Human-Environment and Geographical Sciences Program - Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Awards

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As specified in the Geography and Spatial Sciences Program strategic plan , the goals of the NSF Geography and Spatial Sciences (GSS) Program are the following: To promote scientific research in geography and the spatial sciences that advances theory and basic understanding and that addresses the challenges facing society. To promote the integration of geographers and spatial scientists in interdisciplinary research. To promote education and training of geographers and spatial scientists in order to enhance the capabilities of current and future generations of researchers. To promote the development and use of scientific methods and tools for geographic research. The Geography and Spatial Sciences Program sponsors research on the geographic distributions and interactions of human, physical, and biotic systems on Earth. Investigators are encouraged to propose plans for research about the nature, causes, and consequences of human activity and natural environmental processes across a range of scales. Projects on a variety of topics qualify for support if they offer promise of contributing to scholarship by enhancing geographical knowledge, concepts, theories, methods, and their application to societal problems and concerns. As part of its effort to encourage and support projects that explicitly integrate education and basic research, GSS provides support to improve the conduct of doctoral dissertation projects undertaken by doctoral students enrolled in U.S. universities when the dissertation research is conducted in a scientifically sound manner and it offers strong potential for enhancing more general scientific knowledge. This solicitation addresses the preparation and evaluation of proposals for Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement (DDRI) awards. Instructions for submission of proposals for regular research awards; proposals for awards for conferences, workshops, group-travel support, and community-development or community-serving activities; proposals for research coordination network (RCN) awards; and proposals for rapid-response research (RAPID) awards appear in another GSS solicitation ( http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=nsf14537 ).