Graduate Research Innovation (GRIN) Award (One task statement)

The Graduate Research Innovation (GRIN) Award is administered by the Joint Fire Science Program (JFSP), under the Bureau of Land Management within the U.S. Department of the Interior. This initiative is designed to enhance the exposure of graduate students in wildland fire and related sciences to real-world policy and management challenges. The funding supports student-conducted research projects that supplement their existing master’s or doctoral studies, with a clear focus on improving understanding and management of wildland fire. The JFSP encourages integration of science and management, and this award exemplifies their mission to make fire-related research more practical and applicable. The GRIN Award is aimed specifically at graduate students currently enrolled in U.S.-based institutions. Students pursuing master’s or doctoral degrees in fields directly related to wildland fire—including the physical, biological, and social sciences—are eligible to apply. A key requirement for consideration is submission of the GRIN Eligibility Certification, completed by the student’s academic advisor. Both certification checkboxes must be marked, or the application will be disqualified. Applicants must be actively enrolled in their academic programs at the time of project execution, and previously funded GRIN recipients are not eligible for repeat awards. The proposal must represent new, unfunded work that augments a student's approved thesis or dissertation. It is critical that this new component builds on an existing research plan and is not an attempt to fund an entire graduate project. The proposal should be authored mainly by the student, with the advisor acting as the Principal Investigator for submission purposes. In addition to the advisor's role in submission and oversight, a recommendation letter from the advisor is mandatory. Letters of support from fire or fuels managers, while optional, are encouraged if applicable. Eligible research topics must align with the mission and goals of the JFSP. Acceptable topic areas include fuels management and fire behavior, changing fire environments, emissions and air quality, fire effects and post-fire recovery, the relative impacts of prescribed fire versus wildfire, and human dimensions of fire. Projects must demonstrate direct relevance to fire, fuels, or resource management and must include mechanisms for communicating findings to relevant stakeholders. The goal is to develop outputs that are useful to managers and decision-makers, such as policy-oriented tools or summaries. Funding may be used to support a variety of research needs including field or laboratory data collection, comprehensive syntheses, modeling or data analysis, and policy analysis. Acceptable budget categories include graduate student stipends, materials, research equipment, assistance labor, and travel. Funds may not be used for faculty salaries or student tuition. The maximum award for a single proposal is $25,000, including university indirect costs. Each awardee is required to produce at least one managerial or policy-useful deliverable and must present their work at a recognized fire-related conference or workshop. A final report to JFSP is also required by the end of the project period. Applications must be submitted electronically through the JFSP website by September 18, 2025, at 5:00 p.m. Mountain Time. Late submissions or applications submitted via Grants.gov will not be accepted. The anticipated award date is between late August and mid-September 2026. For more details, applicants are encouraged to visit www.firescience.gov. Questions about the grant can be directed to Patricia Glass at 801-573-2957.

Proposal should clearly align with one of the six listed topic areas and outline direct communication with managers.