Opportunity Information: Apply for G17AS00057
This grant opportunity, titled "Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, North Atlantic Coast CESU" (Funding Opportunity Number G17AS00057), was issued by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) within the Department of the Interior. It is a discretionary funding opportunity offered as a cooperative agreement, meaning the selected recipient would be expected to work closely with USGS staff during the project rather than operating entirely independently. The activity focus is Science and Technology and other Research and Development under CFDA 15.817, and the opportunity was created on April 3, 2017 with an original closing date of April 21, 2017.
The program is being offered through the USGS Center of Excellence for Geospatial Information Science (CEGIS), and it is specifically limited to partners within the North Atlantic Coast Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) network. In practical terms, the target applicants are organizations that are already established CESU partners and that can demonstrate both the technical capacity and aligned research interests to collaborate with USGS on advanced geospatial research. While the eligibility field is listed as "Others," the description makes clear that eligibility is constrained to North Atlantic Coast CESU partners as described in the additional eligibility guidance referenced in the notice.
The overall purpose of the award is to support research in geographic information science (GIScience) and topographic ontologies, with an emphasis on work that strengthens USGS mission products such as The National Map and broader national coordination efforts like the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI). CEGIS positions this work as both foundational research and applied development: the kind of research that improves how geospatial data are structured, understood, and processed, and then translates those improvements into tools, methods, or standards that can be used in operational mapping and data systems.
The opportunity highlights a set of example research areas that illustrate what USGS is looking for. These include automated data integration and generalization (methods for combining diverse datasets and producing map-appropriate representations at different scales), creating geospatial semantics for The National Map (improving the meaning, consistency, and machine-readability of map content), and better representation of geospatial data and real-world phenomena (modeling terrain, hydrography, features, and their relationships in ways that support analysis and decision-making). The notice also points to high performance computing as a relevant capability, reflecting the reality that national-scale geospatial processing often requires substantial compute resources and optimized workflows. In addition, it specifically calls out gazetteer applications and ontology work for hydrologic and terrain data, including lidar, suggesting an interest in improving how elevation-derived products and named geographic features are organized, linked, and made searchable or interoperable.
Funding is capped at an award ceiling of $120,000, and USGS anticipated making a single award. Because it is a cooperative agreement, a competitive applicant would typically be expected to propose a well-scoped project that fits within that budget while also describing clear collaboration points with CEGIS researchers, such as shared technical approach development, iterative review of prototypes, joint data/model evaluation, or co-development of methods intended to feed into USGS production systems. The notice emphasizes that a successful partner must bring complementary research interests and be able to address the listed topics as well as other related research needs that may emerge, so proposals would likely be favored if they demonstrate both depth in one or more highlighted areas (for example, ontologies for hydro/terrain or semantic modeling for The National Map) and flexibility to support adjacent CEGIS priorities.
In short, this opportunity was designed to select one North Atlantic Coast CESU partner to collaborate with USGS CEGIS on research and development that improves national geospatial data infrastructure, especially the semantics and ontological structure of topographic information and the computational methods needed to integrate, generalize, and operationalize geospatial datasets at scale.Apply for G17AS00057
- The Department of the Interior, Geological Survey in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, North Atlantic Coast CESU" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.817.
- This funding opportunity was created on Apr 03, 2017.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Apr 21, 2017. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $120,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the title of this grant opportunity?
The opportunity is titled "Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, North Atlantic Coast CESU".
What is the Funding Opportunity Number?
The Funding Opportunity Number is G17AS00057.
Which federal agency is offering this opportunity?
This opportunity was issued by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) within the Department of the Interior.
What type of funding instrument is being used?
This is a cooperative agreement, which typically involves substantial involvement and collaboration with USGS staff during the project rather than the recipient working fully independently.
Is this a discretionary grant?
Yes. It is described as a discretionary funding opportunity.
What is the CFDA number and program area?
The activity focus is Science and Technology and other Research and Development under CFDA 15.817.
When was this opportunity created and when did it close?
The opportunity was created on April 3, 2017 and had an original closing date of April 21, 2017.
Which USGS program or group is running the opportunity?
The program is being offered through the USGS Center of Excellence for Geospatial Information Science (CEGIS).
Who is eligible to apply?
Eligibility is limited to partners within the North Atlantic Coast Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) network. Although the eligibility field is listed as "Others," the notice description indicates that only North Atlantic Coast CESU partners (as described in the additional eligibility guidance referenced in the notice) are intended applicants.
Is this opportunity open to organizations that are not CESU partners?
Based on the notice description, the opportunity is specifically limited to North Atlantic Coast CESU partners, meaning organizations outside that CESU partnership network would not be eligible under the stated constraint.
What is the overall purpose of the award?
The purpose is to support research in geographic information science (GIScience) and topographic ontologies, with emphasis on strengthening USGS mission products such as The National Map and supporting broader national coordination efforts like the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI).
What does "topographic ontologies" mean in the context of this opportunity?
In this notice, topographic ontologies refer to work that improves how topographic and related geospatial information (for example terrain and hydrography) is structured, defined, and related so it can be more consistent, machine-readable, interoperable, and usable in mapping and data systems.
Is the work expected to be basic research, applied development, or both?
Both. CEGIS positions the work as foundational research that can translate into applied development (tools, methods, or standards) that can be used in operational mapping and data systems.
What are the example research areas mentioned in the notice?
The notice highlights several example areas, including:
- Automated data integration and generalization (combining diverse datasets and producing map-appropriate representations at different scales)
- Geospatial semantics for The National Map (improving meaning, consistency, and machine-readability of map content)
- Better representation of geospatial data and real-world phenomena (modeling terrain, hydrography, features, and their relationships to support analysis and decision-making)
- High performance computing capabilities to support national-scale geospatial processing
- Gazetteer applications
- Ontology work for hydrologic and terrain data, including lidar
Why is high performance computing mentioned?
The notice points to high performance computing because national-scale geospatial processing can require substantial compute resources and optimized workflows, particularly for tasks like integration, generalization, and large-area elevation or hydrography processing.
How do gazetteer applications fit into the scope?
The notice specifically calls out gazetteer applications, suggesting interest in improving how named geographic features are organized, linked to other datasets, and made more searchable or interoperable within broader geospatial information systems.
How does lidar relate to the research topics?
Lidar is mentioned as part of the interest in improving hydrologic and terrain ontology work, indicating attention to how elevation-derived products and terrain/hydro features are represented and integrated into USGS-related data structures and workflows.
What USGS mission products or national efforts are emphasized?
The opportunity emphasizes strengthening:
- The National Map (USGS mission product)
- National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) (broader national coordination effort)
What is the maximum funding amount available?
The award ceiling is $120,000.
How many awards did USGS anticipate making?
USGS anticipated making a single award.
What does the cooperative agreement structure imply for project execution?
It implies that the selected recipient would be expected to work closely with USGS CEGIS staff during the project. The notice describes collaboration points such as shared technical approach development, iterative review of prototypes, joint data/model evaluation, and co-development of methods intended to feed into USGS production systems.
What kind of organization would be a competitive applicant based on the notice description?
A competitive applicant would typically be a North Atlantic Coast CESU partner that can demonstrate:
- Technical capacity for advanced geospatial research
- Aligned research interests with CEGIS priorities (GIScience, semantics, ontologies, integration/generalization, etc.)
- Ability to work collaboratively with USGS staff in a cooperative project setting
Does the notice suggest a preference for specializing in one area or covering many areas?
The notice suggests proposals may be favored if they show depth in one or more highlighted areas (for example, hydro/terrain ontologies or semantic modeling for The National Map) while also showing flexibility to support related CEGIS research needs that may emerge.
What kinds of outputs are implied by the notice?
While the notice does not prescribe specific deliverables, it describes work that translates research into tools, methods, or standards that can be used in operational mapping and data systems, including methods that could feed into USGS production systems.
What is the main theme of the opportunity in plain terms?
The main theme is selecting one North Atlantic Coast CESU partner to collaborate with USGS CEGIS on research and development that improves national geospatial data infrastructure, especially the semantics and ontological structure of topographic information and the computational methods needed to integrate and generalize geospatial datasets at scale.
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