Biodiversity Surveys and Inventories Program (BSI) CALL  FOR  PROPOSALS  FOR  FY2003

Proposal Organization - Items of Interest

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The Biodiversity Surveys and Inventories Program (BSI) supports field research of NMNH-SI scientists that documents the composition of plant and animal communities (including human impact) in areas with incompletely known floras and faunas.

Eligibility: All NMNH-funded research scientists and curators are eligible to submit proposals, which may include NMNH support staff and non-NMNH colleagues as participants.

Proposals: Requests for support will be entertained for field surveys and monitoring programs of any plant or animal group. Goals of the fieldwork are expected to be directed toward the research interest of the principal investigator and usually in the area of systematics, evolutionary biology, natural history and ecology, and cultural use of the biota (extant and fossil). Generally, the research will be a collaboration with an organization or individuals within the host nation (if outside the USA) and will provide the host nation with information on its biodiversity as well as assist the broader biological and conservation audience in their activities. Fieldwork is expected to obtain voucher material to enhance the archival natural-history collections of the Smithsonian, directly support the research activities of the principal investigator, and to result in timely publication of new discoveries.

Format: Proposals should be no longer than five (5) pages and presented in font size no smaller than 11. Please see below the guidelines to the proposal’s organization.

Submission: Submit by 24 September 2002 six (6) copies of the proposal to your section chief or Department Chair. We request a short statement from your research supervisor on the appropriateness of the proposal; this statement should be attached to each copy. All documents should be forward to the BSI Program, c/o Department of Systematic Biology by 30 September 2002.

Selection and Notification: The BSI Program Panel will review and rank all proposals 
according to the following criteria:

1) Is the proposed fieldwork designed to obtain research-voucher material for the PI’s current research project? Additional and broader voucher-collecting activities are encouraged but are not essential ingredient of the field research.

2) The proposal fieldwork should be performed by the NMNH scientist and not a proxy. Exceptions are made for scientists who are unable to perform the fieldwork because of health-related condition, but under these circumstances, that PI must be involved directly in the curatorial processing of the collection and its prompt study.

3) Feasibility of the proposed field research is considered.

4) The past research productivity of applicant is carefully considered when ranking proposals. The proposal should demonstrate that the results of past BSI-supported fieldwork were reported timely. The panel will confirm that reports and other obligations of past BSI proposals were fulfilled. 

The expectations of a well designed and rigorous research project are implicit in the panel’s evaluation, and the scientific importance of the proposed fieldwork must be explicit in the proposals.

We anticipate that notification of awards will be made by 31 October in order that fieldwork can begin by 15 November 2002. This Call is being made with the expectation that funds will be available.

Proposal Organization

Page 1
- Title of proposed research.
- Name and signature of the PI and/or co-PIs. Name and signature of departmental chair.
- Amount of funds requested.
- Summary of proposed research activity and its importance.

Page 2 and 3
- Description of the research, including scientific justification, brief statement of methodology, and pertinent information on collaborators and assistants. If this project is part of a long-term investigation, please indicate.

Page 4
- Statement of expected research products resulting from the fieldwork and a schedule of the publication of these products.
- Budget (itemized)
- Budget justification, where appropriate. Please include justifications for field equipment and stipend or salary for non-NMNH participants and note any matching funds.

Page 5
- Brief CV, including your publications for the past 5-10 years. Please indicate with an asterisk, those resulting from previous BSI Program funding.

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Items of interest to applicants

BSI awards in previous years have averaged approximately $5,000.

Acceptance of funding from the BSI program obligates the principal investigator to use the approved budget as outlined in her/his proposal and as adjusted by the BSI panel. If the PI requires modification of the expenditure schedule, either in time or object class, the PI must submit the proposed changes to the chairman of the BSI panel for review. The panel will review the requested changes within 30 days of receipt of the modified proposal.

Approved expenditures should be obligated by the proposed date of research. Funds not obligated after 30 days of the proposed research or by the end of the fiscal year, whichever is first, revert to the BSI program.

Field research is central to much of the scholarship at the National Museum of Natural History, providing the specimens and data bases essential for our research in systematic, evolutionary biology, and ethnobiology. Our inventories provide numerous scholarly products supporting biodiversity conservation and management.

The BSI Program supports biodiversity investigations throughout the world, and presently, it does not emphasize any geographical regions.

Collaboration -- intramural, inter-institutional, within country of research -- is not a prerequisite for a successful proposal, although it is strongly encouraged when fieldwork is conducted outside the USA. In any event, the proposal must demonstrate that the PI has taken steps to obtain permission to work in the host nation and to obtain permission for the export of the collection (or a part thereof) to the SI-NMNH and for permanent retention here.

Matching or other research funding is desirable but not essential.

BSI Panel
August 2002


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