The Gulf Ecosystem Initiative’s second Request for Proposals for synthesis science projects in the Gulf of Mexico opens November 15, 2023. Proposals are due March 15, 2024.

The Gulf Ecosystem Initiative is a $3.5 million partnership between the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) and the NOAA RESTORE Science Program to fund synthesis science and postdoctoral research.

The objectives of the Gulf Ecosystem Initiative are to use synthesis to improve the integrated understanding and management of the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem and to build capacity for conducting synthesis on the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem, including workforce development and promoting use of open source data. By funding a multi-year synthesis initiative, the Science Program intends to advance its long-term outcomes of understanding and managing the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem as an integrative whole.

The Gulf Ecosystem Initiative’s Request for Proposals asks teams to propose working group projects to address pressing scientific and societal challenges focused around three themes in the Gulf of Mexico: climate change, fisheries, and the ecological impact of management actions.

The mission of the NOAA RESTORE Science Program is to increase understanding of the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem, including its fisheries, and to support restoration and sustainability through research, observation, monitoring, and technology development. NOAA's National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science administers the program.