Geosciences Open Science Ecosystem | 23 534

Opportunity Information: Apply for 23 534

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Geosciences Open Science Ecosystem (GEO OSE) program is a discretionary grant opportunity designed to strengthen and connect the open science landscape across the geosciences. The central idea is to build a more sustainable, networked ecosystem where researchers, educators, and students can more easily discover, access, combine, and reuse a wide range of geoscience resources. These resources include digital assets like datasets, software, workflows, and advanced computing, as well as physical collections and other research materials that support geoscience discovery and learning. By improving how these assets are shared and used, GEO OSE aims to help the community take fuller advantage of rapidly expanding data volumes and modern computing capabilities to tackle complex, interdisciplinary research questions at the leading edge of the field.

A major emphasis of the program is improving the openness and scientific value of the existing cyberinfrastructure network that already supports geoscience work. This includes data repositories, open-source software communities, and shared computing resources such as high-performance computing and cloud platforms. The program prioritizes work that increases interoperability and reduces friction for users by encouraging alignment around common data and metadata standards. In practical terms, this means making it easier to find relevant information, understand what it contains, trust its quality, connect it with other resources, and reuse it without extensive reformatting or custom integration.

GEO OSE also focuses on democratizing access to advanced cyberinfrastructure capabilities so that innovative research and education are not limited to groups with the most local resources or specialized technical support. Cloud-based approaches and workflows are specifically highlighted, reflecting NSF interest in scalable computing and more equitable, on-demand access to tools and environments needed for modern geoscience analysis. This includes efforts that lower barriers for smaller institutions, under-resourced teams, students, and educators to use cutting-edge computational methods and large-scale datasets in both research and classroom settings.

Another priority is workforce and community capacity building. GEO OSE supports activities that strengthen the ability of current and future geoscientists to navigate, use, and collaborate within an expanding open science ecosystem. This can include training, community-driven practices, and shared methods that help people adopt open tools and standards, contribute back to community resources, and collaborate effectively across disciplines and institutions. The intended outcome is not just better infrastructure, but a more capable and connected community that can sustain open science practices over time.

Finally, the program explicitly ties its goals to established open science principles and responsible stewardship frameworks. It encourages adoption and advancement of the FAIR principles (making scientific data findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable), the CARE principles for Indigenous Data Governance (collective benefit, authority to control, responsibility, and ethics), and the TRUST principles for digital repositories (transparency, responsibility, user focus, sustainability, and technology). Reproducibility and replicability are also named as key values, signaling that supported activities should strengthen confidence in scientific results by improving traceability of data, methods, software, and computational environments.

From the published opportunity details, GEO OSE is offered by NSF under CFDA 47.050, with grants as the funding instrument and a science and technology research and development activity category. The opportunity number is 23-534. The listed award ceiling is $1,600,000, with an expectation of around 10 awards. The original closing date shown is March 16, 2023 (with a creation date of December 15, 2022). Eligibility is described broadly as "Others," with additional clarification referenced in the opportunity’s eligibility text. Overall, the program supports projects that connect resources, adopt shared standards, expand equitable access to computing and data, and embed responsible open science practices to accelerate geoscience research and education.

• The National Science Foundation in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Geosciences Open Science Ecosystem" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 47.050.
• This funding opportunity was created on Dec 15, 2022.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Mar 16, 2023. (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 $1,600,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 10 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

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