Eligibility and Application Instructions

2026-2028 COHORT APPLICATION PROCESS

The program is inviting applications from faculty to participate in the Innovator Ideas Lab as a first step in being considered for the 2026-2028 cohort. The main outcomes of the workshop include the formation of research teams and drafting of letters of intent (LOIs). LOIs will be reviewed by Innovator leadership and the Core Science Team, and a subset of LOIs will be invited to submit research proposals.

The application process and eligibility requirements have been reviewed from previous calls so please read the following information thoroughly.

Process map showing Applications for workshop participation are due September 15, the workshop will take place Nov 12-13, and proposal awardees notified in February for an Oct 2026- Sept 2028 Period of performance

INNOVATOR IDEAS LAB

The Ideas Lab is an interactive two-day event in Boulder, CO that promotes proposal co-development with NSF NCAR researchers starting from the ideation phase.

The Ideas Lab is an interactive two-day event that promotes proposal co-development with NSF NCAR researchers starting from the ideation phase. Selected participants will receive travel support to attend the workshop. Ideas Lab participants will engage in facilitated sessions to workshop and co-develop creative research proposal ideas. The primary anticipated outcomes of the Ideas Lab include: 

  • Formation of initial interdisciplinary research teams
  • Identifying faculty and staff who will serve as co-leads
  • Drafting letters of intent

Final LOIs will be due within a week on the Ideas Lab workshop. Following the workshop, selected teams will have two months to further develop and submit research proposals (between 5-8 pages max) based on the concepts generated during the event. 

Proposals should identify skills, technology and methodology needs for actionable, translational (i.e., research to applications) or convergence science research at NSF NCAR in support of resilience from Earth system hazards. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

  • Useful artificial intelligence and machine learning applications,
  • research to reduce damage and disruption to livelihoods, and critical infrastructure from weather and space weather hazards,
  • assessing and predicting societally relevant Earth system variability across time scales, and
  • demonstrating convergent approaches to integrating field observations and simulations.

All submitted proposals will be evaluated for funding, with a focus on innovation, feasibility, and alignment with program goals. We anticipate funding five proposals for up to 2 years at 125K/year.

 

Workshop format and anticipated activities

Before the workshop

  • Overview of NSF NCAR labs, initiatives, data and models
  • Common virtual space available to enable communication among participants and sharing of resources

During the workshop

  • Session on convergence science facilitated by NSF NCAR’s Convergence Science Program
    • Defining convergence, practices for conducting convergence during different phases of the research, team science values and expectations
  • Speed networking activity and/or lightning talks
  • Round table discussion to form initial groups based on shared interests and skills
  • Development of initial research ideas
  • Improvement and refinement of ideas
  • Dedicated time to draft LOIs
  • Feedback on LOIs

After the workshop

  • Proposal co-development

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

Who may submit applications to the Innovators Program

Faculty at a U.S. university (includes universities in U.S. territories) who:

  • Have demonstrated research experience in deeply interdisciplinary fields.
  • Are employed as faculty (e.g., assistant-, associate-, and full-professors, or research faculty) at a U.S. college or university at the time of the proposal submission.
  • Have NOT been previously funded by the Innovator Program as a faculty PI, including funding for pilot studies. Previous students of the Innovator Program, who are now faculty, are eligible to apply if they meet the eligibility criteria.
  • Are a U.S. citizen, U.S. national, or U.S. permanent resident by the time of application.
  • Are able to participate in-person for the full two days of the workshop in November 2025.
  • If selected for the cohort, are able to visit NSF NCAR campuses in Boulder, Colorado, for one week during the summers of 2027 and 2028, when the entire cohort will gather.

Not eligible

  • Faculty who are transferring universities within the subaward period of October 2026-September 2028.
  • Adjunct faculty or equivalent appointments.
  • Emeritus faculty.
  • Postdoctoral fellows.

Please See our FAQ page for more information.

 

How to apply

Step 1: Fill out this google form.

Step 2: Submit required application materials to ecinnovators@ucar.edu. Please combine these into a single PDF. Address your application package to the PI, Alexandra Ramos Valle, with the subject line “2026 Innovator Program - [Last Name] Application”

  1. Personal Statement (2 pages max)
    • Discuss why the Innovator Program appeals to you and how it can support your personal and professional growth.
    • Discuss your experience leading or participating in interdisciplinary research, particularly involving collaborations in geosciences (atmosphere, ocean, biosphere, hydrosphere and cryosphere) and related computational science applications.
    • Share specifics about your expertise and skills that may be applicable to a potential research project with NSF NCAR.
  2. Full Curriculum Vitae (C.V.) Please do not submit biosketch formatted C.V.s
  3. For Visa Holders: Faculty with visas must submit a brief statement from their sponsoring institution confirming that the applicant can participate in the program. This is not a letter of support/reference letter.

 

Evaluation Criteria

General evaluation criteria (and weights) for the personal statement and faculty C.V.

A rubric will be used to evaluate the application package to determine applicants who will be invited for the Ideas Lab Workshop.  The application package will be scored across three categories with different weighting factors. Please note the importance and potential for robust collaborations with NSF NCAR scientists and labs.

  1. Qualifications: Faculty is appropriately accomplished (papers, students, service, community engagement) and demonstrates experience working or leading interdisciplinary research, particularly related to the geosciences. (35%)
  2. Personal statement: Faculty expresses compelling reasons for participating in workshop, can include connections to NCAR, benefits to society, career growth, contributions to NSF NCAR (more than collaboration) (35%)
  3. Relevance to NSF NCAR: Bring expertise related to research at NSF NCAR. There is alignment with NSF NCAR researchers that are able to participate in the workshop and potential research projects. (30%)

Please see our FAQ page for more information.