U.S. National Science Foundation · United States

Human-Environment and Geographical Sciences Program (HEGS)

Open

U.S. National Science Foundation expects to make 25 awards, from a total budget of $7 million. Applications close on 15 Jan 2027. Eligible applicant types include others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification).

Deadline: 15 Jan 2027 (in 61 days)
Grant amount: ≈ $280,000 per award (estimate: total ÷ 25 awards)
Total budget: $7 million
Funding rate: No mandatory cost sharing stated; funding percentage not stated
Total budget: $7 million
Expected awards: 25
Cost sharing: Not required
Funder: U.S. National Science Foundation
Reference: 25-507
Assistance listing: 47.075 Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences
Last checked: 13 Nov 2026

Open the official call ↗ Add deadline to calendar

About this call

The objective of the Human-Environment and Geographical Sciences Program is to support basic scientific research about the nature, causes, consequences, or evolution of the spatial dimensions of human behaviors, activities, and dynamics as well as their interactions with environmental and social processes across a range of scales. Contemporary geographical research encompasses diverse research traditions and methodologies. Recognizing the breadth of the field’s contributions to science, the HEGS Program welcomes proposals for empirically grounded, theoretically engaged, methodologically rigorous, and generalizable research that advances geographical and geospatial sciences.

Because the National Science Foundation's mandate is to support fundamental scientific research, the HEGS program cannot fund research that takes as its primary goal humanistic interpretations or findings that are not generalizable or reproducible. HEGS welcomes proposals that utilize quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods in novel ways. However, a proposal that applies geographical or geospatial methods to a geographic problem without proposing how that problem provides an opportunity to make a theory-testing or theory-expanding contribution to geographical science, broadly defined, will be returned without review. HEGS supported projects are expected to yield results that will enhance, expand, and transform fundamental geographical theory and geospatial methods and that will have broader impacts that benefit society.

Read the full text

Generally, successful HEGS proposals should describe clear and detailed plans for data collection (including sample selection if appropriate), justification for proposed methods, plans for data analysis, attention to confounding variables, and efforts to address biases (e.g., confirmatory biases, selection biases, etc.). Competitive HEGS proposals should substantiate the validity of findings and generalizability to broader contexts.

It should be noted that HEGS is situated in the Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences Division of the Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences Directorate at NSF. Therefore, it is critical that research projects submitted to the HEGS program illustrate how the proposed research questions engage human dimensions that are relevant and important to people and societies.

A proposal that fails to be responsive to these program expectations will be returned without review.

Who can apply

Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification)

*Who May Submit Proposals: Proposals may only be submitted by the following:

-For-profit organizations: U.S.-based commercial organizations, including small businesses, with strong capabilities in scientific or engineering research or education and a passion for innovation.

-Non-profit, non-academic organizations: Independent museums, observatories, research laboratories, professional societies and similar organizations located in the U.S. that are directly associated with educational or research activities.

-State and Local Governments

-Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs): Two- and four-year IHEs (including community colleges) accredited in, and having a campus located in the US, acting on behalf of their faculty members. Special Instructions for International Branch Campuses of US IHEs: If the proposal includes funding to be provided to an international branch campus of a US institution of higher education (including through use of sub-awards and consultant arrangements), the proposer must explain the benefit(s) to the project of performance at the international branch campus, and justify why the project activities cannot be performed at the US campus.

Read the full text

-Tribal Nations: An American Indian or Alaska Native tribe, band, nation, pueblo, village, or community that the Secretary of the Interior acknowledges as a federally recognized tribe pursuant to the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994, 25 U.S.C. §§ 5130-5131.

Applicant categories are a starting point. The official call decides eligibility.

Topics

Science and Technology and other Research and Development

How to apply

Apply through the funder’s official page (link below); it states the procedure, documents and deadline.

From the call text

Who can apply: Not stated in the call text we hold — check the official page
Company stage: Not stated in the call text we hold — check the official page
Single applicant or consortium: Not stated in the call text we hold — check the official page
Where applicants must be based: Not stated in the call text we hold — check the official page
Where to apply: Not stated in the call text we hold — check the official page

Contact

U.S. National Science Foundation · grantsgovsupport@nsf.gov · 703-292-4203

Official sources

Official call page · Funder's programme page

Facts on this page come from the official source and were last checked 13 Nov 2026. The funder's own documents, including later amendments, always take precedence.