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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): NSF Developmental Systems (PD 07 1111)

1) What is the NSF Developmental Systems opportunity (PD 07 1111)?

The NSF Developmental Systems opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number PD 07 1111) is a discretionary grant program in the National Science Foundation (NSF), within the Biological Sciences directorate and the Division of Integrative Organismal Systems. It funds research that explains how development works as an integrated, interacting system and how those interactions produce emergent features of living organisms.

2) What kind of research is this program trying to support?

The program supports mechanistic, systems-level research on development that connects events and mechanisms across biological scales. It is built around the idea that development cannot be fully understood by studying isolated parts alone; instead, projects should link multiple interacting components (for example, genes and molecules to cells and tissues to whole-organism form and function) to explain complex developmental outcomes.

3) What does "development as an integrated system" mean in practice?

Based on the solicitation description, this means proposals should aim to explain how interactions among biological components produce organismal features that emerge from the system as a whole. Studies are expected to connect mechanisms and events across levels of organization rather than focusing only on a single component in isolation.

4) What biological scales are relevant for this program?

The opportunity explicitly emphasizes linking scales such as molecules and genes, cells and tissues, and whole-organism form and function. Projects that build bridges across these levels to explain developmental outcomes align with the program's core goals.

5) What tools and approaches are expected in funded projects?

Projects are expected to use modern biological toolkits, including molecular, genetic, biochemical, and physiological approaches. The program also welcomes methods and perspectives from outside traditional biology when they help explain complex developmental outcomes (for example, computational modeling, engineering-based measurement, or physics-informed analyses).

6) Are interdisciplinary approaches encouraged?

Yes. The program explicitly welcomes techniques and perspectives that originate outside traditional biology when they strengthen the ability to explain complex developmental results. Examples named in the opportunity include computational modeling, engineering-based measurement, and physics-informed analyses.

7) What are the major programmatic areas within this opportunity?

The opportunity is organized around three programmatic areas:

• Plant, Fungal and Microbial Developmental Systems
• Animal Developmental Systems
• Evolution of Developmental Systems

8) What topics fit the Plant, Fungal and Microbial Developmental Systems area?

This area supports research on developmental processes in plants (spanning algae through angiosperms) and in fungi and microbes. The description includes topics such as regulation of developmental pathways, integration of environmental signals into developmental decisions, and how multicellularity, patterning, or differentiation is established and maintained in these groups.

9) What topics fit the Animal Developmental Systems area?

This area supports research aimed at understanding the processes that generate complex animal phenotypes. A notable feature is that the program encourages studying development across a wide range of animal species, recognizing that different organisms provide different experimental advantages (for example, genetic tractability, imaging accessibility, regenerative capacity, or unique life histories).

10) Does the program restrict applicants to a narrow set of model organisms?

No specific restriction is stated in the provided description. In fact, the Animal Developmental Systems area explicitly encourages work across a wide range of species because different organisms can offer different experimental advantages that reveal general principles of development.

11) What topics fit the Evolution of Developmental Systems area?

This area emphasizes how developmental mechanisms are conserved or diversified across life and how changes in development contribute to evolutionary novelty. Examples of target questions include what developmental shifts produce new phenotypes, how gene regulatory networks are altered to yield different outcomes, and why some developmental processes are broadly shared while others drive diversity within or between species.

12) Are comparative or collaborative projects especially relevant to Evolution of Developmental Systems?

Yes. The opportunity notes that questions in this area often require comparisons across organisms and multiple layers of evidence. It highlights the value of interdisciplinary and collaborative work and the use of varied model systems to connect developmental mechanisms to evolutionary patterns.

13) What is the funding instrument for this opportunity?

The listed funding instrument is a grant.

14) What is the activity category for this program?

The activity category is listed as Science and Technology and other Research and Development.

15) How much funding is estimated to be available through this opportunity?

The opportunity lists an estimated total funding level of about $19,061,457.

16) How many awards does NSF expect to make under this opportunity?

The opportunity indicates an expected 52 awards.

17) Is cost sharing or matching required?

No. The opportunity states that cost sharing or matching is not required.

18) Who is eligible to apply?

Eligibility is listed as unrestricted (open to any type of entity), subject to any additional eligibility clarifications in the full program text.

19) What are the proposal deadlines?

Proposal timing is structured around recurring annual deadlines, with full proposal deadlines of January 12 and July 12 each year.

20) Are these deadlines one-time or recurring?

They are recurring annual deadlines. The solicitation history notes original dates in 2010 and continuing annual cycles afterward.

21) What does the program say about typical award size or prior funding levels?

For context, the program notes that in FY 2010 the Division of Integrative Organismal Systems funded 17 proposals, with a mean annual award of $216,556.

22) Who are the program directors associated with this portfolio?

The listed program directors associated with the developmental mechanisms and evolution of developmental mechanisms portfolio include Steven Klein, Heinz Gert de Couet, and Bruce A. McClure.

23) Where should applicants go for technical help accessing the announcement via Grants.gov?

Applicants needing technical help accessing the announcement through Grants.gov are directed to NSF Grants.gov support at grantsgovsupport@nsf.gov.

24) What kinds of projects are described as the best fit overall?

The opportunity is best suited for researchers proposing mechanistic, integrative studies of development that link multiple biological scales and, when useful, bring in quantitative or cross-disciplinary methods to explain how complex traits and developmental innovations emerge and evolve.