CNH2: Dynamics of Integrated Socio-Environmental Systems | 19 528

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): NSF CNH2 - Dynamics of Integrated Socio-Environmental Systems (19-528)

What is the NSF CNH2 grant opportunity?

CNH2 (Dynamics of Integrated Socio-Environmental Systems) is a National Science Foundation (NSF) research grant opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number 19-528) that supports projects aimed at building fundamental scientific understanding of how human and environmental systems operate as one interconnected system.

What is the main goal of CNH2-funded research?

The main goal is basic science: to produce insights, explanations, and theory about coupled human-environment systems that can generalize beyond a single case. CNH2 emphasizes understanding mechanisms and system behavior generated by two-way interactions and feedbacks between people and the environment over time.

What does NSF mean by "integrated socio-environmental systems" in CNH2?

In CNH2, an integrated socio-environmental system is one where human and environmental components are treated as parts of a single dynamic system. Causes and effects move in both directions (people influence environmental conditions, and environmental change feeds back to influence human decisions, institutions, and outcomes), often through feedback loops that unfold over time.

What kinds of interactions is CNH2 specifically looking for proposals to analyze?

CNH2 is specifically looking for proposals that explicitly analyze reciprocal interactions between social and environmental processes. Proposals are expected to avoid treating human behavior as a fixed external driver or treating the environment as a static background. Instead, they should examine coupled mechanisms, feedbacks, adaptation, nonlinear change, and unintended consequences.

What topics can be included on the environmental side of a CNH2 project?

The environmental side can include biological, physical, and chemical components and how they change over time. The key is that these environmental dynamics are studied in direct connection with human dynamics, not as a separate track.

What topics can be included on the human side of a CNH2 project?

The human side can include economic, social, political, and behavioral dimensions, such as decisions made by individuals, institutions, communities, or governance systems, and how those decisions both shape environmental conditions and are shaped by environmental change in return.

Is CNH2 only for interdisciplinary teams?

CNH2 is best understood as designed for interdisciplinary teams that can study humans and the environment as a single system. The solicitation emphasizes that it is not enough to simply assemble social and natural scientists working in parallel; integration should be built into the research questions, data, models, and interpretations from the start.

What does "truly integrated framing" mean for a CNH2 proposal?

It means the project is designed so that the human and environmental parts cannot be separated without losing the core scientific question. Integration should show up in the framing, the study design, the analytical approach, and the interpretation of findings, demonstrating how social processes influence environmental processes and how environmental changes feed back into social outcomes.

What kinds of research approaches does CNH2 encourage?

CNH2 encourages approaches that capture interdependence between human and environmental components. Examples mentioned include developing new datasets, combining methods across disciplines, building or extending computational or theoretical models, and designing comparative case studies aimed at revealing general principles about system dynamics.

Does CNH2 prioritize new theory or can applicants mainly apply existing models?

CNH2 explicitly encourages work that pushes conceptual boundaries and creates new theoretical frameworks or refines how socio-environmental systems are represented and explained. The emphasis is not simply applying an existing model in a new location, but producing fundamental insights that can generalize.

What kinds of conceptual advances does CNH2 highlight?

The solicitation highlights opportunities such as new ways of conceptualizing feedbacks, resilience and vulnerability, tipping points, institutional dynamics, learning and adaptation, and how larger-scale patterns can emerge from local interactions.

What does CNH2 mean by feedbacks and "reciprocal causation"?

Feedbacks and reciprocal causation refer to the idea that humans and environmental systems affect each other in ongoing, two-way interactions. For example, human decisions can change ecosystems, and those ecosystem changes can then alter future decisions, governance, or economic outcomes, potentially reinforcing or counteracting the original change over time.

Does CNH2 support research on nonlinear change and unintended consequences?

Yes. CNH2 emphasizes understanding coupled mechanisms that generate system behavior, including nonlinear change, adaptation, and unintended consequences, which are common in complex socio-environmental systems with feedback loops.

What are "multi-scalar dynamics" in the CNH2 context?

Multi-scalar dynamics refer to processes that interact across space and time. CNH2 is interested in how local actions can aggregate into regional or broader environmental change, how global drivers (like markets) can reshape local behavior, and how short-term responses can accumulate into long-term institutional or environmental transformations.

What are examples of cross-scale linkages CNH2 is interested in?

The solicitation describes examples such as local land-use decisions aggregating into regional habitat change, global market shifts influencing local resource extraction, and resulting ecological change feeding back into future policy choices. The broader theme is how feedbacks can strengthen, weaken, or change direction depending on the scale of analysis.

Is CNH2 focused on a single place-based case study or broader generalization?

While a project may be grounded in a particular region, resource system, or community, CNH2 emphasizes producing insights and theory that generalize beyond a single site or case. Comparative case studies can be one way to support general principles about system dynamics.

What is the funding opportunity number for this CNH2 solicitation?

The Funding Opportunity Number is 19-528.

When was this opportunity created and what was the original closing date?

The listing states the opportunity was created on November 16, 2018, and the original closing date was February 14, 2019.

How many awards did NSF anticipate making under this opportunity?

NSF anticipated making about 15 awards.

Is there a maximum award amount (award ceiling) listed?

The listing shows an award ceiling of 0. This typically indicates that budgets may vary and that applicants should look to the full solicitation for detailed budget guidance rather than relying on a fixed maximum amount.

What is the CFDA information associated with CNH2?

This opportunity is associated with CFDA numbers 47.050, 47.074, and 47.075, and is described as a discretionary NSF grant opportunity in the broad category of science and technology research and development.

Who is eligible to apply?

Eligibility is listed as "Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification)." This indicates applicants should confirm the specific eligibility rules in the full program documents, since eligibility may depend on organization type, partnership structure, and NSF requirements.

What makes a CNH2 proposal more competitive based on the solicitation summary?

Based on the description provided, competitive projects are likely to make integration unavoidable at every step, explicitly analyze reciprocal causation and feedback loops over time, advance or refine theory (not just apply existing models), and clearly explain how multi-scalar processes and feedbacks produce system behavior.