NSDI-CAP Announcement - Public Application

NATIONAL SPATIAL DATA INFRASTRUCTURE – COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS PROGRAM (NSDI CAP)

1028-New NSDI_CAP_Announcement 2016-02-03

NSDI-CAP Announcement - Public Application

OMB: 1028-0117

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2016 National Spatial Data Infrastructure

Cooperative Agreement Program

Program Announcement Number G16AS00000

CFDA Number: 15.809

OMB Control Number 1028-TBD, Expiration Date TBD

For Fiscal Year 2016

Issue Date: October 29, 2016

CLOSING DATE & TIME:

January 29, 2017, 2:00 pm EDT

PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT STATEMENT: The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et. seq.) requires us to inform you that this information is being conducted for the National Spatial Data Infrastructure Cooperative Agreements Program (NSDI CAP) to receive and review proposals to acquire funding for projects to help build the infrastructure necessary for the geospatial data community. The estimated burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 35 hours per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. If the application is awarded there is an additional requirement to complete an interim and final report, average response time is 5 hours for each. The response to this request is required to retain or receive benefit as a cooperative agreement. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB Control Number. Direct comments regarding the burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information: Information Collection Clearance Officer, at gs-info_collections@usgs.gov.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page Number

Introduction and General Information

I. Description of Award Opportunity 3

II. Award Information 5

III. Applicant Eligibility. 6

IV. Application and Submission Information 7

V. Application Review 12

VI. Award Administration Information 13

VII. Agency Contacts 14

Category 1: Metadata Trainer and Outreach Assistance 16

Category 2: Geospatial Digital Data Archiving Business Plan Development 25

Category 3: Development of Geospatial Strategic Plans for Federally Recognized

Indian Tribes 32

Category 4: Fifty States Initiative: Business Plan Development and Implementation 38

Category 5: FGDC-endorsed Standards Implementation Training and Outreach 45

Category 6: Geospatial Platform Collaborative Group Development 53

Category 7: Geospatial Platform Cloud Service Testbed 58

Category 8: Arctic Spatial Data Infrastructure, Alaska-Yukon Project 63

Attachment A - General Provisions

Attachment B - Special Terms and Conditions for USGS Cooperative Agreements

Attachment C - Budget Breakdown Template with Example

Attachment D - Templates for Interim and Final Reports

For all technical questions about applying through Grants.gov, call the Grants.gov Help Desk at: 1-800-518-GRANTS.

For questions concerning this Program Announcement, call Ms. Desiree Santa, Grant Specialist, at (703) 648-7382 or via email at dsanta@usgs.gov.

National Spatial Data Infrastructure - Cooperative Agreements Program (NSDI - CAP): OMB Control Number 1028-0xxx, Expiration Date xx/xx/xxxx.

2016 National Spatial Data Infrastructure

Cooperative Agreements Program (NSDI CAP)

Program Announcement Number G16AS00000

Introduction and General Information

I. Description of Award Opportunity

The purpose of the National Spatial Data Infrastructure Cooperative Agreements Program (NSDI CAP) is to fund innovative projects in the geospatial data community to build the infrastructure necessary to effectively discover, access, share, manage, and use digital geospatial data. Its authorization is under Executive Order 12906, April 13, 1994; Organic Act of March 3, 1879, 43 U.S.C. 36c, 43 U.S.C. 31f. Since 1994, the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC), hosted by the U.S. Geological Survey, has awarded projects that advance the NSDI in partnership with the geospatial community.

The NSDI consists of the technologies, policies, organizations, and people necessary to promote cost-effective production, ready availability, and greater utilization of geospatial data among a variety of sectors, disciplines, and communities. Specific NSDI CAP areas of emphasis include: documenting, implementing, and providing outreach for metadata and other FGDC geospatial standards; expanding geographic information coordination and collaboration across and between organizational levels; promoting geospatial best practices; and advancing the implementation and exchange of common geospatial data, services, and applications. The results of the awarded projects benefit multiple Federal agencies as well as the overall geospatial community.

A. Fiscal Year 2016 NSDI Cooperative Agreements Program

A total of $700,000 in funds is available for the fiscal year 2016 cooperative agreements program. The projects will be funded for one year. Award notification will be made in March 2017. Project work shall commence no later than September 30, 2016 (the end of the 2016 Federal fiscal year). Start dates on or after October 1, 2016 are not authorized under this announcement. The Government's obligation under this program is contingent upon the availability of funds.

B. Summary of 2016 CAP Award Categories

Category 1: Metadata Trainer and Outreach Assistance

This category provides support to organizations with NSDI knowledge and experience to facilitate geospatial metadata implementation within their own or a partner organization. Projects can support metadata training, outreach, creation, assessment, publication assistance, and/or other efforts that enable the creation and maintenance of a sustainable metadata program. Training materials will be developed using the Metadata Core Curriculum and may be delivered via in-person, online workshops, presentations or online applications. An outreach component may include a presentation at a local, regional, or national conference. Of special interest, are projects focused on implementation of the international geospatial metadata standard, ISO 19115 Geographic Information–Metadata and associated ISO standards. This category will award up to 3 cooperative agreements of up to $25,000 each, with the recipient matching 30-50% of the award with funding or in-kind services.

Category 2: Geospatial Digital Data Archiving Business Plan Development

“Geoarchiving” is the identification of significant geospatial data and its preservation for future use. This category will support States in developing a geoarchiving business plan to evaluate their current situations and needs, determine the costs and benefits of a geoarchiving program and guide an operational framework for the successful design, creation and implementation of a cross-organizational, statewide geoarchiving program. The resulting business plan will follow the guidance in the GeoMAPP Geoarchiving Business Planning Toolkit. This category will award up to 4 cooperative agreements of up to $40,000 each, with the recipient matching 50% of the award with funding or in-kind services.

Category 3: Development of Geospatial Strategic Plans for Federally Recognized Indian Tribes

Projects in the category will develop and implement strategic geospatial plans for federally recognized Indian Tribes (“Tribes”) that will facilitate the coordination of programs, policies, technologies, and resources that enable the coordination, collection, documentation, discovery, distribution, exchange and maintenance of geospatial information in support of the NSDI and the objectives of the Fifty States Initiative. As a key step in implementing the NSDI, these plans will include coordination among the local Tribe and communities of interest that could potentially include other Tribes within the region or other local, State, or Federal entities. This category will award up to 4 cooperative agreements of up to $40,000 each, with the recipient matching 50% of the award with funding or in-kind services.

Category 4: Fifty States Initiative: Business Plan Development and Implementation Projects in this category will develop and implement statewide geospatial-related business plans. The plans will advance the statewide spatial data infrastructure (SSDI) and the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) by facilitating alignment of Federal agencies with statewide geospatial planning activities. State and Tribal governments and regional entities (councils of governments) may apply for awards in this category. This category will award up to 4 cooperative agreements of up to $40,000 each, with the recipient matching 50% of the award with funding or in-kind services.

Category 5: FGDC-endorsed Standards Implementation Training and Outreach

The goal of the category is to facilitate implementation of an FGDC-endorsed standard in user communities. Not included in this category is metadata (see Category 1). Deliverables through this category might include implementation guides, training materials, and/or outreach materials. This category will award up to 2 cooperative agreements of up to $25,000 each, with the recipient matching 30-50% of the award with funding or in-kind services.

Category 6: Geospatial Platform Collaborative Group Development

Projects in this category will support coordination to develop and establish groups within the Geospatial Platform that consist of State, Tribal, local and Federal partners and focus on specific thematic content or field of application. The project funds are to be used for coordinating the groups, managing an online community page, creating base maps, establishing data services, etc. The expected outcome is an operational group/community on the Geospatial Platform with active management duties to ensure it continues beyond the initial set-up period. This category will award up to 5 cooperative agreements of up to $30,000 each with the recipient matching 50% of the award with funding or in-kind services.

Category 7: Geospatial Platform Cloud Service Testbed

This category will support State, Tribal, and/or local governments that have formal data exchange agreements with Federal agencies for collection and local management of nationally significant geospatial data, per OMB Circular A-16, and seek to deploy secure geospatial Cloud services that support Federal requirements. The result of each award in this category will be operational geospatial Cloud services for which deployment costs and performance characteristics are known and documented. This category will award up to 2 cooperative agreements of up to $25,000 each, with the recipient matching 50% of the award with funding or in-kind services. The project is expected to pay for its Cloud hosting costs with award or in-kind funds.

Category 8: Arctic Spatial Data Infrastructure, Alaska-Yukon Project

This category will fund a State or local government-sponsored project in Alaska to partner with a counterpart project in the Canadian Yukon as part of joint US-Canada effort to support development and use of the Arctic Spatial Data Infrastructure (ASDI). Goals of the project are to develop, publish, and use local Web map and data services or national data and map services in support of emergency preparedness, hazards modeling, environmental monitoring, coastal planning, or resource development activities in the Arctic Coastal region of Alaska and Canada. Projects will build upon national and global map and data services portrayed in polar coordinate reference systems; publish large scale environmental, resource, and logistical data sources; and demonstrate decision support for the joint project. This category will award one cooperative agreement of up to $75,000 each, with the recipient matching 50% of the award with funding or in-kind services.

II. Award Information

Under the 2016 CAP program, a total of not to exceed $700,000 is available for funding. 25 awards are anticipated.

CAP Award Categories	Award Amount	In-kind Match	Approximate Number of Awards
1. Metadata Trainer and Outreach Assistance	Up to $25,000	30-50%	3
2. Geospatial Digital Data Archiving Business Plan Development	Up to $40,000	50%	4
3. Development of Geospatial Strategic Plans for Federally Recognized Indian Tribes	Up to $40,000	50%	4
4. Fifty States Initiative: Business Plan Development and Implementation	Up to $40,000	50%	4
5. FGDC-endorsed Standards Implementation Training and Outreach	Up to $25,000	30-50%	2
6. Geospatial Platform Collaborative Group Development	Up to $30,000	50%	5
7. Geospatial Platform Cloud Service Test-bed	Up to $25,000	100%	2
8. Arctic Spatial Data Infrastructure, Alaska-Yukon Project	Up to $75,000	50%	1

This assistance is provided through a cooperative agreement, which is neither a contract nor a grant. As a cooperative agreement, there will be substantial involvement on the part of the FGDC with the recipient’s organization to promote the objectives of the program, monitor progress, and agree on milestones and accomplishments for work performed as part of this agreement. The FGDC will manage all queries, technical resources, and assistance requests.

Note on Method of Payment: The U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) is using the Department of the Treasury Automated Standard Application for Payments (ASAP) to provide electronic invoicing and payment for award recipients. If an ASAP account does not already exist, the Recipient will establish one. With the award of each cooperative agreement, a sub-account will be set up from which the Recipient can draw down funds.

The FGDC provides, through its Web site (http://www.fgdc.gov), a wide range of information related to the NSDI, as well as contact information for the FGDC and its participating organizations. Also included is information on metadata trainers, training opportunities, and NSDI news. The FGDC will attempt to address all queries and assistance requests, including referral to suitable software solutions and subject matter experts.

III. Applicant Eligibility

1. State or local government, Tribal organizations, academia, private sector entities, non-profit entities and consortia of organizations, may apply. Only entities from the United States of America can receive NSDI CAP awards. See the individual categories for specific eligibility information.

2. To demonstrate long-term sustainability of project outcomes, an in-kind resource match on the part of the applicant is required for all projects.

3. Organizations may submit proposals for more than one category. However, a complete and separate application package is required for each category submission. In the proposal narrative portion of the proposal the applicant should note that they are applying in multiple categories.

4. In Categories 4 and 7 there are restrictions on institutions that have received a NSDI CAP award within the past three years. Please see award category for specific eligibility information.

IV. Application and Submission Information

A. Proposal Submission Requirements

All applicants are required to submit the proposals using the Federal government's http://www.grants.gov Web site for electronic submission.

Applications must be submitted no later than January 29, 2017, 2:00 pm EDT. A proposal received after the closing date and time will not be considered for award. If it is determined that an application will not be considered because it was late, the applicant will be notified immediately.

Please be aware that the electronic submission system is complex for first-time users and involves several preliminary steps before the proposal information can actually be submitted. It is nearly impossible to begin the process of electronic submission for the first time if you start just a few days before the due date.

Instructions for the registering on Grants.gov are available at http://www.grants.gov/applicants/organization_registration.jsp. Go to http://www.grants.gov/ and click on the “Get Registered” tab in the red Applicants section on the left side of the page for a guide and tutorial for organizations.

If you are from a university, contact your Office of Sponsored Programs, as it may already have completed the registration process. It should work with you to submit the application.

Documents and Forms to submit:

Standard Form 424 Application for Federal Assistance
- Mandatory form provided in grants.gov. The person who electronically submits the SF-424 must have the authority to bind the organization to the terms of the cooperative agreements award.
Standard Form 424A Budget Information Non-Construction Programs
- Mandatory form provided in grants.gov.
Standard Form 424B Assurances Non-Construction Programs
- Mandatory form provided in grants.gov.
Proposal narrative
- Mandatory – Follow outline described in the category descriptions.
Detailed budget breakdown
- Mandatory - See Attachment C for an example and a format guide. You may create your own budget sheet with the similar format that has more lines for needed itemization. Please read Section IV. D. “Budget Breakdown Attachment” for more information. The information provided in this document expands on the information provided in the SF-424A and is required if the proposal is awarded.
- If travel to a conference or national/regional meeting is included in the proposal, a justification for attendance shall be provided. It is strongly encouraged that a presentation on the project be made at the conference or meeting.
- Attach to proposal narrative.
Negotiated Rate Agreement
- Most State and universities have an indirect cost rate agreement. They are usually titled “State and Local Rate Agreement” or “Colleges and Universities Rate Agreement.” The document provides the rates approved for use on grants, contracts, and other agreements with the Federal government. It is basically documentation that determines the indirect cost rate listed in project budget. Some may have an individual audit agency review and provide an agreement. This should be included as an attachment at the end of the proposal narrative.
Mandatory or other optional documents such as letters of support or participation or Memoranda of Understanding – See the category description for more details. It is preferred that these are merged together and submitted as a single file.

All documents should be converted to PDF format.

Please arrange your proposal narrative and attachments according to the format provided in the category descriptions below. It is preferred that the narrative, budget breakdown, and other supporting documents be submitted in a single file. Following the requested format will ensure that every proposal contains all essential information and can be evaluated equitably.

Letters with signatures should be scanned. If this is not possible letters should be mailed or faxed to the NSDI CAP Coordinator, MS 590 National Center, Reston, VA 20192, Fax number: 703-648-5755.

B. Completing Proposal Forms

The proposal forms are in the grant application package that is downloadable from the Grants.gov Web site (https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms_apps_idx.html, CFDA number: 15.809, Funding Opportunity Number: XXXXX). The grant application package allows you to complete it offline and route it through your organization for review before submitting. You need to verify that you have a Grants.gov compatible version of Adobe software (http://www.grants.gov/applicants/AdobeVersioningTestOnly.jsp). Instructions on how to open and use the forms in the package are on the application package cover sheet.

Download links for software are available at http://www.grants.gov/help/download_software.jsp.

1. SF-424 Application for Federal Assistance

Follow instructions provided with SF-424. All blocks in yellow must be filled out or the application submission will be rejected by grants.gov. In addition please note the below:

Item 2. Type of Application - New

Item 11. Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number - 15.809. Title - National Spatial Data Infrastructure Cooperative Agreements Program

Item 15. Descriptive Title of Applicant's Proposal - Please preface your proposal's unique title (e.g. Missouri metadata outreach) with "2016 CAP - Category N" where N is the specific award category 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8.

Item 17. Proposed Project Start and End Dates – The start date can be any time prior to September 30, 2016. The end date needs to be one year after the start date.

Item 19. Is Application Subject to Review By State Under Executive Order 12372 Process? Select C. Program is not covered by E.O. 12372.

2. SF-424A Budget Information

Follow instructions provided with SF-424A. In addition please note the below:

Fill out Section B - Budget Categories

In Column 1 indicate cost category allocation of Federal funds.
In Column 2 indicate cost category allocation of applicant in-kind match.

Please note that detailed budget information is mandatory and goes in the Budget Breakdown Attachment. A template can be found in attachment C of this document. Instructions to complete and an example of this document are in Section IV. D. “Budget Breakdown Attachment.”

3. SF-424B Assurances – Non-Construction Programs

The form will be pre-populated with the authorized representative information from Grants.gov at the point of submission.

C. Proposal Narrative

The applicant's proposal narrative is the primary evaluation document that is scored. For more information see the specific category for narrative content requirements. Please follow the format detailed in the specific category, as this will allow for equitable scoring of proposals.

D. Budget Breakdown Attachment

As an attachment to the proposal narrative, please provide more budget details than are required under the SF 424A form. Please note that this budget breakdown is required. An award will not be issued until all required budget information and details have been provided. The budget format guide included in Attachment C can be used to include the following information, separating the CAP funds and the in-kind match. Attachment C includes an example of a budget breakdown.

Salaries and Wages. List names, positions, and rate of compensation. This should include only personnel actively involved in the project. If contract employees are to be hired, include their total time, rate of compensation, job titles, and roles.
Fringe Benefits. Propose your rates/amounts. If rates are audit approved, include copy of the audit agreement and/or the name of the audit agency.
Field Expenses. Briefly itemize estimated travel costs (i.e., destination, number of travelers, number of travel days, air fare, other transportation costs, lodging, registration fee, mileage rate, per diem) and include justification for the travel.
Other Direct Cost Line Items. Categories may include training, labor costs, software licenses, supplies, equipment, required travel, project logistics, and fees for consultants, publications, and project presentations. This is not an inclusive list: add other categories as appropriate and see the category description for additional details. Please itemize the costs to the greatest extent possible. If including contractual services, identify proposed contractors (individual or corporate) and provide the criteria by which contractors will be or have been selected. If purchasing hardware, software, or supplies these need to be dedicated to the project.
Total Direct Charges. Totals for items 1, 2, 3, and 4. The proposal must show the in-kind match.
Indirect Charges (Overhead). Show proposed rate and amount. Proposals from State agencies or universities must include a copy of the negotiated indirect cost rate agreement. Be sure that indirect charges apply only to those direct cost items allowable under the negotiated cost rate agreement. Usually, sub-contract direct costs are either excluded from indirect charges, or there is a cap on the amount of subcontract costs eligible for indirect charges.

Completeness of the budget information will be considered in review. It is understood that this information is best guess estimation; therefore, prior approval of the Contracting Officer is not required for transfer of funds between direct cost categories when the cumulative amount of the transfers during the performance period does not exceed ten percent (10%) of the total USGS cash award. Prior written approval is required from the Contracting Officer for transfers of funds in excess of the 10% percent limitation.

In-Kind Resource Match

1. Please separate this out from the Federal funding.

2. All categories require an in-kind resource match on the part of the applicant for the long-term sustainability of project outcomes. Examples of in-kind resource match are: salaries, contract support, student assistance fees, travel expenses, venue costs, software purchase, equipment dedicated to the project, computer servers hosting data, production of outreach materials, and indirect costs or overhead charges. All contributions, including cash and third party in-kind, will be accepted as part of the applicants’ in-kind match when such contributions meet all of the following criteria:

a. Verifiable from the applicants’ records,

b. Not included as contributions for any other federally-assisted project or program,

c. Necessary and reasonable for proper and efficient accomplishment of project or program objectives (A good test for this is to ask: "Would it be necessary to buy the service or property in order to accomplish the project objectives, and is the cost (value) reasonable for this purpose?"),

d. Allowable under the applicable cost principles:

OMB Circular A-21: Cost Principles for Educational Institutions - http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars_a021_2004
OMB Circular A-87: Cost Principles for State, Local, and Indian Tribal Governments, Attachment B - http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars_a087_2004#attb (this contains information that is useful to applicant when determining allowable in-kind matches)
OMB Circular A-122: Cost Principles for Non-Profit Organizations - http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars_a122_2004/#attb,

e. Not paid by the Federal government under another award, except where authorized by Federal statute to be used for cost matching,

f. Provided for in the approved budget when required by the Federal awarding agency, and

g. Conform to the provision of the appropriate OMB Circular, as applicable.

3. Unrecovered indirect costs may be included as part of the in-kind match.

4. Volunteer services furnished by professional and technical personnel, consultants, and skilled and unskilled labor may be counted as in-kind match if the service is an integral and necessary part of an approved NSDI Program. Rates for volunteer services shall be consistent with those paid for similar work in the applicant’s organization. In those instances in which the required skills are not found in the applicant organization, rates shall be consistent with those paid for similar work in the labor market in which the applicant competes for the kind of services involved. In either case, paid fringe benefits that are reasonable, allowable, and allocable may be included in the valuation.

5. The value of geospatial data holdings is not considered appropriate for in-kind matches for any of the award categories.

6. Match calculation: For example, with a request for an award of $50,000 of Federal assistance, a 50% in-kind match contribution by the applicant would be $25,000 in value for a total of $75,000 value committed to the project ($50,000 and $25,000 Federal and applicant, respectively).

7. The applicant must document the amount and type of in-kind resource that will be contributed to the fulfillment of the project and include this information in the detailed budget breakdown.

8. See award category for specific in-kind match information.

E. Additional Mandatory Documents

Please read the category description for information about required and optional documents. Letters of support, participation, or commitment are greatly encouraged. If Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) exist, they can be included if they are pertinent to the application. Letters with signatures should be scanned and attached to the proposal narrative. If this is not possible, letters should be mailed or faxed to the NSDI CAP Coordinator, MS 590 National Center, Reston, VA 20192, Fax number: 703-648-5755.

Please note that Federal employees, including USGS Geospatial Liaisons, may not provide letters of support for non-Federal entities. Federal employees can be partners in CAP projects. Under Category 5: FGDC-endorsed Standards Implementation Training and Outreach, Federal employees who are the maintenance authority for an identified FGDC-endorsed standard may provide letters that indicate that the proposed project supports and is consistent with the maintenance authority’s plan for implementation.

F. Additional Help

Additional information for completing the proposal submittal is available via the FGDC Training site, http://www.fgdc.gov/training/training-materials.

V. Application Review

A. Review and Selection Process

Applications are considered based on the completeness of proposal narrative, meeting of stated basic eligibility, completeness of budget breakdown, in-kind match, and other category requirements. Specific evaluation factors are identified in the category descriptions. Budget information is evaluated for reasonableness and appropriateness to the CAP program as well as to applicant project goals.

In addition to the above criteria, the factors of geographic and organizational diversity, as well as reaching new organizations and new geographic regions, may be taken into consideration in selecting awards. Please see the award category descriptions below for more details.

Proposals are reviewed by a peer group of professionals who are knowledgeable in geospatial and information technology disciplines in the context of the NSDI. Individual proposals are evaluated and scored using the narrative evaluation factors. Through peer consensus process, proposals are ranked according to merit. The slate of selected proposals will be submitted to the senior leadership of FGDC Secretariat for final approval. The senior leadership will consult with the FGDC Coordination Group, as appropriate, in approving and advertising final selections.

VI. Award Administration Information

A. Notice of Selection and Award

The contact person listed on the first page of the SF-424 will be notified via email whether or not a proposal was selected for award. The letter will come from the NSDI CAP Coordinator. If the proposal was not selected, the letter will include an explanation. The category lead may follow up with a phone call and/or email. The formal authorizing notice of award will be sent to the recipient via email by the USGS Grants Specialist in the form of a “Grant and Cooperative Agreement” document. This document contains the project start and end dates, the award amount, and administrative details for the project. When this is received the project can commence.

Project summaries for each awarded proposal will be posted on the FGDC Web site, http://www.fgdc.gov/grants.

B. Administrative Project Requirements

1. Reporting and Presentations

a. The following reports will be required from all award recipients:

Report	Due Dates
Interim Technical Project Report	6 months after the start of the project
Final Technical Project Report	On or before 90 calendar days after the expiration of the agreement
Annual Federal Financial Report (SF-425)	90 calendar days after the annual anniversary of the agreement start date
Final Federal Financial Report (SF-425)	90 calendar days after the agreement end date

b. The specific content for the technical reports can be found in the Attachment D: Templates for the Interim and Final Reports. Project reports will be posted on the FGDC Web site, http://www.fgdc.gov/grants.

c. Details about the required financial reports for awarded projects can be found in Attachment B.

d. Project Presentation and Outreach - To spread and promote knowledge of the NSDI, CAP participants are requested to make formal presentation of their activities. Presentation can be at a national, State, regional, or local conference or meeting. The applicant is requested to budget sufficient funds to travel to the meeting or conference. An alternative is to publish a paper or article in a professional journal or newsletter. Other outreach activities could include coordination with other NSDI stakeholders.

2. Participation in CAP Orientation

Orientation, also known as kick-off, is an opportunity for project leaders, CAP category leads, and others to plan and share information. Each category will have an orientation meeting that will be hosted by the category lead via teleconference and/or webinar. The date and time will be agreed to by the project leaders and the category lead. Administrative guidance for the projects will be provided. The meetings will most likely occur in the spring of 2016.

3. General Provisions and Terms and Conditions for USGS Awarded Cooperative Agreements

Please refer to Attachment A for general provisions and Attachment B for the detailed terms and conditions for awarded cooperative agreements. Attachment A includes the OMB circulars/regulations that apply to this cooperative agreement program.

4. Additional Information

Award recipients are responsible for managing the day-to-day operations of the cooperative agreements and sub-award supported activities to assure compliance with applicable Federal requirements and that performance goals are being achieved. Recipient monitoring must cover each program, function, or activity.

The cooperative agreement is awarded to the institution and not the principal investigator (project leader). If the primary investigator leaves the awarded institution, a new principal investigator from the recipient organization must be assigned to the project.

VII. Agency Contacts

A. Grants.gov

For technical questions concerning the application process at Grants.gov, please contact:

Grants.gov Help Desk at:

Phone: 1-800-518-GRANTS

Email: support@grants.gov

USGS Grants.gov and ASAP Enrollment contact:

Laura Mahoney

Phone: 703-648-7344
Email: lmahoney@usgs.gov

B. Program Announcement

Applicants are strongly urged to submit program announcement related questions via email to:

Ms. Desiree Santa, Grant Specialist

U.S. Geological Survey, Office Acquisitions and Grants

12201 Sunrise Valley Drive, MS 211

Reston, VA 20192

Phone: 703-648-7382

Email: dsanta@usgs.gov

C. NSDI CAP Program

For technical questions concerning the content, goals, and objectives of the CAP program categories, please contact:

Ms. Gita Urban-Mathieux, NSDI CAP Coordinator

Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC), U.S. Geological Survey

12201 Sunrise Valley Drive, MS 590

Reston, Virginia 20192

Phone: 703-648-5175

Fax: 703-648-5755

Email: burbanma@fgdc.gov

D. Category Leads

For technical questions concerning the content, goals, and objectives particular categories, please contact via email:

Category 1: Metadata Trainer and Outreach Assistance

Ms. Jennifer Carlino, jcarlino@usgs.gov

Category 2: Geospatial Digital Data Archiving Business Plan Development

Mr. Butch Lazorchak, wlaz@loc.gov

Category 3: Development of Geospatial Strategic Plans for Federally Recognized Indian Tribes

Mr. Tom Carlson, tcarlson@usgs.gov

Category 4: Fifty States Initiative: Business Plan Development and Implementation

Ms. Arista Maher, amaher@fgdc.gov

Category 5: FGDC-endorsed Standards Implementation Training and Outreach

Ms. Julie Binder Maitra, jmaitra@fgdc.gov

Category 6: Geospatial Platform Collaborative Group Development Mr. Doug Nebert, ddnebert@fgdc.gov

Category 7: Geospatial Platform Cloud Service Testbed

Mr. Doug Nebert, ddnebert@fgdc.gov

Category 8: Arctic Spatial Data Infrastructure, Alaska-Yukon Project

Mr. Doug Nebert, ddnebert@fgdc.gov

2016 NSDI CAP Category 1: Metadata Trainer and Outreach Assistance

A. Background

Geospatial information applications have become commonplace in the management, planning, and use of environmental and human resources. Good data management practices allow datasets created for one project to be used by another through documentation of critical information about a dataset. Documentation of this information can allow confident reuse of existing data. However, due to unawareness or other limitations, many organizations often do not record the dataset characteristics, developmental processes, or even the data repository. Dataset characteristics, documented in a structured form to allow effective information search and discovery, is called metadata. Implementing metadata as a program enables organizations to effectively manage data resources and to experience cost savings by eliminating redundant data creation and improving data utility.

The FGDC calls upon the metadata community, through this CAP, to explore and support implementing metadata as an internal data resource management instrument and sharing data resources in support of the NSDI. This category recruits proposals to assist rural, local, regional, State, and non-governmental organizations with metadata training, creation, publication, and/or the implementation of an organizational metadata program.

B. Project Goals

This category provides funding to support metadata implementation. Support may be in the form of metadata training, outreach, creation, assessment, publication assistance, and/or other efforts that enable the creation and maintenance of a sustainable metadata program. Organizations are strongly encouraged to propose initiatives that incorporate transition to the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) geospatial metadata and associated standards.

Outcomes from this category focus on establishing a sustained effort to: inventory and document data (metadata), support data sharing, promote registration and use of metadata through collections registered with Data.gov for the Geospatial Platform, improve access to data and related services, and to implement metadata programs in their respective organizations or agencies. Recipients in this category are expected to become a long-term community metadata resource, participate in the FGDC Metadata Working Group, and, if trainers, register with the NSDI Trainer Registry.

Training under this program should build upon the FGDC Metadata Core Curriculum published at: http://www.fgdc.gov/training/metadata-curriculum. The Core Curriculum provides general topic areas, suggested learning objectives and links to available materials and resources. The curriculum provides a foundation that trainers are encouraged to build upon and adapt to their own communities. Awardees will submit a workshop outline and workshop learning objectives in the workshop planning phase for category technical lead approval.

Training modules developed under this agreement shall be made available via the internet. For those who choose to serve their modules through www.fgdc.gov, the modules shall be supplied, to the coordinator, in Microsoft PowerPoint and include learning goals and objectives and be 508 Compliant. Guidance is provided in ‘NSDI-related Training Materials Development: Recommendations and Resources for Stakeholder Subject Matter Experts’ document located at: (https://www.fgdc.gov/training/nsdi-training-program/materials/NSDITraining_StakeholderContentDevGuidlines.pdf). Modules served through the applicant’s Web site will provide the URLs to linking to the FGDC.gov.

C. Project Results

Projects results or outcomes sought under this category include:

Individuals and organizations trained and competent in creating metadata, particularly the ISO 19115 and associated standards
Transformation of CSDGM formatted metadata to ISO format
Creation of a metadata program complete with tasking and management roles
Publication of new and existing metadata records, registered with data.gov and visible through the Geospatial Platform
Measurable improvements to the number and quality of organizational metadata records
New metadata partnerships, cooperatives and initiatives that demonstrate commitment beyond the project timeframe
Registration of trainers in the NSDI Trainer Registry to provide for greater metadata training opportunities

D. Applicant Eligibility

State or local government, academia, private sector entities, non-profit entities, and Tribal organizations, as well as consortia of organizations, may apply. This includes managerial organizations such as the National League of Cities and National Association of Counties.

Organizations that submit proposals in this category should be skilled and resourceful in implementing applicable standards.

E. Funding Amount and In-Kind Match

1. Federal Assistance

Up to $25,000 will be obligated to individual projects under this category.

2. Applicant In-Kind Resource Match

A 30-50% match of the requested Federal funds is required (up to $12,500). Contribution of matching personnel hours or funding, supplied development hardware and software are considered in-kind match. The value of data will not be considered as an in-kind match. Other Federal grant funds cannot be used for matching. Applicant shall document the amount and type of in-kind resource that will be contributed to the fulfillment of the project goals. See Section IV.D. in the Introduction for more details and for in-kind match calculation..

F. Funded Activities

1. Funded tasks may include the only the following:

Staff time for project planning, implementation, CAP administrative tasks (e.g. presentations and reporting), and metadata working group participation,
Travel to awardee-led training events,
Travel to conferences/meetings as specified in Item 3. below,
Facility rental, materials reproduction, and supplies required to implement the project,
Publication services for resulting metadata,
Reasonable expenses for hardware and software that are dedicated to the project and its sustainability, but does not include programming or development of metadata creation tools.

2. Participation in CAP Kick-off Workshop. The recipients will meet electronically via webinar. The Kick-off Workshop will review the agreement process and new developments in metadata. Each awardee will be expected to give a brief presentation on their project and the presentation will be posted on the FGDC website.

3. Project Presentations. Project presentations extend and promote knowledge of the NSDI and the valuable work of the awardee. Participants are requested to make formal presentations of their activities at a local, State, regional, national conference or meeting. The applicant is requested to budget sufficient funds to travel to the meeting or conference. An alternative is to publish a paper or article in a professional journal or newsletter.

4. If travel to a conference or national/regional meeting does not include a presentation related to the project then a justification for attendance needs to be included in the proposal.

G. Partnership and Collaboration Requirements

Partnerships with other organizations or other administrative units that are in place to leverage resources are strongly encouraged but not required under this category. Partnerships, both formal and informal, among organizations are seen as primary building blocks for the NSDI.

Those proposals demonstrating support and/or collaboration with State or regional geospatial data strategic plans or councils are evaluated accordingly in this category.

H. Applicable Standards

Projects shall be in compliance, as applicable, with geographic information standards developed and endorsed by standard-setting bodies including the FGDC, ISO, and the Open GIS Consortium (http://www.fgdc.gov/metadata/geospatial-metadata-standards). These standards include:

ISO 19115 Geographic Information – Metadata and associated ISO standards including TS-19139 (XML encoding of ISO metadata).
Metadata Service Guidelines. Metadata shall be posted to one of the following options:
1. Z39.50 server registered with data.gov,
2. Web Accessible Folder (WAF) registered with data.gov for harvest
3. OGC Catalog Services for the Web (CSW)
4. Form entry or upload of XML metadata to data.gov
FGDC Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata, Version 2 (CSDGM) - FGDC-STD-001-1998
Note: applicants developing proposals that promote the CSDGM should include a strong justification as to the value of promoting the CSDGM instead of the more current and robust, ISO metadata standards.

I. Category Lead Technical Contact

Ms. Jennifer Carlino, Acting Metadata Category Lead, email: jcarlino@usgs.gov.

J. FGDC Involvement Statement and Project Resources

The FGDC will collaborate closely with the recipients to enable them to meet the goals stated in their respective proposals. The FGDC provides logistical and programmatic support to the extent FGDC resources allow. The FGDC provides, if needed, guidance and assistance enabling the recipients to provide electronic access, clearinghouse or access to Data.gov or similar resources, to the metadata resulting for this category’s activities. The FGDC will conduct a needs assessment to determine the best available date and content for the 2016 CAP Kick-off Workshop. The FGDC will conduct progress calls, intermediate to the interim and final reports, with the recipients. The FGDC will promote the outcomes of the awards through communication channels including the FGDC Web site.

The FGDC Metadata Web site (http://www.fgdc.gov/metadata) provides links to resources assisting workshop development at various content levels and durations. Using the FGDC Metadata Core Curriculum enables course development that meets FGDC training standards, http://www.fgdc.gov/training/metadata-curriculum. In April 2012 the FGDC issued updated guidance for geospatial metadata standards, see http://www.fgdc.gov/metadata/geospatial-metadata-standards. In addition, information about preparing for international metadata is available at http://www.fgdc.gov/metadata/documents/preparing-for-international-metadata-guidance.pdf and a compilation of ISO metadata resources is available at https://www.fgdc.gov/metadata/documents/ISOMetadataResources_20120830.pdf.

The applicant might consult the following websites for help in developing learning goals and objectives:

http://ets.tlt.psu.edu/learningdesign/objectives

http://tilt.colostate.edu/courses.cfm

Training materials posted on the Web must be Section 508 compliant, see http://www.section508.gov/index.cfm?fuseAction=stdsdoc.

Select the link for Subpart B. 1194.22 Web-based intranet and internet information and applications.

K. Reporting

The Category Lead will confer with CAP awardees to discuss project progress and other issues related to Category 1 projects. The awardee will participate in the FGDC Metadata Work Group meetings and teleconferences and provide a brief update on project status. The awardee will submit a workshop outline and workshop learning objectives during the workshop planning phase.

2. An interim project report and a final project report are required and will be posted on the FGDC Web site, http://www.fgdc.gov/grants.

For content and format see Attachment D - Templates for the Interim and Final Reports.
For the submission schedule see Section VI.B. Administrative Project Requirements in the Introduction.

3. Financial reports are required, see Section VI.B. Administrative Project Requirements in the Introduction for more details.

4. Prior to occurrence, announcements of workshops and training at conferences or other venues should be posted to the FGDC Calendar, http://www.fgdc.gov/calendar.

5. Reports on workshop events are required as part of the final report. The following information should be included in the report:

Number, duration, and venue of workshops conducted.
Organizations and organizational type (Federal, State, Tribal, local, academic, NGO, etc) of the workshop participants. Names of participants need not be provided. This list will provide indicators of outreach to user communities.
The means of instruction, for example, lecture only, lecture and exercises, or lecture and computer assisted.
Overall customer satisfaction for each workshop. The evaluation form is available at http://www.fgdc.gov/training.
List new organizations engaged in this project.
Provide the method(s) of promoting the workshop (e.g., FGDC Calendar, Listserv, etc.)
If available, letters of recognition for the workshop to the awardee, publication articles regarding the workshop, and external endorsement for the workshop.

L. Proposal Narrative

The proposal narrative is the document that will be evaluated and scored by the review panel. A total point value of 100 points is possible. All proposals should be no more than 3000 words (about 5 pages using Times New Roman 12 point), not including letters of support, tables, maps, and diagrams. See below for required supporting documents.

Please submit narratives that are responsive to the following instructions and are clearly and plainly stated. Planned activities should be described as concisely as possible, yet in sufficient detail to provide the reviewers with a full understanding of the project.

All narratives should be structured in the order that follows below. Narratives should be divided into sections with clearly denoted headings (e.g. “Proposal Summary,” “Project Scope,” “Technical Approach,” etc.).

(0) Proposal Summary -- Mandatory (0 points)

Please provide information on the following items, as appropriate. Proposals without a complete summary may be disqualified.

Project title
Applicant organization (name, office/branch, street address, city, State, zip)
Collaborating organizations (organization, address)
Name of trainer or trainer’s organization
Organization’s Internet address
Registered Clearinghouse node or Web folder IP address
Principal investigator (name, telephone, fax, email address)
Other contact personnel (name, telephone, fax, email address)
Geographic scope or area
Previous NSDI cooperative agreement participation (include year of participation, and whether each project was awarded or submitted but not awarded)
A short, stand-alone description of the project (limited to 250 words). This stand-alone description will be posted on the FGDC Web site for each awarded proposal.

(1) Project Scope – Project Description (25 points)

Describe project, its steps, and partners/participants. To demonstrate how well the proposal authors understand the premises of the NSDI, describe how the project contributes to the NSDI, and conforms to the metadata standard. The project must be well thought out in regards to process, method, and approach. Of special interest this year are projects focused on the international geospatial metadata standard: ISO 19115 Geographic Information–Metadata and associated ISO standards.

Because of the “outreach” nature of this project, the project must support the metadata needs of a broad audience. The proposal must state why metadata training is a need for the community served. List organizations, administrative units or target organizations/communities served in the project. The project manager should have an existing relationship to more than one of these organizations as a means to establish a target audience. Describe how the project supports and/or collaborates with State or regional geospatial data strategic plans or councils.

Partnerships are a key component of the NSDI, so the applicant must state the partnership nature of the proposal.

The project scope, with existing partners, must be completed in 12 months and with the funding allocated. The applicant must state standard implementation challenges and describe how the project will overcome the stated barriers. An analysis of the scope of work against the requested funding will be evaluated.

An overall statement to the commitment of standards and the use of the FGDC Metadata curriculum is required.

As a final requirement of scope, the materials or implementation support resulting from the project must be posted to the applicant’s Web site or linkable to the FGDC Metadata Web site.

The proposal evaluation will be based on how fully the project scope is addressed.

(2) Technical Approach (25 points)

Outline the steps, methodologies and resources to be utilized in implementing the project. This includes facility type, equipment and supplies supporting the training. Indicate the training approach: lecture, lecture with exercises, or lecture with metadata creation tool. When in classroom or electronic training, indicate all pre and post-workshop activities performed to measure learning, if any. Describe how course and instructor evaluations will be conducted. Include statement on the adoption of FGDC Metadata Core Curriculum for training content. All FGDC.gov hosted materials will contain learning goals and objectives and be 508 Compliant, see Section J.

A metadata repository, NSDI Clearinghouse within Data.gov or partnered access to a repository must be stated in the proposal. Hands-on training must specify metadata training application/tool. Training must be appropriate, see FGDC Metadata Core Curriculum, to role (suggestions follow: Managers= lecture or lecture with exercises with a minimum duration of one hour, Creator= lecture with exercises at minimum/ metadata application/tool optimal with a recommended duration of one-half to more than two days). The logistical arrangements for equipment must be stated (computers and software for training are generally allowable expenses).

Explain how the training will be promoted. USGS State Geospatial Liaisons can help with projects that are local, regional, or State centric. A list of Liaisons can be found at http://liaisons.usgs.gov/geospatial/#nogo. Also, the event should be listed on the FGDC website to help promote the training.

Proposals will be evaluated on the degree to which applicants comprehend the tasks and procedures necessary to accomplish project objectives. The proposal will be evaluated on the training plan: logistics, scheduling, and established contacts to promote to populate workshops. Innovative or special techniques allow the proposal to be viewed as exceptional.

(3) Project Experience (25 points)

Describe metadata experience, whether metadata creation, metadata training, or metadata administrator which would lead to a successful proposal. Identify metadata trainer or training organization resource. The metadata trainer or trainer’s organization must be identified with explanation of the trainer’s special metadata qualifications and skills. ESRI Certified Trainer does not qualify for competence as a metadata trainer. Please specify if the applicant is a prior CAP Category 1 awardee and include the award year.

Evaluation will be based on how completely and fully the narrative addresses experience, and special metadata qualifications and skills possessed for successful completion of the proposed project by the end of the performance period.

(4) Commitment to Effort (20 points)

Applicants are sought who demonstrate the project is participating in or supporting State or regional geospatial infrastructure strategies and plans. The proposal should demonstrate the support of State or regional GIS infrastructure objectives in coordination with State or regional GIS coordination groups or plans. A letter of support from the State, regional, or local geographic information council or GIS coordinator is required. If the proposal is not from a State or local government then a letter of support from the data or metadata coordinator is required. Letter notifying the USGS State Geospatial Liaison of the proposal is required for less than national projects.

Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) and/or letters of commitment from partners should be attached. When training national associations, a letter recognizing the project and establishing a working relationship with the associations is required.

Copies of memoranda of Understanding (MoU), other formal agreements, and letters of support should be included as an attachment to the narrative. If this is not possible, these documents should be mailed or faxed to the NSDI CAP Coordinator, MS 590 National Center, Reston, VA 20192, Fax number: 703-648-5755.

Describe the extent to which project results will continue or be sustained after the performance period, e.g. metadata creation resource established, metadata policy implementation, internal training implementation, establishment of a help desk/ FAQ/post-workshop/ identified metadata support or training support, Web presence or other sustainable measures.

Evaluation will be based on the ability to demonstrate that the project is participating in or supporting State or regional geospatial infrastructure strategies and plans and upon the extent that the applicant will continue to support implementation of a metadata beyond the award period. Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) and/or letters of support/commitment will be considered in the evaluation.

(5) Budget Breakdown (maximum 5 points)

Please provide a detailed, itemized budget breakdown for the project as an attachment to the proposal narrative. Include the following categories of information, separating the CAP funds from the in-kind match:

Salaries and Wages
Fringe Benefits
Travel Expenses
Other Direct Cost Line Items
Total Direct Charges
Indirect Charges (Overhead)

Please refer to Section IV.D. in the Introduction and Attachment C for complete information. Please note that this budget breakdown is needed in addition to the SF-424A Budget Information Non-Construction Programs that is part of the Grants.gov application.

Appropriateness and reasonableness of the budget are considered in the review. This factor considers whether the proposed budget is commensurate with the level of effort needed to accomplish the project objectives and whether the cost of the project is reasonable relative to the value of the anticipated results.

2016 NSDI CAP Category 2: Geospatial Digital Data Archiving Business Plan Development

A. Background

“Geoarchiving” is the identification of significant geospatial data and its preservation for future use. The Geospatial Multistate Archive and Preservation Partnership (GeoMAPP), supported by the Library of Congress’ National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program, has developed a Geoarchiving Business Planning Toolkit (http://www.geomapp.net/publications_categories.htm#busplan). The Toolkit offers a comprehensive process to assist governments in the development of a geoarchiving business plan.

Governments have long understood the value of using geospatial information in decision-making processes and planning efforts to provide efficient and effective services to citizens. The need to create, acquire, share and maintain accurate and current geospatial data for business and government purposes drives an estimated $30 billion of geospatial activity across all sectors every year.

B. Project Goals

While maintaining data currency is a significant driver of activity, agencies are increasingly recognizing the value of ready access to older geospatial data to support analyses of societal, environmental and economic changes over time. Tracking population and land use changes, managing geospatial records for e-discovery or other legal purposes or providing a cultural record of place over time for improved governmental decision-making are a sample of the compelling business cases that spur users to seek out and use historic, archived or superseded geospatial content.

Government organizations are making efforts to respond to this increasing information demand in the face of multiple challenges. Limited resources, diminishing budgets and, in some cases, a lack of understanding by decision-makers or practitioners of the benefits of preserving geospatial data, can stifle efforts to implement formal preservation and long-term access plans. As a result, older data is often overwritten or lost when updating information resources. As such, critical geospatial data is extremely susceptible to potentially permanent loss. Governments need to begin establishing coordinated geospatial preservation planning processes, utilizing valuable resources such as the Toolkit, to plan for the retention of high value geospatial assets and mitigate against their susceptibility to loss.

C. Project Results

The result from this category will be a sound business plan that follows the guidance in the Geoarchiving Business Planning Toolkit (http://www.geomapp.net/publications_categories.htm#busplan). The plan will provide a clear description of what needs to be done, including when and how to implement an organization’s geoarchiving goals and responsibilities.

The Toolkit offers a process-oriented approach that includes self-assessment tools, requirements checklists, planning questions and additional business planning tools to assist in characterizing the costs and benefits of a geoarchiving program and to help users produce a compelling geoarchiving business plan to inform funding requests and justify funding allocations.

The Toolkit encourages and facilitates collaboration between GIS professionals, information technology staff and data stewards (archivists, librarians and/or data managers) to assist in the preparation a comprehensive cross-organization business plan for establishing, sustaining or extending a geoarchiving program that advances the long-term preservation of the government’s valuable geospatial assets.

The plan should be written with a clear focus on the decision-making audience, with content relevant and appropriate for managers, legislators and funders. The ultimate goal is a geoarchiving business plan that can be successfully approved and funded. The completed plan will itemize and describe the benefits an organization will realize if the plan is followed, as well as the costs that will be incurred. It will also include any requirements for achieving its purpose, and a scorecard to gauge performance once the plan is accepted and actualized.

The approach and focus of the plan can be customized for different agencies. A State CIO, a budget analyst, an archives or GIS director or a legislator may understand or see the value of the project differently, but a clear goal is to encourage the collaborative development of the plan across all engaged departments or agencies.

D. Applicant Eligibility

State, Tribal, and local governments may apply for awards in this category. In addition, existing statewide coordinating councils or other entities involved in the development and/or implementation of statewide geospatial strategic or business plans may apply for an award in this category.

E. Funding Amount and In-Kind Match

1. Federal Assistance

Up to $40,000 will be obligated to individual projects under this category.

2. Applicant In-Kind Resource Match

A minimum 50% match of the requested Federal funds is required (up to $20,000). Contribution of matching personnel hours or funding, supplied development hardware and software, or other in-kind resources will be considered. The value of data will not be considered as in-kind match. Other Federal grant funds cannot be used for matching. Applicant must document the amount and type of in-kind resource that will be contributed to the fulfillment of the project goals. See Section IV.D. in the Introduction for more details and for in-kind match calculation.

F. Funded Activities

1. Funded activities include:

Fees for consultants, facilitators or recorders,
Salary for statewide coordination staff,
Publications,
Workshops,
Training,
Reasonable travel expenses as required to complete this project, and
Communications (i.e. WebEx License to facilitate meetings).

2. Proposals seeking funding for data collection or analog map digitization will not be considered.

3. Applicants are encouraged to budget funds to attend the 2016 NSGIC Annual Conference; Esri’s International Users Conference in San Diego, CA; or Esri’s Federal Users Conference in Washington, DC. It is strongly encouraged that a presentation on the project be made at the conference.

4. If travel to a conference or national/regional meeting, other than the ones list above, is included in the proposal, a justification for attendance needs to be provided. It is strongly encouraged that a presentation on the project be made at the conference or meeting.

G. Partnership and Collaboration Requirements

Applicant must demonstrate statewide collaboration through a strategic plan. A regional entity must have the support of the State’s geospatial coordination council or similar entity. Projects that include multi-sector partnerships with other government entities, academia, non-governmental organizations, or private sector entities are strongly encouraged.

H. Applicable Guidelines

For the Geoarchiving Business Planning Toolkit see http://www.geomapp.net/publications_categories.htm#busplan.

I. Category Lead Technical Contact

Mr. Butch Lazorchak, Library of Congress, National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation Program, wlaz@loc.gov, (202) 707-2603.

J. FGDC Involvement Statement

The Category Lead will collaborate closely with the awarded projects to ensure that outcomes of geoarchiving business plans are nationally consistent. The Category Lead, together with the FGDC Secretariat, will jointly monitor and agree on the milestones and accomplishments on work performed as part of this agreement. Involvement will begin with the 2016 CAP Kick-Off Workshop that will be held via teleconference and Webinar at a date and time agreed to by the FGDC Secretariat, the Category Lead, and the award recipient. The FGDC Secretariat will promote the outcomes of the awards through communication channels, including the FGDC Web site. The Category Lead will schedule periodic teleconferences or meetings to provide an exchange of information among category award recipients. Participation is required.

K. Reporting

The Category Lead will schedule periodic teleconferences to provide an exchange of information among category award recipients and interested stakeholders.
Interim and final project reports are required and will be posted on the FGDC Web site, http://www.fgdc.gov/grants.

For the Submission schedule see Section VI.B. Administrative Project Requirements in the Introduction.
For format and content see Attachment D – Templates for Interim and Final Reports.
Include a softcopy version of the final or approved business plans as an attachment to the final report.

3. Financial reports are required, see Section VI. B. Administrative Project Requirements in the Introduction for more details.

L. Proposal Narrative

The proposal narrative is the document that will be evaluated and scored by the review panel. A total point value of 100 points is possible. All proposals should be no more than 3000 words (about 5 pages using Times New Roman 12 point font and 1-inch margins), not including letters of support, tables, maps, and diagrams.

Applicants can work with State- and regional-based Federal agency representatives-- such as their USGS State Geospatial Liaison-- to develop proposals. For a listing of Liaisons please see http://liaisons.usgs.gov/geospatial/#nogo.

(0) Proposal Summary -- Mandatory (0 points)

Please provide information on the following items, as appropriate. Proposals without a complete summary may be disqualified.

Project title
Applicant organization (name, office/branch, street address, city, State, zip)
Organization’s Internet address
Collaborating organizations: include a clear and concise statement for each organization regarding the extent and nature of their support
Principal Investigator’s name, telephone number, and email address
Other key personnel’s contact information (at least one alternate contact is required): name, telephone number, and email address
Previous NSDI cooperative agreement participation (include year of participation, and whether each project was awarded or submitted but not awarded)
A short, stand-alone description of the project (limited to 250 words). This stand-alone description will be posted on the FGDC Web site for each awarded proposal.

(1) Project Scope (maximum 40 points)

a) Briefly describe the existing status of your State’s strategic and business planning activities as it relates to geospatial data.

b) Briefly describe the proposed geoarchiving business plan development and implementation. In addition, please address the following:

How will this project prepare a comprehensive cross-organization business plan for establishing, sustaining or extending an archival program that advances the long-term preservation of the government’s valuable geospatial assets?
How will this project advance geospatial coordination and collaboration?
Describe Federal agency involvement in this project.

How does this effort advance and align with your State’s strategic plan?
What is it about your project that will improve the further development of your SSDI or the NSDI?
In as clear and concise terms as possible, outline several specific benefits arising from your proposed project.
The proposed use of the Geoarchiving Business Planning Toolkit, http://www.geomapp.net/publications_categories.htm#busplan.

Evaluation will be based upon the applicants’ ability to demonstrate that the scope of the proposed project and how the geoarchiving business plan will advance the organization’s geoarchiving goals and responsibilities.

(2) Project Plan and Managerial Capacity (maximum 25 points)

Please describe the management plan for this project. This plan should include the key steps required to complete the project and a timeline for each step.
State your ability to finish this project within a one-year time frame. Address your capacity to effectively accomplish and manage all funded activities.
Include any potential obstacles to timely completion of the project, and how they will be addressed.
Explain how the outcomes of the project fit the needs of the all partners.

Evaluation will be based upon the applicant’s ability to develop a management plan and describe the managerial capability needed to effectively complete the proposed geoarchiving business plan.

(3) Skills and Capabilities (maximum 15 points)

Describe the experience, qualifications and skills of those involved in the project to develop and implement the activities described in your proposal.
Describe the Principal Investigator’s involvement supporting statewide geospatial infrastructure strategies under the Fifty States Initiative (http://www.fgdc.gov/policyandplanning/50states/50states), as well as his or her abilities and experience in managing projects such as the one proposed.

Evaluation will be based upon the applicant’s experience and qualifications that demonstrate the skills and capabilities to carry out the work in the proposal.

(4) Commitment to Effort (maximum 15 points)

Describe involvement with the statewide geospatial infrastructure strategies and the NSDI Fifty States Initiative, http://www.fgdc.gov/policyandplanning/50states/50states.
Partnerships are strongly encouraged. Identify the partner organizations or participants involved, their roles and the level of support they will provide to the project. Include letters of participation. If a Memorandum of Understanding exists copy of it should be included.
If the applicant is a regional entity, a letter of support from the State(s) geospatial coordination council or equivalent organization is required.
Describe the extent to which project results will continue or be sustained after the performance period.

Letters of participation, copies of Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) or other formal agreements should be included as an attachment to the narrative. If this is not possible, these documents should be mailed or faxed to the NSDI CAP Coordinator, MS 590 National Center, Reston, VA 20192, Fax number: 703-648-5755.

Evaluation will be based on the applicants’ ability to demonstrate a clear commitment to supporting statewide geospatial infrastructure strategies, support of the NSDI Fifty States Initiative, and project sustainability after the performance period. Letters of participation and MoUs will be considered.

(5) Budget Breakdown (maximum 5 points)

Salaries and Wages
Fringe Benefits
Travel Expenses
Other Direct Cost Line Items
Total Direct Charges
Indirect Charges (Overhead)

2016 NSDI CAP Category 3: Development of Geospatial Strategic Plans for Federally Recognized Indian Tribes

A. Background

The National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) Future Directions Initiative recognizes that the NSDI cannot be maintained and enhanced by a single organization. A well-coordinated and concerted effort inclusive of the private sector, utilities, academia and Tribal, State, and local governments is needed to leverage resources, minimize redundancies and collaboratively solve problems to achieve the NSDI vision. The NSDI vision assures that spatial data from multiple sources are available and easily integrated to enhance the understanding of our physical and cultural world. Partnerships are essential to realizing the NSDI Vision.

One objective of the Future Directions Action Plan is the Fifty States and Equivalent Entities Involved and Contributing to the NSDI Plan (Fifty States Initiative). It recognizes that it will not be possible to build the NSDI without taking advantage of the day-to-day efforts all levels of government which includes Tribal, State, and local governments, including Washington, D.C. and the recognized territories of the United States. This requires effective coordination mechanisms for the communities that routinely contribute to the development of the NSDI. The Fifty States Initiative, endorsed by the Steering Committee of the Federal Geographic Data Committee, advances the implementation of effective coordination councils and the development of effective geospatial strategic and business plans.

This category specifically supports activities that promote the development of Tribes’ geospatial strategic plans for the establishment of effective, all-inclusive Tribal geospatial coordination councils/offices and the related activities necessary to ensure meaningful contributions to the NSDI.

B. Project Goals

The goal for projects in this category is the development and/or implementation of Tribal strategic plans that facilitate the coordination of programs, policies, technologies, and resources that enable the, collection, documentation, discovery, distribution, exchange, and maintenance of geospatial information in support of the NSDI and the objectives of the Fifty States Initiative Action Plan. See http://www.fgdc.gov/policyandplanning/50states/50states for additional details on strategic plans.

C. Project Results

Applicants will use the May 2009 updated FGDC/National States Geographic Information Council (NSGIC) Strategic and Business Plan Guidelines (http://www.fgdc.gov/policyandplanning/revbpsp) to develop the strategic plan. Each plan must contain the mandatory elements as defined in the Guidelines.

A good strategic plan provides a clear explanation of how one or more strategic goals are to be achieved by an organization or program. It typically outlines long-term goals and details the specific strategies and programmatic goals that are to be pursued. Areas of risk are analyzed and specific strategies for overcoming those risks are adopted. The strategic planning process provides for on-going review and maps a clear path between a present condition and a vision for the future. Revisiting the strategic plan to review accomplishments against documented objectives helps to establish a feedback loop that can influence future planning and decision making.

Your strategic planning effort should lead to one or more of the following outcomes.

Creating effective Tribal geospatial coordination councils, offices, or organizations that can collaborate and work with their communities as appropriate.
Strengthening the effectiveness of existing councils and offices to work with their communities as appropriate.
Improving coordination activities, increasing participation, and developing positive contributions to Tribal geospatial information initiatives amongst Tribes, State, Federal, regional, local, academic, utility, and private sector stakeholders.
Gaining support for Tribal coordination mechanisms from Tribal Councils or executives.
Improving geospatial data discovery, access, and use through improved coordination mechanisms (i.e., Tribal use of the GeoCircle, http://www.fgdc.gov/geocircle)
Increasing Tribal participation in national geospatial data programs (i.e. The National Map, The Geospatial Platform).
Working to establish sustainable funding mechanisms for geospatial initiatives and improved coordination mechanisms.
Establishing priorities for proposed actions that are designed to improve Tribal coordination mechanisms and geospatial information initiatives.

D. Applicant Eligibility

Federally recognized Indian Tribes may apply for awards in this category, http://www.bia.gov/idc/groups/xraca/documents/text/idc011463.pdf. Existing Tribal coordinating councils and/or other Tribal entities involved in the development and/or implementation of Tribal geospatial strategic plans may apply for an award in this category. Responses that include partnerships between communities of interest are strongly encouraged.

E. Funding Amount and In-Kind Match

1. Federal Assistance

Up to $40,000 will be obligated to individual projects under this category.

2. Applicant In-Kind Resource Match

F. Funded Activities

1. Funded activities include:

Fees for consultants, facilitators or recorders,
Salary for statewide coordination staff,
Publications,
Workshops,
Training,
Reasonable travel expenses as required to complete this project, and
Communications (i.e. WebEx License to facilitate meetings).

2. Proposals seeking funding for data collection will not be considered.

3. Applicants are encouraged to budget funds to attend the 2016 National Tribal GIS Conference and make a presentation on their project.

4. If travel to a conference or national/regional meeting is included in the proposal, a justification for attendance needs to be provided. It is strongly encouraged that a presentation on the project be made at the conference or meeting.

G. Partnership and Collaboration Requirements

Applicant is encouraged to include partnerships and/or collaboration in the proposed project plan. If the Tribe has a geospatial coordination council it must support the project. The applicant is encouraged to partner with one or more Federal agencies.

H. Applicable Guidelines

For Strategic and Business Plan Guidelines, May 2009, please see: http://www.fgdc.gov/policyandplanning/revbpsp. All the Fifty States Initiative information and links are available at: http://www.fgdc.gov/policyandplanning/50states.

I. Category Lead Technical Contact

Mr. Tom Carlson, USGS Liaison for the State of Washington, tcarlson@usgs.gov, 253-552-1682.

J. FGDC Involvement Statement

The Category Lead will collaborate closely with the awarded projects to ensure that outcomes of strategic plan are nationally consistent. The Category Lead, together with the FGDC Secretariat, will jointly monitor and agree on the milestones and accomplishments on work performed as part of this agreement. Involvement will begin with the 2016 CAP Kick-Off Workshop that will be held via teleconference and Webinar at a date and time agreed to by the award recipient, the Category Lead, and the FGDC Secretariat. The FGDC Secretariat will promote the outcomes of the awards through communication channels, including the FGDC Web site. The Category Lead will schedule periodic teleconferences to provide an exchange of information among category award recipients. Participation is required.

K. Reporting

The Category Lead will schedule regular teleconferences to provide an exchange of information among category award recipients and interested stakeholders.
Interim and final project reports are required and will be posted on the FGDC Web site, http://www.fgdc.gov/grants.

For the Submission schedule see Section VI.B. Administrative Project Requirements in the Introduction.
For format and content see Attachment D – Templates for Interim and Final Reports.
Include a softcopy version of the final or approved strategic plan as an attachment to the final report.

3. Financial reports are required, see Section VI. B. Administrative Project Requirements in the Introduction for more details.

L. Proposal Narrative

The proposal narrative is the document that will be evaluated and scored by the review panel. A total point value of 100 points is possible. All proposals should be no more than 3000 words (about 5 pages using Times New Roman 12 point font and 1-inch margins), not including letters of support, tables, maps, and diagrams.

Applicants are encouraged to work with State-based and regional-based Federal agency representatives-- such as their USGS State Geospatial Liaison-- to develop proposals. For a listing of Liaisons please see http://liaisons.usgs.gov/geospatial/#nogo.

(0) Proposal Summary -- Mandatory (0 points)

Please provide information on the following items, as appropriate. Proposals without a complete summary may be disqualified.

Project title
Applicant organization (name, office/branch, street address, city, State, zip)
Organization’s Internet address
Collaborating organizations: include a clear and concise statement for each organization regarding the extent and nature of their support
Principal Investigator’s name, telephone number, and email address
Other key personnel’s contact information (at least one alternate contact is required): name, telephone number, and email address
Previous NSDI cooperative agreement participation (include year of participation, and whether each project was awarded or submitted but not awarded)
A short, stand-alone description of the project (limited to 250 words). This stand-alone description will be posted on the FGDC Web site for each awarded proposal.

(1) Project Scope (maximum 40 points)

Describe the existing status of geospatial coordination activities in your Tribe. Include the existing coordination groups, the nature and the currency of their strategic plans, and an explanation as to why they do not meet the suggested criteria proposed in this document.

Describe the proposed strategic plan development, how you expect to implement it in your Tribe, and what key problem areas can be overcome by instituting a new planning process. What will be done to improve upon existing coordination activities? What is it about your proposed approach that will help ensure its success? How does this project help link the geospatial community to the Tribe’s CIO’s office? What is it about your project that will improve the further development of the NSDI?

Evaluation will be based upon the applicants’ ability to demonstrate that the scope of the proposed project will improve Tribal coordination through strategic plan development and advance the NSDI.

(2) Project Plan and Managerial Capacity (maximum 25 points)

Please describe the management plan for this project. This plan should include the key steps required to complete the project and a timeline for each step.
State your ability to finish this project within a one-year time frame. Address your capacity to effectively accomplish and manage all funded activities.
Include any potential obstacles to timely completion of the project, and how they will be addressed.
Explain how the outcomes of the project fit the needs of the all partners.

Evaluation will be based upon the applicant’s ability to develop a management plan and describe the managerial capability needed to effectively complete the proposed business plan.

(3) Skills and Capabilities (maximum 15 points)

Describe the experience, qualifications and skills of those involved in the project to develop and implement the activities described in your proposal.
Describe the Principal Investigator’s abilities and experience in managing projects such as the one proposed.

Evaluation will be based upon the applicant’s experience and qualifications that demonstrate the skills and capabilities to carry out the work in the proposal.

(4) Commitment to Effort (maximum 15 points)

Partnerships are encouraged. Identify the partner organizations or participants involved, their roles and the level of support they will provide to the project. Include letters of participation, Memoranda of Understanding (MoU), or other formal agreements.
Describe the extent to which project results will continue or be sustained after the performance period.

Letters, MoU, or other formal agreements should be included as an attachment to the narrative. If this is not possible, these documents should be mailed or faxed to the NSDI CAP Coordinator, MS 590 National Center, Reston, VA 20192, Fax number: 703-648-5755.

Evaluation will be based on the applicants’ ability to demonstrate a clear commitment to supporting Tribal geospatial infrastructure strategies in support of the NSDI Fifty States Initiative and project sustainability after the performance period. Letters of participation or support, Memoranda of Understanding (MoU), or other formal agreements will be considered.

(5) Budget Breakdown (maximum 5 points)

Salaries and Wages
Fringe Benefits
Travel Expenses
Other Direct Cost Line Items
Total Direct Charges
Indirect Charges (Overhead)

2016 NSDI CAP Category 4: Fifty States Initiative: Business Plan Development and Implementation

A. Background

To date, the Fifty States Initiative has reached nearly all of the United States and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The State and equivalent entities can benefit from further statewide business planning activities; in particular, activities where Federal involvement can be leveraged.

This category specifically supports activities that promote the development of statewide business plans for implementing one or more strategic goals in partnership with one or more Federal agencies resulting in meaningful contributions to the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI).

Examples of State-level strategic goals (courtesy of the State of Colorado) are as follows:

Strategic Goal #1: Support better stewardship of our resources and increased prosperity, safety and services for our citizens by increasing GIS awareness and capacity across the State.

Strategic Goal #2: Make government more efficient and effective through the coordinated use of geospatial technologies and the promotion of best practices.

Strategic Goal #3: Enhance the information basis for public and private decisions by improving the quality and availability of geospatial information and services to support decision-makers and other consumers of GIS data and services, in concert with the State’s enterprise architecture and the World Wide Web (www).

B. Project Goals

The goal for projects in this category is the development and/or implementation of statewide business plans that advance the statewide spatial data infrastructure (SSDI) and the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) while increasing Federal involvement in statewide geospatial planning and implementation activities. In addition projects that include implementation of Web mapping services that can be used by the Geospatial Platform are highly encouraged.

See http://www.fgdc.gov/policyandplanning/50states/50states for additional details on Business Plans. Links to completed plans can be found on the Fifty States Initiative status table.

C. Project Results

Sound business plans are the desired outcomes under this category. Applicants must use the 2009 updated FGDC Strategic and Business Plan Guidelines (http://www.fgdc.gov/policyandplanning/revbpsp) and other supporting documentation. The Business Plan Guidelines document includes a table of mandatory elements that must be used in developing each Business Plan. The order of these elements (e.g., (1) Executive Summary, (2) Program Goals, (3) Benefits and Justification, etc.) must be followed in the Business Plan developed.

The Business Plan provides a detailed description of how objectives will be achieved, along with the necessary justifications and requirements for implementing initiatives. Particular attention should be paid to program goals and their related success factors (i.e., the set of objectives that support the implementation of your goal). The purpose of your Business Plan is to support the successful implementation of the programs identified in your organization’s Strategic Plan, thereby furthering the statewide spatial data infrastructure (SSDI) and the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI).

These programs may each require a different approach and may place emphasis in different areas. Examples of programs that require Business Plans and their related approaches include:

An Orthoimagery Program (data-centric approach);
Homeland Security Web Mapping Initiative (function or application-centric approach);
Statewide GIS Coordination (business process-centric approach).

Your business planning efforts should lead to one or more of the following outcomes:

Identifying and assessing the specific business needs of all stakeholder communities;
Adopting tools or mechanisms for identifying the status of data development (e.g., implementing statewide use of the GIS Inventory System to assess Geospatial Platforms within the State);
Identifying and acting on specific opportunities for data partnerships;
Identifying and securing funding resources and mechanisms required for geospatial data coordination, collection, and maintenance activities (of particular interest and importance is leveraging geospatial investments at local and regional governments);
Creating a geospatial enterprise architecture, national standards and guidelines, and open interoperability standards;
Implementing an improved statewide coordination council through the involvement of local and regional government stakeholders;
Making substantial improvements in a statewide GIS Coordination Office to develop a stronger relationship with the Federal community; or
Supporting a previously completed statewide plan by planning the activities of a sub-State group (i.e., regional entity) relating to a State’s overall strategic goals.

D. Applicant Eligibility

States, existing statewide or Tribal coordinating councils, regional councils and/or other entities involved in the development and/or implementation of statewide/Tribal geospatial strategic and business plans may apply for an award in this category. Projects that include multi-sector partnerships with other government entities, academia, non-governmental organizations, or private sector entities are strongly encouraged.

States that have received NSDI CAP grants for in this category (Fifty States Initiative: Business Plan Development and Implementation) in 2011 or 2012 are not eligible to receive a 2016 NSDI CAP award in this category.

E. Funding Amount and In-Kind Match

1. Federal Assistance

Up to $40,000 will be obligated to individual projects under this category.

2. Applicant In-Kind Resource Match

F. Funded Activities

1. Funded activities include:

Fees for consultants, facilitators or recorders,
Salary for statewide coordination staff,
Publications,
Workshops,
Training,
Reasonable travel expenses as required to complete this project, and
Communications (i.e. WebEx License to facilitate meetings).

2. Proposals seeking funding for data collection will not be considered.

3. Applicants are strongly encouraged to budget funds to attend the 2016 NSGIC Annual Conference in Kansas City, Missouri on October 27-31, 2016. It is anticipated that additional Fifty States Initiative learning opportunities will take place during the conference.

4. If travel to a conference or national/regional meeting, other than the 2016 NSGIC Annual Conference, is included in the proposal, a justification for attendance needs to be provided. It is strongly encouraged that a presentation on the project be made at the conference or meeting.

G. Partnership and Collaboration Requirements

The applicant is strongly encouraged to partner with one or more Federal agencies. Applicant must demonstrate statewide collaboration through a strategic plan. A regional entity must have the support of the State’s geospatial coordination council. Projects that include multi-sector collaborations with other government entities, academia, non-governmental organizations, or private sector entities are strongly encouraged.

H. Applicable Guidelines

I. Category Lead Technical Contact

Ms. Arista Maher, FGDC Program Analyst, amaher@fgdc.gov, 703-648-6283.

J. FGDC Involvement Statement

The FGDC Secretariat will collaborate closely with the awarded projects to ensure that outcomes of strategic and business plans are nationally consistent. The FGDC Secretariat monitor and agree on the milestones and accomplishments on work performed as part of this agreement. Involvement will begin with the 2016 CAP Kick-Off Workshop that will be held via teleconference and Webinar at a date and time agreed to by the FGDC Secretariat and the award recipient. The FGDC Secretariat will promote the outcomes of the awards through communication channels, including the FGDC Web site. The FGDC Category Lead will schedule periodic teleconferences or meetings to provide an exchange of information among category award recipients. Participation is required.

K. Reporting

The Category Lead will schedule periodic teleconferences to provide an exchange of information among category award recipients and interested stakeholders.
Interim and final project reports are required and will be posted on the FGDC Web site, http://www.fgdc.gov/grants.

For the Submission schedule see Section VI.B. Administrative Project Requirements in the Introduction.
For format and content see Attachment D – Templates for Interim and Final Reports.
Include a softcopy version of the final or approved business plans as an attachment to the final report.

3. Financial reports are required, see Section VI. B. Administrative Project Requirements in the Introduction for more details.

L. Proposal Narrative

The proposal narrative is the document that will be evaluated and scored by the review panel. A total point value of 100 points is possible. All proposals should be no more than 3000 words (about 5 pages using Times New Roman 12 point font and 1-inch margins), not including letters of support, tables, maps, and diagrams.

Applicants are encouraged to work with State- and regional-based Federal agency representatives-- such as their USGS State Geospatial Liaison-- to develop proposals. For a listing of Liaisons please see: http://liaisons.usgs.gov/geospatial/#nogo.

(0) Proposal Summary -- Mandatory (0 points)

Please provide information on the following items, as appropriate. Proposals without a complete summary may be disqualified.

Project title
Applicant organization (name, office/branch, street address, city, State, zip)
Organization’s Internet address
Collaborating organizations: include a clear and concise statement for each organization regarding the extent and nature of their support
Principal Investigator’s name, telephone number, and email address
Other key personnel’s contact information (at least one alternate contact is required): name, telephone number, and email address
Previous NSDI cooperative agreement participation (include year of participation, and whether each project was awarded or submitted but not awarded)
A short, stand-alone description of the project (limited to 250 words). This stand-alone description will be posted on the FGDC Web site for each awarded proposal.

(1) Project Scope (maximum 40 points)

a) Briefly describe the existing status of your State’s strategic and business planning activities.

b) Briefly describe the proposed business plan development and implementation. In addition, please address the following:

How will this project advance geospatial coordination and collaboration?
Describe Federal agency involvement in this project.
Describe any other planned partnerships (e.g., collaboration with local/regional partners).

How does this effort advance and align with your State’s strategic plan?
How does this project dovetail into existing mechanisms and programs within your State?
How does your project differ from prior projects or efforts in your State?
What is it about your project that will improve the further development of your SSDI or the NSDI?
In as clear and concise terms as possible, outline several specific benefits arising from your project.
Use of the 2009 updated FGDC Strategic and Business Plan Guidelines (http://www.fgdc.gov/policyandplanning/revbpsp).

Evaluation will be based upon the applicants’ ability to demonstrate that the scope of the proposed project will improve statewide coordination through business plan development and implementation that will advance the NSDI.

(2) Project Plan and Managerial Capacity (maximum 25 points)

Please describe the management plan for this project. This plan should include the key steps required to complete the project and a timeline for each step.
State your ability to finish this project within a one-year time frame. Address your capacity to effectively accomplish and manage all funded activities.
Include any potential obstacles to timely completion of the project, and how they will be addressed.
Explain how the outcomes of the project fit the needs of the all partners.

Evaluation will be based upon the applicant’s ability to develop a management plan and describe the managerial capability needed to effectively complete the proposed business plan.

(3) Skills and Capabilities (maximum 15 points)

Describe the experience, qualifications and skills of those involved in the project to develop and implement the activities described in your proposal.
Describe the Principal Investigator’s previous involvement with the Fifty States Initiative, as well as his or her abilities and experience in managing projects such as the one proposed.

Evaluation will be based upon the applicant’s experience and qualifications that demonstrate the skills and capabilities to carry out the work in the proposal.

(4) Commitment to Effort (maximum 15 points)

Identify the partner organizations or participants involved, their roles and the level of support they will provide to the project. Include letters of participation or support.
Federal agency partnership is strongly encouraged. A copy of memorandum of Understanding (MoU) or other formal agreement is evidence of this.
Describe the extent to which project results will continue or be sustained after the performance period.
If the applicant is a regional entity, a letter of support from the State(s) geospatial coordination council or equivalent organization is required.

Evaluation will be based on the applicants’ ability to demonstrate a clear commitment to supporting statewide geospatial infrastructure strategies in support of the NSDI Fifty States Initiative and project sustainability after the performance period.

(5) Budget Breakdown (maximum 5 points)

Salaries and Wages
Fringe Benefits
Travel Expenses
Other Direct Cost Line Items
Total Direct Charges
Indirect Charges (Overhead)

2016 NSDI CAP Category 5: FGDC-endorsed Standards Implementation Training and Outreach

A. Background

Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-16 Revised, August 19, 2002 (hereafter called OMB Circular A-16) provides direction for Federal agencies that produce, maintain or use spatial data. OMB Circular A-16 establishes the FGDC and a coordinated approach to develop the NSDI. The components of the NSDI are data themes, metadata, the NSDI Clearinghouse, standards, and partnerships.

Standards facilitate the development, sharing, and use of geospatial data. According to OMB Circular A-16,

A coordinated approach for developing spatial data standards that apply to collecting, maintaining, distributing, using, and preservation of data will improve the quality of Federal spatial data and reduce the cost of derivative products created by Federal and non-Federal users. Applications using spatial data that adhere to FGDC standards enable cost effective public and private policy development, management, and operations.

The FGDC develops geospatial data standards for implementing the NSDI, in consultation and cooperation with State, Tribal, and local governments, the private sector and academic community, and, to the extent feasible, the international community.

B. Project Goals

The goal of the category is to facilitate implementation of an FGDC-endorsed standard in user communities.

This category will provide funding to organizations to assist in the implementation of FGDC-endorsed standards (see http://www.fgdc.gov/standards/projects) other than those for metadata (see Category 1).

Outcomes from this category focus on developing a cadre of professionals who are knowledgeable about and committed to implementing FGDC-endorsed standards to promote data sharing and interoperability in their user communities.

C. Project Results

Deliverables from projects funded through this category might include, but are not limited to:

Implementation guides, workbooks, “cookbooks,” and other technical guidance (Web-based and/or print).
Implementation models, for example, implementation schemas in Extensible Markup Language/Geographic Markup Language (XML/GML).
Software tools to implement the standard. Awardees cannot exploit tools developed through the CAP grant for commercial gain.
Online training and tutorials.
Training and/or outreach materials that may be presented at workshops and training sessions and published online.
Online registries for managing data items.
Reports and “lessons learned” from pilot projects.

All deliverables will be freely available, without restriction, over the Web.

D. Applicant Eligibility

State or local government, Tribal organizations, academia, private sector entities, and non-profit entities, and consortia of organizations, may apply.

E. Funding Amount and In-Kind Match

1. Federal assistance

Up to $25,000 will be obligated to individual projects under this category.

2. In-Kind Resource Match

A 30-50% match of the requested Federal funds is required (between $7,500 and $12,500). Contribution of matching personnel hours or funding, hardware and software, or other in-kind resources will be considered. The value of data will not be considered as in-kind match. Other Federal grant funds cannot be used for matching. The applicant shall document the amount and type of in-kind resources that will be contributed to the fulfillment of the project goals. See Section IV.D. in the Introduction for more details and for in-kind match calculation.

F. Funded Activities

1. Examples of tasks and items funded through this category might include:

Workshop planning, including development of outline, learning objectives, and lessons, workshop logistics, promotion, etc.
Travel, facility rentals, registration fees, reproduction costs, supplies, etc. to provide training and outreach at workshops and conferences.
Development of implementation models, for example, implementation schemas in Extensible Markup Language/Geographic Markup Language (XML/GML).
Development, prototyping, and testing of software tools to implement a standard. Awardees cannot exploit software tools developed through the CAP grant for commercial gain.
Development and publication of training materials, tutorials, implementation guides, workbooks or “cookbooks,” technical guidance, or other materials that promote implementation of an FGDC-endorsed standard.
Reasonable expenses for hardware and software that are dedicated to the project and its sustainability.
Development of online registries to manage data items.
Planning, development, and execution of pilot projects.
Development of Kick-off meeting presentation.
Reporting of project results in interim and final reports (see Attachment D)

2. Project Presentations. Project presentations extend and promote the valuable work of the awardee. Participants are encouraged to make formal presentations of their activities at local, State, Tribal, regional, and/or national workshops, conferences, and meetings. Participants may also be requested to give a presentation to the FGDC. The applicant should budget sufficient funds to travel to meetings or conferences. Alternatives might include publishing a paper or article online or in print and presentations via online webinars.

G. Training Material Development

If training materials are to be provided through this project, applicants are advised to visit the FGDC training pages (http://www.fgdc.gov/training/training-materials) to confirm that they are not developing materials very similar to those that have already been developed and published.

Training materials developed under this agreement shall be freely available, without restriction, over the Internet. For those who choose to serve their modules through www.fgdc.gov, the modules shall be supplied to the NSDI CAP coordinator in Microsoft PowerPoint and include learning goals and objectives and be 508 Compliant.

If workshops will be delivered through the project, the awardee will submit a workshop outline and learning objectives in the planning phase for approval by the category technical lead. Trainers should be registered in the NSDI Trainer Registry to provide for further training opportunities.

All FGDC Web hosted Web 2.0 applications will be developed in open-source and approved by the FGDC Web Administrator.

Guidance is provided in the “NSDI-related Training Materials Development: Recommendations and Resources for Stakeholder Subject Matter Experts” document located at http://www.fgdc.gov/training/training-materials. Modules served through the applicant’s Web site will provide the URLs for linking to the FGDC Web site.

The applicant might consult the following websites for help in developing learning goals and objectives:

http://ets.tlt.psu.edu/learningdesign/objectives

http://tilt.colostate.edu/courses.cfm

Training materials posted on the Web must be Section 508 compliant. See http://www.section508.gov/index.cfm?fuseAction=stdsdoc.

Select the link for Subpart B. 1194.22 Web-based intranet and internet information and applications.

H. Partnership and Collaboration Requirement

Partnership with the maintenance authority for a standard developed within the FGDC is required for this category. The proposed project should support and be consistent with the maintenance authority’s plan for implementation. The maintenance authority is identified in the FGDC-endorsed standard. The FGDC Secretariat will assist the applicant in locating the appropriate point of contact within the maintenance authority, if necessary.

Partnerships with other organizations to leverage resources are strongly encouraged. Partnerships are primary building blocks of the NSDI.

I. Applicable Standards

Projects shall advance implementation of FGDC-endorsed standards – refer to http://www.fgdc.gov/standards/projects.

Applicants shall be experts in the FGDC-endorsed standard to be implemented through this category. Applicants should have a working knowledge of geospatial standards developed through voluntary consensus standards bodies including, but not limited to, ISO Technical Committee 211, Geographic information/Geomatics, InterNational Committee for Information Technology Standards (INCITS) Technical Committee L1, Geographic information systems, and the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC). If the standard references or is related to other standards, the project shall be in compliance with the referenced or related standards.

J. Category Lead Technical Contact

Ms. Julie Binder Maitra, Standards Coordinator, jmaitra@fdgc.gov.

K. FGDC Involvement Statement

The FGDC Secretariat will collaborate closely with the recipients to help them meet the goals stated in their project proposals. The FGDC Secretariat will provide logistical and programmatic support to the extent that FGDC Secretariat resources allow. The FGDC Secretariat and awarded projects will determine the best available date and content for a Category 5 kick-off teleconference and/or webinar. The FGDC Secretariat will conduct periodic progress calls with the recipients. The FGDC Secretariat will promote the outcomes of the projects through the FGDC Web site and other communications channels.

L. Reporting

The Category Lead will schedule teleconferences to provide an exchange of information among category award recipients and interested stakeholders. The primary investigator’s participation is required. The awardee will identify progress and accomplishments since the previous CAP project progress call, any changes or deviations in schedule, and expected progress until the next CAP project progress call. Written talking points for distribution among teleconference participants are helpful.

Interim and final project reports are required and will be posted on the FGDC Web site, http://www.fgdc.gov/grants.

For the submission schedule, see Section VI.B. Administrative Project Requirements in the Introduction.
For content and format of the interim and final reports, see Attachment D: Templates for Interim and Final Reports.

Financial reports are required; see Section VI.B. Administrative Project Requirements, in the Introduction for further details.
Prior to occurrence, announcements of workshops and training at conferences or other venues should be posted to the FGDC Calendar, http://www.fgdc.gov/calendar.
If the project includes training workshops, then a report on training events is required as part of the final report. The following information should be included in the report:

Number, duration, and venue of workshops conducted.
Organizations and organizational type (Federal, State, Tribal, local, academic, NGO, etc) of the workshop participants. Names of participants need not be provided. This list will provide indicators of outreach to user communities.
The means of instruction, for example, lecture only, lecture and exercises, or lecture and computer assisted.
Overall customer satisfaction for each workshop. The evaluation form is available at http://www.fgdc.gov/training.
List of new organizations engaged in this project.
Provide the method(s) of promoting the workshop (e.g., FGDC Calendar, Listserv, etc.)
If available, letters of recognition for the workshop to the awardee, publication articles regarding the workshop, and external endorsement for the workshop.

The awardee shall submit a workshop outline and workshop learning objectives during the workshop planning phase.

M. Proposal Narrative

Reviewers will evaluate, score, and rank project proposals to make recommendations for funding. A total point value of 100 points is possible. The evaluation will be based on the degree to which the proposal addresses the information requested in this announcement.

Please limit the project proposal to 3000 words (about 5 pages using Times New Roman 12 point), not including letters of support, tables, maps, budget, and diagrams. All narratives should be structured in the order that follows below. Narratives should be divided into sections with clearly denoted headings (e.g. “Proposal Summary”, “Project Scope”, “Technical Approach”, etc.)

(0) Proposal Summary – Mandatory (0 points)

Please provide information on the following items. Proposals without a complete summary may be disqualified.

Project title
Applicant organization (name, office/branch, street address, city, State, zip)
Organization’s Internet address
Collaborating organizations (organization, office/branch, street address, city, State, zip, Web site address)
FGDC-endorsed standard selected for the project
Principal Investigator’s name, telephone number, and email address
Other key personnel’s contact information (at least one alternate contact is required): name, telephone number, and email address
Geographic scope or area of project, if applicable
Previous NSDI cooperative agreement participation (include year of participation, and whether each project was awarded or submitted but not awarded)
A short stand-alone description of the project or abstract (limit to 250 words). The stand-alone description or abstract will be posted on the FGDC Web site for each awarded proposal.

(1) Project Scope (maximum 25 points)

In preparing the Project Scope section, the applicant should:

Identify the FGDC-endorsed standard (excluding metadata standards - see Category 1) and all relevant standards.
Describe how the project promotes implementation of the standard and advances the NSDI.
Describe project objectives and the outcomes of the project.
Identify deliverables for this project.
State implementation challenges and describe how the project will overcome the stated barriers.
Describe the approach for outreach.

The applicant must state the partnership nature of the proposal. Proposals that include a mix of partners will be scored higher than proposals that are submitted by individual entities.

The proposed project must support the needs of a broad audience and directly help organizations other than the applicant’s. The applicant should identify the user communities served by the project, and describe how this project would advance implementation of the selected standard in user communities. If the project would serve an underserved community, identify the community and why it is underserved.

If training is to be provided through the project, the proposal must address why training is a need for the communities served.

The proposal evaluation will be based on how fully the project scope is addressed, the mix of partners, and the audience served.

(2) Technical Approach (maximum 25 points)

The applicant shall document the steps, methodologies, and resources to be utilized in accomplishing project objectives and results. The applicant shall document tasks, level of effort, deliverables, milestones, and schedules. Tables, calendars, and timelines (for example, Gantt charts) will enhance the proposal.

If training will be provided through the project, the applicant should identify the venues for training and the training approach: lecture, lecture with exercises, etc. The proposal will be evaluated on the training plan: development of lesson plans, logistics, promotion, etc. The logistical arrangements for equipment must be stated (computers and software are generally excluded as allowable expenses). Training must be appropriate to the audience.

The proposal evaluation will be based on the degree to which the applicant comprehends and outlines the tasks and procedures needed to accomplish project objectives.

(3) Project Experience (maximum 25 points)

The applicant shall describe experience, special qualifications, and skills possessed by the applicant and partner organizations that ensure successful completion of this project by the end of the award period. If applicant is a previous NSDI CAP participant, it should provide information describing previous effort, accomplishments, and agreement/award number.

Evaluation will be based on how completely and fully the narrative addresses experience, special qualifications, and skills possessed for successful completion of the proposed project by the end of the award period.

(4) Commitment to Effort (maximum 20 points)

The applicant shall describe the extent to which project results will promote implementation of the FGDC-endorsed standard after the end of award period. The applicant should also describe how it intends to transfer knowledge acquired through this project to other communities.
It is required that the maintenance authority for the identified FGDC-endorsed standard be a partner in the project and the proposed project should support and be consistent with the maintenance authority’s plan for implementation. The FGDC Office of the Secretariat will help identify a point of contact/subject matter expert within the maintenance authority for the applicant, if necessary. The applicant will provide a letter of commitment, memoranda of understanding (MoU), or other formal agreement from the organization that serves as standard’s maintenance authority. Federal employees who are the maintenance authority for an identified FGDC-endorsed standard may provide letters that indicate that the proposed project supports and is consistent with the maintenance authority’s plan for implementation.
For proposals where the geographic scope is local, State, or regional; the applicant is required to provide a MoU or letter of support from the State GIS Coordinator or similar authority.
The applicant should also provide letters of participation or other formal agreements from its project partners. These should indicate the type and level of support that the supporting organization will give to the project.

Letters, MoU, or other formal agreements should be attached to the proposal narrative. If this is not possible, these documents should be mailed or faxed to the NSDI CAP Coordinator, MS 590 National Center, Reston, VA 20192, Fax number: 703-648-5755.

Proposal evaluation will be based on how consistent it is with the Standard’s maintenance authority’s plan for implementation and upon the extent that the applicant will continue to support implementation of an FGDC-endorsed standard after the end of the award period and transfer knowledge acquired through the project. Evaluation of projects with a State or regional scope will be based on the applicants’ ability to demonstrate that the project is participating in or supporting State or regional geospatial infrastructure strategies and plans. Letters of support or participation, MoUs, or other formal agreements will be considered in the evaluation.

(5) Budget Breakdown (maximum 5 points)

Salaries and Wages
Fringe Benefits
Travel Expenses
Other Direct Cost Line Items
Total Direct Charges
Indirect Charges (Overhead)

Category 6: Geospatial Platform Collaborative Group Development

A. Background

Federal agencies and their partners collect and manage large amounts of geospatial data - but these data are often not easily found when needed or accessible in useful forms. The Geospatial Platform (www.geoplatform.gov) provides a suite of well-managed, highly available, and trusted geospatial data, services, and applications for use by Federal agencies—and their State, Tribal, regional, and local partners. The Geospatial Platform is being implemented to help agencies meet their mission needs, including communicating with and publishing data and maps to the public. The Geospatial Platform focuses on Web applications that facilitate participatory information sharing, interoperability, user-centered design, and collaboration on the World Wide Web.

The two of the major functions of the Platform are:

Enable Federal agencies and their partners to develop and share geospatial services and applications through the use of shared application hosting infrastructure and source code sharing capabilities; and
Empower a new generation of geospatial collaboration by enabling users of all types to develop and share maps with data from trusted content along with user-contributed data.

B. Project Goals

Projects in this category will support the coordination to develop and establish groups within the Geospatial Platform that that consist of State, Tribal, local and Federal partners and focus on a specific data themes or business application areas. The project funds can be used for coordinating the groups, developing data models, establishing data services, etc. The expected outcome would be an operational and active multi-organizational community on the Geospatial Platform with active management duties assigned to ensure it continues beyond the initial set-up period.

C. Project Results

Each award in this category will result in an operational group on the Geospatial Platform with active management duties assigned to ensure it continues beyond the initial set-up period.

D. Applicant Eligibility

Applicants may be State, Tribal, and/or local governments or professional organizations who have data exchange agreements with Federal agencies for the collection, management, or application of nationally significant geospatial data, per OMB Circular A-16, http://www.fgdc.gov/policyandplanning/a-16. The applicant organization should have demonstrated expertise in prior collection and/or dissemination of the subject geospatial data or application.

E. Funding Amount and In-Kind Match

1. Federal assistance

Up to $30,000 will be obligated to individual projects under this category.

2. In-Kind Resource Match

A minimum 50% match of the requested Federal funds is required (up to $15,000). Contribution of matching personnel hours or funding, supplied development hardware and software, or other in-kind resources will be considered. The value of data will not be considered as in-kind match. Other Federal grant funds cannot be used for matching. The applicant shall document the amount and type of in-kind resource that will be contributed to the fulfillment of the project goals. See Section IV.D. in the Introduction for more details and for in-kind match calculation.

F. Funded Activities

1. Funded activities include:

Salaries for project staff,
Data/service hosting,
Publications,
Workshops,
Reasonable travel expenses as required to complete this project, and
Communications (i.e. WebEx License to facilitate meetings).

2. Proposals seeking funding for data collection other than metadata will not be considered.

4. If travel to a conference or national/regional meeting, is included in the proposal, a justification for attendance needs to be provided. It is strongly encouraged that a presentation on the project be made at the conference or meeting.

G. Partnership and Collaboration Requirement

Partnerships with other organizations or other administrative units are encouraged in the category.

H. Applicable Standards

Applicants should have a working knowledge of standards developed through FGDC and geographic information standards developed through voluntary consensus standards bodies including, but not limited to, ISO Technical Committee 211, Geographic information/Geomatics, InterNational Committee for Information Technology Standard (INCITS) Technical Committee L1, Geographic information systems, and the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC).

I. Category Lead Technical Contact

Mr. Doug Nebert, FGDC Senior Advisor for Geospatial Technology, ddnebert@fdgc.gov

J. FGDC Involvement Statement

The FGDC will collaborate closely with the recipients to enable them to meet the goals stated in their respective proposals. The FGDC provides logistical and programmatic support to the extent FGDC resources allow. The FGDC and awarded projects will determine the best available date and content for a Category 6 kick-off teleconference and/or webinar. The FGDC will facilitate monthly progress calls with the recipients. Participation is required. The FGDC will promote the outcomes of the awards through communication channels including the FGDC Web site.

K. Reporting

The Category Lead will periodically confer with CAP awardees to discuss project progress and other issues related to Category 6 projects. The Category Lead will schedule monthly teleconferences to provide an exchange of information among category award recipients and interested stakeholders.
Interim and final project reports are required and will be posted on the FGDC Web site, http://www.fgdc.gov/grants.

For the submission schedule see Section VI.B. Administrative Project Requirements in the Introduction.
For content and format see Attachment D – Templates for Interim and Final Reports.

Financial reports are required; see Section VI.B. Administrative Project Requirements in the Introduction for further details.

L. Proposal Narrative

The proposal narrative is the document that will be evaluated and scored by the review panel. A total point value of 100 points is possible. All proposals should be no more than 3000 words (about 5 pages using Times New Roman 12 point font and 1-inch margins), not including letters of support, tables, maps, and diagrams.

All narratives should be structured in the order that follows below. Narratives should be divided into sections with clearly denoted headings (e.g. “Proposal Summary,“ “Project Scope,” “Project Experience,” “Commitment to Effort,” etc.)

(0) Proposal Summary Mandatory (0 points)

Please provide information on the following items, as appropriate. Proposals without a complete summary may be disqualified.

Project title
Applicant organization (name, office/branch, street address, city, State, zip)
Organization’s Internet address
Target data provider organizations
Principal Investigator’s name, telephone number, and email address
Other key personnel’s contact information (at least one alternate contact is required): name, telephone number, and email address
Geographic scope or area
Previous NSDI cooperative agreement participation (include year of participation, and whether each project was awarded or submitted but not awarded)
A short, stand-alone description of the project (limited to 250 words). This stand-alone description will be posted on the FGDC Web site for each awarded proposal.

(1) Project Scope (maximum 25 points)

Identify the theme of the group to be created on the Geospatial Platform or business area to be the focus. Identify the partners that will participate in the project and their expected contributions. Explain what the project will accomplish, i.e. coordinating the groups, developing data models, establishing data services, etc.

The proposal evaluation will be based on how fully the project scope is addressed and the mix of partners.

(2) Project Experience (maximum 25 points)

Identify the responsibilities of the applicant organization(s) in the coordination of geospatial information, the collection and management of the proposed data theme and document the history of the current online deployment of data services.

(3) Commitment to Effort (maximum 25 points)

Identify what level of commitment will be made to achieve the project goals in the current year and what managerial plans will be put into effect after the award period to actively manage the group on the Geospatial Platform. Identification of Federal, State, Tribal, or local governmental partners is expected in this section.

If there are letters of support or other formal agreements, they should be included as an attachment to the narrative. If this is not possible, these documents should be mailed or faxed to the NSDI CAP Coordinator, MS 590 National Center, Reston, VA 20192, Fax number: 703-648-5755.

Evaluation will be based upon the extent that the applicant will continue to sustain the effort beyond the award period. Letters of participation or support will be considered in the evaluation.

(4) Budget Breakdown (maximum 25 points)

Salaries and Wages
Fringe Benefits
Travel Expenses
Other Direct Cost Line Items
Total Direct Charges
Indirect Charges (Overhead)

2016 NSDI CAP Category 7: Geospatial Platform Cloud Service Testbed

A. Background

In FY 2011, the Geospatial Cloud Sandbox Initiative activity was initiated for Federal agencies to experiment with the deployment of common geospatial services in a commercial Cloud environment. The main outcome of the Federal activity was to gain insight on the logistics and cost models for operational geospatial Cloud computing. Ten projects were identified and transitioned to the Cloud environment, and then monitored for performance and cost comparisons. At the conclusion of the activity the individual projects could elect to assume the monthly billing or retire the service. In either case, documentation will be made available for others to learn about the type, costs, disposition of the project, and reference Cloud software packages will be developed for re-use.

This category will support State, Tribal, and/or local governments who seek to deploy secure geospatial Cloud services that support Federal interests, aligned with nationally significant geospatial data, per OMB Circular A-16. These awards will provide funding for Cloud service acquisition and deployment for non-Federal entities. All awards will be deployed using secure Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) from Apptis/Amazon Web Services. On this infrastructure, projects will deploy one of the two FGDC GeoCloud Platform as a Service (PaaS) solutions – open source (CentOS and OpenGeo) or commercial (Windows 2008 Server R2 and ArcGIS Server) environments.

Awardees will configure OGC standard Web Services on their data using schema required by government partners and work with the GeoCloud team for assistance in Cloud data and services deployment. The projects will result in operational GSA-sanctioned Cloud services that provide access to non-Federal data sources and will be registered with the Geospatial Platform.

Awards will support matched funding of up to one year of Cloud hosting costs and staffing to configure and operate the data services; funding cannot be used for hardware or data acquisition.

B. Project Goals

The objectives of this category are to provide non-Federal partner organizations with common Cloud Computing infrastructure focused on the hosting of geospatial application services, to document the re-deployment efforts in the Cloud environment, and to develop cost comparisons between existing public-facing and Cloud equivalent services.

C. Project Results

Each award in this category will result in operational geospatial Cloud services whose deployment costs and performance characteristics will be known and documented and support Federal mission requirements towards A-16 data development.

D. Applicant Eligibility

Applicants may be State, Tribal, and/or local governments who have formal data exchange agreements with Federal agencies for the collection and local management of nationally significant geospatial data, per OMB Circular A-16, http://www.fgdc.gov/policyandplanning/a-16. The applicant organization must be the entity officially responsible for the collection and/or dissemination of the geospatial data layer. Preference will be given to projects that already operate public-facing Web services to be transitioned under this project so that Cloud and non-Cloud solutions may be effectively compared.

Institutions that have received a 2012 NSDI CAP Category 7 award are not eligible for a 2016 NSDI CAP Category 7 award.

E. Funding Amount and In-Kind Match

1. Federal assistance

Up to $25,000 will be obligated to individual projects under this category.

2. In-Kind Resource Match

A minimum 50% match of the requested Federal funds is required (up to $12,500). Contribution of matching personnel hours or funding, supplied development hardware and software, or other in-kind resources will be considered. The value of data will not be considered as in-kind match. Other Federal grant funds cannot be used for matching. The applicant shall document the amount and type of in-kind resource that will be contributed to the fulfillment of the project goals. See Section IV.D. in the Introduction for more details and for in-kind match calculation.

F. Funded Activities

1. Funded activities include:

Fees for Cloud hosting through the GSA apps.gov contract with Apptis/Amazon,

as estimated by the Amazon calculator: http://calculator.s3.amazonaws.com/calc5.html

Salary for project staff,
Publications,
Workshops,
Training,
Reasonable travel expenses as required to complete this project, and
Communications (i.e. WebEx License to facilitate meetings).

2. Funding cannot be used for hardware or data acquisition. Metadata collection can be funded through this award.

3. If travel to a conference or national/regional meeting is included in the proposal, a justification for attendance needs to be provided. It is strongly encouraged that a presentation on the project be made at the conference or meeting.

G. Partnership and Collaboration Requirement

H. Applicable Standards

Projects should also have a working knowledge of the NIST Cloud Computing definitions and standards as would be applicable to this collaborative project.

I. Category Lead Technical Contact

Mr. Doug Nebert, FGDC Senior Advisor for Geospatial Technology, ddnebert@fdgc.gov

J. FGDC Involvement Statement

The FGDC will collaborate closely with the recipients to enable them to meet the goals stated in their respective proposals. The FGDC will provide logistical and programmatic support to the projects to assist in the redeployment of geospatial applications to the reference platform environments. The FGDC and awarded projects will determine the best available date and content for a Category 7 kick-off teleconference and/or webinar. The FGDC will facilitate progress calls with the recipients and Cloud support contractors. Participation is required. The FGDC will promote the outcomes of the awards through communication channels including the FGDC Web site.

K. Reporting

The category technical lead will periodically confer with CAP awardees to discuss project progress and other issues related to Category 7 projects. If necessary, the Category Lead will schedule regular teleconferences to provide an exchange of information among category award recipients and interested stakeholders.
Interim and final project reports are required and will be posted on the FGDC Web site, http://www.fgdc.gov/grants.

For the submission schedule see Section VI.B. Administrative Project Requirements in the Introduction.
For content and format see Attachment D – Templates for Interim and Final Reports.

Financial reports are required; see Section VI.B. Administrative Project Requirements in the Introduction for further details.

L. Proposal Narrative

The proposal narrative is the document that will be evaluated and scored by the review panel. A total point value of 100 points is possible. All proposals should be no more than 3000 words (about 5 pages using Times New Roman 12 point font and 1-inch margins), not including letters of support, tables, maps, and diagrams.

(0) Proposal Summary -- Mandatory (0 points)

Please provide information on the following items, as appropriate. Proposals without a complete summary may be disqualified.

Project title
Applicant organization (name, office/branch, street address, city, State, zip)
Organization’s Internet address
Target data provider organizations
Principal Investigator’s name, telephone number, and email address
Other key personnel’s contact information (at least one alternate contact is required): name, telephone number, and email address
Geographic scope or area
Previous NSDI cooperative agreement participation (include year of participation, and whether each project was awarded or submitted but not awarded)
A short, stand-alone description of the project (limited to 250 words). This stand-alone description will be posted on the FGDC Web site for each awarded proposal.

(1) Project Scope – (maximum 25 points)

Identify the context of the project, geographic extent of the theme/layer to be addressed, clientele for the data, and the existing theme data to be targeted for re-deployment in the Cloud environment.

The proposal evaluation will be based on how fully the project scope is addressed, the mix of clientele for the data, and the theme data to be targeted for re-deployment in the Cloud environment.

(2) Project Experience (maximum 25 points)

Identify the responsibilities of the applicant organization(s) in the collection and management of the proposed data content, document the history of the current online deployment environment for this theme, and the applicant’s familiarity with relevant Federal geospatial and Cloud standards and activities.

(3) Commitment to Effort (maximum 25 points)

Documentation of authority to collect and manage proposed data themes that align with A-16 data themes is required. Identification of participation in regional and statewide geospatial partnerships should be provided. Partnerships, both formal and informal, among organizations are seen as primary building blocks for the NSDI. OMB A-16 data layer(s) are described in http://www.fgdc.gov/policyandplanning/a-16. Proposals shall identify which A-16 thematic data are intended be served. Identify what level of commitment will be made to achieve the project goals in the current year and what plans will be put into effect after the award period to sustain the effort.

If there are any letters of support or other formal agreements to be included in the proposal, they should be included as an attachment to the narrative. If this is not possible, these documents should be mailed or faxed to the NSDI CAP Coordinator, MS 590 National Center, Reston, VA 20192, Fax number: 703-648-5755.

Evaluation will be based upon the extent that the applicant will continue to sustain the effort beyond the award period. Letters of support/commitment will be considered in the evaluation.

(4) Budget Breakdown (maximum 25 points)

Please provide a detailed, itemize budget breakdown for the project as an attachment to the proposal narrative. Include the following categories of information, separating the CAP funds from the in-kind match:

Salaries and Wages
Fringe Benefits
Travel Expenses
Other Direct Cost Line Items
Total Direct Charges
Indirect Charges (Overhead)

2016 NSDI CAP Category 8: Arctic Spatial Data Infrastructure, Alaska-Yukon Project

A. Background

The Arctic Spatial Data Infrastructure (ASDI) is an Arctic Council project jointly sponsored by the eight circumpolar nations to support social and scientific data analysis by providing a common base map, catalog, and related data from national and international sources. This project aims to evaluate the ASDI basemap, publishing, and visualization environment in specific real-world applications.

B. Project Goals

This project will be based in Alaska and will partner with the Canadian Geospatial Data Infrastructure Pilot (CGDI) project to support the Arctic Spatial Data Infrastructure (ASDI). Goals of the project are:

to identify and collaborate with a counterpart organization in the Yukon Territory as co-proposer for a project of common interest,
to develop and publish State or local environmental, resource, and logistical map and data services to the ASDI catalog,
to re-use published national and global map and data services portrayed in polar coordinate reference systems, and
to develop and share integrated access to Web map and data services in support of decision support for emergency preparedness, hazards modeling, environmental monitoring, coastal planning, or resource development activities in the Arctic Coastal region of Alaska and Canada.

C. Project Results

Results of the project shall include the creation of one or more data/map services that are registered with the State and ASDI catalogs, preparation and documentation of a scenario of operational use of the ASDI Web map and data service infrastructure to address real-world problems. Capture of a video demonstration of the decision-support workflow using the catalog and visualization tools should be performed by the end of the project. A final report should document the process and results.

D. Applicant Eligibility

Applicants may be State, borough, city government, companies, and/or Native Corporations in Alaska with operational or jurisdictional responsibility for management or monitoring of the Arctic Coastal Plain or coastal waters.

E. Funding Amount and In-Kind Match

1. Federal assistance

Up to $75,000 will be obligated to individual projects under this category.

2. In-Kind Resource Match

A minimum 50% match of the requested Federal funds is required (up to $37,500). Contribution of matching personnel hours or funding, supplied development hardware and software, or other in-kind resources will be considered. The value of data will not be considered as in-kind match. Other Federal grant funds cannot be used for matching. The applicant shall document the amount and type of in-kind resource that will be contributed to the fulfillment of the project goals. See Section IV.D. in the Introduction for more details and for in-kind match calculation.

F. Funded Activities

1. Funded activities include:

Salaries for project staff,
Publications,
Workshops,
Training,
Reasonable travel expenses as required to complete this project, and
Communications (i.e. WebEx License to facilitate meetings).

2. Proposals seeking funding for data collection other than metadata will not be considered.

G. Partnership and Collaboration Requirement

Documented partnership with a counterpart organization in the Yukon Territory in Canada to achieve the same project goals is required as part of the proposal. Essentially, this should be a proposal for a joint project between two entities in Alaska and Canada.

H. Applicable Standards

I. Category Lead Technical Contact

Mr. Doug Nebert, FGDC Senior Advisor for Geospatial Technology, ddnebert@fdgc.gov

J. FGDC Involvement Statement

The FGDC will collaborate closely with the recipients to enable them to meet the goals stated in their respective proposals. The FGDC and USGS will provide the ASDI mapping portal and catalog and populate it with national base map services at 1:250,000 scale or better. The FGDC and awarded projects will determine the best available date and content for a Category 8 kick-off teleconference and/or webinar. The FGDC will facilitate progress calls with the award recipients. Participation is required. The FGDC will promote the outcomes of the awards through communication channels including the FGDC Web site.

K. Reporting

The category technical lead will periodically confer with CAP awardees to discuss project progress and other issues related to Category 8 projects. If necessary, the Category Lead will schedule regular teleconferences to provide an exchange of information among category award recipients and interested stakeholders.
Interim and final project reports are required and will be posted on the FGDC Web site, http://www.fgdc.gov/grants.

For the submission schedule see Section VI.B. Administrative Project Requirements in the Introduction.
For content and format see Attachment D – Templates for Interim and Final Reports.

Financial reports are required; see Section VI.B. Administrative Project Requirements in the Introduction for further details.

L. Proposal Narrative

The proposal narrative is the document that will be evaluated and scored by the review panel. A total point value of 100 points is possible. All proposals should be no more than 3000 words (about 5 pages using Times New Roman 12 point font and 1-inch margins), not including letters of support, tables, maps, and diagrams.

(0) Proposal Summary -- Mandatory (0 points)

Please provide information on the following items, as appropriate. Proposals without a complete summary may be disqualified.

Project title
Applicant organization (name, office/branch, street address, city, State, zip)
Organization’s Internet address
Target data provider organizations
Principal Investigator’s name, telephone number, and email address
Other key personnel’s contact information (at least one alternate contact is required): name, telephone number, and email address
Geographic scope or area
Previous NSDI cooperative agreement participation (include year of participation, and whether each project was awarded or submitted but not awarded)
A short, stand-alone description of the project (limited to 250 words). This stand-alone description will be posted on the FGDC Web site for each awarded proposal.

(1) Project Scope – (maximum 25 points)

Identify the context of the project in terms of the suggested application areas, geographic extent, and level of support of operational requirements. Section should address exactly which application area is being supported, how, and include a project proposal of steps, milestones, data/services to be used, and a real-world scenario of applied use of the ASDI infrastructure.

The proposal evaluation will be based on how fully the project scope is addressed.

(2) Project Experience (maximum 25 points)

This section should address the qualifications, requirements, and jurisdiction of the applicant organizations and individuals relative to the project goals. Describe familiarity with relevant Federal geospatial and international standards.

(3) Commitment to Effort (maximum 25 points)

This section should document the existing efforts of the organization and its partners in conducting related work in the Arctic environment and the potential future sustainability of the proposed efforts in this project. The applicant should include reference to partner organizations in Alaska and Canada within the scope of sponsoring and conducting this project.

If there are letters of participation or support or other formal agreements, they should be included as an attachment to the narrative. If this is not possible, these documents should be mailed or faxed to the NSDI CAP Coordinator, MS 590 National Center, Reston, VA 20192, Fax number: 703-648-5755.

Evaluation will be based on the applicants’ ability to demonstrate existing efforts and the extent that the applicant will continue to sustain the effort beyond the award period. Letters of participation or support will be considered in the evaluation.

(4) Budget Breakdown (maximum 25 points)

Salaries and Wages
Fringe Benefits
Travel Expenses
Other Direct Cost Line Items
Total Direct Charges
Indirect Charges (Overhead)

General Provisions

This information applies to awarded cooperative agreements.

A. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circulars

By accepting Federal assistance, your organization agrees to abide by the applicable OMB Circulars in the expenditure of Federal funds and performance under this program. However, State can propose other circulars in their proposal if these circulars are not applicable. Copies of these Circulars can be obtained from the Internet at: http://whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars/index.html.

Cost Principles, Audit, and Administrative Requirements

The Recipient shall be subject to the following OMB circulars and regulations, which are incorporated herein by reference. Copies of these Circulars can be obtained from the Internet at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/circulars/index.html.

Educational Institutions

a. 2 CFR 220, Cost Principles for Educational Institutions (OMB Circular No. A-21)

b. . 2 CFR 215, Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and Other Agreements with Institutions of Higher Education, hospitals, and Other Non-profit Organizations (OMB Circular No. A-110), as implemented in 43 CFR Part 12, Subpart F.

c. OMB Circular No. A-133, Audits of States, Local Governments and Non-Profit Organizations, as implemented in 43 CFR Part 12, Subpart A: Administrative and Audit Requirements and Cost Principles for Assistance Programs

State and Local Governments

a. 2 CFR 225, Cost Principles for State, Local, and Indian Tribal Governments (OMB Circular A-87)

b. OMB Circular A-102, Grants and Cooperative Agreements with State and Local Governments; as implemented in 43 CFR Part 12, Subpart C

Non-Profit Organizations

a. 2 CFR Part 230, Cost Principles for Non-Profit Organizations (OMB Circular A-122), except recipients listed in Appendix C to Part 230 are subject to Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 31.2, Contracts with Commercial Organizations (Contract Cost Principles and Procedures)

b. 2 CFR 215, Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and Other Agreements with Institutions of Higher Education, hospitals, and Other Non-profit Organizations (OMB Circular No. A-110), as implemented in 43 CFR Part 12, Subpart F.

Organizations for Profit, Individuals, and Others Not Covered Above

a. Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Subpart 31.2, Contracts with Commercial Organizations (Contract Cost Principles and Procedures)

c. FAR Subpart 42.1, Contract Audit Services; FAR Subpart 42.7, Indirect Cost Rates; FAR Subpart 42.8, Disallowance of Costs

B. Additional Regulations

This award is subject to the following additional Government-wide regulations:

2 CFR 180, Government Debarment and Suspension (Nonprocurement)
2 CFR 1400, Department of the Interior Nonprocurement Debarment and Suspension

This award is subject to the following additional regulations of the U.S. Department of the Interior:

43 CFR Part 12, Subpart E: Buy American Requirements for Assistance Programs
43 CFR Part 17, Subpart A: Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Race, Color, or National Origin
43 CFR Part 17, Subpart B: Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Handicap
43 CFR Part 17, Subpart C: Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Age
43 CFR Part 17, Subpart E: Enforcement of Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Handicap in Programs or Activities Conducted by the Department of the Interior
43 CFR Part 18, New Restrictions on Lobbying
43 CFR Part 41, Nondiscrimination on the basis of sex in education programs or activities receiving Federal financial assistance [Applies only if this award provides assistance to an education program or student(s).]
43 CFR Part 43, Governmentwide Requirements for Drug Free Workplace

--- End of General Provisions---

Special Terms and Conditions for USGS Cooperative Agreements

This information applies to awarded cooperative agreements.

1. Cooperative Agreement Administration

This cooperative agreement will be administered by:

U.S. Geological Survey

Office of Acquisition and Grants

Desiree Santa, Grants Specialist

12201 Sunrise Valley Drive, MS 211

Reston, VA 20192

Written communication shall make reference to the Cooperative Agreement award number and shall be mailed to the address above.

2. Consideration

The Recipient’s proposal, as identified in the award document on Page 1, block 10, is incorporated by reference. The total estimated cost of the USGS share for the performance of the cooperative agreement is the Federal Share amount indicated in block 13A of the award document. Costs hereunder shall in no event exceed that amount.
Prior approval of the Contracting Officer (CO) is not required for transfer of funds between direct cost categories when the cumulative amount of the transfers during the performance period does not exceed ten (10) percent of the total USGS cash award. Prior written approval is required from the CO for transfers in excess of the ten (10) percent limitation.

3. Method of Payment

Payments under financial assistance awards must be made using the Department of the Treasury Automated Standard Application for Payments (ASAP) system (www.asap.gov).

a. The Recipient agrees that it has established or will establish an account with ASAP. USGS will initiate enrollment in ASAP. If the Recipient does not currently have an ASAP account, they must designate an individual (name, title, address, phone and e-mail) who will serve as the Point of Contact (POC).

b. With the award of each grant/cooperative agreement, a sub-account will be set up from which the Recipient can draw down funds. After recipients complete enrollment in ASAP and link their banking information to the USGS ALC (14080001), it may take up to 10 days for sub-accounts to be activated and for funds to be authorized for drawdown in ASAP.

c. Payments may be drawn in advance only as needed to meet immediate cash disbursement needs.

d. Inquiries regarding payment should be directed to the ASAP Help Desk at: (816) 414-2100 or e-mail kfc.asap@fms.treas.gov.

4. Definitions

A. Cooperative Agreement

A cooperative agreement is the legal instrument reflecting a relationship between the Federal Government and a State or local government or other recipient whenever the principal purpose of the relationship is the transfer of money, property, services, or anything of value to the State or local government or other recipient to accomplish a public purpose of support, or stimulation authorized by Federal statute, rather than acquisition, by purchase, lease, or barter, of property or services for the direct benefit or use of the Federal Government; and substantial involvement is anticipated between the executive agency, acting for the Federal Government, and State or local government or other recipient during performance of the activity.

B. Principal Investigator

Cooperative Agreements are awarded to Institutions, not to the Principal Investigators. The “recipient” is the Institution where the funds will be going to. The Principal Investigator is the individual designated by the Recipient (and approved by the USGS) who is responsible for the technical direction of the research project. The Principal Investigator cannot be changed or become substantially less involved than was indicated in the Recipient's proposal, without the prior written approval of the Administrative Contracting Officer.

C. Project Officer/ NSDI CAP Coordinator

The Project Officer is the NSDI CAP Coordinator. The coordinator works closely with the recipient to ensure that all technical requirements are being met but does not have the authority to issue any technical direction which constitutes an assignment of additional work outside the scope of the award; in any manner causes a change in the total cost or the time required for performance of the award; or changes any of the terms, conditions, or general provisions of the award. The coordinator works with the CAP Category Leads who define the category goals and lead the reviews of the proposals.

The Project Officer/NSDI CAP Coordinator is Brigitta Urban-Mathieux, Federal Geographic Data Committee MS 590 National Center, Reston, VA 20192.

D. Contracting Officer (CO)

Contracting officers are individuals who have been delegated in writing by the USGS Office of Acquisition and Grants as the sole authority designated to obligate Federal funds and create terms and conditions of awards. They are the only individuals who have authority to negotiate, enter into, and administer awards resulting from this announcement. Contracting officers have responsibility to ensure the effective use of Federal funds.

Functions of the contracting officer include, but are not limited to:

(1) Issuing the grant/cooperative agreement program announcement in coordination with the grants program manager.

(2) Receiving grant/cooperative agreement proposals and related documents in response to a grant program announcement. The contracting officer as receiving official shall mark all proposals with a control number and the date officially received. She shall notify each applicant of the receipt of its proposal.

(3) Approving the grant/cooperative agreement program’s Technical Evaluation Plan, which describes in detail the evaluation process for a competitive grant/cooperative agreement program. The contracting officer shall ensure the openness and fairness of the evaluation and selection process.

(4) Serving in an advisory capacity at peer review panel meetings. She shall interpret grant /cooperative agreement management policies to panel members.

(5) Notifying grant/cooperative agreement program applicants whether or not they were selected for funding or of any other disposition of their application.

(6) Negotiating, as necessary, the final grant/cooperative agreement budget.

(7) Issuing grant/cooperative agreement awards and revisions to awards.

(8) Receiving all requests for changes to an award. The contracting officer shall serve as the mandatory control point for all official communications with the grantee/awardee which may result in changing the amount of the grant/cooperative agreement, the grant/cooperative agreement budget, or any other terms and conditions of the grant.

(9) Receiving financial reports required by the terms and conditions of the award.

(10) Closing out grant/cooperative agreement awards when all applicable award requirements have been complied with.

The contracting officer for this cooperative agreement will be Desiree Santa, U.S. Geological Survey, Office of Acquisition and Grants, 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive, MS 205, Reston, VA 20192.

5. Reporting Requirements.

A. The Recipient is required to submit the following reports or documents:

Report/ Document	No. of Copies and Method of Transmittal	Submit To	When Due
Interim Technical Report	Submitted by email attachment	Project Officer	6 months after project start date
Final Technical Report	Submitted by email attachment	Project Officer	within 90 days after completion of project
Annual Financial Report (SF-425)	FedConnect	Grant Specialist	90 calendar days after the annual anniversary of the agreement start date
Final Financial Report (SF-425)	FedConnect	Grant Specialist and Project Officer	90 calendar days after the agreement end date

B. Report preparation instructions. The Recipient shall prepare the reports/documents in accordance with the following instructions:

(1) Interim Technical Project Report. The Recipient is required to submit an Interim Project Report six months after the start of the project date. Interim report should be submitted as an attachment by email to the NSDI CAP Coordinator. See the CAP Administration Web page for the suggested report content at: http://www.fgdc.gov/grants/CAPAdministrativeGuidance

(2) Annual and/or Final Technical Project Report. These reports should be submitted as an attachment by email to the NSDI CAP Coordinator. See the CAP Administration Web page for the suggested report content at http://www.fgdc.gov/grants/CAPAdministrativeGuidance. The final project report is due within 90 days of the end date of the project.

C. CASH MANAGEMENT AND FINANCIAL REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

1. Annual Financial Reports

The recipient will submit annual STANDARD FORM 425, FEDERAL FINANCIAL REPORT(S) for each individual USGS award. The SF 425 is available at - http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/grants_forms. Reports are due 90 calendar days after the grant/cooperative agreement year (i.e., 12 months after the approved effective date of the agreement and every 12 months thereafter until the expiration date of the agreement.) USGS acknowledges that this annual reporting schedule may not always correspond with a specific budget period. The SF 425 must be submitted electronically through the Fed Connect Message Center (www.fedconnect.net). If after 90 days, recipient has not submitted a report, the account will be placed in a manual review status. Funds may be withheld for accounts with delinquent reports.

2. Final Federal Financial Report

a. The recipient will liquidate all obligations incurred under the award and submit a final STANDARD FORM 425, FEDERAL FINANCIAL REPORT through Fed Connect (www.fedconnect.net) no later than 90 calendar days after the grant/cooperative agreement completion date. The SF 425 is available at - http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/grants_forms. Recipient will promptly return any unexpended Federal cash advances or will complete a final draw from ASAP to obtain any remaining amounts due. Once 120 days has passed since the grant/agreement completion date, the ASAP subaccount for this award may be closed by USGS at any time.

b. Subsequent revision to the final SF 425 will be considered only as follows -

(i) When the revision results in a balance due to the Government, the recipient must submit a revised final Federal Financial Report (SF 425) and refund the excess payment whenever the overcharge is discovered, no matter how long the lapse of time since the original due date of the report.

(ii) When the revision represents additional reimbursable costs claimed by the recipient, a revised final SF 425 may be submitted to the Contracting Officer with an explanation. If approved, the USGS will either request and pay a final invoice or reestablish the ASAP subaccount to permit the recipient to make a revised final draw. Any revised final report representing additional reimbursable amounts must be submitted no later than 1 year from the due date of the original report, i.e., 15 months following the agreement completion date. USGS will not accept any revised SF 425 covering additional expenditures after that date and will return any late request for additional payment to the recipient.

Adherence to reporting requirements

A recipient's failure to submit the required reports/documents, in a timely manner, may result in the withholding of payment, in termination of the award, or in delay or non-issuance of a new award.

6. Adherence to Original Project Objective and Budget Estimate

A. Any commitments or expenditures incurred by the recipient in excess of the funds provided by this award shall be the responsibility of the recipient. Expenditures incurred prior to the effective date of this award cannot be charged against award funds unless provided for in this award.

B. The following requests for change require advance written approval by the Contracting Officer shown on the award document. Your request must be submitted directly to the Contracting Officer at least 30 calendar days prior to the requested effective date of the change:

(1) Changes in the scope, objective, or key personnel (Principal Investigator) referenced in the recipient's proposal.

(2) Transfer of funds between direct cost categories when the cumulative amount of transfers during the project period exceeds 10 percent of the total award.

(3) Foreign travel not approved at time of award.

(4) Acquisition of nonexpendable personal property (equipment) not approved at time of award.

(5) Change in project period. The recipient shall include in the request the cause of the needed extension, a description of remaining work to be completed, the proposed date of completion, the amount of funds remaining, and a revised budget for the remaining funds. If all funds have been disbursed to the recipient, this must be indicated in the request. No-cost extensions are discouraged. Applicants should consider their time commitments at the time of application for a cooperative agreement. Requests for no-cost extensions will be considered on a case-by-case basis. The USGS reserves the right to limit the length of time and number of no-cost extensions. A request for an extension that is received by the Administrative Contracting Officer after the expiration date shall not be honored. Only one no-cost extension may be granted.

(6) Creation of any direct cost line item not approved at time of award.

(7) Any other significant change to the award.

C. The Contracting Officer will notify the recipient in writing within 30 calendar days after receipt of the request for revision or adjustment whether the request has been approved.

D. No additional funds will be given once the award has been made.

7. Nonexpendable Personal Property

Title to nonexpendable personal property acquired wholly or in part with Federal funds shall be vested in the recipient unless otherwise specified in the award document. The recipient shall retain control and maintain a property inventory of such property as long as there is a need for such property to accomplish the purpose of the project, whether or not the project continues to be supported by Federal funds. When there is no longer a need for such property to accomplish the purpose of the project, the recipient shall use the property in connection with other Federal awards the recipient has received. Under no circumstances shall title to such property be vested in a sub-tier recipient. Disposal of nonexpendable personal property shall be in accordance with the applicable OMB circular.

8. Record Retention Period

Unless a longer period is requested by the award, a recipient shall retain all records for 3 years after the end of the project period for which it uses USGS award funds.

9. Pre-agreement Costs

Pre-agreement costs are not authorized under this program. Costs must be obligated during the project period.

10. Metric Conversion Requirements (43 CFR § 12.915)

All progress and final reports, other reports, or publications produced under this award shall employ the metric system of measurements to the maximum extent practicable. Both metric and inch-pound units (dual units) may be used if necessary during any transition period(s).

However, the recipient may use non-metric measurements to the extent the recipient has supporting documentation that the use of metric measurements is impracticable or is likely to cause significant inefficiencies or loss of markets to the recipient, such as when foreign competitors are producing competing products in non-metric units.

11. Violation of Award Terms

If a recipient materially fails to comply with the terms of the award, the Contracting Officer may suspend, terminate, or take such other remedies as may be legally available and appropriate in the circumstances.

12. Award Closeout

Awards will be closed out once all requirements have been met. Technical and financial reports must be submitted on time as specified in Item 5 of these Special Terms and Conditions. Failure to adhere to the reporting requirements may result in the non-payment of your final award invoice or in other adverse action.

13. Partnership with Recipients/Cooperators

The USGS, through its Federal cooperative agreement awards, will collaborate with universities, State, Tribal, local and governments, and private organizations and businesses to provide relevant, timely, objective knowledge and information on natural resources, hazards and the environment.

14. Buy American Act Requirements (43 CFR § 12.710(c))

Notice: Pursuant to Section 307(b) of the Department of the Interior (DOI) and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, FY 2000, Public Law 106-113, please be advised on the following:

In the case of any equipment or product that may be authorized to be purchased with financial assistance provided using funds made available in FY 2000 and thereafter, it is the sense of the Congress that entities receiving the assistance should, in expending the assistance, purchase only American-made equipment and products.

15. Anti-Lobbying Requirements (43 CFR Part 18)

The recipient shall not use any part of the Department of Interior provided hereunder for any activity or the publication of distribution of literature that in any way tends to promote public or opposition to any legislative proposal on which Congressional action is not complete.

16. Seat Belt Provision (43 CFR § 12.2(e))

The recipient of cooperative agreements and/or sub-awards is encouraged to adopt and enforce on-the-job seat belt use policies and programs for their employees when operating company-owned, rented, or personally owned vehicles. These measures include, but are not limited to, conducing education, awareness, and other appropriated programs for their employees about the importance of wearing seat belts and the consequences of not wearing them.

17. Prohibition on Text Messaging and Using Electronic Equipment Supplied by the Government while Driving (Executive Order 13513)

Executive Order 13513, Federal Leadership On Reducing Text Messaging While Driving, was signed by President Barack Obama on October 1, 2009 (ref.: http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/pdf/E9-24203.pdf). This Executive Order introduces a Federal Government-wide prohibition on the use of text messaging while driving on official business or while using Government-supplied equipment. Additional guidance enforcing the ban will be issued at a later date. In the meantime, please adopt and enforce policies that immediately ban text messaging while driving company-owned or rented vehicles, government-owned or leased vehicles, or while driving privately owned vehicles when on official government business of when performing any work for on behalf of the government.

18. No Endorsement Provision (43 CFR § 12.2(d))

Paragraph (B) applies to all awards. The remainder of this provision applies only when:

the principal purpose of the agreement is a partnership where the recipient/partner contributes resources to promote agency programs or publicize agency activities, assists in fundraising, or provides assistance to the agency; and
the agreement authorizes joint dissemination of information and promotion of activities being supported; and
the recipient is not a State government, a local government, or a Federally-recognized Indian Tribal government.

The recipient shall not publicize or otherwise circulate, promotional material (such as advertisements, sales brochures, press releases, speeches, still and motion pictures, articles, manuscripts or other publications) which states or implies Governmental, Departmental, bureau, or Government employee endorsement of a product, service, or position which the recipient represents. No release of information relating to this award may State or imply that the Government approves of the recipient's work products, or considers the recipient's work product to be superior to other products or services.

All information submitted for publication or other public releases of information regarding this project shall carry the following disclaimer:

The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as representing the opinions or policies of the U.S. Government. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute their endorsement by the U.S. Government.

The recipient must obtain prior Government approval for any public information releases concerning this award which refer to the Department of the Interior or any bureau or employee (by name or title). The specific text, layout photographs, etc. of the proposed release must be submitted with the request for approval.

The recipient further agrees to include this provision in a subaward to any subrecipient, except for a subaward to a State government, a local government, or to a Federally-recognized Indian Tribal government.

19. Rights in Technical Data

The U.S. Government may publish, reproduce, and use all data obtained from this Cooperative Agreement project in any manner and for any purpose, without limitation, and may authorize others to do the same.

20. Government Involvement Statement

Substantial involvement is anticipated through the term of the cooperative agreement between the USGS and the recipient (indicated in Block 4 of award document).
The USGS and the recipient will collaborate and participate in program planning for each project.

21. Public Domain

All data submitted to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) under this Cooperative Agreement will become part of the public domain, and will be available in a non-proprietary format, at the cost of reproduction, to any requesting organization or individual.

22. Geospatial Data, Products, and Services

Geospatial data produced, acquired or updated using Federal government funding shall be documented in compliance with the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) geospatial metadata standards (https://www.fgdc.gov/metadata). All metadata shall be posted or made available to Geo.Data.gov (https://geo.data.gov/) so that it is discoverable.

Geospatial data developed with Federal funds shall comply with the FGDC data standards. FGDC data standards information is available on the FGDC Web site, http://www.fgdc.gov.

23. Dissemination of Results and Reporting Requirements

The Principal Investigator is strongly encouraged to disseminate research results promptly to the scientific community and appropriate professional organizations; local, State, Tribal, regional and Federal agencies; and the general public. The U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) encourages the recipient to publish project reports in scientific and technical journals. The Government may publish, reproduce, and use all technical data developed as a result of this award in any manner and for any purpose, without limitation, and may authorize others to do the same. Interim and final reports generated by the Recipient will be posted on the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) grants Web site, http://www.fgdc.gov/grants.

Data generated as a part of work funded under this program is not subject to proprietary period of exclusive data access. Any data generated must be made available to the USGS as soon as it is available. The USGS reserves a royalty-free, nonexclusive and irrevocable license to reproduce, publish, or otherwise use, and to authorize others to use the data for Government purposes. Any project funded in whole or part with funds obtained under this program shall fall under this clause. The USGS Contracting Officer is the sole person to decide which data fall in this category should any questions arise.

24. Use of U.S. Flag Air Carriers

Any air transportation to, from, between or within a country other than the U.S. of persons or property, the expense of which will be paid in whole or in part by U.S. Government funding, must be performed by, or under a code-sharing arrangement with, a U.S. flag air carrier if service provided by such a carrier is "available" (49 U.S.C. 40118, commonly referred to as the Fly America Act). Tickets (or documentation for electronic tickets) must identify the U.S. flag air carrier's designator code and flight number. See the Federal Travel Regulation §301-10.131 - §301-10.143 for definitions, exceptions, and documentation requirements. (See also Comp. Gen. Decision B-240956, dated September 25, 1991.)

25. Activities on Private and Other Non-Federal Lands

The recipient shall comply with applicable State, Tribal, and local government laws, including laws relating to private property rights.

26. Access to Research Data

A. By regulation (43 CFR 12.936), recipients that are institutions of higher education, hospitals, or non-profit organizations are required to release research data first produced in a project supported in whole or in part with Federal funds that are cited publicly and officially by a Federal agency in support of an action that has the force and effect of law (e.g., regulations and administrative orders). “Research data” is defined as the recorded factual material commonly accepted in the scientific community as necessary to validate research findings. It does not include preliminary analyses; drafts of scientific papers; plans for future research; peer reviews; communications with colleagues; physical objects (e.g., laboratory samples, audio or video tapes); trade secrets; commercial information; materials necessary to be held confidential by a researcher until publication in a peer-reviewed journal; information that is protected under the law (e.g., intellectual property); personnel and medical files and similar files, the disclosure of which would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy; or information that could be used to identify a particular person in a research study.

B. These requirements do not apply to commercial organizations or to research data produced by State or local governments. However, if a State or local governmental grantee contracts with an educational institution, hospital, or non-profit organization, and the contract results in covered research data, those data are subject to these disclosure requirements.

C. Requests for the release of research data subject to this policy are required to be made to USGS, which will handle them as FOIA requests under 43 CFR 2.25. If the data are publicly available, the requestor will be directed to the public source. Otherwise, the USGS Contracting Officer/Grants Officer, in consultation with the affected recipient and the PI, will handle the request. This policy also provides for assessment of a reasonable fee to cover Recipient costs as well as (separately) the USGS costs of responding.

27. Trafficking in Persons (22 U.S.C. § 7104(g))

A. Provisions applicable to a Recipient that is a private entity.

(1) You as the recipient, your employees, subrecipients under this award, and subrecipients’ employees may not:

(a) Engage in severe forms of trafficking in persons during the period of time that the award is in effect;

(b) Procure a commercial sex act during the period of time that the award is in effect; or

(2) We as the Federal awarding agency may unilaterally terminate this award, without penalty, if you or a subrecipient that is a private entity:

(a) Is determined to have violated a prohibition in paragraph A (1) of this award term; or

(b) Has an employee who is determined by the agency official authorized to terminate the award to have violated a prohibition in paragraph A (1) of this award term through conduct that is either:

Associated with performance under this award; or
Imputed to you or the subrecipient using the standards and due process for imputing the conduct of an individual to an organization that are provided at 2 CFR part 180, “OMB Guidelines to Agencies on Government-wide Debarment and Suspension (Nonprocurement),” as implemented by our agency at 43 CFR Part 42.

B. Provision applicable to a Recipient other than a private entity.

We as the Federal awarding agency may unilaterally terminate this award, without penalty, if a subrecipient that is a private entity.

Is determined to have violated an applicable prohibition in paragraph A(1) of this award term; or
Has an employee who is determined by the agency official authorized to terminate the award to have violated an applicable prohibition in paragraph A(1) of this award term through conduct that is either

(a) Associated with performance under this award; or

(b) Imputed to the subrecipient using the standards and due process for imputing the conduct of an individual to an organization that are provided in 2 CFR part 180, “OMB Guidelines to Agencies on Government-wide Debarment and Suspension (Nonprocurement),” as implemented by our agency at 43 CFR Part 42.

C. Provisions applicable to any recipient

You must inform us immediately of any information you receive from any source alleging a violation of a prohibition in paragraph A(1) of this award term.
Our right to terminate unilaterally that is described in paragraph A(2) or B of this section:
1. Implements section 106(g) of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA), as amended (22 U.S.C. 7104(g)), and
2. Is in addition to all other remedies for noncompliance that are available to us under this award.
You must include the requirements of paragraph A(1) of this award term in any subaward you make to a private entity.

D. Definitions

For purposes of this award term:

“Employee” means either:
1. An individual employed by you or a subrecipient who is engaged in the performance of the project or program under this award; or
2. Another person engaged in the performance of the project or program under this award and not compensated by you including, but not limited to, a volunteer or individual whose services are contributed by a third party as an in-kind contribution toward cost sharing or matching requirements.
“Forced labor” means labor obtained by any of the following methods: the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery.
“Private entity”:

(a) Means any entity other than a State or local government, Indian tribe, or foreign public entity, as those terms are defined at 2 CFR 175.25.

(b) Includes:

A nonprofit organization, including any nonprofit institution of higher education, hospital, or Tribal organization other than one included in the definition of Indian tribe at 2 CFR 175.25(b).
A for-profit organization.

Severe forms of trafficking in persons,” “commercial sex act,” and “coercion” have the meanings given at section 103 of the TVPA, as amended (22 U.S.C. 7102).

28. Transparency Act Subaward and Executive Compensation Reporting (2 CFR Part 170)

A. Reporting of first-tier subawards.

1. Applicability. Unless you are exempt as provided in paragraph d. of this award term, you must report each action that obligates $25,000 or more in Federal funds that does not include Recovery funds (as defined in section 1512(a)(2) of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Pub. L. 111–5) for a subaward to an entity (see definitions in paragraph e. of this award term).

2. Where and when to report.

You must report each obligating action described in paragraph a.1. of this award term to http://www.fsrs.gov.
For subaward information, report no later than the end of the month following the month in which the obligation was made. (For example, if the obligation was made on November 7, 2010, the obligation must be reported by no later than December 31, 2010.)

3. What to report. You must report the information about each obligating action that the submission instructions posted at http://www.fsrs.gov.

B. Reporting Total Compensation of Recipient Executives.

1. Applicability and what to report. You must report total compensation for each of your five most highly compensated executives for the preceding completed fiscal year, if—

the total Federal funding authorized to date under this award is $25,000 or more;
in the preceding fiscal year, you received—
1. 80 percent or more of your annual gross revenues from Federal procurement contracts (and subcontracts) and Federal financial assistance subject to the Transparency Act, as defined at 2 CFR 170.320 (and subawards); and
2. $25,000,000 or more in annual gross revenues from Federal procurement contracts (and subcontracts) and Federal financial assistance subject to the Transparency Act, as defined at 2 CFR 170.320 (and subawards); and

The public does not have access to information about the compensation of the executives through periodic reports filed under section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78m(a), 78o(d)) or section 6104 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. (To determine if the public has access to the compensation information, see the U.S. Security and Exchange Commission total compensation filings at http://www.sec.gov/answers/execomp.htm).

2. Where and when to report. You must report executive total compensation described in paragraph b.1. of this award term:

As part of your registration profile at http://www.ccr.gov.
By the end of the month following the month in which this award is made, and annually thereafter.

C. Reporting of Total Compensation of Subrecipient Executives.

1. Applicability and what to report. Unless you are exempt as provided in paragraph d. of this award term, for each first-tier subrecipient under this award, you shall report the names and total compensation of each of the subrecipient's five most highly compensated executives for the subrecipient's preceding completed fiscal year, if—

in the subrecipient's preceding fiscal year, the subrecipient received—

(A) 80 percent or more of its annual gross revenues from Federal procurement contracts (and subcontracts) and Federal financial assistance subject to the Transparency Act, as defined at 2 CFR 170.320 (and subawards); and

(B) $25,000,000 or more in annual gross revenues from Federal procurement contracts (and subcontracts), and Federal financial assistance subject to the Transparency Act (and subawards); and

The public does not have access to information about the compensation of the executives through periodic reports filed under section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78m(a), 78o(d)) or section 6104 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. (To determine if the public has access to the compensation information, see the U.S. Security and Exchange Commission total compensation filings at http://www.sec.gov/answers/execomp.htm)

2. Where and when to report. You must report subrecipient executive total compensation described in paragraph c.1. of this award term:

To the recipient.
By the end of the month following the month during which you make the subaward. For example, if a subaward is obligated on any date during the month of October of a given year ( i.e., between October 1 and 31), you must report any required compensation information of the subrecipient by November 30 of that year.

D. Exemptions

If, in the previous tax year, you had gross income, from all sources, under $300,000, you are exempt from the requirements to report:

Subawards,

and

The total compensation of the five most highly compensated executives of any subrecipient.

e. Definitions. For purposes of this award term:

1. Entity means all of the following, as defined in 2 CFR part 25:

A Governmental organization, which is a sate or local government, or Indian Tribe;
A foreign public entity;
A domestic or foreign nonprofit organization;
A domestic or foreign for-profit organization;
A Federal agency, but only as a subrecipient under an award or subaward to a non-Federal entity.

2. Executive means officers, managing partners, or any other employees in management positions.

3. Subaward:

This term means a legal instrument to provide support for the performance of any portion of the substantive project or program for which you received this award and that you as the recipient award to an eligible subrecipient.
The term does not include your procurement of property and services needed to carry out the project or program (for further explanation, see Sec. __ .210 of the attachment to OMB Circular A–133, “Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations”).
A subaward may be provided through any legal agreement, including an agreement that you or a subrecipient considers a contract.

4. Subrecipient means an entity that:

Receives a subaward from you (the recipient) under this award; and
Is accountable to you for the use of the Federal funds provided by the subaward.

5. Total compensation means the cash and noncash dollar value earned by the executive during the recipient's or subrecipient's preceding fiscal year and includes the following (for more information see 17 CFR 229.402(c)(2)):

Salary and bonus.
Awards of stock, stock options, and stock appreciation rights. Use the dollar amount recognized for financial statement reporting purposes with respect to the fiscal year in accordance with the Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 123 (Revised 2004) (FAS 123R), Shared Based Payments.
Earnings for services under non-equity incentive plans. This does not include group life, health, hospitalization or medical reimbursement plans that do not discriminate in favor of executives, and are available generally to all salaried employees.
Change in pension value. This is the change in present value of defined benefit and actuarial pension plans.
Above-market earnings on deferred compensation which is not tax-qualified.
Other compensation, if the aggregate value of all such other compensation (e.g. severance, termination payments, value of life insurance paid on behalf of the employee, perquisites or property) for the executive exceeds $10,000.

29. Central Contractor Registration and Universal Identifier Requirements (2 CFR Part 25)

Requirement for Central Contractor Registration (CCR)

Unless you are exempted from this requirement under 2 CFR 25.110, you as the recipient must maintain the currency of your information in the CCR until you submit the final financial report required under this award or receive the final payment, whichever is later. This requires that you review and update the information at least annually after the initial registration, and more frequently if required by changes in your information or another award term.

Requirement for Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) Numbers

If you are authorized to make subawards under this award, you:

Must notify potential subrecipients that no entity (see definition in paragraph C of this award term) may receive a subaward from you unless the entity has provided its DUNS number to you.
May not make a subaward to an entity unless the entity has provided its DUNS number to you.

Definitions

For purposes of this award term:

Central Contractor Registration (CCR) means the Federal repository into which an entity must provide information required for the conduct of business as a recipient. Additional information about registration procedures may be found at the CCR Internet site (currently at http://www.ccr.gov).
Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number means the nine-digit number

established and assigned by Dun and Bradstreet, Inc. (D&B) to uniquely identify business entities. A DUNS number may be obtained from D&B by telephone (currently 866–705–5711) or the Internet (currently http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform).

Entity, as it is used in this award term, means all of the following, as defined at 2

CFR part 25, subpart C:

a. A Governmental organization, which is State or local government, or Indian Tribe;

b. A foreign public entity;

c. A domestic or foreign nonprofit organization;

d. A domestic or foreign for-profit organization; and

e. A Federal agency, but only as a subrecipient under an award or subaward to

a non-Federal entity.

4. Subaward:

a. This term means a legal instrument to provide support for the performance of any portion of the substantive project or program for which you received this award and that you as the recipient award to an eligible subrecipient.

b. The term does not include your procurement of property and services needed to carry out the project or program (for further explanation, see Sec. ll.210 of the attachment to OMB Circular A–133, ‘‘Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations’’).

c. A subaward may be provided through any legal agreement, including an agreement that you consider a contract.

5. Subrecipient means an entity that:

a. Receives a subaward from you under this award; and

b. Is accountable to you for the use of the Federal funds provided by the subaward.

30. Research Integrity

A. USGS requires that all grant or cooperative agreement recipient organizations adhere to the Federal Policy on Research Misconduct, Office of Science and Technology Policy, December 6, 2001, 65 Federal Register (FR) 76260, http://www.ostp.gov/cs/federal_policy_on_research_misconduct. The Federal Policy on Research Misconduct outlines requirements for addressing allegations of research misconduct, including the investigation, adjudication, and appeal of allegations of research misconduct and the implementation of appropriate administrative actions.

B. The recipient must promptly notify the USGS Project Office when research misconduct that warrants an investigation pursuant to the Federal Policy on Research Misconduct is alleged.

31. Fiscal Integrity

The recipient will notify the USGS Contracting Officer/Grants officer of any significant problems relating to the administrative or financial aspects of the award, such as misappropriation of Federal funds.

32. Program Income

A. The recipient will have no obligation to the Federal Government for program income earned from license fees and royalties for copyrighted material, in accordance with 43 CFR 12.924(h) (for A-110 recipients) or 43 CFR 12.65(e) (for A-102 recipients).

B. If a purpose of this award is to support a conference, symposium, or similar event, income related to that event will be deducted from total allowable costs to determine the net allowable costs before calculating the Government's share of reimbursable costs, as provided at 3 CFR 12.65(g)(1) (for A-102 recipients) or 43 CFR 12.924(b)(3) (for A-110 recipients).

C. If the recipient is an educational institution or nonprofit research organization, any other program income will be added to funds committed to the project by the Federal awarding agency and recipient and be used to further eligible project or program objectives, as described at 43 CFR 12.924(b)(1).

D. For all other types of recipients, any other program income will be deducted from total allowable costs to determine the net allowable costs before calculating the Government's share of reimbursable costs, as provided at 3 CFR 12.65(g)(1) (for A-102 recipients) or 43 CFR 12.924(b)(3) (for A-110 recipients).

---End of Special Terms and Conditions—

USE THE FOLLOWING FORMAT FOR THE BUDGET BREAKDOWN

2016 National Spatial Data Infrastructure Cooperative Agreements Program

BUDGET ESTIMATES FOR PROPOSAL

Applicant: _______________________________________

Proposal Short Title: _________________________________________

Budget Category Federal Funding “Requested” Matching Funds “Proposed”

1. SALARIES:

Personnel $ $

$ $

Contract Personnel $ $

$ $

Total Salaries: $ $

2. FRINGE BENEFITS:

Personnel $ $

$ $

Contract Personnel $ $

$ $

Total Fringe Benefits: $ $

3. FIELD EXPENSES:

What, Dates, Who, Justification

Per Diem $ $

Lodging Cost $ $

Vehicle Cost $ $

Mileage $ $

$ $

Total Field Expenses: $ $

4. OTHER DIRECT COSTS: (itemize)

Equipment $ $

Supplies $ $

Training $ $

Publications $ $

Office supplies $ $

Communications Costs $ $

$ $

Total Other Direct Costs: $ $

Total Direct Costs: $ $

Indirect Cost (%) $ $

_________________________________________________

GRAND TOTAL: $ $

EXAMPLE

National Spatial Data Infrastructure Cooperative Agreements Program

BUDGET ESTIMATES FOR PROPOSAL

Applicant: The State of XYZ

Proposal Short Title: XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Budget Category	Federal Funding “Requested”	Matching Funds “Proposed”
1. SALARIES:
Personnel
John Doe, (Assistant Deputy Director & CIO), 50 hrs at $65/hr	$	$3,250
Jane Smith (GIS Manager), 125 hrs at $57/hr	$	$7,125
Summer Intern, 50 hrs at $37/hr	$	$1,850
Contract Personnel
XYZ Collins (Streets/Addresses Data Mgr), 125 hrs at $48/hr	$	$6,000
Contractor Services (see explanation below)	$19,000	$
Total Salaries:	$19,000	$18,225
2. FRINGE BENEFITS:
Personnel
State Personnel (51%)	$	$6,235
Total Fringe Benefits:	$	$6,235
3. FIELD EXPENSES:
NSGIC Annual Conference, September 12-14, 2016, Project Manager - Estimate: $425 registration, $1500 air, $850 hotel, $125 meals, $100 taxi, Justification: NSDI CAP required travel	$3,000	$
State GIS Conference, June 9-12, 2016, 2 people – Justification: To make a presentation on the results of the project to potential collaborators that can help further the results of this project.
Airfare for 4 people	$1,000	$
Lodging Cost for 4 rooms @ $100/night	$400	$
Per Diem – 4 people for 4 days @ $25.00	$	$200
Vehicle Cost	$	$100
Total Field Expenses:	$4,700	$
4. OTHER DIRECT COSTS: (itemize)
Workshop Room Rental	$200	$
Equipment Rental, Videographer	$1,000	$
Publications	$50	$
Office supplies	$50	$
Training	$	$
Communications Costs - Webex for additional participants	$100	$
Total Other Direct Costs:	$1,400	$
Total Direct Costs:	$25,100	$24,460
Indirect Cost (9.9%)	$2,485	$
GRAND TOTAL:	$27,285	$24,760

EXAMPLE (Continued)

Explanation of Contract Services ($19,000)

The State of XYZ Geographic Data Committee (GDC) is planning to contract with a consultant to create a strategic plan, and appropriate business plans based on that strategic plan, to coordinate the continued collection of XYZ Spatial Data Framework Layers and the use and sharing of these and other geospatial data in XYZ. A working group established under the Executive Council of the GDC will act as a steering committee for the project. The chosen consultant will use the strategic and business plan templates created by the National States Geographic Information Council (NSGIC) as a starting point and will integrate with existing State-level information technology management standards and processes for this project. The project will also examine integration of State data with national-level geospatial data and data from neighboring State.

The consultant will participate in a series of workshops and interviews with members of the State GIS community, and any interested members of the public, to create an accurate picture of the present State of GIS framework data collection, coordination and sharing and to gather ideas, concerns, and opportunities for a strategic plan to guide such activities into the future. The workshops will be facilitated by an independent facilitator with knowledge of XYZ’s unique governance traditions and the relationships among small governments in what is a small State.

The consultant will produce a draft strategic plan for consideration by the Steering Committee, the full GDC, and finally the GDC Executive Council. Following Executive Council approval of that plan, the consultant will develop business plans to manage the maintenance of the State spatial data infrastructure (SSDI) using the NSGIC business plan template. The State SDI will enable XYZ’s support for the development of a National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI).

For this assistance, the recipient will contract services through competition through an RFP. Since the recipients estimates are based on contractor comparisons for similar work, the recipient will charge USGS based on actuals.

Interim and Final Report Templates

Category 1: Metadata Trainer and Outreach Assistance

Interim and Final Report Format

The report should be short and to the point. The interim report should highlight anticipated outcomes and actual milestones, while the final report summary should describe the project as completed. All reports will be posted to the FGDC Web site.

Date: MM/DD/YYYY

Agreement Number:

Project title:

Indicate whether Interim or Final report

Organization: Name, Mailing Address, Web Address.

Principal Investigator: Name, Telephone Number, Email Address.

Collaborating Organizations: Organization Name, Contact Name, Mailing Address, Web Address.

Executive Summary

Write a short paragraph (under 250 words) describing the key successes or outcomes of the project. The interim report should highlight anticipated outcomes and actual milestones, whereas the final report summary should describe the project as completed.

Project Narrative

The interim report shall highlight anticipated outcomes and actual milestones. The final report summary shall describe the project as completed. Summarize the project activities. Include its accomplishments, successes, challenges, and collaboration activities, as appropriate. How were challenges identified and what steps were taken to overcome these challenges?

In writing the report keep in mind the objective of this category is for organizations skilled in metadata implementation to assist other organizations or administrative units by providing metadata training, metadata creation assistance, and metadata program implementation and support. Ideally, sustained on-going processes for data documentation will be established for organizations for documenting (metadata) their geospatial holdings, serving this documentation.

Training and outreach assistance:

Indicate the number, duration, and venue of workshops conducted.
List organizations and organizational type (Federal, State, local, Tribal, academic, NGO, etc) of the workshop participants. Names of participants need not be provided. This list will provide indicators of outreach to user communities.
Describe the means of instruction, for example, lecture only, lecture and exercises, or lecture and computer assisted.
Indicate the overall customer satisfaction for each workshop. Customer satisfaction rating is from the NSDI training evaluation form, which provides means to evaluate trainer proficiency. The evaluation is administered after each workshop and should take 10 minutes if measuring customer satisfaction alone and 20 minutes if measuring both customer satisfaction and trainer proficiency. The evaluation form is available at http://www.fgdc.gov/training.
List new organizations engaged in this project.
Provide the method(s) of promoting the workshop (e.g., FGDC Calendar, Listserv, etc.)
If available, provide letters of recognition for the workshop to the awardee, publication articles regarding the workshop, and external endorsement for the workshop.

Status of Metadata Service (if metadata is created during workshops)

Indicate how and where metadata is served: NSDI registered clearinghouse node, Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting (OAI-PMH) provider software, or FGDC Browse-enabled Web Directory, where metadata is in XML and harvestable Data.gov.
Approximately how many metadata files have resulted from this project, if any?

Photographs, graphics, or illustrations of the project are highly desirable. If available please include a few.

Next Steps:

Describe the next phase in your project.
What formal or informal organizational relationships have been established to sustain activities beyond performance period?
Are there issues in metadata management and service? Do you need FGDC assistance?
Describe any project requirements or needs you have (more technical assistance, software, other?).
For the final report - What do you anticipate for future metadata training, outreach, creation and posting (to clearinghouse or other locations) after the project performance period ends? What other projects activities will continue after the award is closed?

Feedback on Cooperative Agreements Program (To be completed for the final report)

What are the CAP Program strengths and weaknesses?
Where did it make a difference?
Was the assistance you received sufficient or effective?
What would you recommend that the FGDC do differently?
Are there factors that are missing or are there additional needs that should be considered?
Are there program management concerns that need to be addressed, such as the time frame?
If you were to do the project again, what would you do differently?

Category 2: Geospatial Digital Data Archiving Business Plan Development

Interim and Final Report Format

1. Interim Report Format

Date: MM/DD/YYYY

Agreement Number:

Project Title:

Organization: Name, Mailing Address, Web Address.

Principal Investigator: Name, Telephone Number, Email Address.

Collaborating Organizations: Organization Name, Contact Name, Mailing Address, Web Address.

Project Narrative

In writing the report, keep in mind the goals of your project, which can be realized through the development and implementation of this statewide business plan. Please include:

Summary of project activities
Key accomplishments to date
How inclusive is your effort? What have you done to bring new stakeholder groups or organizations into statewide coordination?
What practices or activities led to success? What practices or activities have not?

Photographs, graphics, or illustrations of the project are highly desirable. If available, please include a few.

Next Steps

Describe the next steps in your project.
Where do you need assistance?
What type of assistance do you need?
Is there anything in your approach you plan on altering to improve your project?

Revised Timeline

Is your project proceeding on its original timeline?
Do you expect to complete your project on the scheduled completion date?
If not, request a time extension by providing a justification for previous and expected delays, and then identify a new completion date.

Attachments

If available, draft geoarchiving business plan.

2. Final Report Format

Date: MM/DD/YYYY

Agreement Number:

Project Title:

Organization: Name, Mailing Address, Web Address.

Principal Investigator: Name, Telephone Number, Email Address.

Collaborating Organizations: Organization Name, Contact Name, Mailing Address, Web Address.

Executive Summary

Include a short paragraph (under 250 words) describing the project and its key successes or outcomes.

Project Narrative

In writing the report, keep in mind the goals of your project, which can be realized through the development and implementation of this geoarchiving business plan. Please include:

Summary of project activities
Key accomplishments to date
What is the status of the business plan – is it approved or funded?
Does the plan itemize and describe the benefits an organization will realize if the plan is followed, as well as the costs that will be incurred?
Does it include any requirements for achieving its purpose, and a scorecard to gauge performance once the plan is accepted and actualized?
How inclusive is your effort? What have you done to bring new stakeholder groups or organizations into statewide coordination?
Did the project encourage the collaborative development of the plan across all engaged departments or agencies?
What practices or activities led to success? What practices or activities have not?
How did the project improve the further development of your SSDI or the NSDI?

Photographs, graphics, or illustrations of the project are highly desirable. If available, please include a few.

Next Steps

Describe the next steps in your project
How will this project continue into the future and remain viable?
What formal or informal organizational relationships have been established to sustain activities beyond performance period?
Where do you need assistance?
What type of assistance do you need?

Attachments

Completed geoarchiving business plan.

Provide Feedback on the Cooperative Agreements Program

What are the CAP Program strengths and weaknesses?
Where did it make a difference to your organization?
Was the assistance you received sufficient or effective?
What would you recommend that the FGDC do differently?
Are there factors that are missing or are there additional needs that should be considered?
Are there program management concerns that need to be addressed, such as the time frame?
If you were to do the project again, what would you do differently?

Category 3: Development of Geospatial Strategic Plans for Federally Recognized Indian Tribes

Interim and Final Report Format

1. Interim Report Format

Date: MM/DD/YYYY

Agreement Number:

Project Title:

Organization (Tribe): Name, Mailing Address, Web Address.

Principal Investigator: Name, Telephone Number, Email Address.

Collaborating Organizations: Organization Name, Contact Name, Mailing Address, Web Address.

Project Narrative

In writing the report, keep in mind the goals of your project, which can be realized through the development and implementation of this statewide business plan. Please include:

Summary of project activities
Key accomplishments to date
How inclusive is your effort? What have you done to bring new stakeholder groups or organizations into Tribal coordination?
What practices or activities led to success? What practices or activities have not?

Photographs, graphics, or illustrations of the project are highly desirable. If available, please include a few.

Next Steps

Describe the next steps in your project.
Where do you need assistance?
What type of assistance do you need?
Is there anything in your approach you plan on altering to improve your project?

Revised Timeline

Is your project proceeding on its original timeline?
Do you expect to complete your project on the scheduled completion date?
If not, request a time extension by providing a justification for previous and expected delays, and then identify a new completion date.

Attachments

Draft Strategic Plan.

2. Final Report Format

Date: MM/DD/YYYY

Agreement Number:

Project Title:

Organization (Tribe): Name, Mailing Address, Web Address.

Principal Investigator: Name, Telephone Number, Email Address.

Collaborating Organizations: Organization Name, Contact Name, Mailing Address, Web Address.

Executive Summary

Include a short paragraph (under 250 words) describing the project and its key successes or outcomes.

Project Narrative

In writing the report, keep in mind the goals of your project, which can be realized through the development and implementation of this Tribal geospatial strategic plan. Please include:

Summary of project activities
Key accomplishments to date
How inclusive is your effort? What have you done to bring new stakeholder groups or organizations into Tribal coordination?
Explain how Tribal coordination has (or will) change as a result of this project.
What practices or activities led to success? What practices or activities have not?
Explain how your project has advanced the NSDI.
State any other benefits of your project.

Photographs, graphics, or illustrations of the project are highly desirable. If available, please include a few.

Next Steps

Describe the next steps in your project
How will this project continue into the future and remain viable?
What formal or informal organizational relationships have been established to sustain activities beyond performance period?
Where do you need assistance?
What type of assistance do you need?

Attachments

Completed materials.
Completed Strategic Plan.

Provide Feedback on the Cooperative Agreements Program

What are the CAP Program strengths and weaknesses?
Where did it make a difference to your Tribe?
Was the assistance you received sufficient or effective?
What would you recommend that the FGDC do differently?
Are there factors that are missing or are there additional needs that should be considered?
Are there program management concerns that need to be addressed, such as the time frame?
If you were to do the project again, what would you do differently?

Category 4: Fifty States Initiative: Business Plan Development and Implementation

Interim and Final Report Format

1. Interim Report Format

Date: MM/DD/YYYY

Agreement Number:

Project Title:

Organization: Name, Mailing Address, Web Address.

Principal Investigator: Name, Telephone Number, Email Address.

Collaborating Organizations: Organization Name, Contact Name, Mailing Address, Web Address.

Project Narrative

In writing the report, keep in mind the goals of your project, which can be realized through the development and implementation of this statewide business plan. Please include:

Summary of project activities
Key accomplishments to date
How inclusive is your effort? What have you done to bring new stakeholder groups or organizations into statewide coordination?
What practices or activities led to success? What practices or activities have not?

Photographs, graphics, or illustrations of the project are highly desirable. If available, please include a few.

Next Steps

Describe the next steps in your project.
Where do you need assistance?
What type of assistance do you need?
Is there anything in your approach you plan on altering to improve your project?

Revised Timeline

Is your project proceeding on its original timeline?
Do you expect to complete your project on the scheduled completion date?
If not, request a time extension by providing a justification for previous and expected delays, and then identify a new completion date.

Attachments

As required.
Draft Business Plan(s).

2. Final Report Format

Date: MM/DD/YYYY

Agreement Number:

Project Title:

Organization: Name, Mailing Address, Web Address.

Principal Investigator: Name, Telephone Number, Email Address.

Collaborating Organizations: Organization Name, Contact Name, Mailing Address, Web Address.

Executive Summary

Include a short paragraph (under 250 words) describing the project and its key successes or outcomes.

Project Narrative

In writing the report, keep in mind the goals of your project, which can be realized through the development and implementation of this statewide business plan. Please include:

Summary of project activities
Key accomplishments to date
How inclusive is your effort? What have you done to bring new stakeholder groups or organizations into statewide coordination?
Explain how statewide coordination has (or will) change as a result of this project.
What practices or activities led to success? What practices or activities have not?
Explain how your project has advanced the NSDI.
State any other benefits of your project.

Photographs, graphics, or illustrations of the project are highly desirable. If available, please include a few.

Next Steps

Describe the next steps in your project
How will this project continue into the future and remain viable?
What formal or informal organizational relationships have been established to sustain activities beyond performance period?
Where do you need assistance?
What type of assistance do you need?

Attachments

As required.
Completed materials.
Completed business plan(s).

Provide Feedback on the Cooperative Agreements Program

What are the CAP Program strengths and weaknesses?
Where did it make a difference to your State?
Was the assistance you received sufficient or effective?
What would you recommend that the FGDC do differently?
Are there factors that are missing or are there additional needs that should be considered?
Are there program management concerns that need to be addressed, such as the time frame?
If you were to do the project again, what would you do differently?

Category 5: FGDC-endorsed Standards Implementation Training and Outreach

Interim and Final Report Format

Date: MM/DD/YYYY
Agreement Number:
Project title:
Indicate whether Interim or Final report
Organization: Name, Mailing Address, Web Address.
Principal Investigator: Name, Telephone Number, Email Address.
Collaborating Organizations: Organization Name, Contact Name, Mailing Address, Web Address.

Executive Summary

Write a short paragraph (under 250 words) describing the key successes or outcomes of the project.

Project Narrative

Summarize the project activities. Include its accomplishments, successes, challenges, and collaboration activities, as appropriate. How were challenges identified and what steps were taken to overcome these challenges?

Identify major deviations from the original proposal and explain rationale.

For the final report, identify how the public can access the deliverables at no cost, without restriction.

If training workshop events were provided through the project, please report the following information:

Indicate the number, duration, and venue of workshops conducted.
List organizations and organizational type (Federal, State, Tribe, local, academic, NGO, etc) of the workshop participants. Names of participants need not be provided. This list will provide indicators of outreach to user communities.
Describe the means of instruction, for example, lecture only, lecture and exercises, or lecture and computer assisted.
Indicate the overall customer satisfaction for each workshop. Customer satisfaction rating is from the NSDI training evaluation form, which provides means to evaluate trainer proficiency. The evaluation is administered after each workshop and should take 10 minutes if measuring customer satisfaction alone and 20 minutes if measuring both customer satisfaction and trainer proficiency. The evaluation form is available at http://www.fgdc.gov/training.
List new organizations engaged in this project.
Provide the method(s) of promoting the workshop (e.g., FGDC Calendar, Listserv, etc.)
If available, provide letters of recognition for the workshop to the awardee, publication articles regarding the workshop, and external endorsement for the workshop.

Next Steps

Describe the next phase in your project.
Identify the relationships that have been established with other organizations to sustain activities beyond the performance period.
Identify project needs (more technical assistance, software, other?) How can the FGDC help?
Answer how this project's activities will continue beyond the performance period.
Answer how knowledge acquired through this project will be transferred to user communities beyond the performance period.

Feedback on Cooperative Agreements Program (To be completed for the final report)

What are the CAP Program strengths and weaknesses?
Where did it make a difference?
Was the assistance you received sufficient or effective?
What would you recommend that the FGDC do differently?
Are there factors that are missing or are there additional needs that should be considered?
Are there program management concerns that need to be addressed, such as the time frame?
If you were to do the project again, what would you do differently?

Category 6: Geospatial Platform Collaborative Group Development

Interim and Final Report Format

Date: MM/DD/YYYY

Agreement Number:

Project title:

Indicate whether Interim or Final report

Organization: Name, Mailing Address, Web Address.

Principal Investigator: Name, Telephone Number, Email Address.

Collaborating Organizations: Organization Name, Contact Name, Mailing Address, Web Address.

Executive Summary

Project Narrative

The interim report shall highlight anticipated outcomes and actual milestones. The final report summary shall describe the project as completed.

Next Steps

Describe the next phase in your project.
What areas need work?
Where do you need assistance?
What type of assistance do you need?
In the final report – What activities will continue after the performance period?
In the final report – What formal or informal organizational relationships have been established to sustain activities beyond performance period?

Photographs, graphics, or illustrations of the project are highly desirable. If available please include a few.

Feedback on Cooperative Agreements Program (To be completed for the final report)

What are the CAP Program strengths and weaknesses?
Where did it make a difference?
Was the assistance you received sufficient or effective?
What would you recommend that the FGDC do differently?
Are there factors that are missing or are there additional needs that should be considered?
Are there program management concerns that need to be addressed, such as the time frame?
If you were to do the project again, what would you do differently?

Category 7: Geospatial Platform Cloud Service Testbed

Interim and Final Report Format

Date: MM/DD/YYYY

Agreement Number:

Project title:

Indicate whether Interim or Final report

Organization: Name, Mailing Address, Web Address.

Principal Investigator: Name, Telephone Number, Email Address.

Collaborating Organizations: Organization Name, Contact Name, Mailing Address, Web Address.

Executive Summary

Project Narrative

The interim report shall highlight anticipated outcomes and actual milestones. The final report summary shall describe the project as completed.

Provide a summary report identifying the steps taken, issues encountered, and reporting on the performance and costing of the solution as deployed in the Cloud relative to in-house hosting.

Next Steps

Describe the next phase in your project.
Describe any project requirements you have (more technical assistance, software, other?).
What areas need work?
Where do you need assistance?
What type of assistance do you need?
In the final report – What activities will continue after the performance period?
In the final report – What formal or informal organizational relationships have been established to sustain activities beyond performance period?

Photographs, graphics, or illustrations of the project are highly desirable. If available please include a few.

Feedback on Cooperative Agreements Program (To be completed for the final report)

What are the CAP Program strengths and weaknesses?
Where did it make a difference?
Was the assistance you received sufficient or effective?
What would you recommend that the FGDC do differently?
Are there factors that are missing or are there additional needs that should be considered?
Are there program management concerns that need to be addressed, such as the time frame?
If you were to do the project again, what would you do differently?

Category 8: Arctic Spatial Data Infrastructure, Alaska-Yukon Project

Interim and Final Report Format

Date: MM/DD/YYYY

Agreement Number:

Project title:

Indicate whether Interim or Final report

Organization: Name, Mailing Address, Web Address.

Principal Investigator: Name, Telephone Number, Email Address.

Collaborating Organizations: Organization Name, Contact Name, Mailing Address, Web Address.

Executive Summary

Project Narrative

The interim report shall highlight anticipated outcomes and actual milestones. The final report summary shall describe the project as completed.

Next Steps

Describe the next phase in your project.
Describe any project requirements you have (more technical assistance, software, other?).
What areas need work?
Where do you need assistance?
What type of assistance do you need?
In the final report – What activities will continue after the performance period?
In the final report – What formal or informal organizational relationships have been established to sustain activities beyond performance period?

Photographs, graphics, or illustrations of the project are highly desirable. If available please include a few.

Feedback on Cooperative Agreements Program (To be completed for the final report)

What are the CAP Program strengths and weaknesses?
Where did it make a difference?
Was the assistance you received sufficient or effective?
What would you recommend that the FGDC do differently?
Are there factors that are missing or are there additional needs that should be considered?
Are there program management concerns that need to be addressed, such as the time frame?
If you were to do the project again, what would you do differently?

=========== END OF 2016 NSDI CAP ANNOUNCEMENT =============

File Type	application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document
File Title	2008 National Spatial Data Infrastructure
Author	burbanma
File Modified	0000-00-00
File Created	2021-01-24