Letters of Support

NEON can provide researchers and educators with Letters of Support to accompany proposals that include the planned use of NEON resources.

Please note that researchers typically do not need letters of support for using publicly available NEON data and resources off the NEON data portal or NEON website. All NEON data are freely available from the NEON Data Portal along with protocols and other supporting documentation. 

The temporary changes to NEON operations associated with COVID-19 may affect collaborative efforts involving Research Support/Assignable Assets and using NEON infrastructure. For more information, please see announcements in Observatory Status webpage.

Requesting the Correct Type of Letter

Ensure you are requesting the correct type of letter: 

Using existing NEON resources (e.g., data from the NEON Data Portal, website, instructional videos, discussions or general support from NEON scientists, or general Letters of Support:
- Request your letter by completing and submitting the form below.
- Please allow a minimum of two weeks to process your request.
Proposed research project requires access to NEON infrastructure, work within NEON plots, or the tower airshed:
- Review the types of NEON research support services and infrastructure access from the NEON Assignable Assets Program.
- Fill out and submit the appropriate Assignable Asset Request Form.
Requires requests from the NEON Biorepository:
- Visit the NEON Biorepository at ASU page.
- Complete the Sample Use Request web form on the NEON Biorepository at ASU page.
Includes NEON scientists or staff conducting part or some of the proposal work:
- Contact the NEON scientist or staff member regarding collaboration and the necessary budgetary information (if needed) prior to filling out the below request form.
- Begin working with the NEON scientist or staff member at least six weeks before a proposal deadline.
- Once scope of work is clearly defined with the NEON scientists or staff member, request a letter by completing and submitting the form below.

Request Your Letter of Support

Information needed for Letter of Support/Collaboration

Please provide the following details on what NEON resources you would like to use as described in your proposal.

All information denoted with * are required for form submission.

Requestor's Name*

Requestor's Institutional Affiliation*

Requestor's Email*

Principal Investigator's Name*

The Letter of Support/Collaboration will be written for/to the Principal Investigator.

Principal Investigator's Title *

Please include appropriate salutation (Dr., Ms., Mr.).

Principal Investigator's Institutional Affiliation *

Principal Investigator's Email *

The Principal Investigator will receive the confirmation email that this form has been submitted, even if a Requestor Email is provided.

Funding Agency *

For example: NSF, NASA, DOE, University, etc.

Funding Program *

Provide the URL for the solicitation or program website.

Proposal Title *

This should match the title of the proposal you will be submitting. This title will be used in the Letter of Support. If you change your proposal title after submitting this form, it is your responsibility to notify us of any needed changes.

What resources are you proposing to use? *

If seeking collaboration with NEON scientists or staff, please include their names and expected number of hours included in the proposal. You should have already contacted that individual(s) regarding the collaboration.

Scope of Work *

Provide a short description of the scope of work that you propose using NEON resources.

NEON Site(s)

If you propose visiting or working at any NEON sites, please include a list of the four-letter site ID’s or site names. Site ID’s and names can be found here.

Timing and Duration *

When and for how long do you propose to use the resources.

Due Date

What date do you need the Letter by? Please allow a minimum of two weeks to process your request. We cannot guarantee Letters with shorter timelines, but we will try our best to process all requests as quickly as possible.

Specified/Required Letter of Support Format*

Does the proposal solicitation specify a standard Letter of Support format? Please check the solicitation if there is a specified or required format.

Yes

Specified/Required Letter Format

Is there a required format or letter template for this proposal solicitation that needs to be used? If so, please upload a template or example.
One file only.
2 MB limit.
Allowed types: , docx, doc, pdf, odt, txt.

Associated Documents

If you need to include any supporting materials, please combine into a single document and upload here.
One file only.
2 MB limit.
Allowed types: gif, jpg, png, tif, txt, rtf, html, odf, pdf, doc, docx, pptx, xls, xlsx, xml, zip.

NEON Contact or Collaborator

Please enter the name(s) of NEON scientists or staff that you have been working with. We will contact this person if we cannot get a hold of the Principal Investigator or Requestor.

If you have questions regarding a Letter of Support before submitting a request, or other related questions, please Contact Us.