Integrated Ocean & Coastal Mapping

Geospatial Contract Vehicles, Grants, & Agreements

Brennan Ocean Mapping Fund
NOAA's Brennan Ocean Mapping Fund is an integrated ocean and coastal mapping Federal funding match opportunity, authorized by 33 U.S.C. § 3504a and Pub. L. 117-263 (Ocean and Coastal Mapping Integration Act 2022). Named in memory of NOAA's Rear Admiral Richard T. Brennan, the goal of this opportunity is to leverage NOAA and partner funds to increase the coordinated acquisition, processing, stewardship, and archival of new ocean and coastal mapping data in U.S. waters. To partner on ocean and coastal mapping, NOAA relies on its authority granted under the Coast and Geodetic Survey Act of 1947 to receive and expend funds for collaborative hydrographic surveys (33 U.S.C. § 883e) and to receive and expend funds to carry out IWG-OCM activities under the Ocean and Coastal Mapping Integration Act 2022 (33 U.S.C.§ 3504b). In addition to matching partner funds, NOAA will manage survey planning, quality-assure all data and products, provide the data and products to the partners on an agreed-upon timeframe, and handle data submission to the National Centers for Environmental Information for archiving and accessibility. All ocean and coastal data and related products resulting from this program will be available to the public, unless release is prohibited by applicable laws, e.g., data subject to redaction in order to protect historic properties.

The opportunity is typically advertised in the May-June timeframe with requests for proposals due in October. For more information about the FY26 opportunity posted in 2024, see the Federal Register Notice, 1-page summary, webinar summary, and presentation slides.

Geospatial Contract Vehicles
A number of federal agencies have geospatial contract vehicles that are available for use by other agencies and partners. A Memorandum of Agreement must be signed detailing the partnership but once that is accomplished, the partner benefits from the expertise these agencies have in managing and acquiring ocean and coastal mapping data with the private sector.

Hydrographic Surveying Services: NOAA's Coast Survey manages this contract vehicle for hydrographic data, including multibeam sounding data, side scan sonar, acoustic backscatter, lidar, processing of the data, quality control and resulting products.

Shoreline Mapping Support Services: NOAA's National Geodetic Survey manages this contract for remote sensing, digital shoreline mapping, surveying, and associated tasks. Services include planning; collecting remotely sensed data from ground, aircraft, and/or satellite based sensors; conducting ground geodetic surveys; determining tidal datums; and digital map compilation.

Coastal Geospatial Services Contract: Managed by the NOAA Office for Coastal Management, the data and tools acquired and developed through this contract must be used for coastal resource management applications. Services include data acquisition using many types of remote sensing technologies, thematic mapping (e.g., land use/cover, impervious surfaces, wetland and benthic habitats), high-resolution topographic/bathymetric product generation, photogrammetric mapping and orthophotography production, GIS services and geospatial training.

Geospatial Products and Services Contracts: The U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) Geospatial Product and Service Contracts (GPSC) is a suite of contracts used by Federal, State, and municipal government entities to partner with the USGS to fulfill their geospatial data requirements. Services provided include, but are not limited to: imagery and lidar data acquisition; photogrammetric mapping; and aerotriangulation; orthophotography; thematic mapping; geographic information systems development; surveying and control acquisition; image manipulation, analysis, and interpretation; map digitizing; data manipulations; primary and ancillary data acquisition; metadata production and revision; and the production or revision of geospatial products defined by formal and informal specifications and standards.

Grants
Federal agencies publish grant opportunities at grants.gov. Agencies such as the National Science Foundation, NOAA, and USGS often post grants which support aspects of ocean and coastal mapping.

Agreements
Memoranda of Agreements (MOA) advance the collection, processing and sharing of ocean and coastal mapping data between partners. MOAs can be written between and among federal agencies, federal/state agencies, federal and /academic or non-governmental partners, and between federal agencies and the private sector.