Grants / Department of Energy / Office of Science

DE-FOA-0003475: Environmental System Science (ESS)

Closed Closed March 13, 2025 Opportunity DE-FOA-0003475 ☆ Save

This grant is closed. A newer notice from the same program is open now: Genesis Mission Graduate Fellowship Pilot (DE-FOA-0003673). Status: Closes January 12, 2027 (66 days left). It is in our archive of Office of Science notices from 2024.

• Award ceiling$1.0 million
• Award floor$100,000
• Total funding$6.0 million
• Cost sharingNot required
• Funding typeGrant, Other

Key dates

Who can apply

This opportunity was open to the applicants described in the notice.

• Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification)

All types of domestic applicants are eligible to apply, except nonprofit organizations described in section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 that engaged in lobbying activities after December 31, 1995. Federally affiliated entities must adhere to the eligibility standards below: 1. DOE/NNSA National Laboratories DOE/NNSA National Laboratories are neither eligible to submit applications under this NOFO nor to be proposed as subrecipients under another organization’s application. No funds provided under this NOFO may be used to support any independent research activity at a DOE/NNSA National Laboratory. This prohibition extends to all personnel affiliated with a DOE/NNSA National Laboratory, regardless of their title or position. This prohibition extends to all arrangements, including those characterized as subawards, consortia, contracted work, work-for-others, or strategic partnerships. The only exception is for fee-for-service work provided on identical terms to any customer in accordance with a published schedule of charges. 2. Non-DOE/NNSA FFRDCs Non-DOE/NNSA FFRDCs are eligible to submit applications under this NOFO and may be proposed as subrecipients under another organization’s application. If recommended for funding as a lead applicant, funding will be provided through an interagency agreement to the FFRDC’s sponsoring Federal Agency. If recommended for funding as a proposed subrecipient, the value of the proposed subaward may be removed from the prime applicant’s award and may be provided through an interagency agreement to the FFRDC’s sponsoring Federal Agency. Additional instructions for securing authorization from the cognizant Contracting Officer are found in Section IX of this NOFO. 3. Other Federal Agencies Other Federal Agencies are eligible to submit applications under this NOFO and may be proposed as subrecipients under another organization’s application. If recommended for funding as a lead applicant, funding will be provided through an interagency agreement. If recommended for funding as a proposed subrecipient, the value of the proposed subaward may be removed from the prime applicant’s award and may be provided through an interagency agreement. Additional instructions for providing statutory authorization are found in Section IX of this NOFO.

Is this a realistic fit?

• Past Office of Science Financial Assistance Program awards averaged $1.2 million; this notice allows up to $1.0 million per award.
• Most of the program's money (69% over five years) went to colleges and universities.
• No cost sharing or match is required.

What the grant funds

The DOE SC program in Biological and Environmental Research (BER) hereby announces its interest in receiving applications for research in Environmental System Science (ESS). The goal of the ESS program in BER is to advance an integrated, robust, and scale-aware predictive understanding of terrestrial systems and their interdependent microbial, biogeochemical, ecological, hydrological, and physical processes. The ESS program scope advances foundational process knowledge with an emphasis on understudied ecosystems. This NOFO will consider applications that focus on measurements, experiments, field data, modeling, and synthesis to provide improved understanding and representation of ecosystems and watersheds in ways that advance the sophistication and capabilities of models that span from individual processes to Earth-system scales. This NOFO will encompass three Science Research Areas: 1) plant-soil-microbe interactions and their influence on belowground biogeochemical processes; 2) synthesis studies using existing data that address testing of ESS-relevant hypotheses and development of transferable insights into knowledge gaps for U.S. southeast coastal systems; and 3) synthesis studies on contributions and vulnerabilities of Earth system processes in marginal and degraded lands. The BER ESS program goal is to advance an integrated, robust, and scale-aware predictive understanding of terrestrial systems and their interdependent microbial, biogeochemical, ecological, hydrological, and physical processes. To support this goal, the program uses a systems approach to develop an integrative framework to elucidate the complex processes and controls on the structure, function, feedbacks, and dynamics of terrestrial and watershed systems, that span from molecular to global scales and extend from the bedrock through the soil, rhizosphere, and vegetation to the atmosphere. The ESS program scope advances foundational process knowledge with an emphasis on understudied ecosystems. Supported research emphasizes ecological and hydro-biogeochemical linkages among system components and characterization of processes across interfaces (e.g., terrestrial-aquatic, coastal, urban) to address key knowledge gaps and uncertainties across a range of spatial and temporal scales.

Category: Science and Technology and other Research and Development.

Applying now

This notice no longer takes applications. Apply under the newer notice, DE-FOA-0003673, which is open now.

The notice on Grants.gov keeps its full text and attachments, which is useful for planning a resubmission.