Innovations at the Nexus of Food, Energy and Water Systems | Apply Online

INFEWS (NSF 16-524) Grant Opportunity FAQs

1) What is the INFEWS grant opportunity?

Innovations at the Nexus of Food, Energy and Water Systems (INFEWS) is a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant opportunity that supports research treating food, energy, and water (FEW) as a tightly linked system, rather than as three separate domains.

2) What does it mean to treat food, energy, and water as a "nexus" or coupled system?

It means studying FEW challenges in an integrated way that captures the interactions and feedbacks among natural systems (such as hydrology and biogeochemical cycles), built systems (such as infrastructure and engineered technologies), and human systems (such as governance, decision-making, and behavior). The solicitation emphasizes that major breakthroughs are more likely when these components are addressed together.

3) What problem is INFEWS trying to solve?

INFEWS is motivated by growing stresses on FEW systems driven by land-use change, climate variability, uneven resource distribution, and social and regional pressures. These drivers create complex interdependencies that are difficult to understand or manage using single-discipline approaches.

4) What kinds of research areas are considered part of FEW research under INFEWS?

The opportunity defines FEW research broadly and includes physical, natural, biological, social/behavioral, and cyber elements. Examples named in the description include infrastructure and resource-efficiency technologies, hydrologic and nutrient cycles, agroecosystem structure and productivity, policy and governance, human choices and institutional constraints, and data/computation/connected tools.

5) Why does the solicitation emphasize "synergy" across components?

The solicitation frames the FEW nexus as a sustainability challenge where synergy across food, energy, and water components can open new science and engineering pathways. The intent is to produce knowledge and technologies that better address scarcity, variability, resilience, and long-term sustainability than approaches that focus on only one domain.

6) What is the overarching goal of INFEWS?

The overarching goal is to catalyze well-integrated, interdisciplinary research that transforms understanding of the FEW nexus so systems can be managed more effectively, stresses reduced, resilience increased, and sustainability better ensured.

7) What are the primary aims of the INFEWS program?

The program describes four primary aims:

• Major advances in quantitative and computational modeling of FEW systems, including cyberinfrastructure to build, run, and share models.
• Development of real-time, cyber-enabled interfaces to improve understanding of FEW behavior and strengthen decision support.
• Innovative system-level and technological solutions to critical FEW problems, emphasizing outcomes difficult to achieve when food, energy, or water are treated in isolation.
• Workforce development through education and professional development components to support cross-disciplinary FEW research and management.

8) Does INFEWS support modeling and computational work?

Yes. One of the primary aims is major advances in quantitative and computational modeling of FEW systems, including support for the cyberinfrastructure needed to develop, execute, and share these models.

9) What does "cyberinfrastructure" refer to in this solicitation?

Based on the description provided, cyberinfrastructure refers to the infrastructure needed to build, run, and share FEW models and to support cyber-enabled tools, such as data systems, computation, and connected interfaces that enable improved understanding and decision support.

10) What are "real-time, cyber-enabled interfaces" in the context of INFEWS?

The solicitation encourages tools and interfaces that operate in real time (or near-real time) and are enabled by cyber elements (data and computational systems) to improve understanding of FEW system behavior and strengthen decision support for stakeholders and managers responding to changing conditions.

11) What type of solutions is INFEWS looking for?

INFEWS supports innovative system-level and technological solutions to critical FEW problems, with an emphasis on results that are hard to accomplish when considering food, energy, or water alone. The focus is on integrated solutions that reflect FEW interdependencies.

12) Is workforce development part of the program?

Yes. One of the program aims is to grow the workforce capable of studying and managing FEW systems through education and professional development components, reflecting the need for scientists and engineers who can work across disciplinary boundaries.

13) Is INFEWS an interdisciplinary program?

Yes. The program is explicitly designed to catalyze well-integrated, interdisciplinary research spanning natural, built, and human systems, including cyber elements.

14) Which agencies are involved in INFEWS?

The solicitation is designed to enable cooperation among NSF, the United States Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA/NIFA), and other partners.

15) Why is INFEWS structured as an interagency program?

The interagency structure is intended to coordinate investments around a shared national and global challenge. By combining resources and aligning priorities, participating agencies aim to fund higher-impact projects, reduce duplication, and encourage collaboration across agencies and research communities.

16) Does the opportunity encourage international collaboration?

Yes. International collaboration is explicitly encouraged when it strengthens the work by adding unique expertise, facilities, data, or study sites.

17) Can NSF funds be used to support international partners?

The description notes that international partners are generally expected to be funded through non-NSF sources rather than through the NSF award itself. Proposals should plan collaborations with that funding structure in mind.

18) What is the award ceiling for this opportunity?

The award ceiling listed is $3,000,000.

19) How many awards are expected?

The opportunity indicates an expected 40 awards.

20) What is the funding opportunity number?

The NSF funding opportunity number provided is 16-524.

21) What CFDA numbers are associated with this opportunity?

The opportunity lists multiple CFDA numbers, including 10.310 and several 47.xxx listings, reflecting the multi-program and cross-domain nature of the initiative.

22) What type of grant program is INFEWS?

It is described as a discretionary grant program.

23) What is the closing date shown for this solicitation cycle?

The closing date shown is March 22, 2016.

24) When was this opportunity posted and created?

The posting and creation dates are listed as December 22, 2015.

25) Is this specific INFEWS solicitation cycle current?

Based on the dates provided (posting in 2015 and closing in 2016), this specific solicitation cycle appears to be historical, even though the summary describes the program scope and research directions.

26) Who is eligible to apply?

Eligibility is listed broadly as "Others," with additional clarification referenced in the full solicitation.

27) Where should applicants direct questions about proposals or submission?

Questions are directed to INFEWSquestions@NSF.GOV.

28) How are program officer contacts organized?

The solicitation notes that program officers are organized by track teams, and that contact information is available on the NSF INFEWS website.