
• Make results available to the public
• Clearly communicate the relevance of your study
  to society

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Mission AgenciesIdentifying Research
Opportunities

• Automatic notifications
• Agency listservs
• Agency websites
• NASA INSPIRES
• http//nspires.nasaprs.com/external/solicitations/
  summary
• NOAA
• http//www.ofa.noaa.gov/7Egrants/index.html
• EPA http//www.epa.gov/ogd/
• Agency newsletters, reports, publications

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Mission AgenciesIdentifying Research
Opportunities

• Many agencies offer the same programs every year
• In most cases, they are due at approximately same
  time every year
• Become familiar with those programs know the
  due dates
• Anticipate programs in advance get a head start
• Always read the updated solicitation for possible
  shifts in priority

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Successful Proposals

• Scholarly and Scientific Merit
• How will your work add to the body of
  literature?
• Clarity
• State ideas and research plan clearly
• Basic science question 1 sentence
• Hypothesis statement directly parallels science
  question
• Address the program requirements
• Read the solicitation pay attention to details
• Experience counts
• Resubmit!
• Agree to review other proposals