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. SCEC’s vision is to support a diverse community of scientists and students to develop better, data-validated models of earthquake processes and improve our understanding and ability to predict earthquake behavior. The SCEC collaboration welcomes new investigators with fresh perspectives and from diverse backgrounds to join our community and take advantage of our resources and opportunities.
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) and PRC Chair Alice Gabriel (UCSD) present research highlights from the Statewide California Earthquake Center at SCEC2025.
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 to participate in the SCEC collaboration!
SCEC is launching a two-phase proposal process for the 2026 SCEC Collaboration Plan. The first call for proposals (due Nov 15, 2025), focuses on sustaining the community and preserving core capabilities. It supports workshops and activities that wrap up major initiatives, highlight Community Earth Models, integrate data and simulations for hazard reduction, advance key science milestones, and promote workforce development and engagement.
A second call in early 2026 will support the formation of Technical Activity Groups (TAGs)—interdisciplinary teams tackling integrative science with societal impact. Interested groups should submit a Letter of Intent (also due Nov 15, 2025) to the Science Steering Committee to receive feedback and coordination support ahead of the second call.
Attend the SCEC Virtual Town Hall
Join us on October 16, 2025 to learn more about both SCEC proposal calls and the process for initiating Technical Activity Groups (TAGs).
Submit a Workshop or Training Proposal
Help sustain core capabilities, advance SCEC’s science milestones, and foster inclusive community and workforce development.
Prepare Letter of Intent for New TAG Proposal
Submit a one-page LOI to the SCEC Science Steering Committee for feedback and coordination with related efforts ahead of the TAG proposal call in 2026.
The Path Ahead: Co-Envisioning SCEC’s Next Phase
At SCEC2025, incoming Director Ahmed Elbanna (USC) shared his vision to advance SCEC through a “team science” approach for tackling complex challenges.
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 funded as subcontracts from the University of Southern California, with a 1-year performance period. Due to the rapid annual turnaround, investigators should be prepared to begin work immediately upon execution of the subaward.
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
Contact us if you have questions about proposals to SCEC.
Prospective investigators should read the SCEC Community Science Plan in its entirety, and understand the expectations for participation in the SCEC collaboration (see §5.D Investigator Responsibilities). Individual investigators should ensure they have a current SCEC.org account, have updated their profile information, and submitted any past due reports.
Refer to the SCEC Community Science Plan for detailed information. To be complete, your proposal must include all required information and be submitted as a single PDF file to the SCEC website by the due date. Incomplete proposals will not be considered.
Proposals are evaluated based on (a) scientific merit of the proposed research; (b) competence, 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, (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.
