NCASC Program Management Team
The National CASC provides strategic program leadership and management to the nine regional CASCs. This work ensures that the CASCs function together as a consistent network and that CASC activities comply with all relevant federal and university policies.
Project Management Resources
CASC Program Management Resources
Support across the Project Lifecycle
The CASC network has funded over 500 actionable science research projects across the United States over the past 10+ years. Keeping track of active projects at different stages of completion is a complex task shared by both regional and National CASC staff. The NCASC Program Management team works with regional CASC research coordinators to manage project solicitations and the project funding process, track project progress, and disseminate resulting scientific products to the public (through publications, data, web applications, etc.).
As part of this role, NCASC staff help to develop policies, procedures, and best practices for project management and tracking that can be applied consistently across the CASC network. This work helps to ensure efficient use of government resources and to support efforts to get scientific project information into the hands of science users in a transparent and effective manner.
NCASC staff also maintain several online systems and web tools to manage projects across different aspects of their life cycles. This includes systems to help eligible researchers apply for funding and manage their applications, systems to help CASC staff conduct internal project tracking, and systems to help the public search and access final products. These tools also help to facilitate crucial strategic science planning by providing a holistic view of the CASC project portfolio in one central location.
Facilitating Cross-CASC Coordination
Each regional CASC is made up of a partnership between the USGS and a collection of consortium organizations, including universities, NGOs, and Tribal communities. These important regional partnerships bring different perspectives and capabilities to each CASC and allow CASCs to address specific regional science needs. The NCASC Program Management team serves an important role in coordinating and supporting cross-CASC efforts related to program management to ensure the CASCs function as a cohesive network despite the unique needs of different regions. National CASC staff actively work to foster open communications and knowledge sharing among the National and regional CASCs and provide training and resources for regional staff on CASC and USGS policies and tools.
NCASC Program Management staff also help to manage the collaborative arrangements between the USGS National CASC and regional host institutions. This includes coordinating the competitive request for proposal (RFP) process to fund multi-year cooperative agreements with host institutions and conducting annual program reviews.