The National Geographic Society (NGS) and Microsoft's AI for Earth Innovation program are inviting proposals to support novel projects that create and deploy AI tools to improve the way they monitor, model, and ultimately manage Earth's natural systems for a more sustainable future.

The grants given by the partnership will support projects that create and deploy open source trained models and algorithms that make key analytical processes more efficient in the environmental field. Microsoft will help the successful proposals make the completed models available for use by other environmental researchers and innovators.

Core Areas

• To qualify, applications should outline a proposal to use AI for conservation in at least one of the following core areas:
• Climate change: Countries and communities around the world are engaged in climate resilience, adaptation, and mitigation efforts. AI can help in areas such as:
• Extreme weather and climate modeling
• Sustainable land-use change
• Ecosystem services (including carbon sequestration and afforestation/reforestation)
• Resilience to extreme-event impacts (droughts, floods, disasters, etc.)
• Agriculture: Agriculture must transition to a more sustainable model with lower environmental impact. AI can help in areas such as:
• Land-use planning and management
• Precision agriculture
• Natural resource conservation
• Sustainable supply chains
• Climate-resilient agriculture
• Water efficiency and management
• Biodiversity: Species are going extinct at alarming rates, driving the decay of key ecosystem services like pollination on which humans depend. AI can help in areas like:
• Habitat protection and restoration
• Sustainable trade
• Invasive species and disease control
• Pollution control
• Realizing natural capital
• Water: Management of the world's freshwater supply needs to anticipate climate change impacts as well as increasing demand. AI can help in areas such as:
• Extreme-event impacts on water supply (droughts, floods, disasters, etc.)
• Water supply (including catchment control)
• Water quality and sanitation

Budget

Proposals may request $5,000 to $100,000. The budgets of successful proposals will include reasonable, well-justified costs directly required to complete the project.

Eligibility Criteria

• The National Geographic Society recommend that the main applicant has a demonstrated background in environmental science and/or technology, and that at least one member of the team has strong enough technical skills to complete the project successfully.
• Applicants can be affiliated with an academic institution, nonprofit organization, government entity, environmental startup, or an innovative project within a company.

Application Deadline: 9th October, 2019

For further information and to apply, please visit https://www.nationalgeographic.org/funding-opportunities/grants/what-we-fund/ai-earth-innovation/

Interested applicants can contact the following persons for assistance with developing application proposals: 

1. Ms. Patti Mohan-Thompson - Grants Coordinator, International Office and Grant Funding at 642-8888 Ext 46122 - patti.mohan@utt.edu.tt
2. Mrs. Debra Haniff-Gobin - Grants and Proposals Writer, International Office and Grant Funding at 642-8888 Ext. 46118 - debra.haniff@utt.edu.tt