USGS Earthquake Hazards Program External Research Support Announcement for Fiscal Year 2022 | G22AS00006

Opportunity Information: Apply for G22AS00006

The USGS Earthquake Hazards Program External Research Support Announcement for Fiscal Year 2022 (Funding Opportunity Number G22AS00006) is a discretionary grant opportunity run by the U.S. Geological Survey to fund external research that advances understanding of earthquake hazards and improves earthquake risk reduction. The program is aimed at science and technology research and development projects that address earthquake hazards, the physics of earthquakes, earthquake occurrence (including when, where, and how earthquakes happen), and earthquake safety policy, while also aligning with Department of the Interior secretarial priorities. The legal authority for the program comes from the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act of 1977 (Public Law 95-124) and subsequent updates, including the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program Reauthorization Act of 2018 (Public Law 115-307), which together form part of the broader national framework for earthquake preparedness and hazard mitigation.

Eligibility is described as broadly open (listed as "Unrestricted"), meaning the announcement is intended to be accessible to a wide range of applicants from outside the federal government, such as universities, nonprofit organizations, private-sector entities, and individual researchers. At the same time, the solicitation draws clear lines around what it will not fund, primarily to keep the competition focused on research rather than on building or operating long-term monitoring infrastructure or purchasing goods and services. In particular, proposals are not eligible if they focus on regional seismic monitoring activities or setting up data centers, or if they request support for the long-term operation of geodetic networks or instruments. The opportunity also excludes proposals submitted by U.S. government agencies or U.S. government employees, as well as proposals from Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs). Applications are also disallowed when there is a real or apparent conflict of interest, when the work is mainly about procuring a product, equipment, or a service rather than performing research, or when the budget structure relies too heavily on subcontracting, specifically when subcontracts account for 50 percent or more of the total direct costs.

From an administrative standpoint, this is a grant (Funding Instrument Type: Grant) under the Science and Technology and other Research and Development activity category, with CFDA number 15.807. The opportunity was created on March 17, 2021, with an original closing date of June 1, 2021. The listing shows an award ceiling of 0, which usually means the maximum award amount is not specified in the summary field and would instead be defined by the program’s detailed announcement, available funds, project scope, and negotiated budgets. The number of expected awards is not provided in the summary information, suggesting that awards may depend on annual appropriations, proposal pressure, and program priorities for that fiscal year.

Overall, the announcement is best read as a call for research proposals that contribute directly to improved scientific understanding and practical decision-making around earthquakes, while avoiding requests that primarily fund ongoing operational networks, monitoring expansion, or procurement-heavy activities. The underlying intent is to leverage external scientific talent and institutional capacity to produce research outcomes that support national earthquake hazard reduction goals, including better hazard characterization, improved models of earthquake processes, and stronger links between earthquake science and public safety policy.

• The Geological Survey in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "USGS Earthquake Hazards Program External Research Support Announcement for Fiscal Year 2022" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.807.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2021-03-17.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-06-01. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted.

Apply for G22AS00006

[Watch] Creating a grant proposal using the step-by-step wizard inside the applicant portal: