This collaboration aims to address the challenge of sustainable food production by optimizing nitrogen use in crop plants. By fostering interdisciplinary research and encouraging US-UK collaborations, the program seeks to reduce pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, and reliance on costly fertilizers. Researchers can participate in the Ideas Lab to develop innovative ideas for enhancing nitrogen availability to crops, ultimately improving yields and minimizing environmental impacts. US researchers have the option to submit proposals directly. The deadline for submissions is February 01, 2013.
Opportunity ID: 183035
General Information
| Document Type:: | Grants Notice |
| Funding Opportunity Number:: | 12-579 |
| Funding Opportunity Title:: | Nitrogen: Improving on Nature |
| Opportunity Category:: | Discretionary |
| Opportunity Category Explanation:: | |
| Funding Instrument Type:: | |
| Category of Funding Activity:: | Science and Technology and other Research and Development |
| Category Explanation:: | |
| Expected Number of Awards:: | 10 |
| Assistance Listings Number(s):: | 47.074 — Biological Sciences |
| Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement:: | No |
| Version:: | Synopsis 1 |
| Posted Date:: | Jul 10, 2012 |
| Last Updated Date:: | |
| Original Closing Date for Applications:: | Feb 01, 2013 |
| Current Closing Date for Applications:: | Feb 01, 2013 |
| Archive Date:: | Mar 01, 2013 |
| Estimated Total Program Funding:: | $ 8,000,000 |
| Award Ceiling:: | $1,500,000 |
| Award Floor:: | $ |
Eligibility
| Eligible Applicants:: | Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled “Additional Information on Eligibility” |
| Additional Information on Eligibility:: |
Additional Information
| Agency Name:: | National Science Foundation |
| Description:: | Nitrogen is critical to plant growth. A limited number of plant species have the capacity to fix atmospheric nitrogen through symbioses with nitrogen fixing bacteria; the rest need to obtain their nitrogen through soluble compounds in soil. For the majority of crop plants, nitrogen availability has been increased through the use of nitrogen-based fertilizers. However, application of artificial fertilizers is costly and is limited in developing countries, where the cost and lack of infrastructure are barriers. The process by which these fertilizers are produced is energy-intensive and contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. Further, much of the nitrogen applied to agricultural land through fertilizers is not used by the crop and is lost as run-off into water courses or as greenhouse gases through denitrification, resulting in deleterious impacts on the environment. The ultimate aim of this Ideas Lab between the National Science Foundation (NSF) in the US and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) in the UK is to help meet the challenge of sustainably producing enough food for a growing population while reducing pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. The aspiration is that mixing researchers from diverse scientific backgrounds will engender fresh thinking and new approaches that can be used to increase nitrogen availability to crop plants whilst maintaining or increasing yield, and hence decrease the need for the application of fertilizer. In addition, by bringing together highly qualified researchers from the US and the UK, the intention is to form strong transatlantic alliances, where the resulting synergies from the expertise of each partner allow for significant added value. US researchers may submit preliminary proposals onlyvia FastLane for participating in the Ideas Lab in which a set of multidisciplinary ideas will be developed. These will be submitted as full proposals. Alternatively, US researchers who cannot or do not desire to participate in the Ideas Lab can submit full proposals directly via FastLane or Grants.gov in response to this solicitation. Collaboration among researchers from USA and UK is strongly encouraged in the full proposals. The link to the BBSRC announcement is http://www.bbsrc.ac.uk/funding/opportunities/2012/ideaslab-nitrogen-improving-on-nature.aspx. |
| Link to Additional Information:: | |
| Grantor Contact Information:: | If you have difficulty accessing the full announcement electronically, please contact: |
Version History
| Version | Modification Description | Updated Date |
|---|---|---|
| Synopsis 1 |
Package Status
Below are CLOSED Opportunity Package(s) no longer available for this Funding Opportunity:
Package No: 1
| Assistance Listings: | 47.074 |
| Competition ID: | |
| Competition Title: | |
| Opportunity Package ID: | PKG00133314 |
| Opening Date: | Jul 10, 2012 |
| Closing Date: | Feb 01, 2013 |
| Agency Contact Information:: | Daniel Roberts |
| Who Can Apply:: | Organization and Individual Applicants |
| mendatory_forms |
SF424 (R & R) [V1.2] Project/Performance Site Location(s) [V1.4] Research And Related Other Project Information [V1.3] Research And Related Senior/Key Person Profile (Expanded) [V1.2] Research & Related Personal Data [V1.2] Research & Related Budget [V1.1] NSF Cover Page [V1.3] |
| optional_forms |
R & R Subaward Budget Attachment(s) Form [V1.2] NSF Deviation Authorization [V1.1] NSF Suggested Reviewers [V1.1] NSF FastLane System Registration [V1.3] |
Packages
| Assistance Listings | Competition ID | Competition Title | Opportunity Package ID | Opening Date | Closing Date | Actions | Who Can Apply: | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 47.074 | PKG00133314 | Jul 10, 2012 | Feb 01, 2013 | View | Daniel Roberts | Organization and Individual Applicants |