Organismal Response to Climate Change | 23 622

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs): NSF Organismal Response to Climate Change (ORCC) - Funding Opportunity Number 23-622

What is the NSF ORCC funding opportunity (23-622)?

Organismal Response to Climate Change (ORCC; Funding Opportunity Number 23-622) is a National Science Foundation (NSF) research funding opportunity that supports projects explaining, in a mechanistic way, how living organisms respond to rapid, climate-driven environmental change and how those organism-level mechanisms connect to broader ecological and evolutionary outcomes.

What kinds of problems is ORCC trying to address?

ORCC is motivated by the fact that climate change is already reshaping conditions across essentially all biomes. These changes can cascade from effects on individual growth, reproduction, survival, and fitness to larger outcomes such as shifts in species ranges, community structure, ecosystem function, agricultural productivity, and pest and pathogen dynamics. Because these biological shifts affect societal priorities like the US bioeconomy, food security, and ecosystem services, ORCC emphasizes research that improves the ability to anticipate impacts and reduce harmful or maladaptive outcomes.

What is the central research focus of ORCC?

The core focus is integration: proposals should explain how organisms function under climate stress (mechanisms such as physiology, development, molecular/genomic responses, and plasticity) and then connect those mechanisms to eco-evolutionary consequences (fitness differences, population/species responses over time, and scaling to distributions, interactions, and resilience).

How is ORCC different from other climate change biology studies?

ORCC specifically targets a gap in past research where studies often either (1) examined large-scale ecological patterns without fully addressing organismal biology, or (2) explored organismal physiology/genetics without firmly linking those findings to eco-evolutionary consequences in nature. ORCC is intended to bridge this gap by requiring a tight connection between mechanism and broader ecological/evolutionary outcomes.

What does NSF mean by a "mechanistic" understanding in this program?

Within ORCC, mechanistic understanding refers to explaining the underlying biological processes driving responses to climate-related environmental change. Examples mentioned include physiological tolerances, developmental pathways, molecular and genomic responses, and phenotypic plasticity, rather than only documenting patterns like range shifts or phenology changes.

What does NSF mean by "eco-evolutionary outcomes" in ORCC?

Eco-evolutionary outcomes include how organismal traits shape fitness, how populations and species respond over time, and how those responses scale up to affect species distributions, interactions among organisms, community structure, and resilience under continued climate change.

What level(s) of biology does ORCC expect projects to connect?

ORCC encourages research that connects across levels of biological organization, from genes and organisms to populations and ecosystems, while maintaining a clear mechanistic basis and translating findings to broader ecological and evolutionary outcomes.

What are examples of research directions highlighted by the solicitation?

The solicitation highlights example directions including: incorporating physiology and genomics into next-generation species distribution models; identifying mechanistic bases of phenotypic plasticity in response to climate factors; applying functional genomics to understand regulation and expression of climate-relevant traits; examining how climate change alters biological interactions (competition, predation, mutualisms, host-pathogen relationships, symbioses); investigating feedbacks where altered interactions shape organismal responses; and improving predictions of the limits of biological resilience, including cases where adaptation or plasticity may be insufficient under novel or extreme future conditions.

Does ORCC support projects that improve species distribution modeling?

Yes. One example research direction is incorporating physiology and genomics into next-generation species distribution models so that forecasts are based on biological limits rather than correlations alone.

Does ORCC support genomics or functional genomics approaches?

Yes. The solicitation explicitly mentions applying functional genomics to understand how climate-relevant traits are regulated and expressed, and more broadly emphasizes molecular and genomic responses as part of organismal mechanisms that should be linked to eco-evolutionary outcomes.

Does ORCC include research on phenotypic plasticity?

Yes. The solicitation specifically cites identifying the mechanistic basis of phenotypic plasticity in response to climate factors and expects proposals to address immediate responses such as plasticity as well as longer-term trajectories such as evolutionary change.

Are studies of species interactions relevant to ORCC?

Yes. ORCC highlights examining how climate change alters interactions such as competition, predation, mutualisms, host-pathogen relationships, and symbioses, and investigating how those interactions can feed back to shape organismal responses.

What does ORCC mean by "convergence-style" or cross-disciplinary research?

ORCC signals an interest in convergence-style projects that intentionally connect fields often separated, including physiology, ecology, evolutionary biology, genomics, modeling, and environmental science. The program expects genuine bridging of disciplines rather than parallel workstreams that are not integrated.

What integration requirements are emphasized for competitive proposals?

Competitive proposals are expected to: address adaptive and maladaptive responses to climate-related environmental factors; show how those responses translate into fitness differences in changing and/or novel climates; and examine genetic and evolutionary processes through which climate-relevant traits arise, persist, and are transmitted across generations. The program prioritizes work that explains both immediate responses (including plasticity) and longer-term trajectories (including evolutionary change) grounded in mechanism.

What does ORCC mean by "use-inspired outcomes built on foundational science"?

ORCC expects proposals to move beyond discovery alone by describing how mechanistic results could be used to anticipate and manage climate impacts across spatial and temporal scales and across levels of biological organization. The use-inspired component should be built on foundational, mechanistic science and include a credible pathway to practical value.

What kinds of use-inspired applications does ORCC mention?

Examples mentioned include improving ecological forecasting tools, informing conservation or management decisions, strengthening risk assessment for disease or pest outbreaks, and supporting climate resilience strategies for natural or managed systems. The specific application may vary by system, but the proposal should articulate a credible pathway from mechanistic insight to practical value.

What kinds of projects are considered not appropriate for ORCC?

According to the solicitation summary provided, proposals are not appropriate if they do not genuinely bridge disciplines, lack a clear focus on mechanisms of organismal response to climate change, fail to connect mechanistic findings to eco-evolutionary consequences beyond the individual level, or do not include a plan for use-inspired applications of the foundational research.

If a project does not fit ORCC, where might it be directed instead?

Projects that do not meet ORCC integration requirements are expected to be directed to core or special programs in relevant NSF units such as IOS, OCE, or DEB.

Should prospective applicants contact NSF before submitting?

Yes. NSF encourages prospective applicants to contact a cognizant program officer if there is uncertainty about whether a planned project fits ORCC.

How many awards did NSF anticipate making under ORCC?

NSF anticipated making around 14 awards.

What is the award ceiling for ORCC?

The award ceiling is listed as 0, which typically indicates applicants should consult the solicitation text and NSF guidance for budget expectations rather than relying on a fixed maximum.

What is the opportunity type and category?

ORCC is described as a discretionary NSF grant opportunity in the Science and Technology and other Research and Development category.

What CFDA numbers are associated with ORCC?

The CFDA numbers listed are 47.050 and 47.074.

When was this opportunity created and what was the original closing date?

The opportunity was created on September 19, 2023, and listed an original closing date of December 13, 2023.

Who is eligible to apply?

Eligibility is listed broadly as "Others," with clarification provided in the solicitation's eligibility section. The provided summary does not include the detailed eligibility language, so applicants should refer to the solicitation eligibility section for specifics.

What kinds of applicants does ORCC seem designed for?

Based on the description provided, ORCC is positioned for teams or investigators who can tightly connect organismal biology to eco-evolutionary theory and prediction, bridge multiple disciplines (for example physiology, ecology, evolution, genomics, modeling, environmental science), and translate mechanistic understanding into tools or insights that help society respond to climate-driven biological change.