Fire Science Innovations through Research and Education | PD 25 345Y

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ): NSF FIRE Program (PD 25-345Y)

What is the NSF Fire Science Innovations through Research and Education (FIRE) program?

FIRE is a discretionary National Science Foundation (NSF) grant opportunity intended to push wildland fire science beyond current limits by supporting bold, coordinated research and education efforts. It is designed around the idea that wildland fire is increasingly intertwined with climate, ecosystems, communities, infrastructure, and governance, and that new coupled-system approaches are needed to improve understanding, prediction, and resilience.

What is the main goal of the FIRE program?

The goal is to generate cross-cutting breakthroughs that improve how wildland fire is understood, predicted, and managed in a rapidly changing world. The program emphasizes proactive and scalable approaches that treat fire as a coupled system across biological, geoscientific, engineering, and social processes.

Is FIRE a multidisciplinary program?

Yes. FIRE is explicitly multidisciplinary and multisector. NSF is looking for teams that integrate multiple disciplines and involve multiple types of organizations and stakeholders rather than staying within a single field or institution.

Who is encouraged to be part of a FIRE project team?

FIRE encourages teams that may include academics, educators, scientists, students, industry partners, practitioners, resource managers, community members, and Tribal representatives. The emphasis is on building teams capable of convergent research and education aimed at complex real-world fire challenges.

What does NSF mean by "convergent research and education" in this program?

In the FIRE context, convergent work is integrated across fields and combines research and education activities to address complex, real-world problems. The intent is to go beyond isolated disciplinary results and instead produce integrated approaches and outcomes that meaningfully advance wildland fire science and related education.

What types of projects are in scope for FIRE?

All areas of science, engineering, and education that NSF supports are considered in scope, as long as proposals clearly advance wildland fire science and related education. Proposals can draw from a wide range of methods and perspectives if they align with FIRE goals.

What proposal types does FIRE support?

FIRE supports two main proposal types: (1) research proposals and (2) conference (network) proposals. Research proposals generally focus on developing new knowledge, methods, technologies, and educational components. Conference/network proposals focus on building and organizing communities of practice, aligning datasets and standards, and creating durable collaborations.

What are the three FIRE focus areas?

FIRE is organized into three focus areas: Focus Area 1: Next Generation Coupled Fire Models (FIRE-MODEL); Focus Area 2: Enhancing Capacity for Fire Resilience in the Wildland-Urban Interface (FIRE-WUI); and Focus Area 3: FIRE Networks (FIRE-NET).

What is Focus Area 1 (FIRE-MODEL) about?

FIRE-MODEL targets major improvements in predictive fire and smoke modeling. It responds to the program view that current models have large uncertainties and struggle with key dynamics across space and time, including the coupling between weather and fire that can drive extreme events.

What kinds of approaches are encouraged under FIRE-MODEL?

Proposals are encouraged to combine experiments (from laboratory to landscape), theory, and advanced computation, supported by strong data management and analytics. Themes highlighted include multi-scale algorithms and models, quantifying uncertainty, verification and validation, improving models using measurable parameters, addressing missing data, incorporating fast and slow processes, and using approaches such as surrogate models and digital twins.

What practical outcomes does FIRE-MODEL aim to enable?

The described payoffs include better integration of satellite and other Earth observations, improved planning for prescribed burns, stronger training and decision support, timelier warnings, and better allocation of limited personnel and equipment.

What is Focus Area 2 (FIRE-WUI) about?

FIRE-WUI focuses on enhancing fire resilience in the wildland-urban interface, where communities and infrastructure meet flammable vegetation and wildfire consequences are often highest. It calls for convergent research that connects fire behavior with risk management, response, recovery, and long-term adaptation under global change pressures.

What topics are examples of what FIRE-WUI may support?

Examples described include community adaptation and governance; public perception, communication, and decision-making; impacts on livelihoods and cultural heritage; socioeconomic disparities and uneven wildfire burdens (including for remote and rural communities); testing and modeling how structures and infrastructure behave under wildfire exposure; development of new materials, retrofits, and remediation techniques for buildings affected by fire and smoke; and algorithms and scenarios addressing cascading failures and community-scale vulnerability.

What is Focus Area 3 (FIRE-NET) about?

FIRE-NET funds conference-style and networking projects aimed at building new collaborative teams and shared strategies to address major gaps in wildland fire research and education. These proposals emphasize coordination across disciplines, organizations, geographies, and sometimes international boundaries, including knowledge exchange among groups that do not typically work together.

What types of activities are encouraged for FIRE-NET proposals?

Activities can include aligning existing datasets, developing new data resources, setting data and metadata standards, creating mechanisms for sharing information (including integrating disparate data streams such as Earth observations), using novel collaborative training approaches, and accelerating workforce development through pathways for sustained collaboration.

Does FIRE emphasize data, data sharing, and data standards?

Yes. Across the program description, NSF highlights advancing how wildfire-relevant data are collected, stored, and shared, including Earth observation data. FIRE-NET specifically mentions community standards for data and metadata management and leveraging or aligning existing datasets.

Does FIRE include modeling, computation, AI, or machine learning?

Yes. One of the priority directions is developing new modeling and computational approaches, including AI and machine learning, to better represent fire behavior and smoke. FIRE-MODEL also emphasizes advanced computation and new mathematical and statistical approaches.

What are the "priority directions" competitive proposals are expected to align with?

Competitive proposals are expected to show strength in one or more of the following directions described in the opportunity summary: improving data collection, storage, and sharing; developing new modeling and computational approaches (including AI/ML) for fire behavior and smoke; improving understanding of cross-scale interactions from local to global fire dynamics; producing insights into community adaptation and governance; reducing vulnerability of infrastructure, fuels, and social systems; and meaningfully engaging stakeholders so science supports forward-looking decision-making.

How important is stakeholder engagement in FIRE?

Stakeholder engagement is explicitly emphasized. The program description calls for meaningful engagement so that the science supports forward-looking decision-making, and it encourages teams that include practitioners, resource managers, community members, and Tribal representatives.

Who runs the merit review for FIRE?

NSF will manage the merit review process in consultation with partner organizations.

Can proposals or reviews be shared with partner organizations?

Yes. The description states that proposals and unattributed reviews may be shared with partner organizations as appropriate, indicating coordination with partners even though NSF runs the review.

Who is eligible to apply?

The eligibility field provided states "unrestricted."

What is the funding opportunity number for this NSF program?

The funding opportunity number provided is PD 25-345Y.

What is the original closing date listed for this opportunity?

The original closing date listed is 2025-06-20.

What is the opportunity title and the agency offering it?

The title is "Fire Science Innovations through Research and Education," and the agency is the National Science Foundation (NSF).

What category does this opportunity fall under?

The listing places it under the "science and technology and other research and development" activity category.

Are award amounts, ceilings, or number of expected awards provided?

No. The provided source data does not specify an award ceiling or expected number of awards. The description notes this typically means applicants should rely on the full solicitation for budget guidance, project sizes, and any limits tied to specific tracks.

Which NSF CFDA numbers are associated with FIRE in the listing?

The listing associates multiple NSF CFDA numbers with the program: 47.041, 47.049, 47.050, 47.070, 47.074, 47.075, 47.076, 47.079, 47.083, and 47.084.

Is FIRE primarily basic research, applied work, or both?

Based on the description, FIRE is positioned to connect fundamental discovery with practical relevance. It supports new knowledge and breakthrough science while emphasizing usability for decision-making, resilience, and real-world planning and operations.

Does FIRE support education and workforce development?

Yes. The program is framed around research and education together, and FIRE-NET specifically mentions collaborative training approaches and accelerating workforce development through sustained collaboration pathways.

Are international collaborations mentioned?

Yes. FIRE-NET notes coordination across geographies and "in some cases international boundaries," where appropriate for networking and knowledge exchange.