PROPOSAL OPPORTUNITY SCIENCE EDUCATION AND PUBLIC OUTREACH FORUMS | Apply Online

Opportunity Summary:

NASA's Science Mission Directorate (SMD) released a Cooperative Agreement Notice (funding opportunity number NNH09ZDA004C) seeking proposals to create and operate Science Education and Public Outreach Forums (SEPOFs). These forums are meant to work in close collaboration with SMD to help carry out and strengthen NASA's Education and Public Outreach (E/PO) program. The central goal is to make SMD's education and outreach efforts more coherent across the agency, so that NASA's science discoveries and related learning experiences are used in ways that are more effective, sustainable, and efficient over time.

NASA anticipated making four total awards, with one SEPOF aligned to each of SMD's four science divisions: Astrophysics, Earth Science, Heliophysics, and Planetary Science. In practice, this structure is designed to ensure that each division has a dedicated forum focused on organizing, improving, and connecting education and public outreach activities within that specific scientific domain, while still contributing to an agency-wide strategy.

The work described in the notice emphasizes three broad areas of collaboration. First is E/PO community engagement and development, which is about building and supporting networks of educators, outreach practitioners, informal science institutions, and other stakeholders so that NASA-supported content and experiences reach audiences more consistently and with higher quality. Second is division-level E/PO product and project activity analysis, which involves taking a hard look at existing outreach and education products, projects, and activities funded or supported by the division, identifying what is being done, where there are overlaps or gaps, and how efforts can be improved or better coordinated. Third is service on a SEPOF Coordination Committee, reflecting NASA's intent that the forums not operate in isolation but instead actively coordinate with each other and with SMD leadership to align approaches, share lessons learned, and reduce duplication across divisions.

Applicants were expected to present a clear, actionable approach that directly supports the overall objective of improving coherence across the SMD E/PO program. Proposals needed to show how the forum's activities would extend the value of NASA's existing investments in education and outreach and contribute meaningfully to NASA's broader education and public engagement goals. Because this is a cooperative agreement, it also signals an expectation of substantial involvement by NASA in the performance of the funded effort, with the forums functioning more like collaborative partners than stand-alone grantees.

Funding for the selection was anticipated at about $3.5 million per year, with awards planned for a five-year period. Cost sharing or matching was not required. Eligibility was broadly open to domestic organizations across many categories, including industry, colleges and universities, nonprofit organizations, Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs), NASA Centers, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), and other government agencies, making it a widely accessible opportunity for qualified U.S.-based entities with relevant education, outreach, and science communication capabilities.

Key dates were set as follows: the notice was to be released on January 2, 2009; Notices of Intent (NOIs) were due February 11, 2009; and full proposals were due April 9, 2009. The opportunity was posted in NASA's NSPIRES system (http://nspires.nasaprs.com/) under open solicitations using the identifier NNH09ZDA004C. For programmatic questions, NASA listed Dr. Larry P. Cooper, E/PO Program Officer at NASA Headquarters, with contact information including phone (202) 358-1531 and email Larry.P.Cooper@nasa.gov. For technical access issues related to the announcement, the notice also referenced NAIS Support at nais.support@nasa.gov.

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