AI for Earth Program: Seeking Proposals from all over the World

Deadline: 8 October 2018

The National Geographic Society (NGS) and Microsoft’s AI for Earth program are seeking proposals to support the exploration of how Artificial intelligence (AI) can help us understand, engage, and protect the planet.

The grants will support the creation and deployment of open source trained models and algorithms that are available to other environmental researchers and innovators and thereby have the potential to provide exponential impact.

Core Areas

To qualify, applications should outline a proposal to use AI for conservation in at least one of the following core areas:

• Biodiversity conservation: Species are going extinct at alarming rates, and our planet’s last wild places need protection. AI can help in areas like:
  • Protected area management and restoration
  • Sustainable trade
  • Invasive species and disease control
  • Pollution control
  • Realizing natural capital (including valuing natural capital, species identification)
• Climate change: Extreme weather events, rising sea levels, higher global temperatures, and increased ocean acidity threaten human health, infrastructure, and the natural systems they rely on for life itself. AI can help in areas like:
  • Climate resilience
  • Extreme weather and climate modeling
  • Sustainable land-use change
  • Ecosystem services (including carbon sequestration and afforestation/reforestation)
• Agriculture: To feed the world’s rapidly growing population, farmers must produce more food on less arable land, and with lower environmental impact. AI can help in areas like:
  • Land-use planning and management
  • Natural resource conservation
  • Sustainable supply chains
  • Climate-resilient agriculture
• Water: In the next two decades, demand for fresh water—for human consumption, agriculture, and hygiene—is predicted to dramatically outpace supply. AI can help in areas like:
  • Water supply (including catchment control)
  • Water quality and sanitation
  • Water efficiency
  • Extreme-event (droughts, floods, disasters, etc.) management
  • Healthy oceans

Funding Information

Typical proposal requests should be less than $100,000; however, applicants may request up to $200,000.

Eligibility Criteria

• The National Geographic Society recommend that the main applicant has a demonstrated background in environmental science and/or technology, and they require that at least one member of the team has strong enough technical skills (such as AI, machine learning, statistical data analysis, scientific modeling, software development, and/or remote sensing) to complete the proposed project successfully.
• The National Geographic Society believes great ideas spring from a diversity of experiences, and thus encourage applications from all over the world.
• Project Requirements: All models supported through this grant must be open source, and grant recipients must be willing to share their models for use by other environmental researchers and innovators.

How to Apply

Applicants can apply via given website.

For more information, please visit AI for Earth Program.