NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION: Networked Blue Economy

THE FOLLOWING CONDENSED POSTING COMES FROM BLUE REVOLUTION HAWAII.  Should you wish to read the entire article, click on that site.

Blue Revolution Hawaii has formed alliances with universities and institutions throughout the world:  U.S., Japan, China, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, Norway, The Netherlands, La Reunion, Chile and Mauritius.  Our purpose is to build the plantship on which sustainable ocean resource R&D can be performed.  We believe that this initial floating structure, the Pacific International Ocean Station (PIOS), will trigger the financing, design, construction and formation of the first major floating city to host the World Expo in 2050.  Our funding goals are simple:

• Attract the support of a billionaire or team of them.
• Host a summit to plan for PIOS.
• Obtain $150 million to plan for, construct and manage this offshore marine R&D site, with an operational date in 2030.
• Trigger the formation of a floating city to host that World Fair in 2050

It is thus wonderfully fortuitous that the National Science Foundation has announced a Convergence Accelerator program on the Networked Blue Economy.  Blue Revolution Hawaii highly encourages the University of Hawaii to compete.  If we are to succeed with the Pacific International Ocean Station, we need this level of fundamental research from the University of Hawaii.  We can provide considerable background information and a form of cost-matching if necessary to enhance your efforts.  We of course offer this partnership to any academic/industry team that competes.

Historically, NSF has strongly supported the ocean sciences, but generally ignored ocean technology, save for those aspects that support the sciences, such as instruments, drones and similar equipment.  The Marine Bioproducts Engineering Center (MARBEC) of the University of Hawaii is a noteworthy exception.  While this new convergence accelerator program on a Networked Blue Economy was largely developed by scientists, the resultant announcement seems ideally suited for the Blue Revolution, and more specifically the Pacific International Ocean Station of Blue Revolution Hawaii.  As this blog site keeps the postings relatively readable, my sense is to stop here.  However, for the very few craving details, here is a condensed version of the NSF solicitation.   For most, I wish you a great weekend.

1 Introduction

1.1 Background

The NSF Convergence Accelerator program addresses national-scale societal challenges through use- inspired convergence research. Using a convergence approach and innovation processes like human- centered design, user discovery, and team science and integration of multidisciplinary research, the Convergence Accelerator program seeks to transition basic research and discovery into practice—to solve high-impact societal challenges aligned with specific research themes (tracks).

From NSF:

• Submit an idea during the ideation process.
• Further an idea through a workshop.
• Form a team and apply to a convergence research solicitation: 

Contribute to a current funded solution: Cross-cutting partnerships or NSF Catalyzed partnerships are vital to the Convergence Accelerator and the funded teams. Theses partners may provide needed expertise, represent end-users; or provide resources, services, and infrastructure to accelerate a specific funded solution. 

Team Composition 

Funded teams are comprised of researchers, innovators, and other partners working on the project. The team must be composed of personnel from a mix of disciplines, expertise, and organizations from academia, industry, non-profit, government, and other sectors; including underrepresented groups needed to accomplish the project goals of accelerated use-inspired research and transition to practice. There are no team size limits and teams are expected to evolve, adding and removing members, as the project advances. 

Cross-Cutting Partnerships 

Partnerships from academia, industry, non-profits, government, and other sectors are required on each funded research team. Each partnership is different and may provide needed expertise, represent end-users; or provide resources, services, and infrastructure to advance the solution forward. Not all partners need to be identified at the time of the phase one proposal submission. 

Intellectual Property 

By the end of the Convergence Research phase one, funded teams are required to identify the potential intellectual property (IP). IP includes relevant partner contributions and ownership and management of the IP. Relevant IP forms such as trade secrets, copyrights, patents, and patentable information must be included.

1.2 Purpose:  Networked Blue Economy (Track E)

1.3 Components of the NSF Convergence Accelerator

• Convergence Research

• Research and development efforts proposed must represent the highest level of multidisciplinary expertise and convergent research needed to encompass the full scope of the topic selected. Since transition to practice is a core goal of the convergence accelerator, projects need to include personnel with expertise relevant to applications and use, as well as the technologies themselves. Teams must include the necessary expertise in appropriate areas of the physical sciences, math, engineering, data and computer sciences, biological sciences, geological sciences, social and behavioral sciences, and General education and science education, and other disciplines to ensure success.

  
  Partnerships

  Convergence Accelerator projects should embody use-inspired research that seeks to accelerate research to practice in ways that benefit society at scale. The Convergence Accelerator program seeks to encourage cross-cutting partnerships with many types of organizations from academia, industry, government, non- profit, and other sectors, to ensure that research efforts are use-inspired and have a clear path to transition to practice. Therefore, stakeholders from multiple types of organizations and sectors must be involved in ways that allow the project to identify and work with end users.

Deliverables

Proposers must clearly identify the deliverables that will results from the proposed project and describe how those outputs will benefit society at scale. While deliverables may take many forms (e.g., hardware, software, data, services, processes, protocols, standards, and more) projects must clearly articulate how benefits to society would result from deliverables developed by the end of Phase II.  Clearly, the design of the Pacific International Ocean Station would be ideal for our partnership.

Phase I is for funding up to $750,000 for 12 months duration.

Phase I efforts will focus on research plan development and team formation leading to a proof-of-concept and will include NSF-organized convenings for training and cross-cohort collaboration. The Phase I innovation curriculum is a significant time investment with frequent participation of all partners under the guidance of coaches. A link to a sample curriculum can be found here.

Phase II: Continued Application of the Convergence Accelerator Fundamentals, Prototyping and Sustainability Planning

Selected teams from Phase I will proceed to Phase II, with potential funding up to $5 Million as a cooperative agreement for 24 months. By the end of Phase II, teams are to provide high-impact solutions for societal needs at scale.

2. Research Areas

Networked Blue Economy (Track E)

The overarching goal of Track E is to interconnect the Blue Economy and accelerate convergence across ocean sectors. This track aims to create a smart, integrated, connected, and open ecosystem for ocean innovation, exploration, and sustainable utilization. It will provide a highly innovative set of interconnected tools, techniques, methods, and educational resources, as well as improve human engagement with ocean resources. The cohort of projects supported through this track will ultimately lead to a range of innovative partnerships involving stakeholders in ocean-related science and engineering, coastal communities and a diverse set of entities and organizations engaged in the 

Networked Blue Economy. Collectively, this cohort will produce products, processes, and resources that will allow the US to develop avenues for a more sustainable engagement with the ocean both as an environment and as a resource. The cohort of synergistic projects funded through this track will help our nation and our citizens effectively combat challenges in the ocean while simultaneously unleashing the power of the Networked Blue Economy.

Ocean-related industries and resources have always been important for humanity; and they are expected to play a central role over the next decades in addressing challenges related to climate, sustainability, food, energy, pollution, and the economy. Recognizing this opportunity, Track E of the NSF Convergence Accelerator seeks proposals to create use-inspired, integrative solutions to enable a Networked Blue Economy. The goal of this undertaking is to facilitate making connections between ocean resources, data, technologies, training, and impacted communities. In developing a sustainable Networked Blue Economy that provides societal impact, there are presently many obstacles and challenges to overcome. Addressing these requires deep integration and collaboration among many disciplines as well as transformative and innovative partnerships across academia, industry, the public, local/regional communities, non-profit organizations, and federal, state, and local government agencies. Successful projects in this track should incorporate expertise, insights, methods, facilities, and tools from multiple disciplines as well as direct participation from impacted communities.

Building upon the strength of the United States in ocean sciences, with its extensive offshore economic zone and sea and seabed assets (~12 million km2) and marking the start of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, this track seeks to fulfill its promise by accelerating the development of bold, new, interconnected projects that tackle the obstacles imposed by the disconnected and fragmented nature of the many ocean-related sectors, technologies, and communities.

Acceleration of a Networked Blue Economy, one that advances both ocean-related economic interests and environmental preservation and sustainability, is a challenge that requires effort and collaboration among disparate disciplines. The resulting collaborative projects must be directed toward ensuring more sustainable use of ocean resources.

Outcomes and sample topics of a Networked Blue Economy might include, but are not limited to:

• Sustainable Utilization: In industries such as aquaculture, fisheries, energy, mapping, tourism & recreation, shipping & maritime transportation and commerce, preservation efforts (plastics, marine debris, & unexploded ordnance)

• Climate & Ecology: Leverage, reuse, and network existing data and modeling capabilities and resources to develop monitoring and forecasting processes for weather, air-sea interaction, corals, marine ecosystems, marine animals and plants, carbon/acidification, currents & waves, aerosols, and sea ice.

• Networked, Cost-Effective, and Interoperable Ocean Systems & Technologies: Networked infrastructures (e.g., communications, power, localization), novel instrumentation, distributed and interoperable sensors (e.g., ultra-low- power or self-powered sensor networks, low-cost underwater GPS, reliable sensors for aquaculture, waste, carbon, optical, chemical), instrumentation (e.g., imaging, remote sensing, autonomous robotics).

• Data aggregation techniques for Ocean Big Data: Algorithms and Artificial Intelligence for deployment, inference, and decision-making, high resolution/largescale observation & prediction tools – for disaster risk reduction, pollution mitigation, sensors and robotics tools & technology, and IoT (Internet of Things) integration into ocean environments.

• Empowerment and Engagement: Scalable efforts at the community level in topics such as sustainability, resiliency, increasing awareness and public participation in science, engagement at the policy level, scalable efforts in literacy, and workforce education and training.

• Interconnected People, Communities, and Curricula: Projects to empower communities to deal with local/regional issues including disaster risk reduction, coastal resilience, and coastal restoration. These efforts may develop and implement a variety of approaches, including place-based strategies, accessible tools for engaging public participation in ocean STEM, hubs for engaging with local communities, Networked Blue Economy curricula that address, for example, policy, mentorship, technology translation, and social engagement.

3.5 Project Selection Process

This BAA selection process is structured as a three-step process.

• The first step of the process is the submission of a letter of intent to propose. As detailed in section 4, the letter of intent is a non-binding letter of intent to submit a phase I proposal.
• After submitting a letter of intent, offerors may submit a Phase I full proposal. Proposals shall be prepared in accordance with the requirements of Section 5. Submissions that are incomplete, materially lacking, or not responsive to the technical requirements of this BAA, may be returned unevaluated, or evaluated as is, with out further opportunity for revision, at the discretion of the NSF’s evaluation process.  Phase I awards are limited to $750,000 for a one-year period of performance.
• Phase I awardees will be invited to submit a Phase II full proposal in accordance with Section 6. Proposals shall be prepared in accordance with the requirements of Section 5.  Phase II awards are limited $3M for year one and up to $5,000,000 for the full two-year period of performance.

3.6 Intellectual Property Rights

• Awards will generally contain detailed provisions concerning patent rights, rights in technical data and computer software, data reporting requirements, and other terms and conditions which may be negotiated as part of the award process.
• Offerors must describe any limitations on any intellectual property (patents, inventions, trade secrets, copyrights, or trademarks) that will impact the Offeror’s performance of the contract or impact the Government’s subsequent use of any deliverable under the contract. 

4. Letter of Intent to Propose

• No project will be considered for an award without a letter of intent to propose. Letters are not evaluated, however, in order to submit a phase I proposal, each offeror must submit a letter of intent. Letters of intent shall not exceed one page and include the following:
• Title that includes “NSF Convergence Accelerator and the track identifier (E or F).
• Names, departmental and organizational affiliations, and expertise of the Principal Investigator and Co-Principal Investigators. For proposals with intent to involve multiple organizations and partnerships, the same information should be provided for all sub-awardees to the extent it is known at the time.
• A brief description of the specific goals of the proposal and how the proposed convergence research and broad partnerships will lead to a deliverable that would be refined during Phase I and describe how the deliverable would impact society at a national scale.

When submitting a Letter of Intent in response to this BAA please note the conditions outlined below:

• A Minimum of 0 and Maximum of 4 Other Senior Project Personnel are permitted
• A Minimum of 0 and Maximum of 4 Other Participating Organizations are permitted

Letters of intent shall be emailed to Keith Boyea at kboyea@nsf.gov prior to the deadline in section 3.1.

5.0 Phase I Full Proposal

Phase I efforts will focus on research plan development and team formation leading to a proof-of-concept and will include NSF-organized convenings for training and cross-cohort collaboration. The Phase I innovation curriculum is a significant time investment with frequent participation of all partners under th guidance of coaches. A link to a sample curriculum can be found here. Phase I full proposals shall be emailed to Keith Boyea at kboyea@nsf.gov.

Priority will be placed on the quality and significance of the collaboration and the role and involvement of the collaborator must be evident from relevant sections of the project description.

Phase I awards may not exceed $750,000. The Phase I proposal shall include a spreadsheet of all costs as described below. In addition, the offeror shall include a not to exceed two-page cost/price narrative. The general requirements for cost or pricing are described below.

6.0 Phase II Full Proposals

Phase II full proposals shall be emailed to Keith Boyea at kboyea@nsf.gov.

7.0 Evaluation and Award

The National Science Foundation strives to invest in a robust and diverse portfolio of projects that creates new knowledge and enables breakthroughs in understanding across all areas of science and engineering research and education. To identify which projects to support, NSF relies on a merit review process that incorporates consideration of both the technical aspects of a proposed project and its potential to contribute more broadly to advancing NSF's mission "to promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national defense; and for other purposes." NSF makes every effort to conduct a fair, competitive, transparent merit review process for the selection of projects.

7.2 Merit Review Criteria

When evaluating NSF proposals, reviewers will be asked to consider what the proposers want to do, why they want to do it, how they plan to do it, how they will know if they succeed, and what benefits could accrue if the project is successful. These issues apply both to the technical aspects of the proposal and the way in which the project may make broader contributions. To that end, reviewers will be asked to evaluate all proposals against two criteria:

• Intellectual Merit: The Intellectual Merit criterion encompasses the potential to advance knowledge; and

• Broader Impacts: The Broader Impacts criterion encompasses the potential to benefit society and contribute to the achievement of specific, desired societal outcomes.

7.5.1 Oral Pitch Presentation and Pitch Panel Review

Following the NSF proposal review panels, the Convergence Accelerator will execute a virtual or in-person oral pitch review presentation as part of the evaluation process and will also hold a public Convergence Accelerator Expo 2021 (Expo). The pitch review will consist of review panels, one for each track, Track E and Track F.

The pitch review panels will be made up of members from academia, industry, and other sectors. The pitch review will include NSF reviewers, NSF staff, and competing teams only. The review criteria for the pitch session are the same as those applied to the written proposal and described above.

7.7 Award

Proposals for all phases of this BAA will be evaluated in accordance with the evaluation criteria specified through NSF’s merit review process. Multiple awards may be made and are dependent upon the technical merit of the submission(s), how well it fits within the Convergence Accelerator tracks, and the availability of funding.

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