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Grants to USA, Canada, and International Investigators, Nonprofits, and Research Centers to Advance Knowledge about Solar Radiation

Solar Radiation Management Program (SRM)


Agency
Foundation

GrantWatch ID#
208694

Funding Source
THE SIMONS FOUNDATION INC
Mathematics and Physical Sciences (MPS) Division
Array ( [0] => American Samoa (USA); [1] => Guam (USA); [2] => Puerto Rico (USA); [3] => Virgin Islands (USA); [4] => Northern Mariana Islands (USA); )

Geographic Focus
All USA
USA Territories: American Samoa (USA);   Guam (USA);   Puerto Rico (USA);   Virgin Islands (USA);   Northern Mariana Islands (USA);
USA Compact Free Associations:The Federated States of Micronesia (USA)   Marshall Islands (USA)   Republic of Palau (USA)
International, Israel and Canada.

Important Dates
LOI Date: 05/31/23
Deadline: 10/03/23 11:00 AM EDT Save

Grant Description
Grants to USA, Canada, and International individual investigators, educational and nonprofit institutes, research centers, and national laboratories to advance knowledge about solar radiation. Applicants must submit an LOI prior to applying. This is an international program for collaborative research about solar radiation management to allow for more informed decision-making. Projects which have not been well supported through other mechanisms will be prioritized. The foundation strongly encourages applications from scientists in the global south and from investigators who may not have worked in SRM but have expertise that could bring new perspectives and skills to this field.

Solar Radiation Management is an emerging collection of approaches, including stratospheric aerosol injection (SAI), marine cloud brightening (MCB), and cirrus cloud thinning (CCT), designed to modify the Earth’s radiative balance and cool the planet.

Priority areas for this call include:

  • Environmentally benign materials discovery for SAI and CCT
  • Laboratory physicochemical characterization of SAI and CCT materials and their interactions with light, clouds, atmospheric trace gases, and with themselves or ambient aerosols, with the aim to improve microphysical inputs to existing climate models
  • Approaches to minimize cirrus cloud formation, including from aircraft emissions
  • Assessments of near-field (<100 km) atmospheric turbulence and its impact on SAI and CCT interventions, primarily through modeling
  • Integration of improved representations of aerosols and turbulence into global-scale modeling, and characterization of global and regional impacts of novel materials for SAI and CCT

The funding provided may be used to support research expenses in the following categories:

  • Universities: for faculty on an academic year salary in principal investigator (PI) or co-investigator roles, the grant can provide up to one month of summer salary support and related benefits. These salary funds are not substitutional (cannot be used to relieve a university of salary costs) and cannot be used to reduce teaching loads below the departmental norm. They can only be used to supplement the salary, similar to a summer salary in the U.S. system.
  • All other institutions (including national laboratories): for staff/research scientists in PI or co-investigator roles, the grant can provide salary support and related benefits.
  • For non-PI/co-investigator staff/research scientists, as well as postdoctoral, graduate, and/or undergraduate research assistants, the grant can provide salary support and related benefits, including tuition support.
  • Scientific domestic or international travel for project members per the travel policies of the awardee institution. Parking, hotel, taxi, registration, and other related travel and conference costs are allowable.
  • Meetings appropriate to the needs of the project, including meals, travel, and lodging.
  • Support for visitors and collaborators, including domestic and international travel, meals, and lodging expenses.
  • Research equipment, supplies, and other expenses directly related to the research, including computers, computer support, professional literature, publication expenses, and professional membership dues.
  • Salary support for a project administrator.
  • Other expenses related to the support and administration of the project.


Recipient

Additional Eligibility Criteria
- Proposals can be from individual investigators or small teams; the latter are not required to be from the same institution. Investigators can be either science/engineering faculty at Ph.D.-granting research universities or Ph.D.-level research staff members at nonacademic institutions.
- Applications may be submitted by established U.S. and foreign public and private educational and nonprofit institutes, research centers, and national laboratories or the equivalent.

Ineligible
Grantees agree not to use grant funds for any of the following restricted activities:
- To carry on propaganda, lobbying, or otherwise to attempt to influence any legislation In support of a candidate or party seeking elected office or to influence the outcome of any specific public election or to carry on, directly or indirectly, any voter registration drive
- To make grants to individuals for travel, study, or other similar purposes by such individuals such as scholarships, fellowships, or grants for research
- To make any grant to any other organization
- To undertake any activity for any purpose other than the charitable purposes specified in section 170(c)(2)(B) of the U.S. IRC

- Areas not within the scope of this program include social science research and in-situ field experiments involving aerosol release.

For more information about ineligible activities and expenses, see: https://sf-web-assets-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/27095643/Simons-Foundation-Policy-and-Procedures-4.25.pdf#page=16

Pre-Application Information
Important Dates
- LOI due at 12 p.m. (noon) EDT: May 31, 2023
- LOI notification sent by: July 31, 2023. A review of the LOI may lead to a request for a full proposal
- Full proposal due at 11 a.m. EDT: October 3, 2023
- Full proposal notifications sent by: December 31, 2023
- Awards begin: February 1, 2024

- As a part of the program obligations, awardees will be invited and expected to attend an annual meeting held at and paid directly by the Simons Foundation.

Foundation's grant policies: https://www.simonsfoundation.org/funding-opportunities/policies-and-procedures?open-all
Informational videos on submitting applications in Simons Award Manager: https://www.simonsfoundation.org/funding-opportunities/sam-instructional-videos/

Additional Funding Information

Estimated Total Program Funding:

$10,000,000

Number of Grants
Up to 20 awards will be funded.

Estimated Size of Grant
The program is anticipated to award $10M total per year over a five-year period. Proposal budgets should not exceed $500,000 per year, including indirect costs, limited to 20 percent modified total direct costs, for a period of three years. Allowable indirect costs to the primary institution for subcontracts are not included in the $500,000 budget threshold.

Term of Contract
The three-year award will commence February 1, 2024, and end March 31, 2027. Some of the original $10M may be held in reserve to award during a potential two-year renewal period after the initial three-year award.

Contact Information
LOIs and applications must be submitted via the Simons Award Manager (SAM): https://sam.simonsfoundation.org/

Program or Administrative Questions:
Elizabeth Roy
Senior Manager for Programs and Administration
mps@simonsfoundation.org
212-524-6966

Technical Assistance
(Monday - Friday 9 am - 5 pm eastern; SF offices are closed December 23 - January 2):
samsupport@simonsfoundation.org

Simons Foundation
160 Fifth Avenue, 7th Floor
New York, New York 10010
Phone: 646.654.0066
Fax: 646.654.0220

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