Fire Science Innovations through Research and Education

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is offering the Fire Science Innovations through Research and Education (FIRE) program to promote a deeper understanding of wildland fires and their impacts through multidisciplinary and multisector convergent research and education initiatives. The NSF, a federal agency, supports fundamental research and education across all fields of science and engineering. This program is designed in response to the growing complexity and frequency of wildland fires, emphasizing proactive, scalable, and integrated approaches to research and knowledge dissemination. FIRE supports proposals across three focus areas: FIRE-MODEL (Next Generation Coupled Fire Models), FIRE-WUI (Enhancing Capacity for Fire Resilience in the Wildland-Urban Interface), and FIRE-NET (FIRE Networks). These focus areas aim to develop new predictive modeling tools, improve community resilience in fire-prone zones, and build collaborative networks to synthesize and expand wildland fire research and education. Projects should integrate disciplines such as biology, social sciences, engineering, geosciences, and more, and are encouraged to involve diverse groups including scientists, educators, community members, industry partners, and Tribal representatives. Applicants can submit full proposals through either Research.gov or Grants.gov, adhering to the guidelines outlined in the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide. Proposals should address innovations in data and modeling, cross-scale fire dynamics, community adaptation strategies, infrastructure vulnerability reduction, and community engagement. Specific proposal windows include June 12 to June 20, 2025, and February 3 to February 10, 2026, recurring annually thereafter. Funding is available for both research and conference/network-building proposals, with an emphasis on novel, interdisciplinary collaboration. Projects should aim to develop improved fire models, study fire impacts in wildland-urban interfaces, and foster integrated networks that share data and methodologies across disciplines and sectors. There is no listed minimum or maximum award amount, and details such as total funding and number of awards are not specified, suggesting that funding levels may be flexible and determined by the nature and scale of the proposed work. Eligibility for this opportunity is broad, encompassing nonprofits, higher education institutions, local and state governments, Tribal organizations, and other entities capable of conducting or supporting research in the program's thematic areas. Applicants are advised to follow all submission guidelines carefully and ensure compliance with the applicable award conditions and indirect cost policies, particularly those effective from October 1, 2024, as outlined in the revised OMB Guidance for Federal Financial Assistance. Program contacts are primarily NSF Program Directors listed with their respective divisions and a shared email (wildlandfire@nsf.gov), while Yurena Yanes is listed separately with a unique email (yyanes@nsf.gov). Applicants may reach out to these contacts for program-specific questions. For broader information about previously funded projects and program updates, applicants can consult the NSF website. No specific application tips or question list is provided, so applicants should prepare proposals aligned with the core objectives and evaluation criteria described in the program announcement.

Follow PAPPG guidelines; ensure convergence of research and education goals; address one or more of the program’s focus areas; collaborate across disciplines and sectors