Summary of Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO)

This Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) announces the 2026 National Geological and Geophysical Data Preservation Program (NGGGDPP) grant opportunity under the U.S. Geological Survey. The program provides federal funding to state geological surveys for the preservation, cataloging, and public access of geological and geophysical data and materials for research and educational use. The total estimated program funding is $2,000,000 with approximately 35 expected awards, with individual award ceilings of $200,000 and floors of $5,000. The program operates under the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Public Law 109-58, Section 351) and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Only state geological surveys are eligible applicants; universities may submit proposals on behalf of state geological surveys if the survey is organized under a state university system. All federal funds for both Priority 1 and Priority 2 activities require a mandatory 1:1 state cost-share match, with federal contributions not exceeding 50 percent of total project costs. The closing date for electronically submitted applications is February 17, 2026, at 6:00 p.m. EST through Grants.gov. Anticipated award dates range from May 1, 2026, to August 1, 2026, with a 12-month performance period and anticipated project end date of September 30, 2027.

The program funds two distinct priority areas: Priority 1 supports the preservation of geoscience resources including digital and physical infrastructure development for archiving geological and geophysical data, samples, and related historical materials; Priority 2 focuses on critical minerals data preservation, including making drill hole/core data publicly available through ResCiColl, developing strategic preservation plans for critical minerals-related data, creating plans for critical minerals in mine waste, and preserving geochemical samples for characterization analyses. Funded projects must submit metadata records to ResCiColl (Registry of Scientific Collections) conforming to the NGGGDPP metadata schema, except for projects involving solely physical or digital infrastructure development. Applicants must include detailed budget narratives using the required Detailed Budget Template (Attachment B), a Data Management Plan, project descriptions limited to five pages per priority, and standard forms including SF-424, SF-424A or SF-424C, and if applicable, SF-429 for real property requests. Non-allowable expenses include preservation of USGS assets, duplicate digitization of artifacts from other agencies, tuition, and conference travel. Buy America requirements apply to construction projects under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Proposals are evaluated on technical merit (25%), societal benefits (25%), knowledge and experience of the applicant (25%), and budget appropriateness and reasonableness (25%) by peer review panels. All award recipients must comply with the 2026 NGGGDPP Terms and Conditions (Attachment C) and various federal reporting, geospatial data standards, and financial management requirements detailed in the NOFO.