Who May Apply
Who may apply?
Participation in this RFP is open to scientists, resource managers, policy makers, and other stakeholders pursuing research relevant to forest lands in the northern tier of New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. The PI must be from an institution, business, agency, or organization in one of the four NSRC states. Other investigators with expertise in the Northern Forest may be part of the proposal regardless of geographic location. To distribute funds as broadly as possible, a researcher may submit only one full proposal to this RFP as the lead-PI. A researcher may be a co-PI or collaborator on multiple proposals to this RFP.
Can researchers from the USDA Forest Service apply?
Participation by USFS personnel in projects is encouraged. Special conditions apply to USFS employees who submit proposals as PIs or Co-PIs. Potential USFS PIs or Co-PIs should speak with the NSRC Federal Coordinator (Christopher Woodall at [email protected]) before submitting the pre-proposal and when developing the full proposal budget.
Who may NOT apply?
PIs who are delinquent with terms of current or previous NSRC awards, such as final or progress reports, are not eligible to apply for NSRC funds until outstanding award terms have been met.
Will there be another Indigenous Forest Knowledge Fund RFP?
The NSRC is committed to advancing practical applications of forest research and to supporting a diverse, equitable, and inclusive research program. We encourage proposals that are relevant to Tribal Nations and Indigenous communities in the region. In addition, a separate RFP for NSRC’s 2022 Indigenous Forest Knowledge Fund is forthcoming. (For more information on that program, visit www.nsrcforest.org/indigenous-forest-knowledge-fund.).
Must Tribal Nations leading a proposal be located in the Northern Forest?
As with other institutions, the Tribal Nation must be based in the states of Maine, New Hampshire, New York, or Vermont. Research must aim to directly benefit the communities – people, plants, and animals – in the forest of the northern tier of the four states.
Is there a limit to the number of proposals on which an individual can appear as a Co-PI?
There is no limit on the number of proposals on which an individual may be listed as a Co-PI. If a single person is identified as a paid Co-PI on multiple proposals, this may affect decisions about the equitable distribution of funds across the region, institutions, and individuals.
How Does Collaboration Work?
Can collaboration with the Forest Service or other federally funded activities count toward the matching requirement?
According to federal cost principles (commonly referred to as Uniform Guidance), shared costs must be from a non-federal source, not included as contributions for any other federal award, and necessary and reasonable for the project. Costs that are necessary and reasonable for the project and that are borne by federal agencies are considered leveraged funds and should be described in the project narrative and letters of commitment as leveraged. As described in the RFP, proposed projects will be scored separately on cost share and leveraged funding.
How is collaboration with Forest Service or other federal agency considered in the proposal review?
The NSRC recognizes the importance and value of leveraged involvement of Forest Service and other federally funded researchers in NSRC projects. PIs are encouraged to document planned collaboration with such personnel in project proposals. PIs include letters of commitment from the Forest Service or other agencies in proposals. PIs may also submit letters of support. The EC will assure that at least $500,000 of NSRC-funded research projects show tangible coordination with Forest Service research.
Pre-Proposals
Can an individual submit more than one pre-proposal for which they are the lead PI?
To distribute funds as broadly as possible, a researcher may submit only one full proposal to this RFP as the lead PI. That said, a lead PI could submit more than one pre-proposal.
Can maps or figures be included in the pre-proposal?
No, only text is allowed in the pre-proposal submission.
What Is Considered “Northern Forest”?
In the context of this RFP, what ecosystems can be considered part of the “Northern Forest”?
The original boundary of the Northern Forest in the context of NSRC was the so-called “Champion Forest Lands” which had holdings throughout the northern tier of the northeastern states. This boundary has expanded to include other forest types and land holdings in the northern tier. The current approximate boundary map is posted on the NSRC web site. The essential test of applicability is whether the trees in the proposed study site are predominantly the ones you’d find in the areas of this map, but even more importantly, whether the research that is proposed would directly benefit the communities – people, plants, and animals – in the forest of the northern tier of the northeastern states. Whether the site is mountain top or valley riparian area, or natural or fragmented are not criteria.
Research Topics
How are priority research issues in the RFP decided upon?
An External Advisory Committee (EAC) of approximately 16 members was convened to represent the communities, businesses, industries, and agencies in the Northern Forest Region that contribute to and benefit from knowledge generated by research funded via the NSRC. The EAC informs the NSRC about the specific research needs facing forest stakeholders in the Northern Forest region and helps identify focus areas and priority issues for each RFP.
What are the focus areas of the RFP?
Proposals should encompass one or more of the following focus areas. For an extended list of focus areas and priority issues, please refer to the RFP.
- State of the forest
- Measuring and quantifying impacts
- Developing tools for response
- Rural community and economic development
Proposal Review Process
What is the pre-proposal review process?
A pre-proposal is required to be eligible to submit a full proposal. NSRC staff will conduct a review of all pre-proposals with the primary intent to provide rapid feedback to the PIs regarding the likely competitiveness of their proposal relative to the current RFP. Specifically, the pre-proposal review will identify potential strengths and weaknesses based on the criteria used in the full proposal review, except that there will be no formal assessment of the technical merit of the pre-proposal.
Pre-proposals will be assessed as either strong or weak using these criteria:
- The research topic addresses one or more RFP focus areas and priority issues.
- The project goals, objectives, and methodology are clearly stated.
- The research has wide applicability to the NSRC region (versus narrow benefit to a specific location or entity).
- Solid rationale for why the project is important to stakeholders and how the project will lead to application and use.
- The communication plan and outputs are designed to meet the needs of practitioners, decision-makers, and target audiences.
- There is partner and stakeholder involvement during the design and execution of the project.
- The project has potential to address stakeholder priorities in the Northern Forest.
The decision to submit a full proposal after receiving the pre-proposal feedback is entirely up to the PI(s). The NSRC expects to receive approximately five times as many full proposals as it can fund. Consequently, PIs are strongly encouraged to address weaknesses identified in the pre-proposal review as they develop their full proposals.
I received an underwhelming review on the pre-proposal. May I submit a full proposal in the same general research area, but a different topic?
No, the pre-proposal and full proposal must be on the same topic.
Will there be a technical review for full proposals?
All full proposals will be reviewed by at least two external experts (researchers, practitioners, or both). Please note that, as part of the pre-proposal, PIs are invited to nominate expert reviewers with whom they have no known conflicts of interest. The external experts will score full proposals using the criteria listed below and respond to three short-answer questions to help prioritize closely ranked proposals. Anonymized reviewers’ responses to the short-answer questions will be sent to PI(s) in April, when funding decisions are made.
Criteria:
- The problem is clearly defined, justified, and relevant to the Northern Forest.
- The project hypotheses or research questions clearly address the problem and have potential benefit to the Northern Forest.
- The approach and methods are well defined and appropriate.
- The budget fits the scope of work proposed and has a favorable cost-benefit ratio.
- There is a high likelihood of success within the project period.
How will proposals be prioritized?
The NSRC Executive Committee (EC) will rank all submitted proposals based on technical merit and applicability to the NSRC RFP. The EC will recommend approximately 20 top-ranked proposals for review by the Full Proposal Review Panel (FPRP).
Full Proposal Review Panel (FPRP) Review, Discussion, and Ranking
An ad hoc FPRP will be composed of forest stakeholders who have reasonable technical knowledge of the areas covered by the annual RFP and how this knowledge could serve regional stakeholders. In addition to receiving the top-ranked proposals forwarded by the EC, all other proposals and reviews will be available to the FPRP. They may elect—at their discretion—to review any proposal submitted to the RFP.
Each proposal chosen for review by the FPRP will be fully reviewed by two FPRP members. The FPRP will use the criteria listed below to evaluate full proposals, and the reviewers will respond to three short-answer questions. Anonymized reviewers’ responses to the short-answer questions will be sent to PI(s) in April, when funding decisions are made.
Criteria:
- Proposal clearly states (a) problem of practice or (b) research question to be addressed and why it is important in the Northern Forest.
- The problem to be addressed is well-defined, with appropriate approach and methods that correlate to a high likelihood of success within the project period.
- The project is widely applicable to the NSRC region (versus narrow benefit to a specific location or entity).
- The proposal has a solid rationale and communications plan, and outputs will lead to wide use by practitioners, decision-makers, or other target audiences.
- Partners and stakeholders will be involved throughout the design and execution of the project.
- The project demonstrates a favorable cost-benefit ratio.
- The project has high or exceptional potential to address stakeholder priorities in the Northern Forest.
How will final funding decisions be made?
The NSRC EC will consider the rankings of the FPRP to decide on the final slate of funded proposals. Additional considerations the EC will use to determine the final slate of successful proposals are:
- Projects that have the potential to lead to new, lasting partnerships across institutions and entities in the Northern Forest region, particularly across boundaries of forest.
- Broad geographic distribution of projects/lead institutions across the NSRC region.
- Projects led by early-career PIs and/or support substantive involvement of graduate and undergraduate researchers.
- Per statute, in cases where proposals are evaluated to have equal merit, the NSRC will prioritize proposals that offer cost share (matching funds) in an amount not less than 50% of the federal funds requested.
- The EC will assure that at least $500,000 of NSRC-funded research projects show tangible coordination with Forest Service research.
Budget
May I add lines to the budget template for graduate students or undergraduate students?
Please create budget rows for graduate student RAs and undergraduate field assistants for both salary and fringe, if needed. Assistants may be grouped together or separated; just be sure to explain your calculations in the budget narrative. Technical reviewers should be able to see that your project proposal is adequately resourced and that proposed efforts and costs are reasonable.