Geography and Spatial Sciences Program

As specified in the Geography and Spatial Sciences Program strategic plan, the goals of the NSF Geography and Spatial Sciences (GSS) Program are:

• To promote scientific research in geography and the spatial sciences that advances theory and basic understanding and that addresses the challenges facing society.
• To promote the integration of geographers and spatial scientists in interdisciplinary research.
• To promote education and training of geographers and spatial scientists in order to enhance the capabilities of current and future generations of researchers.
• To promote the development and use of scientific methods and tools for geographic research.

The Geography and Spatial Sciences Program sponsors research on the geographic distributions and interactions of human, physical, and biotic systems on Earth. Investigators are encouraged to propose plans for research about the nature, causes, and consequences of human activity and natural environmental processes across a range of scales. Projects on a variety of topics qualify for support if they offer promise of contributing to scholarship by enhancing geographical knowledge, concepts, theories, methods, and their application to societal problems and concerns.
GSS provides support through a number of different funding mechanisms:

• Regular research awards
• Doctoral dissertation research improvement (DDRI) awards
• Faculty early-career development (CAREER) awards
• Awards for conferences, workshops, group-travel support, and community-development or community-serving activities
• Research coordination network (RCN) awards
• Rapid-response research (RAPID) awards
• Early-concept grants for exploratory research (EAGER) and other special kinds of award mechanisms established by NSF may be supported in rare and unusual cases. (GSS strives to be open to ideas and approaches in early stages of development and emphasizes the potential longer-term significance of new lines of inquiry as part of its merit evaluation of all proposals.)

Two different solicitations now provide information about proposals to be submitted for consideration by GSS.
One solicitation focuses on providing instruction for submission of proposals for regular research awards; proposals for awards for conferences, workshops, group-travel support, and community-development or community-serving activities; proposals for research coordination network (RCN) awards; and proposals for rapid-response research (RAPID) awards.
Proposals for doctoral dissertation research improvement (DDRI) awards are described in a separate solicitation (accessiblevia http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=nsf14538). Note that there are different proposal submission deadlines for DDRI proposals submitted to GSS. Note also that there now are special eligibility requirements for doctoral students submitting DDRI proposals to GSS.
Proposals for faculty early-career development (CAREER) awards should submit proposals in accordance with the CAREER solicitation (accessible at http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=503214).