Competition for the Management of Operation and Maintenance of the National Geophysical Facility
Agency: National Science Foundation
Posted: 2023-09-26 | Closing date: 2024-06-13
Estimated total program funding: 223000000
Cost sharing or matching requirement: No

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is soliciting proposals for managing the operation and maintenance of the National Geophysical Facility (hereafter referred to as NGF) an NSF-funded major facility. The NGF is designed to enable the research community to ask, and address, questions about a variety of Earth processes from local to global scales. NGF will operate global and regional networks of sensors; provide a lending library of instrumentation and support services to enable PI-led field experiments; support archiving, quality control, and delivery of geophysical data and data product development; and provide education, outreach, workforce development, and community engagement activities that serve a wide range of audiences. NGF will be a single facility, with a single operator that will succeed NSF’s current geophysical facilities, the Seismological Facility for the Advancement of GEoscience (SAGE) and the Geodetic Facility for the Advancement of GEoscience (GAGE). The award recipient will work closely with NSF and the scientific community to ensure that NGF capabilities support, and advance, Earth Sciences and related disciplines. In cooperation with NSF, and within available resources, the recipient will plan and execute a viable, coherent, and inclusive program to: (1) streamline the management and operations of existing geophysical facility capabilities into one consolidated geophysical facility; (2) enhance existing facility capabilities in instrumentation, data services and cyberinfrastructure; and (3) implement a bold vision to broaden participation and foster a culture of equity and inclusion in the Earth Sciences and related disciplines. The NSF Division of Earth Sciences (EAR) in the Directorate for Geosciences (GEO) has primary responsibility for the programmatic oversight of NGF and activities will be coordinated with the Division of Ocean Sciences (OCE), Division of Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences (AGS), and Office of Polar Programs (OPP). A single award will be made as a cooperative agreement with a duration of five years. NSF may renew the award for an additional five years, subject to availability of funds, the recipient's satisfactory performance, and review of a cost proposal for the second 5-year period. NSF’s decision will be informed by the National Science Board Statement on Recompetition of Major Facilities (NSB 2015-45 or its successor).

Eligibility: *Who May Submit Proposals: Proposals may only be submitted by the following:   -For-profit organizations: U.S.-based commercial organizations, including small businesses, with strong capabilities in scientific or engineering research or education and a passion for innovation.   -Non-profit, non-academic organizations: Independent museums, observatories, research laboratories, professional societies and similar organizations located in the U.S. that are directly associated with educational or research activities.   -Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) - Two- and four-year IHEs (including community colleges) accredited in, and having a campus located in the US, acting      on behalf of their faculty members.Special Instructions for International Branch Campuses of US IHEs: If the proposal includes funding to be provided to an      international branch campus of a US institution of higher education (including through use of subawards and consultant arrangements), the proposer must explain      the benefit(s) to the project of performance at the international branch campus, and justify why the project activities cannot be performed at the US campus.  *Who May Serve as PI:  The Principal Investigator (PI) must be an employee of the proposing organization.