In light of the emergence and spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the United States and abroad, the National Science Foundation (NSF) is accepting proposals to conduct non-medical, non-clinical-care research that can be used immediately to explore how to model and understand the spread of COVID-19, to inform and educate about the science of virus transmission and prevention, and to encourage the development of processes and actions to address this global challenge.NSF invites researchers to use the Rapid Response Research (RAPID) funding mechanism, which allows NSF to receive and review proposals having a severe urgency with regard to availability of or access to data, facilities or specialized equipment as well as quick-response research on natural or anthropogenic disasters and similar unanticipated events. Requests for RAPID proposals may be for up to $200K and up to one year in duration. Well-justified proposals that exceed these limits may be entertained. All questions about economic research prospects should be directed either to Nancy Lutz, NSF Economics Program Director, at nlutz@nsf.gov; Phone: (703) 292-7280, or to rapid-covid19@nsf.gov. Skip Lupia, NSF Assistant Director for Social, Behavioral and Economic Science (SBE) has opined that the SBE sciences have much to offer in the context of this RAPID funding.
