Oceanographic Facilities and Equipment Support
Posted by U.S. National Science Foundation
Opportunity snapshot. This Grants.gov announcement — Oceanographic Facilities and Equipment Support — is cataloged under number 23-525 and tied to CFDA assistance listing 47.050, posted by U.S. National Science Foundation. Grants.gov currently shows the opportunity as open, first posted on December 1, 2022 and last updated on January 28, 2026. The funding category is Discretionary, delivered as a grant.
Award economics. The award range on file is $5,000 -- $47,500,000. The agency has projected $47.5 million in total estimated funding for this announcement. It expects to issue 50 awards. If the agency funds the expected 50 awards from the $47.5 million estimated pool, the average award works out to roughly $950,000. Cost sharing is not required, so applicants do not need to commit matching funds to be competitive on this opportunity. Federal award ranges are often upper bounds; actual allocations reflect program appropriations, the strength of the applicant pool, and the evaluation committee's scoring.
Deadline and action path. Applications close on January 11, 2027 — roughly 220 days from today. Every Grants.gov submission requires an active SAM.gov registration and a Unique Entity ID. Review the Eligibility section below carefully — federal eligibility categories (nonprofit, state or local government, tribal, individual, educational institution, small business) have distinct registration and reporting requirements. Pre-application outreach to the listed agency contact is permitted and often welcomed — it helps clarify scope and scoring priorities.
Award Range
$5,000 -- $47,500,000
Close Date
January 11, 2027
Posted
December 1, 2022
Est. Total Funding
$47,500,000
Expected Awards
50
Instrument
Grant
Description
Oceanographic facilities and equipment are supported by the Integrative Programs Section (IPS) of the Division of Ocean Sciences (OCE), Directorate for Geosciences (GEO). These awards are made for the procurement, conversion and/or upgrade, enhancement, or annual operation of platforms in the ocean, coastal and near-shore waters, and Great Lakes. Awards are generally directed specifically to support facilities that lend themselves to shared use within the broad range of Federally supported research and education programs.Most of these platforms and facilities also receive partial support from other federal agencies, state and local governments, and private sources on a proportional basis usually through a daily rate mechanism. The primary objective of these awards is to ensure the availability of appropriate oceanographic facilities for Federally funded investigators and educators. Individual project-based facilities and instrumentation, limited to one, or a small group of, investigator(s), should be supported through appropriate research programs as opposed to through the IPS programs listed herein. The individual programs covered within this solicitation include: 1. Oceanographic Technical Services (Tech Services) 2. Oceanographic Instrumentation (OI) 3. Shipboard Scientific Support Equipment (SSSE) Oceanographic Technical Service (Tech Services): The Tech Services Program provides support of institutional technical services to enhance the scientific productivity of research programs, aboard research vessels and in shore-based, shared-use facilities. Research vessel technical services include quality assurance, scheduling of technical support, logistical assistance, and at-sea supervision of the instrumentation and shared-use equipment available to sea-going researchers. This program also provides baseline operational support for the University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System (UNOLS) equipment pools (wire, vans and winches). Support of research vessel technical services and UNOLS equipment pools includes salaries and related expenses, maintenance and calibration of sensors and instrumentation, and associated travel. Oceanographic technical services support requests must be directly attributable to NSF-sponsored science. With the exception of the wire pool, requests for new or replacement capital equipment must be made through the SSSE or OI programs. Oceanographic Instrumentation (OI): The OI Program provides support to enhance the scientific capabilities and productivity of seagoing research projects that utilize research vessels as well as shore-based, shared-use facilities. Proposals may include shared-use instrumentation for the collection, processing, and analysis of oceanographic data. Typical instrumentation includes sensors, acoustic systems, data loggers, water sampling rosettes, biological net systems, coring equipment and auto-analyzers. Proposals must be for instrumentation that will support multiple research projects.OI proposals are generally submitted by the institution's Tech Services manager whose operational funding is provided through the OCE Technical Services Program. Shipboard Scientific Support Equipment (SSSE): The SSSE Program provides support to improve safety and enhance scientific capabilities and productivity of seagoing research programs that utilize research vessels as well as shore-based, shared-use facilities.. Proposals may include new permanent or portable equipment required to outfit a vessel to conduct oceanographic research as well as overhaul of equipment previously funded under this program, including science handling systems (winches, frames, cranes, etc.), navigation and communication equipment, and safety and regulatory-related items. Requests for purchase of new winch pool or van pool capital equipment must be submitted to this program. SSSE proposals are generally submitted by the institution's Marine Superintendent whose operational funding is provided through the Ship Operations Program in OCE.
Eligibility
25
Official Listing on Grants.gov
View full details, application forms, and submission instructions.
Parent Grant Program
Geosciences
National Science Foundation
Agency Contact
NSF grants.gov support<br/>grantsgovsupport@nsf.gov
Key Dates
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Disclaimer: This information is sourced from Grants.gov and SAM.gov and is for informational purposes only. Opportunity details, deadlines, and eligibility requirements change frequently. Always verify current information directly on Grants.gov before applying. PlainGrants is not affiliated with any federal agency.
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