The purpose of this funding mechanism is to support interdisciplinary, potentially transformative projects

Please note the recent Dear Colleague Letter for the Integrated NSF Support Promoting Interdisciplinary Research and Education (INSPIRE) pilot. The purpose of this funding mechanism is to support interdisciplinary, potentially transformative projects (up to 5 years, $1 million) that cannot be accommodated by other NSF funding mechanisms and would be funded by at least two intellectually distinct NSF divisions or disciplinary programs.  Proposals must be approved by at least two NSF Program Officers prior to submission.

Complementing existing NSF efforts, INSPIRE was created to handle proposals whose:

Scientific advances lie outside the scope of a single program or discipline, such that substantial funding support from more than one program or discipline is necessary.

Lines of research promise transformational advances.

Prospective discoveries reside at the interfaces of disciplinary boundaries that may not be recognized through traditional review or co-review.

http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2014/nsf14106/nsf14106.jsp

Please also note the solicitation and upcoming December 2, 2014 deadline for the Interdisciplinary Behavioral and Social Science Research (IBSS) program. IBSS emphasizes the conduct of interdisciplinary research by teams of investigators in the social and behavioral sciences, and proposals must include at least three senior personnel from at least two different SBE disciplinary fields. There are also special review criteria related to the interdisciplinarity of the research team, approach(es), and intellectual significance.

There are two types of projects that may be supported by IBSS:

IBSS Large Interdisciplinary Research Projects (with maximum award sizes of $1,000,000, 2-5 years)

IBSS Interdisciplinary Team Exploratory Projects (with maximum award sizes of $250,000, 1-2 years)

http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2012/nsf12614/nsf12614.htm

Cordially,

Rebecca Ferrell

Program Director, Biological Anthropology, NSF