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Geoinformatics (NSF EAR) Grant Opportunity FAQs

1) What is the NSF Geoinformatics grant opportunity?

The Geoinformatics grant opportunity was offered by the National Science Foundation (NSF) through the Division of Earth Sciences (EAR) to fund the development of cyberinfrastructure that strengthens how geoscience research and education are conducted. The focus was on building shared, reusable information-technology capabilities for the broader geoscience community.

2) What is the main goal of this program?

The central goal was to support community-serving cyberinfrastructure rather than tools that only benefit a single investigator or small team. NSF emphasized projects that raise the baseline across Earth sciences for data discovery, data handling, analysis, and collaboration.

3) What kinds of projects were encouraged?

The solicitation highlighted community-driven development and implementation efforts, including:

• Databases and repositories
• Tools that improve data integration across multiple sources
• Interoperability frameworks and standards that enable systems to communicate
• Visualization software for exploring complex Earth science datasets
• Software development work such as code hardening, reliability improvements, and making tools easier to deploy and maintain

4) What does NSF mean by "cyberinfrastructure" in this context?

In this opportunity, cyberinfrastructure refers to information technology resources and capabilities that enable geoscience research and education at scale. The solicitation emphasized shared utilities, data resources, software modules, and enabling methods that the community can reuse and build upon.

5) Was data-intensive or modern computing work within scope?

Yes. The program welcomed data-intensive approaches and emerging computing methodologies. Proposals could include modern methods for working with large volumes of data, scalable computing, and new computational workflows that directly enable improved geoscience outcomes.

6) What does "community-driven development" imply for proposals?

It implies the project should be guided by community needs and designed for adoption by more than a single group. Competitive proposals were expected to prioritize broadly useful capabilities and implementation approaches that benefit the wider geoscience community.

7) Why did the solicitation emphasize extensibility and long-term usefulness?

NSF wanted deliverables that remain useful over time and can evolve as needs change. The solicitation stressed modern software practices and widely accepted standards so that resulting products could eventually fit into a larger geoscience-wide knowledge system.

8) What software practices and design expectations were highlighted?

While the solicitation framed this as an expectation rather than a checklist, it implicitly pointed toward strong engineering discipline such as clear documentation, sustainable development practices, robust testing, and thoughtful architecture. It also emphasized designing with integration in mind from the beginning, rather than producing one-off tools that are hard for others to adopt.

9) How important were standards and interoperability?

Standards and interoperability were central themes. The solicitation explicitly called out interoperability frameworks and standards so that different systems can work together, supporting cross-source integration and eventual participation in a larger cyberinfrastructure ecosystem.

10) Were visualization tools considered a good fit?

Yes. Visualization software that helps researchers explore complex Earth science data was specifically mentioned as a competitive area of focus.

11) Was improving existing software (not just building new tools) supported?

Yes. The solicitation included software development work such as code hardening, improving reliability, and making tools easier to deploy and maintain, which aligns with strengthening existing capabilities so they can be used broadly by the community.

12) Did the program encourage collaboration with computational experts?

Yes. The solicitation strongly encouraged collaboration with computational scientists, reflecting the need for both geoscience domain expertise and specialized skills in software engineering, data science, and computing systems.

13) Were public-private partnerships encouraged?

Yes. The program encouraged public-private partnerships, describing them as a way to improve sustainability, broaden adoption, and bring in technical capabilities and platforms that can accelerate development and deployment.

14) How does Geoinformatics relate to EarthCube?

Geoinformatics was positioned as complementary to, not overlapping with, the EarthCube initiative. EarthCube was described as a broader GEO and Office of Cyberinfrastructure partnership aimed at building an integrated, geosciences-wide cyberinfrastructure. In that context, Geoinformatics focused on foundational components (such as data resources, integration utilities, robust software modules, and enabling methods) that could later be integrated through EarthCube.

15) What types of deliverables did NSF seem to be aiming for?

Based on the solicitation themes, deliverables were expected to look like shared building blocks for the community: repositories and databases, integration and interoperability utilities, durable software modules, visualization platforms, and enabling computational methods that can be reused and integrated into a broader ecosystem.

16) What was the estimated number of awards?

The opportunity anticipated about 10 awards.

17) What was the estimated total funding level?

The estimated total funding level was $4.8 million.

18) What was the award size range?

Individual awards ranged from a minimum (floor) of $35,000 to a maximum (ceiling) of $1.7 million.

19) Was cost sharing required?

No. The opportunity stated there was no cost-sharing requirement.

20) Who was eligible to apply?

Eligibility was listed as unrestricted, meaning a wide range of organizations could apply, subject to any clarifications contained in the full solicitation text.

21) What type of grant opportunity was this?

Administratively, it was described as a discretionary grant opportunity in the science and technology/research and development category.

22) What is the NSF publication or opportunity number for this solicitation?

The NSF Publication/Funding Opportunity Number was 11-581.

23) When was the opportunity posted?

The opportunity was originally posted on September 1, 2011.

24) Were deadlines recurring?

Yes. The opportunity noted recurring full proposal deadlines over multiple years.

25) When was the archive date?

The archive date listed for the opportunity was July 31, 2019.

26) What is the simplest way to describe what NSF wanted to fund?

NSF EAR was investing in shared, standards-based geoscience cyberinfrastructure: tools, databases, interoperability solutions, visualization platforms, and modern computing methods that are built to last, built for community adoption, and designed for eventual integration into a larger geoscience-wide information and knowledge system.