Call for Proposals: 2026 NSF Unidata Community Equipment Awards

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Under sponsorship from the National Science Foundation, the NSF Unidata Program Center (UPC) announces the 2026 NSF Unidata Community Equipment Awards solicitation, described below, along with the proposal submission requirements. Subject to the availability of funds, a total of $100,000 will be available for awards this year. Proposals for amounts up to $20,000 will be considered. 

Proposals from academic institutions located within the United States will be considered. There is no requirement that applying institutions be UCAR members.

The deadline date for submitting proposals is March 27, 2026. Notifications of award status are expected to be made by May, 2026.
 

Description of Program

The primary purpose of the NSF Unidata Community Equipment Awards is to support the data sharing, software, and educational needs of the Earth Systems Science community. The Awards also seek to encourage new participation and collaboration with NSF Unidata.

This is an open call to fund purchases of equipment that aids academic institutions in using NSF Unidata technologies including (but not limited to) NSF Unidata AWIPS, the Integrated Data Viewer (IDV), MetPy and other NSF Unidata Python-based projects, the THREDDS Data Server (TDS), and the Local Data Manager (LDM) to further teaching and research in the Earth Systems Sciences. Applicants are strongly encouraged to get assistance with hardware requirements for their activity before submitting a proposal by contacting the UPC at support-egrants@unidata.ucar.edu.

It is the intent of this award program to assist institutions in a variety of situations, including (but not limited to):

  • those who wish to begin participating actively in the NSF Unidata community, but lack necessary computing resources
  • those who have participated actively in the past but need system upgrades to meet the standards currently recommended for deploying NSF Unidata systems
  • those who are adding or developing new data holdings, data access, or cloud data access, analysis, or visualization capabilities to benefit the broader Earth System Science community
  • organizations from disciplines outside of the atmospheric sciences who want to make important and relevant datasets and tools available to the NSF Unidata community

Note:
In keeping with NSF Unidata's most recent proposal to the National Science Foundation for continued program funding, we particularly encourage small institutions, academic departments that have not previously submitted proposals to this program, and Earth Systems Sciences programs outside NSF Unidata's traditional atmospheric sciences community to apply.

We're here to help

NSF Unidata Program Center staff are available to assist proposers throughout the process, from advising on proposal preparation and hardware specification to assisting with installation and configuration of NSF Unidata software technologies. (Note that while NSF Unidata staff will continue to provide advice and technical support for running projects, ongoing maintenance and operation of technology acquired through the Equipment Awards program is the responsibility of the grantee institution.) Potential applicants are encouraged to reach-out to NSF Unidata staff (support-egrants@unidata.ucar.edu) to discuss the viability and merits of their project proposal, and to ensure it aligns with the scope of the NSF Unidata Community Equipment Awards. 

What Can be Funded?

The Community Equipment Awards program is intended to assist institutions with whatever equipment needs they may be facing, and NSF Unidata encourages proposals for any identified need. NSF Unidata will accept proposals that include funds for hardware and software (including cloud storage/computing resources).


The following are some examples of funded equipment through this award program:

  • Data Servers and Hardware
    • Installing or upgrading servers to ingest IDD data streams
    • Installing THREDDS Data Servers to make data available locally and regionally
    • Upgrading the community THREDDS data server and LDM/IDD relay infrastructure
    • Upgrading LDM server capabilities
    • Deploying a JupyterHub server for education and research use
    • Creating an LDM relay and web-accessible server
    • Installing computing lab hardware to run visualization software such as AWIPS and IDV
    • Hardware enhancements to support machine learning applications
  • Classroom Equipment
    • Building computer workstations to view, manipulate, and download NSF Unidata products for educational applications
    • Modernizing undergraduate and graduate computer lab(s) for accessing Earth System Science computing resources
  • Data Sharing and Interaction
    • Creating electronic map walls
    • Dissemination of Gridded Imagery data
    • Building collaborative learning and research environments between universities via setup of internal network file storage servers and installed NSF Unidata software
  • Cloud Computing
    • Purchasing cloud computing resources that are used to broaden access to NSF Unidata products and services through the development of new data holdings, increasing data access, or developing tools that could be used by the community to interface with, access, or expand their cloud computing capabilities
    • Cloud computing resources for classroom educational purposes may also be considered, however applicants for this use-case are encouraged to first contact the program center via support-egrants@unidata.ucar.edu about the JetStream 2 allocations available for research and classroom use.
  • Sensors
    Sensors and equipment are eligible for funding under the following use cases:
    • The data collected will be used directly by existing products within the NSF Unidata portfolio. An example would be using or developing MetPy to analyze and display data collected from the funded sensor(s).
    • Sensors that would be deployed to enhance or fill a gap in an existing continuous data monitoring network, and whose data are available to the community in near real time without a firewall. 

Proposal Review Criteria

Proposals will be evaluated on the following criteria:

  1. Intellectual or technical merit of the proposed work. Using NSF Unidata technologies, the proposed effort makes an important contribution to advancing knowledge and understanding within the Earth Systems Sciences.
  2. Contribution to NSF Unidata community capabilities. Equipment will be used to develop concepts and software or make available datasets that enhance community capability within the atmospheric sciences and in related disciplines.
  3. Broadening the scope of the NSF Unidata community. The effort brings new contributors to the NSF Unidata community, either directly or through outreach and collaboration between current participants and those in related academic disciplines.
  4. Contribution to the advancement of technology. The proposal shows emphasis toward a particular technological advancement that it is working to deploy and share with the broader community.
  5. Contribution to education. The activity contributes to local and/or community education efforts in the Earth Systems Sciences by providing new approaches to classroom and individual instruction.
  6. Contribution to research. The equipment request encompasses an activity that shows potential for supporting and enhancing innovative research.

Note:
While all of the above criteria are important to the NSF Unidata Program in general, a successful equipment funding proposal might not address all six. Important factors in the review panel's evaluation will include the detail at which the proposal noted how the criteria will be addressed and the overall impact.

Award Limitations and Requirements

  • Only proposals from academic institutions located within the United States.
  • Only proposals from institutions that have not received funding through this program in the past two award cycles will be considered.
  • This program does not provide funds for staff time, travel, or other costs not outlined here.
  • Each proposal must include a section on the information technology (IT) services available to support the project. A short statement/letter/email from the proposer’s primary IT support staff acknowledging this responsibility and indicating readiness to provide resources must be included in the proposal.
  • Proposals containing sensors must also include a section describing the local technological support available, processes for maintaining the proposed sensor, and, if applicable, the existing sensor network infrastructure. Additionally, if the proposal includes funding for a sensor(s), it needs to be clearly stated how the funded sensor(s) will meet the eligibility requirements listed above and broaden participation in the NSF Unidata community.

Proposal Format

Including all of the sections below, Community Equipment Award proposals are typically 5-10 pages. Proposals must contain all components listed below and be assembled in the order listed:

A. Cover Page: Signed by the appropriate university official, for example, the Dean or the contracts officer. (example)

B. Project Summary: A brief summary of the project and how the proposer intends to use equipment funded through this award program.

C. Project Description:

  • Describe details of the equipment requested, and what part it will play in meeting the relevant criteria, above.
  • Describe how equipment requested will help to meet the overall goals of the project.
  • Discuss the benefits to research and/or education, and the added value that this project will bring to the NSF Unidata community at-large.
  • Discuss the relationship of the proposed system to the existing computing facilities, both departmental and institutional.
  • Discuss the percentage of the departmental computing resources that the proposed system comprises, and the relationship of the proposed equipment to the department’s overall plan for computing capabilities.
  • Describe resources available for ongoing operation and maintenance of the equipment.

D. Budget:

  • Provide a short explanation of the budget (budget justification). Describe any university contributions to the project (such as PI time, system administration time, co-sponsorship, computer time, and partial or total waiver of indirect costs).
  • A line-item budget, showing all key elements of cost as well as line-item detail for proposed purchases.
  • Budget requests may not exceed $20,000 (including institution overhead).
  • Cost sharing/matching by the department and/or university is encouraged but not required.

E. Project Milestones:

Provide information about how soon equipment will be purchased after receipt of the award, and when it will be deployed as part of the broader project objective.

  • Describe any dependencies that may alter the project goals and deadlines (for example, new space must be acquired or altered before a system can be installed).

Proposal Template

A proposal template is available to help you get started. Note that you are not required to use the template for your submission. Whether you follow the template or not, please make sure your submission addresses all of the requirements outlined above.

Submission, Notification and Accountability

Please submit an electronic copy in either PDF or Microsoft Word format along with the signed cover sheet via email to egrants-submit@unidata.ucar.edu with "Equipment Awards 2026" and your institution name referenced in the subject line.

Proposals must be received at the UPC no later than 5:00pm MT, March 27, 2026. To ensure fairness, proposals arriving after the deadline will be returned without review. Also, please ensure that all materials are included in your submission. Please note that we do business in English only. All proposals and contractual activities must take place in English.

Proposals will be reviewed by a panel consisting of community members and NSF Unidata staff. Once decisions are made, the NSF Unidata Director will notify the outcome of the review to all applicants. Reviewers' comments will be distributed to successful and unsuccessful proposals alike. Funds will be distributed to successful applicants by a sub-contract award process to their institution, and recipients will be responsible for purchasing and installing the equipment.

All recipients will be required to report back to NSF Unidata on progress six and twelve-months after receiving equipment funds. Awardees will be required to engage with NSF Unidata staff on social media and blog content at the six and twelve month post-award benchmarks. Within a year of receiving equipment funds, recipients will be required to submit a brief report in the form of a short article to the UPC. The intent of the article is to encourage others to participate in the NSF Unidata community and the Equipment Awards program by showing the benefits of participation, as well as ensuring compliance with the original intent of the awards. Recipients should address how the funding was used to strengthen their program and/or the NSF Unidata community. The article should also describe how the equipment has been used, the impact on education and research, lessons learned, etc. Articles will be used for publication either on the News@Unidata blog or the NSF Unidata web site (at our discretion). Failure to submit the requested article will result in ineligibility for future funding.

Note: We recognize that not all projects proceed according to their original schedules. Grantees may encounter delays due to equipment vendors, staffing shortages, or myriad other causes not directly related to implementation of the project. NSF Unidata is more than willing to adjust the award reporting schedule to suit specific circumstances; we simply ask that you contact us if you are facing unexpected delays to request a no-cost extension of the project reporting timeline.

If, in addition to the required report, you write a paper and would like to acknowledge NSF Unidata in the publication, please cite our Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs). You can find DOIs suitable for official citations on our page: How to Acknowledge NSF Unidata. On the page there are DOIs for various software packages created and maintained by NSF Unidata, as well as a reference for the Equipment Awards program itself.

Resources

Please see our FAQ to find answers to specific questions you might have about the NSF Unidata Community Equipment Awards. If you still have questions or would like additional guidance on submitting a proposal, send us an email at: support-egrants@unidata.ucar.edu.

The following are examples of some recent successful proposals:

The complete list of previously successful proposals, organized by year, can be found on the Previous Awards web page.