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

Opportunity Information: Apply for 19 528

The National Science Foundation (NSF) grant opportunity titled "CNH2: Dynamics of Integrated Socio-Environmental Systems" (Funding Opportunity Number 19-528) supports research that builds fundamental scientific understanding of how human and environmental systems function as a single, interconnected whole. The central idea is that many real-world problems cannot be explained by studying nature on one side and society on the other, then simply linking the results. Instead, CNH2 is aimed at projects that treat people and the environment as parts of an integrated system with ongoing two-way interactions, where causes and effects move back and forth through feedbacks over time.

A strong CNH2 project focuses on the dynamics, processes, and feedbacks that operate within and across both sides of a socio-environmental system. On the environmental side, this can include biological, physical, and chemical components and how they change. On the human side, it includes economic, social, political, and behavioral dimensions, such as decisions made by individuals, institutions, or communities, and how those decisions shape environmental conditions and are shaped by them in return. The program is specifically looking for research that explicitly analyzes these interactions, meaning the proposal should not treat human drivers as fixed external inputs, or treat the environment as a static backdrop. The emphasis is on understanding the coupled mechanisms that generate system behavior, including nonlinear change, adaptation, and unintended consequences.

The solicitation highlights the importance of truly integrated framing. In practical terms, NSF wants proposals that do more than assemble a team with social scientists and natural scientists working in parallel. The expectation is that research questions, data, models, and interpretations are designed from the start to capture the interdependence of human and environmental components. Projects should be able to show how social processes influence environmental processes and how environmental changes feed back into social outcomes, decisions, or governance. This integrated approach can involve developing new datasets, combining methods across disciplines, building or extending computational or theoretical models, or designing comparative case studies that reveal general principles about system dynamics.

Another key feature is encouragement for work that pushes conceptual boundaries and creates new theoretical frameworks for understanding socio-environmental systems. Rather than only applying existing models to a new location, CNH2 is positioned to support ideas that refine or rethink how these systems are represented and explained. This can include new ways of conceptualizing feedbacks, resilience and vulnerability, tipping points, institutional dynamics, learning and adaptation, or the emergence of patterns at larger scales from local interactions. The goal is basic science: producing insights and theory that can generalize beyond a single site or case, even if the work is grounded in a particular region, resource system, or community.

The program also encourages exploration of multi-scalar dynamics, meaning research that considers how processes interact across space and time. For example, local land-use decisions might aggregate into regional habitat change, or global market shifts might alter local resource extraction patterns, which then influence ecological conditions and future policy choices. Similarly, short-term behavioral responses can accumulate into long-term institutional or environmental transformation. CNH2 is interested in understanding these cross-scale linkages and how feedbacks may strengthen, weaken, or change direction depending on the scale of analysis.

From an administrative standpoint, this is a discretionary NSF grant opportunity within the broad category of science and technology research and development, associated with CFDA numbers 47.050, 47.074, and 47.075. The opportunity was created on November 16, 2018, with an original closing date of February 14, 2019. NSF anticipated making about 15 awards, and the listing shows an award ceiling of 0, which typically signals that budgets may vary and applicants should rely on the solicitation for detailed guidance rather than a fixed maximum. Eligibility is listed as "Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification)," indicating that applicants should confirm specific eligibility rules in the full program documents, as eligibility can depend on organization type, partnership structure, and NSF requirements.

Overall, CNH2 is best understood as a program for interdisciplinary teams that are prepared to study humans and the environment as a single dynamic system, with explicit attention to reciprocal causation, feedback loops, and change over time. The most competitive projects are likely to be those that make integration unavoidable at every step, develop or advance theory, and clearly explain how multi-scalar processes and feedbacks produce the observed behavior of socio-environmental systems.

• The National Science Foundation in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "CNH2: Dynamics of Integrated Socio-Environmental Systems" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 47.050, 47.074, 47.075.
• This funding opportunity was created on Nov 16, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Feb 14, 2019. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 15 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for 19 528

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