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Global Climate Change Education (GCCE) Cooperative Agreement - FAQs

What is the Global Climate Change Education (GCCE) opportunity?

GCCE is a NASA Langley Research Center cooperative agreement opportunity designed to bring NASA Earth science and climate research into education and workforce learning. It focuses on translating NASA Earth Science Program results into meaningful educational experiences related to global climate and Earth system change.

What is the main goal of GCCE?

The main goal is to create engaging, high-quality learning opportunities that improve climate literacy and strengthen STEM education by using NASA's unique assets, including Earth observations, climate datasets, and scientific expertise.

What kinds of projects is NASA looking to fund?

NASA is looking to fund projects that use NASA Earth system science resources to develop educational experiences or tools that measurably improve learning outcomes, educator capacity, or participant engagement with climate science.

What are the two primary funding categories in this solicitation?

The solicitation is organized into two categories: Funding Category R and Funding Category D/M.

What is Funding Category R?

Funding Category R supports hands-on research experiences in global climate change science for undergraduate and community college students and for pre-service and in-service teachers, including those pursuing nontraditional teacher licensure pathways. These projects are expected to immerse participants in authentic research or research-like experiences connected to NASA-supported climate and Earth system science.

Who can participate in projects under Funding Category R?

Category R is intended for undergraduate students, community college students, pre-service teachers, and in-service teachers, including individuals in nontraditional teacher licensure pathways.

What is Funding Category D/M?

Funding Category D/M focuses on teaching and learning innovations that use NASA Earth system data and/or interactive models and simulations. The emphasis is on building or applying data-driven tools and learning experiences to help learners and teachers understand climate processes, Earth system interactions, and evidence of climate change through direct engagement with NASA resources.

What types of educational approaches fit under Funding Category D/M?

Projects under D/M may involve developing or applying educational tools, interactive models, simulations, and other learning innovations that directly incorporate NASA Earth system data.

How many awards does NASA expect to make?

NASA anticipates making roughly 20 to 25 awards under this notice.

What is the estimated total funding available?

The estimated total funding pool for new awards under this notice is about $8 million.

How long can a proposed project last?

Projects can be proposed for periods of up to three years.

Why does the solicitation allow projects up to three years?

The timeline is intended to provide enough time to design, pilot, deliver, and evaluate education programs or tools and to demonstrate measurable improvements in outcomes such as learning gains, educator capacity, or participant engagement with climate science.

Who is eligible to apply?

Eligibility is broad but limited to U.S.-based organizations that can credibly deliver education and research experience programming. Eligible applicants include institutions of higher education; state, local, or federally recognized tribal government agencies; public school districts; nonprofit institutions; and minority-serving institutions (including HBCUs, HSIs, TCUs, and other minority-serving educational institutions).

Are minority-serving institutions specifically included?

Yes. The eligibility list includes several categories of minority-serving institutions, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), and other minority-serving educational institutions.

Is this a grant or a cooperative agreement?

This opportunity uses a Cooperative Agreement mechanism, not a standard grant.

What does it mean that the award is a Cooperative Agreement?

A Cooperative Agreement indicates NASA expects a level of involvement beyond a typical grant. This often includes collaboration, coordination, or technical engagement consistent with federal cooperative agreement rules. The announcement notes this is issued under 14 CFR Part 1260 for educational and nonprofit institutions.

What is the Funding Opportunity Number for this GCCE notice?

The Cooperative Agreement Notice is identified as Funding Opportunity Number NNL10ZB1011C.

How do applicants submit materials?

Submissions are handled electronically through NASA's NSPIRES system at http://nspires.nasaprs.com.

Is a Notice of Intent (NOI) required?

Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit a Notice of Intent (NOI).

Where do applicants find the NOI and proposal due dates?

NOI and proposal due dates are provided in the Cooperative Agreement Notice (CAN) and any amendments. Applicants are responsible for downloading and reviewing the CAN and any updates.

Who should applicants contact for programmatic questions?

For programmatic questions, the GCCE Project Scientist contact is Dr. Lin Chambers, reachable via gcce-questions@lists.nasa.gov.

What if an applicant needs operational or system access support?

The announcement notes that additional operational or access support contacts are listed in the solicitation materials.

What audience range does GCCE aim to support?

GCCE targets a broad audience, ranging from elementary learners to lifelong learners, with specific emphasis on students and educators and on workforce learning connected to climate and Earth system science.

What NASA strengths are applicants expected to leverage?

Projects are expected to leverage NASA's unique strengths, such as its climate datasets, Earth observations, and scientific expertise, especially in ways that directly enhance learning experiences and climate literacy.

What kinds of results are projects expected to demonstrate?

Projects are expected to demonstrate measurable improvements, which may include learning outcomes, educator capacity, or participant engagement with climate science, based on the program or tool delivered over the project period.