Geography and Spatial Sciences Program

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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 the Earth's surface. Investigations 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 (both domestic and international) 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 encourages projects that explicitly integrate undergraduate and graduate education into the overall research agenda.GSS provides support through a number of different funding mechanisms:Regular research awardsDoctoral dissertation research improvement (DDRI) awardsFaculty early-career development (CAREER) awardsAwards for conferences, workshops, group-travel support, and community-development or community-serving activitiesResearch coordination network (RCN) awardsRapid-response research (RAPID) awardsEarly-concept grants for exploratory research (EAGER) and creative research awards for transformative interdisciplinary ventures (CREATIV) 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.)

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