Opportunities for Enhancing Diversity in the Geosciences

The Directorate for Geosciences (GEO) supports research and education in the Earth, Ocean, Atmospheric, and Geospace Sciences. The Opportunities for Enhancing Diversity in the Geosciences (OEDG) Program is designed to address the fact that certain groups are underrepresented in the geosciences relative to their proportions in the general population. The primary goal of the OEDG Program is to increase participation in the geosciences by African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans (American Indians and Alaskan Natives), Native Pacific Islanders (Polynesians or Micronesians), and persons with disabilities. A secondary goal of the program is to increase the perceived relevance of the geosciences among broad and diverse segments of the population. The OEDG Program supports activities that will increase the number of members of underrepresented groups who:

• Are involved in formal pre-college geoscience education programs;
• Pursue and earn associate's, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees in the geosciences;
• Enter geoscience careers; and
• Participate in informal geoscience education programs.

The OEDG Program offers three funding Tracks: OEDG Planning Grants; Track 1: Proof-of-Concept Projects; and Track 2: Full-Scale Projects.

OEDG Planning Grants - This Track supports planning workshops, conferences, symposia and related short-term activities that facilitate either: 1) development of new strategic plans to implement systemic, community-wide programs to broaden participation in the geosciences; or, 2) development of new partnerships or collaborations between multiple institutions seeking to establish sustainable projects that address the goals of the OEDG program.

Track 1: Proof-of-Concept Projects - This Track supports short-term activities. Track 1 projects include activities that will occur only one time, as well as those that are intended as the testing phase of an anticipated long-term Full-Scale Project.

Track 2: Full-Scale Projects - This Track supports longer-term activities that will identify and promote pathways to geoscience careers among members of underrepresented groups.  It is expected that Track 2 proposals will establish programs that are sustainable without additional OEDG funding.  Prior Track 1 OEDG funding is not a pre-requisite for submitting a Track 2 proposal.