Opportunities for Promoting Understanding through Synthesis

The National Science Foundation (NSF), a leading federal agency established by the National Science Foundation Act of 1950, supports research and education across all areas of science and engineering. The Directorate for Biological Sciences, specifically the Division of Environmental Biology (DEB), is administering the Opportunities for Promoting Understanding through Synthesis (OPUS) program. This funding opportunity is designed for individuals, typically in later stages of their research careers, who have significantly contributed to a field and are seeking to synthesize a body of work into integrated and broadly useful products. The OPUS program supports the synthesis of long-term, investigator-led research projects that have accumulated a considerable dataset over time. It aims to produce new understanding and emergent insights that cannot be realized without a dedicated synthesis effort. Proposals should lead to significant outcomes, such as new questions or tools, data repositories, and products like books, films, software, or integrated datasets. Projects focused solely on data collection or summarizing past findings will not be supported; instead, emphasis is on the added value from synthesizing prior research. Award types are standard grants, with anticipated sizes ranging from $200,000 to $350,000 for up to two years. Around 8 to 15 awards are expected annually, depending on funding availability, with a total annual program budget ranging from $1 million to $3 million. Salary support up to 6.5 months (over two years) for the Principal Investigator (PI) is permissible and may be distributed among co-investigators or staff if justified. Direct costs up to $25,000 are also allowed, covering items like travel, materials, and publication expenses. Eligible applicants include accredited U.S. institutions of higher education (including community colleges) and non-profit, non-academic organizations such as museums, observatories, research labs, and professional societies. There are no restrictions on who may serve as a PI or co-PI, and there are no limitations on the number of proposals per organization or investigator. Proposals must be submitted via Research.gov or Grants.gov, and FastLane submissions are no longer accepted. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis with no specific deadline. Proposals must adhere to the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG). Key requirements include a 10-page project description that covers prior research, the proposed synthesis plan, and broader impacts, along with a Data Management Plan detailing data handling, documentation, and public accessibility. Optional Single Copy Documents may suggest reviewers and must identify conflicts of interest. Evaluation criteria encompass both NSF’s core principles—intellectual merit and broader impacts—and additional program-specific criteria such as the potential for new insights and research directions. The main point of contact is Dr. Leslie J. Rissler, reachable at lrissler@nsf.gov or (703) 292-4628. Applicants are encouraged to explore previously funded OPUS projects and consult with DEB program officers to ensure proposal alignment with cluster objectives.

Applicants are encouraged to contact program officers, review prior funded proposals, and ensure synthesis activities add novel insights.