Focus on Recruiting Emerging Climate and Adaptation Scientists and Transformers | 24 558

Opportunity Information: Apply for 24 558

The National Science Foundation (NSF) grant opportunity called Focus on Recruiting Emerging Climate and Adaptation Scientists and Transformers (FORECAST) is designed to modernize how students at emerging research institutions are prepared for climate-related careers. Instead of relying on traditional, one-size-fits-all graduate and workforce pathways, FORECAST pushes a student-centered model that intentionally builds innovation, entrepreneurship, and practical problem-solving skills. The program frames "Transformers" as the next wave of scientists who are ready to confront the real-world impacts of climate change, not only through technical expertise but also through collaboration with communities, decision-makers, and public institutions. The overall goal is to strengthen a national climate and adaptation workforce that can translate research into tangible societal benefits, especially in communities that face disproportionate climate risks.

A core feature of FORECAST is its emphasis on "engaged research" and convergence research. In practice, this means bringing together perspectives and methods across multiple disciplines and pairing research efforts with community needs, so that solutions are co-developed with the people most affected. The opportunity aligns itself with major research-community directives, including guidance from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) and the Advisory Committee for Environmental Research and Education, both of which encourage a more responsive scientific enterprise that addresses pressing societal challenges. Within FORECAST, participants are expected to build skills that go beyond research fundamentals, such as communicating across sectors, understanding how government contexts shape climate and resilience work, and developing pathways for research outcomes to be used in policy, practice, or community planning.

The program is also explicitly focused on broadening participation in STEM by building cohorts drawn from the full range of diverse talent at emerging research institutions (ERIs), including groups that have historically been excluded or underserved in STEM fields. Participants are limited to two main student groups: senior undergraduate students (particularly rising seniors) and students enrolled in master’s degree programs. Those students receive structured, intentional professional development, with mentorship and capacity-building treated as central program elements rather than add-ons. A key eligibility requirement is that FORECAST participants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents.

FORECAST is organized into three proposal categories: Track 1, Track 2, and Planning Grants. Track 1 funds a single national Coordination Hub that is responsible for organizing and coordinating support for a national cohort of rising seniors, particularly students from ERIs and/or from historically excluded and underserved groups. The Hub model implies shared infrastructure and standardized professional development experiences that can reach students across institutions, helping create a connected national cohort rather than isolated campus-by-campus efforts.

Track 2 supports projects that build and train cohorts of master’s degree students at ERIs. These projects are expected to center mentorship, structured cohort experiences, and institutional capacity-building, helping ERIs strengthen their ability to prepare graduate students for climate and adaptation careers that bridge research, innovation, and community impact. Planning Grants are meant as a ramp-up mechanism: they support ERIs and their partners in developing the relationships, program design, and internal capacity needed to launch a future Track 2 cohort, especially for institutions that are not yet ready to implement a full Track 2 effort.

Eligibility to submit proposals depends on the track. For Track 1, proposals may be submitted by accredited U.S.-based institutions of higher education (including two-year and four-year colleges and community colleges) acting on behalf of their faculty, as well as eligible U.S. non-profit, non-academic organizations such as museums, observatories, research laboratories, and professional societies involved in education or research. There are also specific NSF instructions for proposals that involve funding work at an international branch campus of a U.S. institution: the proposal must clearly explain why the international location benefits the project and why the work cannot be done at the U.S. campus.

For Track 2 and Planning Grants, eligibility is limited to master’s degree-granting Emerging Research Institutions as defined in federal law (42 USC 18901). In this solicitation, ERIs are described as institutions with established undergraduate or graduate programs that have less than $50 million in federal research expenditures. NSF will use data from NSF 24-308 (the Higher Education Research and Development, or HERD, Survey tables) to determine whether an institution qualifies as an ERI for the purpose of submission eligibility.

Administratively, this is an NSF discretionary grant opportunity in the science and technology research and development category (CFDA 47.050), with funding opportunity number 24-558 and an original closing date listed as January 29, 2025. While the synopsis does not specify an award ceiling or the number of expected awards in the excerpt provided, the structure indicates a limited number of major awards (including only one Track 1 Coordination Hub) plus additional Track 2 cohort awards and Planning Grants to expand capacity across ERIs.

• The National Science Foundation in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Focus on Recruiting Emerging Climate and Adaptation Scientists and Transformers" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 47.050.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-03-14.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-01-29. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

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