May 4, 2023

In advance of the 2023 Arctic field season, NSF has the following updates for the Arctic Research Community.

COVID-19 Guidance
COVID-19 protocols for the field season are covered in this announcement, and current protocols are available on the Battelle Arctic Research Operations (Battelle ARO) website. Projects are responsible for the costs incurred by a COVID-19 outbreak in their field team, including any additional costs of changes to accommodations or commercial flights. NSF has no obligation to provide additional field time to make up work missed if COVID-19 or other issues prevent the project from accomplishing its goals. We encourage field teams to carefully consider COVID-19 mitigation measures to ensure the best outcome for their 2023 field season.

Harassment Prevention and Response
NSF is committed to implementing many different strategies to promote a safe and inclusive field environment and to improve the response capability in the event of any harassment (including sexual harassment), bullying, or assault during fieldwork. Everyone supported by NSF is expected to comply with the Polar Code of Conduct. Fieldwork should be an enriching experience for everyone involved.

Beginning with the revised Arctic Research Opportunities solicitation, proposals with fieldwork will be required to include a two-page supplementary document describing how the project has considered the specifics of the situation and developed ways to provide a safe and inclusive work environment in the off-campus setting. Please see this FAQ if you have questions or talk to your program officer.

Battelle ARO is implementing measures to combat harassment in four distinct ways: 1) Consider harassment to be a safety emergency that requires immediate response, 2) Provide pathways for anyone observing or experiencing harassment to report the issues, 3) Engage third-party contractors who are experts to intake information about incidents and to investigate allegations, and 4) Provide training aimed at creating safe and inclusive field environments. The intent is to provide careful, professional, rapid, and thorough handling of any allegations of harassment in the program and foremost, to create fieldwork environments where harassing behaviors are not acceptable.

You can access Battelle ARO’s third-party reporting pathway online or by phone: 1-844-235-9059.

Clarifying Expectations of the Arctic Research Support and Logistics Program

Timeline for Fieldwork from the Proposal Stage
Proposals submitted to the Arctic Sciences Section with fieldwork or those requesting support from the Arctic Research Support and Logistics (RSL) program should recognize the timeline for planning and budgeting for fieldwork. Projects should not expect to go to the field sooner than one year from the time of award. Projects requiring icebreaker or UNOLS assets should not expect to go to the field sooner than 18 months from the time of award. These expectations are outlined in the revised Arctic Research Opportunities solicitation.

Requests for Additional Logistics Support
The RSL budget is highly constrained due to many factors including inflation, supply chain issues, vendor availability, catching up from projects delayed due to COVID-19, and more. Cost increases for planned work prevent the RSL program from accommodating most requests for additional support beyond what was originally estimated for projects. PIs need to prepare a science justification for any request beyond what was specified in the proposal and send it to their science Program Manager and copy the regional RSL program manager (see below) and their Battelle ARO project manager to initiate the discussion with NSF. NSF will consider the justification, cost, and other factors to decide if the request can be accommodated. The desire to do more and better science is not an adequate justification for additional resources. As a reminder, RSL will not be able to provide support to mitigate impacts (e.g., hotel accommodations or changes to commercial flights) of an outbreak of COVID-19 in the field or to make up for field work lost.

Deployment Readiness for Existing Awards
For researchers with active awards and contractor-supported fieldwork in 2023, please work with Battelle ARO early to ensure that logistical support needs are in place for your upcoming field season. Initiate conversations and clarify all logistical requests to your Battelle ARO project manager with ample time to meet requirements considering limited resources and long lead times for some items. Battelle ARO has outlined the minimal required timeline below. This ensures that operational staff have the time to respond in the event of inventory shortages. Battelle ARO will make a best effort to meet requests that come in after the below timeline, but resources cannot be guaranteed.

Greenland and other International – 6 weeks prior to deployment

Alaska – 4 weeks prior to deployment

Air Charters – 8 weeks prior to deployment (see below)

In-field communications
Battelle ARO exists to support research projects; however, the program is not staffed for round-the-clock coordination with projects. The 24/7 phone lines provided in the Season Plan document should only be used in an emergency, not for the convenience of making changes to existing plans. Please communicate with the assigned Battelle ARO project manager during business hours Monday through Friday or scheduled project check-ins.  

Support Staff for Remote Camps
Most field projects do not have paid camp staff present. NSF is scrutinizing requests to have camp managers or cooks and is reducing personnel allocated to projects. Projects that do not have staff budgeted should not expect support staff to be present.

Air Charters
NSF is reviewing all Battelle ARO air charter subcontracts prior to award. Submit your air charter requirements to your Battelle ARO project manager no later than 8 weeks prior to deployment. Example of air charter details to pass on are locations/coordinates, schedule, cargo and passenger requirements, and special needs (sling loads, special door size or specific aircraft, mounting of instrumentation, etc). For real-time, field charter changes within scope, researchers should engage directly with air vendors and update their Battelle ARO PM accordingly.

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The U.S. National Science Foundation propels the nation forward by advancing fundamental research in all fields of science and engineering. NSF supports research and people by providing facilities, instruments and funding to support their ingenuity and sustain the U.S. as a global leader in research and innovation. With a fiscal year 2023 budget of $9.5 billion, NSF funds reach all 50 states through grants to nearly 2,000 colleges, universities and institutions. Each year, NSF receives more than 40,000 competitive proposals and makes about 11,000 new awards. Those awards include support for cooperative research with industry, Arctic and Antarctic research and operations, and U.S. participation in international scientific efforts.

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