New Belmont Forum Future Opportunities to be Led by GEO RISE Division
April 3, 2024
Established in 2009, the Belmont Forum is a partnership of funding organizations, international science councils, and regional consortia committed to the advancement of transdisciplinary science. The Belmont Forum facilitates the funding of transdisciplinary multilateral research around global change challenges via Collaborative Research Actions (CRAs), which are the Forum equivalent of a call for proposals.
NSF supports U.S. researchers focused on transdisciplinary approaches to global environmental change challenges and opportunities. The work aims to accelerate delivery of the international research most urgently needed to remove critical barriers to sustainability by aligning and mobilizing international resources.
There are two Collaborative Research Actions launching in 2024, and several others in different stages of scoping with launches planned for 2025 and beyond. In 2024, the Belmont Forum will launch Tropical Forests, Africa Regional, Driving Urban Transitions, and Future Leaders, which is led by the National Science Foundation's Division of Research, Innovation, Synergies and Education in the Directorate for Geosciences (GEO). The RISE Division will lead Pathways to Sustainability II and Oceans II in 2025.
If you are interested in staying informed, please sign connect with the organization via the Belmont Forum website.
More detail on the upcoming CRAs follows:
Tropical Forests (launch June 2024)
This CRA aims to coordinate actions and projects with a transdisciplinary approach to address challenges faced tropical forests including climate change, deforestation, alternative agricultural practices, land tenure, illegal activities, water contamination, recovery of indigenous peoples and local communities’ knowledge and practices to develop transdisciplinary solutions with local impact. Proposals will be accepted in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and French.
Africa Regional Call (launch May 2024)
This CRA brings together international, transdisciplinary research teams led by African scientists and stakeholders to address the following knowledge gaps and priorities to address climate change vulnerability across the continent: (1) Water-Energy-Food-Health Nexus, (2) Land and Ocean Pollution, (3) Disaster Preparedness, Responsiveness, and Recovery. The goal of this CRA is to support integrative, qualitative and quantitative analyses and the employment of systems-based methodological approaches, to enhance African research capacities.
Leadership Program (co-production begins June 2024)
This co-produced leadership program hopes to connect the next-generation of global transdisciplinary science leaders - recruiting, training, and bridging across generations, disciplines, sectors of society, cultures and nations. The provisional goals of the program are to (1) Provide the skills needed to lead & collaboratively work as a team; (2) Instill transdisciplinary knowledge and create global networks; (3) Develop hands-on learning experiences within the Belmont Forum community; (4) Amplify current training opportunities provided by various organizations to provide a suite of skills.
Pathways to Sustainability II (launch June 2025)
To provide evidence to support the UNs Sustainability Development Goal (SDG) achievement, we need research that focuses on integrated qualitative and quantitative approaches to develop Earth system-based targets and transformation pathways for sustainable development. Proposals will need to address multiple SDGs while being cognizant of the synergies and trade-offs between potential pathways and different goals.
Oceans II (launch June 2025)
Anthropogenic activity has considerably modified the composition, structure, and functioning of all the planet’s ecosystems, including the oceans and coasts. Within this context, this CRA aims to support scientific research and societal action on marine biodiversity and socio-ecosystems relying on oceans to mitigate and adapt to global environmental change and sustain wellbeing. Including within this is an examination of the marine protected areas, e.g., the Ross Sea, regions primed for policy and management relevant research.
Vulnerability & Resilience Management (launch April 2025)
This CRA aims to inspire research consortia that will allow us to better integrate the complexity of socio-environmental systems, to define, formalize and implement a holistic risk science to investigate the links between the vulnerability of socio-environmental systems in exposed territories and their resilience capacity. Expected outcomes include risk science developments with a sustainability science perspective, interdisciplinary co-produced knowledge for informed governance in vulnerable territories, and the rise of a new generation of scientists and stakeholders able to better cope for ever-rising environmental risks.
The U.S. National Science Foundation propels the nation forward by advancing fundamental research in all fields of science and engineering. NSF supports research and people by providing facilities, instruments and funding to support their ingenuity and sustain the U.S. as a global leader in research and innovation. With a fiscal year 2023 budget of $9.5 billion, NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to nearly 2,000 colleges, universities and institutions. Each year, NSF receives more than 40,000 competitive proposals and makes about 11,000 new awards. Those awards include support for cooperative research with industry, Arctic and Antarctic research and operations, and U.S. participation in international scientific efforts.
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