2021 NASA Teams Engaging Affiliated Museums and Informal Institutions Notice of Funding Opportunity (TEAM II NOFO) | NNH21ZHA002N TEAMII

Opportunity Information: Apply for NNH21ZHA002N TEAMII

The 2021 NASA Teams Engaging Affiliated Museums and Informal Institutions Notice of Funding Opportunity (TEAM II NOFO), funding opportunity number NNH21ZHA002N TEAMII, is a discretionary NASA education funding solicitation run by NASA's Office of STEM Engagement (OSTEM) through the Next Gen STEM Project. It is designed specifically for Informal Education Institutions (IEIs), such as museums and similar community-facing learning organizations, to deliver inquiry-based or experiential NASA-aligned learning opportunities. The core idea is to connect the public and students, along with the people who support their learning (families, caregivers, informal educators, and formal educators/schools), to authentic, current NASA missions, engineering challenges, and technologies. NASA emphasizes that projects should not be generic STEM programming; they need clear, direct alignment to major NASA missions and to NASA STEM Engagement priorities, while also reflecting federal and agency strategies related to STEM education, broad participation, and public engagement.

TEAM II is also positioned as a capacity-building program for the informal education field. NASA is looking for proposals that strengthen an institution's ability to consistently deliver NASA-based learning experiences, use NASA-provided assets effectively, and create pathways for learners to participate in NASA's mission in meaningful ways, including through innovative tools and platforms. The solicitation explicitly highlights collaboration across NASA, noting involvement from Mission Directorates and coordination with NASA Headquarters' Office of Communications and Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity. That framing signals that successful projects should be strong on both mission alignment and audience reach, including intentional plans to engage diverse communities.

A key feature of the 2021 TEAM II NOFO is that it is an omnibus solicitation with multiple program elements issued as appendices. In 2021, NASA opened two distinct tracks: Community Anchor Awards for TEAM II (CAAT) and Standard Awards for TEAM II (STAT). NASA also indicated that additional TEAM II program elements could be added under the same overarching NOFO through Fiscal Year 2023, meaning the structure was built to accommodate future related opportunities without issuing an entirely new umbrella solicitation each time.

The CAAT track is the smaller, community-oriented entry point. Community Anchor Awards provide total support in the range of $20,000 to $25,000 for projects lasting one to two years. The intent is to help an informal education institution establish itself as a new or emerging local NASA STEM resource, meaning it can become a recognizable community "anchor" for NASA-themed STEM experiences. CAAT projects are expected to deliver authentic NASA STEM activities that benefit a diverse local audience and to participate in a NASA Informal Education Learning Cohort, which implies a community-of-practice model where awardees learn alongside peers and engage with NASA-supported professional learning. NASA anticipated selecting a minimum of eighteen proposals under this range, depending on the quality and merit of submissions, and awards under CAAT are issued as grants.

The STAT track is the larger, multi-year effort intended for more expansive programming and reach. Standard Awards provide $500,000 to $800,000 in total funding for projects lasting two to four years. These projects are expected to target STEM engagement for diverse groups of youth and their learning support systems, explicitly including families and both informal and formal educators and institutions. NASA expected to select roughly four to six proposals for STAT. Unlike CAAT, which is funded as grants, STAT awards are funded as cooperative agreements, which typically indicates a higher level of NASA involvement during the project period and stronger expectations for coordination, alignment, and ongoing collaboration consistent with the NOFO requirements.

Across both tracks, NASA identifies a primary audience focus of upper elementary and middle school students, specifically grades 4 through 8. At the same time, the NOFO leaves room for strong ideas that target other age bands, including early learners, students in grades K through 3, and high school students, as long as the approach is innovative and well-justified. Content-wise, projects must address at least one NASA-relevant technical area: space exploration, aeronautics, space science, Earth science, and/or microgravity. Projects also must align with one or more NASA Communications themes described in the NOFO, reinforcing that storytelling and public-facing framing should connect to NASA's current narrative priorities, not just technical topics in isolation.

There are also structural requirements meant to ensure authenticity and scale. Proposals must include collaboration with a NASA Mission Directorate or a NASA Center, building a direct link to NASA expertise, mission context, and resources. In addition, projects are expected to use one or more regional or national networks, consortia, or associations tied to STEM and STEM education-related informal education institutions, with the explicit purpose of magnifying reach and maximizing impact beyond a single site. In practice, that means NASA is prioritizing projects that can travel, replicate, or influence practice through established field networks rather than remaining confined to one organization or one community.

Eligibility is limited to nonprofit organizations that are not institutions of higher education, including both 501(c)(3) nonprofits and nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status (as listed in the opportunity). The assistance listing associated with the opportunity is CFDA 43.008, and the funding instruments include grants (used for CAAT) and cooperative agreements (used for STAT). The NOFO was created on April 23, 2021. The original closing date for the overall opportunity is listed as July 19, 2021, with separate due dates by program element: CAAT proposals were due June 17, 2021, and STAT proposals were due July 19, 2021. The overall award ceiling shown is $800,000, reflecting the top end of the STAT range.

In plain terms, TEAM II in 2021 was NASA's push to help museums and other informal learning organizations become stronger, more mission-connected STEM engagement hubs. The CAAT path was meant to seed or strengthen local community anchors with smaller budgets and cohort-based learning support, while the STAT path was meant to fund fewer, larger projects with multi-year scope, deeper coordination with NASA, and broader reach through networks. Both tracks are centered on authentic NASA mission alignment, hands-on or inquiry-driven learning, and deliberate inclusion of diverse learners and the communities that support them.

• The National Aeronautics and Space Administration in the education sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "2021 NASA Teams Engaging Affiliated Museums and Informal Institutions Notice of Funding Opportunity (TEAM II NOFO)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 43.008.
• This funding opportunity was created on Apr 23, 2021.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jul 19, 2021 CAAT due date Jun 17, 2021 STAT due date Jul 19, 2021. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $800,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 18 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education.

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