Proposal Guidelines

Potential investigators should read the SCEC Science Plan in its entirety, and understand the expectations for participation in the SCEC collaboration. Researchers employed by state or federal government entities are encouraged to seek internal funding from their institutions to work with SCEC-funded private researchers on collaborative proposals. SCEC has achieved great success with this model for research advancements, which also provides unique opportunities for cross-pollinating workforce development.

Refer to the SCEC Science Plan for more information and submission guidelines. 

Every investigator on the proposal must have a SCEC.org account and no overdue report from a prior SCEC-funded award. To be complete, a proposal must include all required information and be submitted by the due date. Incomplete proposals will be rejected.

1. Cover Page: Use the 2025 template cover page provided.
2. Project Description: Clearly articulate the research to be undertaken, including the specific objectives, anticipated significance, experimental methods, and work plan. If applicable, the work plan should include information about how SCEC Community Earth Models may be used in the proposed project, data management and sharing plans, contributions of named collaborators, and results of prior SCEC support. The Project Description should justify the project both scientifically and in terms of its broader impacts, and explain how it achieves SCEC goals and priorities.
3. Budget and Justification: Each institution requesting funding must include a budget table and a budget justification.
4. Current and Pending Support: All investigators requesting funding must include an up-to-date statement of their current and pending (C&P) support, and describe any potential overlap with the proposed SCEC project.

Evaluation Criteria

Proposals are evaluated based on (a) scientific merit of the proposed research; (b) competence, diversity, career level, performance of the investigators; (c) alignment of the proposed project with SCEC priorities; (d) promise of the proposed project for contributing to long-term SCEC goals; (e) commitment of the investigators and institutions to the SCEC mission, including commitment to enhanced diversity, equity and inclusion in geosciences; (f) value of the proposed research relative to its cost; and (g) the need to achieve a balanced budget while maintaining reasonable scientific continuity with limited funding. Note that proposals that receive a low rating or no funding are not necessarily scientifically inferior. Instead, they may not meet the criteria above.