Dear Colleague Letter: Planning Proposals to Catalyze Innovative and Inclusive Wildland Fire Science through Diverse Collaborations

With this Dear Colleague Letter (DCL), NSF is calling for planning proposals focused on catalyzing innovative and inclusive wildland fire science through collaboration among diverse stakeholders and rights holders. A planning proposal is a type of proposal used to support initial conceptualization, planning and collaboration activities that aim to formulate new and sound plans for large-scale projects in current and emerging research areas for future submission to an NSF program. In the context of this DCL, planning proposals should present innovative ideas and visions for advancing wildland fire research via diverse knowledge systems, including strategies for building human capital and organizational capacity in wildland fire knowledge and management. Identification of activities to catalyze strong collaborations that have high potential for significant societal impacts are encouraged. It would also be advantageous for proposals to articulate action plans for developing a deeper understanding of wildland fires as integrated social-cultural-ecological-technological systems and that improve education across multiple levels, in informal settings and/or formal settings, spanning pre-college through postsecondary levels. Proposals that describe translation of foundational knowledge about wildland fire into helpful solutions are also encouraged.