The overarching goal of INFEWS is to catalyze the well-integrated interdisciplinary research efforts to transform scientific understanding of the FEW nexus in order to improve system function and management, address system stress, increase resilience, and ensure sustainability. The NSF INFEWS initiative is designed specifically to attain the following goals:
- Significantly advance our understanding of the food-energy-water system through quantitative and computational modeling, including support for relevant cyberinfrastructure;
- Develop real-time, cyber-enabled interfaces that improve understanding of the behavior of FEW systems and increase decision support capability;
- Enable research that will lead to innovative system and technological solutions to critical FEW problems; and
- Grow the scientific workforce capable of studying and managing the FEW system through education and other professional development opportunities.
NSF is partnering with the US Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA/NIFA) to provide funding for this program.
Full Proposal Deadline: March 22, 2016
The four tracks have been initially allocated as:
Track 1: FEW system modeling ($16M-$22M)
Track 2: Visualization and Decision Support for Cyber-Human-Physical Systems at the FEW nexus ($9M-$15M)
Track 3: Research to Enable Innovative Solutions, ($12M-$18M), and
Track 4: Education and Workforce Development ($1M-$4M)
Estimated number of awards: 22-40
Proposals may be submitted to one of four tracks as category 1 ($1-$3M) or category 2 (not greater than $1M) grants. Track 4 projects may be submitted only as category 2 proposals.