Opportunity Information: Apply for 14 557
Apply for 14 557
- The National Science Foundation in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Decision Frameworks for Multi Hazard Resilient and Sustainable Buildings" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 47.041 Engineering Grants.
- This funding opportunity was created on Apr 23, 2014 and posted on Apr 22, 2014.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 24, 2014 Full Proposal Deadline(s) July 24, 2014 Full Proposal Deadline. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- The funding agency has allocated a total of $9,000,000.00 to eligible and selected applicants.
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $1,200,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 8 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).
- Who May Submit Proposals Proposals may only be submitted by the following Universities and Colleges Universities and two and four year colleges (including community colleges) accredited in, and having a campus located in, the US acting on behalf of their faculty members. Such organizations also are referred to as academic institutions.
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Opportunity Summary:
The National Science Foundation (NSF) funding opportunity titled "Decision Frameworks for Multi Hazard Resilient and Sustainable Buildings" (NSF 14-557) supports research aimed at improving how buildings are designed when they must perform well under multiple natural hazards while also meeting sustainability goals. The core idea is that buildings are not just technical objects; they operate within economic, social, technological, and environmental realities over long lifespans. Because hazards like earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods can occur at different times and with different intensities over a building's life, the opportunity focuses on design approaches that explicitly consider multiple hazards rather than optimizing for only one. At the same time, proposals are expected to address sustainability in a meaningful way, reflecting growing societal expectations to reduce environmental impacts through better materials, systems, and design choices.
The solicitation concentrates on the soil-foundation-structural envelope (SFSE) system, described as a critical integrated set of components that helps maintain a building's integrity and functionality, protecting occupants and interior spaces. Rather than funding general building research, the program specifically targets new concepts for multi-hazard resilient and sustainable SFSE systems and, importantly, the decision-making logic used to select among competing design alternatives. NSF is emphasizing that high performance in both resilience and sustainability requires structured choices across many decisions, from material selection to the configuration and design of interconnected building systems. In practical terms, the program is looking for research that can help designers and stakeholders evaluate tradeoffs and choose designs that make sense across risk, cost, performance, and broader societal preferences.
A defining requirement is the inclusion of a rational decision framework. Proposals must go beyond technical improvements alone and demonstrate how decisions will be made among alternatives using a clear, defensible structure. The call highlights several needed elements: consideration of stakeholder preferences, development or evaluation of SFSE system concepts, and design optimization methods that generate and compare alternative SFSE solutions. Data may be collected or existing datasets may be used, but the data must be integral to the decision framework itself, meaning it should directly inform the comparison and selection process rather than serve as a standalone materials or hazard study.
NSF is also explicit that multidisciplinary collaboration is essential. Successful proposals are expected to integrate across architecture and engineering as well as materials, environmental science, social and behavioral science, economics, and any other fields needed to address the full scope. This reflects the program's premise that resilient and sustainable buildings depend not only on structural performance, but also on human behavior, policy and incentives, lifecycle costs, environmental impacts, and the ways organizations and communities define acceptable risk and value. Research methods can be computational, analytical, and/or experimental, and the solicitation leaves room for different research approaches as long as they remain centered on decision-making for multi-hazard resilient and sustainable SFSE systems.
In terms of what the program will not fund, NSF draws a boundary around two common proposal types: generic materials research not tied to SFSE decision-making, and generic decision frameworks that are not specifically developed and applied to selecting among alternative multi-hazard resilient and sustainable SFSE building system designs. In other words, the decision framework and the SFSE multi-hazard/sustainability objective must be tightly coupled, with each driving the other.
Administratively, this was a discretionary NSF grant opportunity in the Science and Technology and other Research and Development category under CFDA 47.041 (Engineering Grants). NSF anticipated making about 8 awards, with an estimated total funding amount of $9,000,000. Individual awards were expected to range from $800,000 (floor) to $1,200,000 (ceiling), and there was no cost sharing or matching requirement. Eligibility was limited to U.S.-accredited universities and colleges (including two- and four-year institutions and community colleges) with a U.S. campus, submitting on behalf of their faculty. The opportunity was posted in late April 2014, with a full proposal deadline in late July 2014 (current closing date listed as July 24, 2014; original closing date July 29, 2014), and it was archived in August 2014.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the NSF funding opportunity called?
The opportunity is titled "Decision Frameworks for Multi Hazard Resilient and Sustainable Buildings" (NSF 14-557).
What is the main purpose of this solicitation?
The solicitation supports research that improves how buildings are designed when they must perform well under multiple natural hazards while also meeting sustainability goals. A central theme is creating and using a rational, defensible decision framework to choose among competing design alternatives.
Which hazards are explicitly in scope?
The opportunity references earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods as examples of hazards that can occur at different times and intensities over a building's lifespan.
What building system is the program focused on?
The program concentrates on the soil-foundation-structural envelope (SFSE) system, treated as an integrated set of components critical to maintaining building integrity and functionality, protecting occupants, and safeguarding interior spaces.
Is this program funding general building research?
No. The solicitation is targeted specifically to new concepts for multi-hazard resilient and sustainable SFSE systems and to the decision-making logic used to select among alternative SFSE design solutions.
What is meant by a "multi-hazard" design approach in this context?
How is sustainability expected to be addressed?
Proposals are expected to address sustainability in a meaningful way, reflecting expectations to reduce environmental impacts through improved materials, systems, and design choices. Sustainability should be part of the tradeoff and selection process, not a separate add-on.
What is the defining requirement for proposals?
A defining requirement is the inclusion of a rational decision framework. Proposals must go beyond technical improvements alone and show how decisions among alternatives will be made using a clear, defensible structure.
What elements should the decision framework include (based on the solicitation summary)?
The call highlights the need to include stakeholder preferences, development or evaluation of SFSE system concepts, and design optimization methods that generate and compare alternative SFSE solutions.
Can proposals use existing data, or must they collect new data?
Either approach is allowed. Data may be collected or existing datasets may be used, but the data must be integral to the decision framework and directly inform the comparison and selection among alternatives.
Are certain research methods required?
No single method is required. The solicitation allows computational, analytical, and/or experimental research approaches, as long as the work remains centered on decision-making for multi-hazard resilient and sustainable SFSE systems.
Is multidisciplinary collaboration expected?
Yes. NSF is explicit that multidisciplinary collaboration is essential, with integration expected across architecture and engineering and potentially materials, environmental science, social and behavioral science, economics, and other relevant fields.
Why does the solicitation emphasize stakeholder preferences?
The program premise is that building performance is shaped not only by technical considerations but also by human behavior, policy and incentives, lifecycle costs, environmental impacts, and how organizations and communities define acceptable risk and value. Stakeholder preferences are therefore a key part of the decision logic.
What types of proposals are explicitly not a fit?
NSF draws a boundary around (1) generic materials research not tied to SFSE decision-making and (2) generic decision frameworks that are not specifically developed and applied to selecting among alternative multi-hazard resilient and sustainable SFSE building system designs.
How tightly coupled do the SFSE focus and the decision framework need to be?
They must be tightly coupled. The solicitation indicates that the decision framework and the SFSE multi-hazard/sustainability objective should drive each other, rather than being parallel or loosely connected efforts.
What is the award type and funding category?
This was described as a discretionary NSF grant opportunity in the Science and Technology and other Research and Development category under CFDA 47.041 (Engineering Grants).
How many awards were anticipated and what was the total estimated funding?
NSF anticipated about 8 awards, with an estimated total funding amount of $9,000,000.
What was the expected award size?
Individual awards were expected to range from $800,000 (floor) to $1,200,000 (ceiling).
Was cost sharing or matching required?
No. The opportunity stated there was no cost sharing or matching requirement.
Who was eligible to apply?
Eligibility was limited to U.S.-accredited universities and colleges (including two- and four-year institutions and community colleges) with a U.S. campus, submitting on behalf of their faculty.
When was the opportunity posted and when were proposals due?
The opportunity was posted in late April 2014. The full proposal deadline was in late July 2014, with a current closing date listed as July 24, 2014 and an original closing date of July 29, 2014.
Is this opportunity still open?
No. It was archived in August 2014, indicating it is no longer an active solicitation.
What is the practical outcome the program is trying to enable?
The program is looking for research that helps designers and stakeholders evaluate tradeoffs and choose SFSE designs that make sense across risk, cost, performance, and broader societal preferences, while accounting for multiple hazards and sustainability goals over a building's lifespan.
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