Did you know? In November, new field campaign guidelines were published that changed the review process for field campaign submissions, particularly for smaller field campaigns.
In the past, smaller field campaigns were reviewed and approved on an ongoing basis. Now, smaller campaigns may still be submitted at any time; however, they will only be approved on a quarterly OR semi-annual basis, depending on cost and complexity of the campaign. Final review and approval of small field campaigns will be conducted during the ARM Infrastructure Management Board (IMB) meetings during the first weeks of January, April, July, and October.
So what is considered a smaller field campaign?
A small campaign is an effort that has costs to the ARM Facility of less than $300,000. Examples of smaller campaigns include:
- deployment of guest instrumentation at an ARM site,
- instrument requests for offsite deployments, and/or
- special operations, such as enhanced radiosondes or special scanning strategies at a fixed site.
All ARM field campaign proposals start with submission of a preproposal, which is a short summary of the proposed campaign and the ARM resources being requested. Preproposals are reviewed by the IMB to determine the logistical costs of the campaign to the ARM Facility.
Now, a field campaign with costs of less than $25,000 to the ARM Facility will be reviewed and considered for approval each quarter by the IMB. To be considered, a preproposal should be submitted at least 45 days before the quarterly approval meeting to allow time for the IMB to review and clarify campaign logistics. Once a campaign is approved, it may begin 30 days from the approval date. In order to be considered for the next quarterly meeting, preproposals for campaigns costing less than $25,000 are due February 22. These campaigns may begin as early as May 4* or thereafter.
In addition, each quarter, campaigns with costs to the ARM Facility between $25,000 and $100,000 will also be reviewed and considered. These campaigns may begin 60 days from the date of approval. However, campaigns at this level require a brief proposal–approximately 10 pages–and a scientific peer review. This means, preproposals for these campaigns should be submitted at least 4 months before the quarterly approval meeting to allow time for the IMB to review logistics and conduct a scientific peer review. The next quarterly approval meeting for campaigns of this cost will be July 11. Preproposals are due April 4 for campaign costs between $25,000 and $100,000 that will begin after August 11.
Campaigns with costs to the ARM Facility between $100,000 to $300,000 will be reviewed semi-annually in April and October. Preproposals should be submitted at least 4 months before the desired review dates. These field campaigns may require an abbreviated proposal or a full proposal based on the complexity of the proposal. Once approved, campaigns of this size will need a science plan and may begin 90 days from the approval date. This year, these preproposals are also due April 4 for the July 11 meeting for $100,000 to $300,000 campaigns beginning after October 11.
Larger campaigns—including campaigns with costs greater than $300,000 or requests to use an ARM Mobile Facility or ARM Aerial Facility—will be reviewed by the ARM Science Board. Larger campaigns will be considered on an annual basis in response to the annual call for proposals, which is typically announced in December. Preproposals for larger campaigns should be submitted 18 to 24 months before the proposed start date; additional lead time can be considered for campaigns which require international coordination.
Why were deadlines put in place?
Setting deadlines for all the campaign preproposal requests allows the ARM Facility to better plan all campaign efforts and streamline the review process. It also facilitates better communication with interested principal investigators as they plan their field campaigns. Initial logistical reviews of preproposals and a response to the principal investigator will normally be communicated within 4 weeks. This notification will indicate next steps, such as a request for clarifying information, request for abbreviated or full proposal, or review of the proposed timeline.
These changes in the review cycle of small campaigns are outlined in the new field campaign guidelines and on the ARM field campaign web pages. For more information or any questions, please contact the ARM Science Liaison Laurel Chapman.
*Note: Campaign start dates are estimated based on the current quarterly reviews scheduled. These dates may change based on logistical constraints or scientific need. Any questions or concerns regarding dates should be shared with the ARM Science Liaison.
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The ARM Climate Research Facility is a national scientific user facility funded through the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Science. The ARM Facility is operated by nine Department of Energy national laboratories.