NSF solicits proposals to manage the operations and maintenance of the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON), an NSF-funded major facility project. NEON comprises terrestrial, aquatic, atmospheric, and remote sensing measurement infrastructure and cyberinfrastructure that deliver standardized, calibrated data to the scientific community through an openly accessible data portal. NEON infrastructure is geographically distributed across the United States, including Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico, and will generate data for ecological research over a 30-year period. NEON is designed to enable the research community to ask and address their own questions on a regional to continental scale around the environmental challenges identified as relevant to understanding the drivers and impacts of climate change, land-use change and invasive species patterns on the biosphere. The NSF NEON program, which is part of the Centers, Facilities and Additional Research Infrastructure (CFARI) Cluster in the Division of Biological Infrastructure, manages the NEON award in collaboration with the NSF Large Facilities Office and the NSF Division of Acquisition and Cooperative Support.
The managing organization will work closely with NSF and the scientific community to ensure that NEON capabilities support and advance ecology and related sciences. In cooperation with NSF and within available resources, the managing organization will plan and execute a viable, coherent, and inclusive program to support multi-user research and education, consistent with advice of the scientific community and NSF oversight.
A single award will be made as a cooperative agreement with a duration of five years. NSF may renew the award for an additional five years, subject to availability of funds, the managing organization's satisfactory performance, and review of a cost proposal for the second 5-year period. NSF’s decision will be informed by the National Science Board Statement on Recompetition of Major Facilities (NSB 2015-45 or successor).
Limit on Number of Proposals per Organization: 1
Deadlines:
Duke Internal: Interested applicants from within Duke should contact dukeiln@duke.edu as early as possible.
Letter of Intent Deadline Date (required): Oct. 1, 2021
Full Proposal Deadline Date: Jan. 31, 2022
Proposals may only be submitted by the following:
Limit on Number of Proposals per Organization: 1
Limit on Number of Proposals per PI or co-PI: 1
For planning purposes, proposing organizations can assume a base budget of approximately $69 million during the first year of the award, beginning November 2023 and should plan for no more than a 3% budget increase in each of the subsequent years. All budget amounts given herein are tentative and for initial planning purposes only. Actual annual funding increments will be determined on the basis of the detailed cost estimate required per Section V.B below and an Annual Program Operating Plan that is submitted by the managing organization to and approved by NSF. Funding increments are subject to the availability of appropriations and satisfactory performance of the managing organization. Escalation factors used for cost estimating should be articulated in the Cost Estimating Plan.
If needed, additional funding of up to $1,000,000 may be requested to support a transition period of up to 6 months in duration. The request of funding for a transition period should be made within the Transition Plan and should not be included in the formal cost estimate or proposed budget for the initial 5-year period but must conform to the same requirements. If this amount is not sufficient for the proposed transition, please contact the NEON program (neon-bot@nsf.gov) for additional guidance. NSF will notify the potential managing organization of the specific start date of any transition period.
Interested applicants from within Duke should contact dukeiln@duke.edu as early as possible.
