Human-Environment and Geographical Sciences Program (HEGS)
NSF HEGS funds fundamental, generalizable research on the spatial dimensions of human behavior and human-environment interactions for eligible U.S.-based organizations, including institutions of higher education.
⚑ Project must make a clear theory-testing or theory-expanding contribution to geographical/geospatial science or it will be returned without review. · Research that is primarily humanistic or not generalizable/reproducible is not eligible. · Applications must be scientifically grounded with detailed data collection, analysis, confounding-variable, and bias-mitigation plans. · International branch campus activities require specific justification if funded work is performed there.
HEGS is a basic social-science/geospatial program, so it is a plausible home for this team when the question is about human responses to climate, hazards, energy, or place-based environmental decision-making. It is not their core home like the annual National Security Survey or energy-public-opinion work, but the mix of survey, risk, warning, siting, and environmental perception research fits the program’s theory-driven, generalizable social-behavioral emphasis.
JUDGED AGAINST THE ROSTER'S PUBLICATION DOSSIER · GPT-5.4-MINI · 2026-10-02
Unit fits — one characterization, each unit's own rules
| IPPRA | 100 strong | portfolio topics: environment, climate_weather; signature methods: surveys longitudinal, community engaged, policy analysis; social/behavioral work is central; funds basic research |
| Physical Sciences & Engineering (demo) | 55 good | technical depth: minor; funds basic research |
| Tom Love Innovation Hub | 5 none | no commercialization signal |
Description
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.
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.
Eligibility
*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. -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.
Apply
View on Grants.gov → CONTACT: U.S. National Science Foundation <grantsgovsupport@nsf.gov>
Proposal brief SEE AN EXAMPLE →
A one-page internal memo: fit assessment, submission requirements, document scaffold, and next steps dated back from the deadline — tailored to your project idea if you add one.
Proposal shell · National Science Foundation conventions SEE AN NSF EXAMPLE →
Funder-faithful document skeletons — National Science Foundation's document set with section headings, page limits, reviewer guidance, and writing prompts; add a project idea to get [DRAFT] starter bullets. Download as .md for Word or Overleaf.