Annually, the NGGDPP solicits proposals from state geological surveys for the preservation and rescue of geoscience materials and data. Funding opportunities may be available to U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) bureaus annually as funding allows. A review panel evaluates and ranks the proposals according to four criteria: technical merit; societal project benefits; knowledge, performance, and experience of project personnel; and reasonableness of budget for proposed project.
Note: This section, Tips and Examples, focuses primarily on guidance for state geological surveys, but the suggestions also apply to DOI opportunities. Cost-share requirements and package submission to grants.gov do not apply to the DOI.
Proposal applicants are encouraged to consider the following guidance for drafting impactful proposals:
- Clear justification for preserving the selected data and materials should be provided, including how the results of the project meet the organization priorities and benefit stakeholders and society.
- The Program places high value on increasing access to preserved materials. Ideally, digital data should be made readily available through digital means.
- The project and workflow process should be described.
- Federal share of the cost of the proposed activities must be no more than 50 percent of the total cost. The state portion can be larger than the federal portion; however, if the federal contribution is more than the state portion - regardless of the amount - the grant proposal shall be disqualified and will not be evaluated by the grant review panel.
- Descriptions of project personnel and their experience and skills relevant to complete the proposed tasks must be provided.
- Equipment funding requests including scanners, computers, storage media, and relevant software licenses are acceptable as long as the equipment is necessary for the successful completion of the work funded by the NGGDPP. A full justification and a dealer or manufacturer quote are required for any proposed equipment purchase.
- Submission of proposal package to grants.gov should be initiated well in advance of due date.
2024 State Grant Notice of Funding Opportunity Webinar
The presentation and recording are available from the September 7, 2023 webinar on the 2024 NGGDPP Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) Webinar.
Presentation (Click here for Powerpoint slides)
Recording September 7, 2023 (Click here for mp4 file 497MB)
Recording September 7, 2023 (Click here for Word Document)
Recording - October 18, 2023 (Click here for mp4 file 449MB)
Recording - October 18, 2023 (Click here for Word Document)
2023 State Proposal Examples
These state geological survey proposal examples from 2023 are available for reference to support proposal writing.
Arizona Geological Survey 2023 Proposal (Click here for pdf file)
Michigan Geological Survey 2020 Proposal (Click here for pdf file)
Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey 2023 Proposal (Click here for pdf file)
2023 State Grant Program Announcement Webinar
The presentation is available from the July 19, 2022 and August 10, 2022 webinars on the NGGDPP Webinar on FY2023 Program Announcement.
Presentation (Click here for Powerpoint slides)
The recording and transcript are available from the August 10, 2022 webinar.
Recording (Click here for mp4 file 523MB)
Recording (Click here for Word Document)
2022 State Grant Program Announcement Webinar and Office Hours
The presentation is available from the October 2021 webinar on the NGGDPP Webinar on FY2022 Program Announcement.
Presentation (Click here for Powerpoint slides)
The presentation is available from the December 8th and 16th, 2021 Office Hours sessions on the modifications to the FY 2022 Program Announcement in response to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (PL 117-58).
Presentation (Click here for Powerpoint slides)
2021 State Grant Program Announcement Webinar
The presentation and recording are available from the October 2020 webinar, NGGDPP Webinar on FY2021 Program Announcement and Proposal Writing Best Practices.
Presentation (Click here for Powerpoint slides)
Recording (Click here for mp4 file 656MB)
2020 State Proposal Examples
These additional state geological survey proposal examples from 2020 are available for reference to support proposal writing.
Idaho Geological Survey 2020 Proposal (Click here for pdf file)
Kansas Geological Survey 2020 Proposal (Click here for pdf file)
Nebraska Conservation and Survey Division 2020 Workflow Table (Click here for pdf file)
Utah Geological Survey 2020 Proposal (Click here for pdf file)
Grant Templates
These NGGDPP templates are available for use by state geological surveys throughout the grant lifecycle from proposal writing, data compilation, through final submittal.
Attachment D – Mineral Deposits/Districts Templates (Click here for zip file)
Attachment E – Borehole Template (Click here for Excel file)
NGGDPP Data Management Plan Template (Click here for Word document)
Final Technical Report Template (Click here for Word document)
Abstract Template (Click here for Word document)
Data Management Plan Examples
These examples of data management plans (DMP) are available for reference to support proposal writing.
DMP - Core and Core Photos (Click here for Word document)
DMP - Geologic maps, Well logs, Geochemistry, Critical Minerals, Field Notebooks (Click here for Word document)
