Recognising the importance of international collaborations in promoting scientific discoveries, the US National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on research cooperation. The MoU provides for a Lead Agency arrangement whereby proposals may be submitted to either NSF or DFG. To facilitate the support of collaborative work between US researchers and their German counterparts, the Divisions of Geosciences at NSF and DFG announce a Lead Agency activity on collaborative research on climate change. The Lead Agency scheme allows for reciprocal acceptance of peer review through unsolicited mechanisms, and its goal is to help reduce some of the current barriers to working internationally.
US-German collaborations are invited to submit joint proposals in the areas covered by NSF/GEO participating programmes (see NSF Dear Colleague Letter NSF 23-113) and the DFG’s review boards (Fachkollegien) 313, 314, 315, 316, 317-01, and 318 of the DFG’s subject classification. The proposals must focus on research on climate change and provide a clear rationale for the need for a US-German collaboration, including the unique expertise and synergy that the collaborating groups will bring to the project.
Proposals can be submitted on a continuous basis. However, please refer to NSF-GEO programmes for specific timing of deadlines. Researchers will identify a prospective Lead Agency (either NSF or DFG) based on the country with the largest share of the budget. All proposals submitted to this opportunity, regardless of which agency is in the lead, must be preceded by an Expression of Interest (EOI), sent to the NSF at least 60 calendar days prior to the date the applicants intend to submit a proposal.
