Each year, SCEC recruits research projects, workshops, and trainings from the broader community to contribute to the Center’s programs.
The Statewide California Earthquake Center (SCEC) is committed to sustaining a research collaboration for basic and applied earthquake science that is agile, open to new investigators, and has the authority to convene a global platform for multidisciplinary research, workforce development, and community engagement across earthquake science. These goals promote a professional culture that values equity, diversity, and inclusion, enabling the Center to maximize the contributions of the next generation of earthquake scientists.
The current Science Plan emphasizes new opportunities enabled by a geographic scope that now includes the entire transform plate boundary system of California. It also provides a roadmap on how to distribute research efforts in southern, central, and northern California to achieve the Center’s science goals. Each year, SCEC solicits projects through a competitive process, typically attracting hundreds of investigators to contribute to the Center’s programs and activities.
SCEC Research Highlights
Co-Director and SSC Chair Greg Beroza (Stanford) presents research highlights from the first year of the Statewide California Earthquake Center.
We welcome all proposals that can contribute to SCEC’s science goals in general, along with related community engagement and workforce development activities. The Science Plan is developed at the September Annual Meeting and the Request for Proposals is released each October, with proposals due around November 15. We look forward to receiving your proposals during the next solicitation period!
Typical SCEC awards range from $10,000 to support workshops up to $35,000 for collaborative research projects with multiple investigators. These amounts are are not fixed and serve as benchmarks for proposal budgets. Successful proposals are contracted with USC. Because of the quick annual turnaround, investigators should be prepared to start work immediately once their contracts are completed.
Annual SCEC Science Plan Announced
Early October annually
Proposals Due to SCEC
November 15 annually
Review of Submitted Proposals
December-January annually
Decision Notifications
March-June annually
Potential investigators should read the SCEC Science Plan in its entirety, and understand the expectations for participation in the SCEC collaboration. Researchers employed by state or federal government entities are encouraged to seek internal funding from their institutions to work with SCEC-funded private researchers on collaborative proposals. SCEC has achieved great success with this model for research advancements, which also provides unique opportunities for cross-pollinating workforce development.
Refer to the SCEC Science Plan for detailed information. To be complete, a proposal must include all required information and be submitted by the due date. Incomplete proposals will be rejected.
Proposals are evaluated based on (a) scientific merit of the proposed research; (b) competence, diversity, career level, performance of the investigators; (c) alignment of the proposed project with SCEC priorities; (d) promise of the proposed project for contributing to long-term SCEC goals; (e) commitment of the investigators and institutions to the SCEC mission, including commitment to enhanced diversity, equity and inclusion in geosciences; (f) value of the proposed research relative to its cost; and (g) the need to achieve a balanced budget while maintaining reasonable scientific continuity with limited funding. Note that proposals that receive a low rating or no funding are not necessarily scientifically inferior. Instead, they may not meet the criteria above.
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