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Guide for Applicants

This guide helps prospective ESIIL Working Groups prepare a proposal. Read the RFP first and treat it as the source for current deadlines, page limits, eligibility, review process, required proposal sections, and submission instructions.

Check the current RFP

The RFP page currently shows a sample from a previous year. The current RFP will be released by the end of July 2026.

Is a Working Group a Good Fit?

Working groups are self-organized research teams focused on well-defined scientific questions that advance environmental data science and require insights from a broad group of researchers and other stakeholders.

A proposal is a stronger fit when the proposed work:

  • develops a new research project or idea that advances environmental data science
  • generates collaborations between researchers across disciplines
  • facilitates the development of new approaches to address critical environmental and social challenges
  • uses open or available spatial and temporal data in creative ways
  • leverages cloud, or other high-performance computing, resources to harmonize and analyze big, complex environmental data
  • contributes to open, reproducible science and education objectives
  • effectively shares research results with the broader science community
  • fosters broad perspectives and expertise in environmental data science research

Before You Start

Confirm the current RFP details before writing:

  • proposal deadline and submission instructions
  • page limits and required attachments
  • eligibility rules for the Project Leader and Co-Leaders
  • expected meeting model and working group period
  • available participant support
  • review criteria
  • required templates, tables, or CVs

For common eligibility, postdoc participation, travel support, international group, and intellectual property questions, use the FAQ.

Proposal Preparation Checklist

  • Define the outstanding question in environmental data science.
  • Explain why the work should be conducted through ESIIL.
  • Identify the Project Leader, any Co-Leaders, and likely participants.
  • Identify the Tech Lead, Collaboration Lead, and Transition Lead.
  • Describe the proposed activities, datasets, analytical tools, and data synthesis approach.
  • Note data, software, infrastructure, or facilitation needs.
  • List expected outputs and who they are for.
  • Review data rights, licenses, permissions, and citation requirements.
  • Describe plans to make resulting data and software freely available, including conditions that might limit availability.
  • Align the timeline with the RFP and working group period.

Proposal Components

The sample RFP organizes proposals around the following components:

  1. Title
  2. Short Title
  3. Name and contact information for Project Leader, and any Co-Leaders
  4. Project Summary
  5. Public Summary
  6. Introduction and Goals
  7. Proposed Activities
  8. Rationale for ESIIL support
  9. Collaborations with other ESIIL activities
  10. Anticipated IT Needs
  11. Proposed Timetable
  12. Outcomes
  13. References
  14. Datasets Table
  15. Participant Table
  16. Budget Table
  17. Short CV of Project Leaders

Use the current instructions

This list is included to help applicants understand the structure of the sample RFP. Use the current RFP for final requirements, templates, page limits, and deadlines.

Team Roles to Identify

The participant information should identify the Project Leader, any Co-Leaders, collaboration lead, transition lead, and technical lead for the group.

Use Working Group Team Roles as the canonical description of the three ESIIL-facing leadership roles:

  • Tech Lead: technical contact with ESIIL CI, computational infrastructure, GitHub repositories, containers, workflows, software, cloud computing, reproducibility, and technical support requests.
  • Collaboration Lead: team science, team norms, inclusive participation, meeting process, and collaboration support.
  • Transition Lead: intellectual property discussions, authorship expectations, transition planning, communication products, open science, and long-term impact.

Data and Reuse Considerations

If your proposal depends on data or existing materials, document:

  • source and access method
  • license or permission status
  • citation requirements
  • privacy, sensitivity, or sovereignty considerations
  • known limitations or uncertainty
  • whether the material can be shared publicly
  • whether the material follows relevant standards such as FAIR, CARE, STAC, or GDAL VSI compliance, if requested by the RFP

When rights are unclear

Do not assume open reuse. Name the uncertainty and describe how the group will resolve it.

How Proposals Are Reviewed

The FAQ states that proposals are reviewed by a team of scientists including ESIIL External Advisory Board members. Each proposal is reviewed by three unique individuals following an evaluation rubric developed by the ESIIL team.

The FAQ lists the following rating criteria:

  1. Scientific Merit and Innovation
  2. Interdisciplinarity and Collaborative Integration
  3. Data Science, Computation, and Analytical Rigor
  4. Feasibility and Team Strength
  5. Impact, Engagement, and Broader Value
  6. Open, Reusable, and Community-Oriented Infrastructure

Proposals are organized by raw rating average and Z-score, then discussed between ESIIL leadership and the External Advisory Board.

Questions to Resolve Before Submission

  • Who will coordinate the group if selected?
  • Who will serve as Tech Lead, Collaboration Lead, and Transition Lead?
  • What decisions must be made in the first 90 days?
  • What output would count as meaningful progress after year one?
  • What output should exist at the end of year two?
  • What support from ESIIL is essential rather than optional?
  • What data, software, intellectual property, or reuse constraints need to be discussed early?

See Also