Centers for Research and Innovation in Science, the Environment and Society | PD 23 265Y

Opportunity Information: Apply for PD 23 265Y

The National Science Foundation (NSF) funding opportunity titled Centers for Research and Innovation in Science, the Environment and Society (CRISES) is designed to strengthen U.S. research capacity and infrastructure aimed at tackling complex, interconnected crises that affect society at multiple levels. The core idea behind CRISES is that many of today s hardest problems cannot be solved through technical approaches alone. Instead, NSF is emphasizing a human-centered lens that brings social, behavioral, and economic sciences into the center of crisis-related research and solution building, with the long-term goal of generating practical, durable benefits for the public.

This opportunity is essentially an early-stage investment meant to shape and inform a potential future, large-scale centers program. Rather than immediately funding full center implementations, NSF is supporting planning grants, conference proposals, and EAGER proposals (high-risk, high-reward exploratory awards) that help teams develop strong concepts, partnerships, and research agendas that could later serve as the foundation for center-scale efforts. In practice, this means the program is geared toward idea development, network building, agenda setting, and testing new interdisciplinary directions, especially where the work can mature into a larger coordinated research enterprise.

CRISES focuses on crises that are compounding and difficult to address, including challenges linked to the environment, extreme weather, and broader sustainability concerns. The program also highlights workforce and economic dimensions, as well as equity, access to opportunity, and overall well-being. The expectation is that funded efforts will move toward evidence-based solutions that improve quality of life, not only by diagnosing problems but also by producing actionable insights, frameworks, and innovations that can be applied across communities, institutions, and policy or practice settings.

The opportunity is housed within NSF s Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE) Directorate, reflecting a strong emphasis on empirical methods and rigorous research designs that can explain and predict how individuals, families, organizations, regions, and nations respond to and are shaped by crisis conditions. Proposals are expected to take seriously the ways social, economic, and natural environments interact, and to build interdisciplinary approaches that can address real-world complexity. NSF frames this as both fundamental and use-inspired research: work that advances basic understanding of people and society while also opening pathways to interventions and strategies that help communities live healthier, more productive lives.

From an administrative standpoint, this is a discretionary grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number PD 23 265Y) under CFDA 47.075, categorized as science and technology research and development. Eligibility is listed as unrestricted, meaning a wide range of entity types can apply, subject to any additional eligibility clarifications in the full solicitation text. The opportunity was created March 25, 2023, with an original closing date of June 26, 2023. NSF anticipated making about seven awards, and the listing shows an award ceiling of 0, which typically indicates that award size may vary by proposal type or be specified elsewhere in the solicitation rather than as a single fixed cap.

Overall, CRISES is best understood as a launchpad: it funds the first steps needed to assemble interdisciplinary teams and research blueprints capable of confronting major societal crises through a social and behavioral science driven, human-centered approach, with the longer-term intent of enabling larger center-style efforts that can produce scalable, lasting improvements in quality of life.

• The National Science Foundation in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Centers for Research and Innovation in Science, the Environment and Society" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 47.075.
• This funding opportunity was created on Mar 25, 2023.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 26, 2023. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 7 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.

Apply for PD 23 265Y

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