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National Science Foundation (NSF): Humans, Disasters, and the Built Environment (HDBE) - FY 2025

Agency: U.S. National Science Foundation
CFDA: 47.041
Federal FON: PD-19-1638
Office: Directorate for Engineering (ENG) Division of Civil, Mechanical and Manufacturing Innovation (ENG/CMMI)
Multipart Grant: No
Next Due: Unknown
Solicitation Date: Rolling
   
Match Required: No
Actual Funds: Unspecified
Summary:

The purpose of this program is to support fundamental, convergent research on the interactions between humans and the built environment within and among communities exposed to natural, technological, or other types of hazards and disasters. This program focuses on ongoing and emerging hazards to populations, including individuals, households, businesses, organizations, and agencies, as well as built environments, including critical infrastructures, physical and cyber spaces, and buildings. Successful projects will address the elements of humans, disasters, and the built environment, and have the potential to contribute to theories or insights that hold over a broad range of scales, conditions, and sectors.

All projects are expected to result in research that will build a deeper understanding of human behaviors at the interface of engineering and society, and inform how communities manage their risk and adapt to changing patterns in climate, extreme weather, and other hazards. In particular, this program is intended to support research that advances foundational theories, methods, and data within and across diverse disciplines, such as engineering, social sciences, natural sciences, computing, or other relevant fields, including interdisciplinary projects.

Projects that are aimed to make methodological contributions to advance disaster-relevant research are also of interest to the funding agency, such as:

  • Methods and tools for the translation of engineering solutions, including mitigation and adaption, for the built environment to community or national scale investments, practices, and policies
  • Techniques to examine the interactions of humans and the built environment resulting from simultaneous or compounding risk of natural disasters and pandemics
  • Protocols, methodologies, and tools tailored for handling sensitive, protected, and proprietary data relevant to disasters

Projects that involve research that addresses multiple dimensions of social equity, vulnerability, and environmental justice are particularly encouraged.

This program has been archived and is no longer being solicited by the funding agency. eCivis Grants Network will be updated if new information becomes available.

Last Updated: May 15, 2025

Eligibility Notes:

Eligible applicants include:

  • Institutions of higher education (IHEs)
  • Nonprofit, non-academic organizations
  • Tribal nations
  • State and local governments

In addition, for-profit organizations may be eligible to apply if the project is of special concern from a national point of view, special resources are available for the work, or the proposed project is especially meritorious.

Collaborative proposals in which investigators from two or more organizations wish to collaborate on a unified project may be submitted.

Previously declined proposals may be resubmitted, but only after substantial revision.

Federal agencies and federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs) are generally not eligible to apply, except under exceptional circumstances and with prior funding agency approval.

Eligible Applicants:
Local Government
Academic Institutions
Consortia
Native American Tribe
Non Profits
Other
Private Sector
State Government
Application Notes:

Proposals are accepted on a rolling basis.

This program is no longer being solicited by the funding agency. eCivis Grants Network will be updated if new information becomes available.

Proposals must be submitted online at www.research.gov or www.ecivis.com/grants.gov.

Proposals submitted via Research.gov must include:

  • Single-copy documents
  • Cover sheet
  • Project summary (1 page max)
  • Table of contents
  • Project description (15 pages max)
  • References cited
  • Budget
  • Budget justification (5 pages max)
  • Subaward budget justification (if applicable; 5 pages max each)
  • Facilities, equipment, and other resources
  • Senior/key personnel documents
  • Special information and supplementary documentation

Proposals submitted via Grants.gov must include:

  • SF 424 (R&R)
  • Project/performance site location(s)
  • Research and related other project information
  • Research and related budget
  • R&R subaward budget attachment(s) (if applicable)
  • NSF cover page
  • NSF senior/key person profile (expanded)
  • NSF deviation authorization (if applicable)
  • NSF list of suggested reviewers or reviewers not to include (if applicable)

Refer to the NSF Proposal Guide or the NSF Grants.gov Guide for additional information on proposal formatting.

In addition to standard research proposals, applicants may submit other types of proposals to this program. Refer to pages 81-100 of the NSF Proposal Guide file for additional information regarding other types of proposals.

The following are required in order to submit an application:

  • Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number
  • SAM (System for Award Management) registration

Applicants may obtain a UEI number and verify or renew SAM registration status at www.ecivis.com/sam.

Prior to submitting a proposal, applicants are encouraged to submit an optional one-page project summary via email to the address provided in the Contact section for guidance on whether the proposed research topic falls within the scope of the program and/or whether co-review might be appropriate.

Proposals will be evaluated according to the following merit review criteria:

  • Intellectual merit
  • Broader impacts

Refer to the NOFA file, the NSF Proposal Guide, and the NSF Grants.gov Guide for additional application information.

Match Required: No
Actual Funds: Unspecified
Match Notes:

Matching funds are not required for this program. Inclusion of voluntary committed cost sharing in the proposal budget is prohibited; however, applicants may contribute voluntary uncommitted cost sharing.

Funding Notes:

An unspecified amount of funding is available to support awards through this program.

Award recipients may authorize a one-time extension of the award period of up to 12 months if additional time beyond the established end date is required to assure adequate completion of the original scope of work within the funds already made available. If additional time beyond the extension is required and exceptional circumstances warrant, award recipients must submit a formal extension request to the funding agency.

In general, funding will not support:

  • Technical assistance
  • Pilot plant efforts
  • Research requiring security classification
  • Product development for commercial marketing
  • Market research for a particular project or invention
  • Biological research on mechanisms of disease in humans, biological research to develop animal models of such conditions, or the development or testing of procedures for their treatment
  • Payment of fees

Examples of ineligible costs include:

  • Entertainment
  • Meals and coffee breaks
  • Alcoholic beverages
  • Rental of property owned by individuals or entities affiliated with National Science Foundation (NSF) award recipients for use as home office workspace
  • Procuring or obtaining the equipment, services, or systems identified in section 889 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)
Contacts:

Daan Liang
(703) 292-8360
dliang@nsf.gov

Agency Address
National Science Foundation
2415 Eisenhower Avenue
Alexandria, VA 22314

Contact Notes:

Questions should be directed to Daan Liang.

Proposals must be submitted online at www.research.gov or www.ecivis.com/grants.gov.

Optional project summaries must be emailed to the address provided.

The agency address provided is for reference purposes only.

Files:
NOFA File: US15422_NOFA_FY2025.pdf (179.4 Kb)
Other Pre-Award File: US15422_ProgramClosure_FY2025.pdf (44.3 Kb)
Federal Forms:
NSF Grants.gov Guide (742.4 Kb)
NSF Proposal Guide (2.4 Mb)
File Notes:

The NOFA file contains general program information and proposal guidelines. The ProgramClosure file contains information regarding the closure of this program. The NSF Proposal Guide and the NSF Grants.gov Guide are attached. Previous awards issued through NSF programs may be accessed online at www.nsf.gov/awardsearch.

May 15, 2025
This program has been archived and is no longer being solicited by the funding agency. eCivis Grants Network will be updated if new information becomes available. Refer to the ProgramClosure file for additional information.

Project: Collaborative Research: Regulatory Pragmatism and Building Codes for Hazard-Resilient Housing (6.8 Mb)
Applicant: University of Notre Dame
Summary:

The purpose of this program is to support fundamental, multidisciplinary research on the interactions between humans and the built environment within communities exposed to natural, technological, or other types of hazards and disasters. University of Notre Dame received $172,347 for a project that investigates compliance with key hazard-resistant building practices in the United States and explores strategies for increasing compliance where needed for disaster risk reduction. Project activities include identifying key building code provisions for hazard-resistant building practices, quantifying risk reduction associated with adhering to these hazard-resistant building practices, examining compliance with hazard-resistant building practices, identifying existing local building practices and other community norms and exploring whether these other influences are more or less important than building codes, and designing and assessing intervention.

 
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Grant Categories
Disaster Preparedness
Science/Technology