Biodiversity on a Changing Planet | 23 542

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): NSF Biodiversity on a Changing Planet (BoCP)

1. What is the NSF Biodiversity on a Changing Planet (BoCP) program?

BoCP is a National Science Foundation (NSF) research grant program focused on understanding how biodiversity is being reshaped by rapid environmental change (including climate change) and what those changes mean for ecosystem functioning. The program emphasizes biodiversity as a foundation for ecosystem health and human well-being, while recognizing that biodiversity is declining and reorganizing unusually fast.

2. What kinds of scientific questions is BoCP trying to answer?

BoCP aims to clarify what is changing in biodiversity, why it is changing, and how those changes affect resilience and ecosystem functioning under major climatic and environmental disruption. A central focus is connecting biodiversity change to functional outcomes in ecosystems.

3. What does the program mean by "shifting dynamics of biodiversity"?

In the BoCP context, shifting dynamics of biodiversity refers to the ongoing gain, loss, and rearrangement of organisms and biological communities over time and across space. The program is interested in how these shifts play out across landscapes, seascapes, and time.

4. What is "functional biodiversity" as described in this opportunity?

Functional biodiversity is described as the roles played in natural systems by traits, organisms, species interactions, communities, and ecosystem processes. BoCP is specifically interested in how functional biodiversity emerges, persists, or collapses as biodiversity reorganizes under changing environmental conditions.

5. What types of projects is BoCP most interested in funding?

BoCP emphasizes integrative, hypothesis-driven projects that connect observed patterns (what is seen across space and time) to underlying processes (the mechanisms producing those patterns). Competitive proposals are expected to combine multiple scientific perspectives to address major, cross-cutting biodiversity questions rather than remaining narrowly within a single discipline.

6. Is BoCP looking for multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary proposals?

Yes. A major theme is multidisciplinary collaboration spanning climatic, geological, paleontological, ecological, organismal, phylogenetic, and evolutionary sciences. The program is described as cross-directorate and designed to support interdisciplinary teams tackling grand challenges in biodiversity science.

7. How important is integrating across spatial and temporal scales?

Integration across scales is a highlighted expectation. BoCP calls for integration across spatial scales (from organismal traits to ecosystem-level processes) and temporal scales (from contemporary observations to deep time). The program frames this as important for understanding present-day dynamics and improving expectations about future change.

8. Are paleontological and geological data relevant to BoCP proposals?

Yes. The opportunity explicitly notes that paleontological and geological information is highly relevant alongside modern ecological and evolutionary data, because past environmental and biotic shifts can help explain current dynamics and support forecasting of future change.

9. What kinds of methods or approaches might fit within BoCP?

The program description gives examples of approaches that could be combined in integrative projects, including field ecology, trait-based biology, phylogenetics, community ecology, Earth system and climate context, fossil and sediment records, and evolutionary theory. The emphasis is on combining approaches in a coherent, hypothesis-driven way tied to functional biodiversity and shifting biodiversity dynamics.

10. Does BoCP emphasize prediction or forecasting?

Yes. BoCP encourages proposals that strengthen predictive capability across time and space, especially projects that explicitly link past, present, and future biological, climatic, and geological processes to forecast functional outcomes in ecosystems.

11. How is BoCP different from NSF core biodiversity-related programs?

BoCP is described as complementing several NSF core programs but differing by requiring an explicitly integrative framework centered on functional biodiversity in the context of shifting biodiversity dynamics under environmental change. In other words, integration and functional-biodiversity framing are central rather than optional.

12. Is this opportunity only for US-based collaborations?

No. The opportunity supports both US-only collaborative proposals and international collaborative proposals through formal partnerships with specific agencies in China, Brazil, and South Africa.

13. Which international partner agencies are included in BoCP?

The listed formal partner agencies are the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), the Sao Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) in Brazil, and the National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa.

14. How do partnered international submissions work under BoCP?

For partnered submissions, proposals are submitted in parallel: US principal investigators submit to NSF, and collaborating investigators in China, Brazil, or South Africa submit to their respective national funding agencies under the relevant joint arrangement.

15. Are collaborations allowed beyond the listed international partnerships?

Yes. The opportunity notes that these agreements do not prevent additional international collaborations beyond those specific partnerships. However, the mechanics and expectations for any additional collaborations would be governed by NSF proposal rules and the terms described in the full announcement.

16. Approximately how many awards does NSF expect to make under BoCP?

The posting indicates that the program anticipates making about 12 awards.

17. What type of funding instrument is used for this opportunity?

The funding instrument is listed as a discretionary grant in the science and technology research and development category.

18. What are the CFDA numbers associated with this opportunity?

The CFDA numbers listed are 47.050 and 47.074.

19. Is there a maximum award amount (award ceiling) listed?

The listing notes an award ceiling of 0. This typically indicates that a fixed maximum is not specified in the summary record, and that applicants should consult the full solicitation for budget expectations and constraints.

20. What is the opportunity number and official title?

The official title is Biodiversity on a Changing Planet, and the opportunity number is 23-542.

21. Which agency is offering this grant opportunity?

The agency is the National Science Foundation (NSF).

22. What are the key dates shown in the posting?

The posting lists a creation date of December 31, 2022, and an original closing date of March 29, 2023.

23. Who is eligible to apply?

Eligibility is summarized as "Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification)." This indicates applicants should rely on the full solicitation language for precise eligibility requirements, allowable organization types, and any rules about team composition.

24. What does "integrative, hypothesis-driven science" mean in this program description?

In BoCP, this refers to projects that do more than document patterns. Proposed work should connect observations across space and time to mechanisms that explain them, using hypotheses that can be tested through combined data, methods, and perspectives.

25. What is the central research premise behind BoCP?

The program starts from the premise that biodiversity underpins ecosystem health and human well-being, yet is declining and reorganizing at an unusually fast pace. BoCP is designed to support research that explains and anticipates the functional consequences of that rapid reorganization under environmental change.