How to apply training materials and webinars are available HERE.

Have questions or need help please visit the FAQ page HERE.  Also see Tips for prospective CAP applicants.

Schedule

Tentative 2012 Categories

Tentative Categories	Award Amount per Award	In-kind Match	Possible Number of Awards
Category 1: Metadata Trainer and Outreach Assistance Lead: Jennifer Carlino	$25,000	30-50%	3
Category 2: ISO Geospatial Metadata Standards Implementation Lead: Jennifer Carlino	$30,000	30-50%	3
Category 3: Expanding the State GIS Inventory Lead: Doug Nebert	$7,500-15,000	50%	10-20
Category 4: Fifty States Initiative: Business Plan Development and Implementation Lead: Arista Maher	$40,000	50%	8
Category 5: FGDC-endorsed Standards Implementation Training and Outreach Lead: Julie Binder Maitra	$25,000	30-50%	2
Category 6: FGDC Standards Development Assistance Lead: Julie Binder Maitra	$25,000	30-50%	2
Category 7: Geospatial Platform Cloud Service Testbed Lead: Doug Nebert	$25,000	50%	3

Category 1: Metadata Trainer and Outreach Assistance
This category provides support to organizations with NSDI knowledge and experience to assist others in geospatial metadata implementation. Implementation projects may include the development of training materials in coordination with the NSDI Training Program and/or training delivery via workshops, presentation, or online applications with an outreach component which includes but not require a presentation at a local, regional, or national conference. Outreach specific projects include the development/enhancement of informative, collaborative or promotional Web sites, networks, documents, and/or applications. Special consideration will be given those projects that target managers and non-traditional geospatial communities and those that utilize social bookmarking, wiki’s, and other Web 2.0 innovations. 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 Lead: Jennifer Carlino, jcarlino@usgs.gov.

Category 2: ISO Geospatial Metadata Standards Implementation
Projects in this category are intended to explore and test the process and procedures involved in transitioning from the FGDC Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata (CSDGM) to the international geospatial metadata standard, ISO 19115 Geographic Information – Metadata and associated ISO standards. Projects should outline an implementation strategy that identifies the processes, participants, milestones and timeline for exploring the technical and organizational issues that must be addressed during transition. A project can focus on technical and/or organizational issues. This category will award up to 3 cooperative agreements of up to $30,000 each, with the recipient matching 30-50% of the award with funding or in-kind services. Category Lead: Jennifer Carlino, jcarlino@usgs.gov.

Category 3: Expanding Use of the GIS Inventory System
This category will encourage State and regional governments to populate the National States Geographic Information Council’s (NSGIC) GIS Inventory System (also known as Ramona and located at http://gisinventory.net) with metadata containing links to standards compliant data or data services for subsequent harvesting by the NSDI Clearinghouse Catalog, and to identify State and local GIS managers in support of the Federal Geospatial Platform activities. This category will award up to 20 cooperative agreements ranging from $7,500 to $15,000 each, depending on the level of effort, with the recipient matching 50% of the award with funding or in-kind services. Category Lead: Doug Nebert, ddnebert@fgdc.gov.

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 advance the NSDI by facilitating the alignment of Federal agencies with statewide geospatial planning activities. Projects with a focus on cadastral, elevation, or orthoimagery data and building partnerships for these data with Federal agencies are preferred.  This category will award up to 8 cooperative agreements of up to $40,000 each, with the recipient matching 50% of the award with funding or in-kind services. Category Lead: Arista Maher, amaher@fgdc.gov.

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 categories 1 and 2 above) or the Standard for a U.S. National Grid, FGDC-STD-011-2001. 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 Lead: Julie Binder Maitra, jmaitra@fgdc.gov.

Category 6: FGDC Standards Development Assistance
This category provides funding to organizations to assist in the development of standards registered in the FGDC standards program of work (refer to http://www.fgdc.gov/standards/projects/FGDC-standards-projects/FGDC-standards-in-development). The project outcome should result in the advancement of a standard project to a milestone in the FGDC standards process. 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 Lead: Julie Binder Maitra, jmaitra@fgdc.gov.

Category 7: Geospatial Platform Cloud Service Testbed
This category will support State, local, and/or Tribal 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, and seek to deploy secure geospatial cloud services that meet Federal requirements. The result of each award in this category will be an operational geospatial Cloud services whose deployment costs and performance characteristics are known and documented. This category will award up to 3 cooperative agreements of up to $25,000 each, with the recipient matching 50% of the award with funding or in-kind services. Category Lead: Doug Nebert, ddnebert@fgdc.gov.

See the CAP Project Administrative Guidance for information about correspondence, reimbursement, modifications, and reporting for the CAP.

Tips for prospective CAP applicants

1. Keep the text of the proposal narrative clear and concise and try to keep within the proposal size limitation.
2. Clearly describe the expected project outcomes and future work.
3. Be sure to allocate appropriate resources to develop partnerships and do outreach.
4. Take advantage of planned conferences and meeting during the course of your project.
5. The USGS has geospatial liaisons for all the States.  They are a great resource for support and making connections.
6. Consider organizational changes that may occur which could affect the management of the project.
7. If hiring a consultant or obtaining contract services investigate your office’s requirements.
8. Spend time thinking about a realistic project timeline.
9. Don’t underestimated the time it takes to get the project started, to develop partner relationships, or to hire a consultant.
10. Proposed realistic, achievable goals – remember the project period is one year.

Contact for general questions about the NSDI CAP: Gita Urban-Mathieux (NSDI CAP Coordinator) burbanma@fgdc.gov