Opportunity Information: Apply for FA NOFO0026 001
The Joint Fire Science Program (JFSP), administered by the Bureau of Land Management, is offering the Graduate Research Innovation (GRIN) Award to support current US-based masters and doctoral students whose work relates to wildland fire and associated physical, biological, or social sciences. The core aim is to help graduate students make their thesis or dissertation research more useful to real-world fire, fuels, and resource management by strengthening the management and policy relevance of their work and increasing direct engagement with managers and decision-makers. GRIN awards are designed specifically as add-ons to already approved graduate research, not as funding for an entire thesis or dissertation, and they must result in practical, manager-facing products and clearer pathways for research to inform fire-related decisions.
To be eligible, the student must be enrolled in their current graduate program while conducting the GRIN-supported work, and the proposed activities must extend new, unfunded components of an existing thesis or dissertation that has already been approved by the student’s advisory committee. A required GRIN Eligibility Certification must be completed and attached by the student’s advisor; if the certification is incomplete (both required boxes not checked), the proposal will not be considered. Students may only submit one proposal, and anyone who has previously received a GRIN award cannot receive another. Project schedules should be built around an anticipated award timeframe of late August to mid-September 2026.
The program is tightly focused on JFSP’s mission, meaning proposals must directly address management- or policy-relevant questions within one or more specified topic areas: fuels management and fire behavior, the changing fire environment, emissions and air quality, fire effects and post-fire recovery, relative impacts of prescribed fire versus wildfire, and human dimensions of fire. Proposals outside these areas will not be reviewed. Applicants are also expected to demonstrate clear relevance to fire, fuels, or resource management and, when applicable, include a plan for direct communication with managers about project outcomes. Because JFSP is also interested in the science needs of decision-makers, GRIN projects can explicitly help students learn how research is translated into policy and operational decision-making.
Applications are expected to be written primarily by the student to provide hands-on proposal development experience, but they must be reviewed and formally submitted by the student’s advisor, who serves as the official Principal Investigator. The student must be listed as the Student Investigator, and an advisor letter of recommendation is required. Letters of support from managers are encouraged when they fit the project. If the student cannot complete the project, the advisor, as PI, is responsible for returning any unspent funds to JFSP.
Funding is capped at $25,000 per award (including indirect costs) and is intended to directly support the student’s research activities rather than faculty compensation. Allowable costs include items like a graduate stipend, field or laboratory assistance, equipment and materials, and travel, with the explicit restrictions that funds may not be used for faculty salary or student tuition. JFSP emphasizes that GRIN funding should enable meaningful, value-added work such as substantial field or lab data collection, synthesis efforts, modeling or data analysis, policy analysis, or development of applications or tools that managers can actually use.
Proposals will be reviewed based on the student’s qualifications, the scientific merit of the work, its relevance to managers and decision-makers, how well it extends or enhances the approved thesis/dissertation, and whether the proposed work is feasible. Award recipients must produce at least one management- or policy-oriented tool or summary guide, present at a regional, national, or international fire conference or workshop, and submit an acceptable final report to JFSP by the project end date. These are one-time awards with no supplemental funding available.
Applications must be submitted electronically through the JFSP submission system at https://www.firescience.gov (not through Grants.gov) by September 18, 2025, at 5:00 p.m. Mountain Time, with no exceptions to the deadline.Apply for FA NOFO0026 001
- The Bureau of Land Management in the education, environment, science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Graduate Research Innovation (GRIN) Award (One task statement)" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.232.
- This funding opportunity was created on 2025-06-30.
- Applicants must submit their applications by 2025-09-18. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $25,000.00 in funding.
- Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) - JFSP Graduate Research Innovation (GRIN) Award
What is the JFSP Graduate Research Innovation (GRIN) Award?
The Graduate Research Innovation (GRIN) Award is a funding opportunity from the Joint Fire Science Program (JFSP), administered by the Bureau of Land Management. It supports current US-based master's and doctoral students whose research relates to wildland fire and associated physical, biological, or social sciences. The focus is on strengthening the management and policy relevance of an already-approved thesis or dissertation and increasing direct engagement with managers and decision-makers.
What is the main goal of the GRIN Award?
The core aim is to help graduate students make their thesis or dissertation research more useful to real-world fire, fuels, and resource management by adding practical, manager-facing products and clearer pathways for research to inform fire-related decisions.
Who is eligible to apply?
Eligible applicants are current US-based master's or doctoral students who are enrolled in their graduate program while conducting the GRIN-supported work. The GRIN activities must extend new, unfunded components of an existing thesis or dissertation that has already been approved by the student's advisory committee.
Does my thesis or dissertation have to be approved before applying?
Yes. The GRIN award is designed as an add-on to already approved graduate research. The proposed GRIN activities must extend new, unfunded components of a thesis or dissertation that has already been approved by the student's advisory committee.
Can GRIN fund my entire thesis or dissertation research?
No. GRIN awards are specifically designed as add-ons to an existing, approved thesis or dissertation. They are not intended to fund an entire thesis or dissertation.
What topic areas does JFSP consider in-scope for GRIN proposals?
Proposals must directly address management- or policy-relevant questions within one or more of the following topic areas:
- Fuels management and fire behavior
- The changing fire environment
- Emissions and air quality
- Fire effects and post-fire recovery
- Relative impacts of prescribed fire versus wildfire
- Human dimensions of fire
What happens if my proposal is outside the listed topic areas?
Proposals outside the specified topic areas will not be reviewed.
Do proposals need to be relevant to managers and decision-makers?
Yes. Applicants are expected to demonstrate clear relevance to fire, fuels, or resource management. When applicable, proposals should include a plan for direct communication with managers about project outcomes. GRIN projects may also explicitly help students learn how research is translated into policy and operational decision-making.
Who writes and who submits the application?
Applications are expected to be written primarily by the student to provide hands-on proposal development experience. However, the application must be reviewed and formally submitted by the student's advisor, who serves as the official Principal Investigator (PI).
How should the student and advisor be listed on the proposal?
The advisor must serve as the official Principal Investigator (PI), and the student must be listed as the Student Investigator.
Is an advisor letter of recommendation required?
Yes. An advisor letter of recommendation is required as part of the application.
Are letters of support from managers required?
No. Letters of support from managers are encouraged when they fit the project, but they are not stated as a requirement.
What is the GRIN Eligibility Certification and who completes it?
A required GRIN Eligibility Certification must be completed and attached by the student's advisor.
What happens if the GRIN Eligibility Certification is incomplete?
If the certification is incomplete (both required boxes not checked), the proposal will not be considered.
How many proposals can a student submit?
Students may only submit one proposal.
Can someone who previously received a GRIN award apply again?
No. Anyone who has previously received a GRIN award cannot receive another.
What is the anticipated award timeframe?
Project schedules should be built around an anticipated award timeframe of late August to mid-September 2026.
How much funding is available per award?
Funding is capped at $25,000 per award, including indirect costs.
What is the GRIN funding intended to support?
GRIN funding is intended to directly support the student's research activities and enable meaningful, value-added work that strengthens the management and policy relevance of an already-approved thesis or dissertation.
What are examples of activities GRIN funding is meant to enable?
JFSP emphasizes GRIN funding for meaningful, value-added work such as substantial field or lab data collection, synthesis efforts, modeling or data analysis, policy analysis, or the development of applications or tools that managers can actually use.
What costs are allowable under this award?
Allowable costs include items like a graduate stipend, field or laboratory assistance, equipment and materials, and travel.
What costs are not allowed under this award?
Funds may not be used for faculty salary or student tuition.
Can the funding be used for faculty compensation?
No. The funding is intended to directly support the student's research activities rather than faculty compensation, and it explicitly may not be used for faculty salary.
How will proposals be reviewed?
Proposals will be reviewed based on the student's qualifications, the scientific merit of the work, its relevance to managers and decision-makers, how well it extends or enhances the approved thesis/dissertation, and whether the proposed work is feasible.
What deliverables are required if I receive an award?
Award recipients must:
- Produce at least one management- or policy-oriented tool or summary guide
- Present at a regional, national, or international fire conference or workshop
- Submit an acceptable final report to JFSP by the project end date
Is supplemental or additional funding available after receiving a GRIN award?
No. These are one-time awards with no supplemental funding available.
What happens if the student cannot complete the project?
If the student cannot complete the project, the advisor, as the Principal Investigator (PI), is responsible for returning any unspent funds to JFSP.
How do I submit an application?
Applications must be submitted electronically through the JFSP submission system at https://www.firescience.gov.
Can I submit the application through Grants.gov?
No. Applications must be submitted through the JFSP submission system at https://www.firescience.gov, not through Grants.gov.
What is the application deadline?
The deadline is September 18, 2025, at 5:00 p.m. Mountain Time. There are no exceptions to the deadline.
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