Understanding the Rules of Life: Emergent Networks | 22 532

Opportunity Information: Apply for 22 532

Understanding the Rules of Life: Emergent Networks (URoLEN) is a National Science Foundation (NSF) research grant opportunity that sits under NSF's broader set of "Big Ideas" launched in 2016. It is tied specifically to the Big Idea often described as "Understanding the Rules of Life: Predicting Phenotype," which aims to move biology toward stronger predictive power, meaning the ability to explain and anticipate how observable traits and behaviors of living systems arise from interactions among genomes, phenotypes, and changing environments. Even though proposals are submitted through the Division of Emerging Frontiers in the Directorate for Biological Sciences (BIO/EF), the program is explicitly cross-directorate, and proposals are handled by a cross-disciplinary team of NSF Program Directors. The intent is to drive convergence research that combines multiple fields in a deeply integrated way rather than running parallel disciplinary efforts under one umbrella.

URoLEN focuses on "emergent networks," meaning networks whose system-level behaviors and properties are not obvious from the parts alone, but instead arise from interactions among components. In this program, those components can include organisms, ecosystems, Earth systems, social systems, and human-engineered systems, especially as they interact under evolving environmental conditions. The central scientific goal is to develop new theories and reliable predictions about how complex living systems behave when environments change, and how networks that include biological and non-biological elements respond to those changes or influence them. In addition to predicting outcomes, projects may also aim to design "engineerable" interventions or technologies grounded in a proposed rule of life, as long as the work remains fundamentally oriented and contributes to a deeper understanding of underlying principles rather than being narrowly applied development.

A competitive URoLEN proposal is expected to do several key things. First, it must clearly identify the specific "rule(s) of life" that the project is trying to discover, test, refine, or apply. This is essentially the organizing principle of the research, framed in a way that can support explanation and prediction across conditions or scales. Second, it must present a compelling convergent research plan with deep integration across disciplines, which means the disciplines are interdependent in the research design (for example, combining theory, computation, experimentation, and field observation in a way that each piece shapes and validates the others). Third, the approach must be basic or fundamental research, aimed at generating new understanding of emergent network interactions among organisms and Earth, human, natural, and/or engineered systems in changing environments. NSF signals that projects spanning different scientific areas and engaging multiple NSF Directorates are strongly encouraged, reflecting the program's emphasis on cross-cutting questions that cannot be solved within a single field.

The solicitation also highlights education, training, and broader impacts as a natural fit for this kind of convergence work. URoLEN encourages projects to build in STEM education and outreach components that help train researchers and students to work across disciplinary boundaries. Examples of encouraged elements include providing convergent training opportunities (such as cross-disciplinary mentorship, team-based training structures, or curriculum elements that blend methods), developing novel teaching modules, engaging the public or stakeholders where appropriate, and broadening participation of groups that have been historically underrepresented in science. While these components support NSF's broader mission, they are positioned here as especially relevant because emergent-network science often benefits from diverse perspectives, varied skill sets, and strong connections between research and societal contexts.

In terms of funding and structure, URoLEN is a discretionary NSF grant program (Funding Opportunity Number 22-532) within NSF's science and engineering research portfolio, associated with multiple CFDA numbers across NSF directorates. The program anticipates making around 10 awards. Individual projects can request a total budget of up to $3,000,000 with an award duration of up to 5 years. The original closing date listed for the referenced solicitation was March 1, 2022, and the opportunity was created on December 2, 2021. Eligibility is listed as "Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification)," indicating that applicants need to consult the full solicitation language for the precise eligible organization types and any restrictions or partnership expectations.

Overall, URoLEN is designed for teams that want to tackle big, foundational questions about how living systems and their coupled natural, social, and engineered networks produce predictable outcomes under environmental change, and to do so through tightly integrated, cross-disciplinary science that can generate generalizable rules, not just case-specific observations.

• The National Science Foundation in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Understanding the Rules of Life: Emergent Networks" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 47.041, 47.049, 47.050, 47.070, 47.074, 47.075, 47.076, 47.079, 47.083.
• This funding opportunity was created on Dec 02, 2021.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Mar 01, 2022. (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 10 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

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