Teams Engaging Affiliated Museums and Informal Institutions (TEAM II) is Next Gen STEM’s congressionally authorized competitive award program that enables non-profit museums, planetariums, libraries, and youth-serving organizations to propose NASA mission-inspired STEM projects for K-12 students and their learning support systems of families and educators. TEAM II is designed to enhance the ability of informal education institutions and partners to deliver and participate in NASA-based activities, and to increase the capacity of institutions to utilize NASA resources and to provide students with the opportunity to contribute to NASA’s mission using innovative tools and platforms.

Solicitation Opportunities

Opportunities to Propose

• TEAM II opportunities are offered as program specific appendices to NASA’s Engagement Opportunities in NASA STEM (EONS). The Notice of Funding Opportunity was released June 28, 2024.
  • TEAM II Community Anchor (TEAMIIANCHR)
    Release Date: June 28, 2024
    Proposal Due Date: September 10, 2024
  • TEAM II STEM Innovator (TEAMIINOV)
    Release Date: June 28, 2024
    Proposal Due Date: September 26, 2024

• Potential proposers are advised to start early on the registration process for the System for Award Management (sam.gov) and the NASA Solicitation and Proposal integrated Review and Evaluation System (nspires.nasaprs.com).  Those with prior registration are advised to confirm that their registrations are still valid.

Levels of Opportunities:

• Community Anchor Awards position awarded institutions as a community resource for NASA Informal Education, with support for 1-2 year grant awards and maximum of $50,000 funding.

• STEM Innovator Awards support institutions serving as a regional resource, and that are working to enhance innovative practices in STEM informal education. Projects are awarded as cooperative agreements for 2-3 years and up to $250,000 funding.
• National Connector Awards support more expansive projects that require NASA involvement, partnerships with regional or national networks to magnify and maximize the project’s reach, and independent evaluation. Projects are awarded as cooperative agreements for 2-4 years and up to $900,000 funding.

All awarded projects will receive the designation as “NASA Informal Education Community Anchor”, which recognizes the institution as a community resource that addresses identified community needs related to STEM engagement, shares knowledge of NASA STEM Engagement learning resources and opportunities that can help meet that need, and holds programs/activities that utilize and grow that knowledge and impact the audience’s need.  The awarded institution benefits from specific use of the NASA Insignia (Logo) and participation in a NASA Informal Education Learning Cohort.

Grant Forecasting

In 2024, TEAM II expanded the current program from a two-tier to a three-tier system by adding a mid-level funding tier. The Community Anchor tier opportunity will be offered each fiscal year, and the STEM Innovator and National Connector tiers will be offered in alternating years. NASA cannot guarantee that the final solicitations will be released or that they will be released by the planning date. Also, NASA has not formally approved the release of any of the planned solicitations listed.

By offering this information to prospective proposers at this time (prior to formal approval and release by NASA), the agency is under no obligation to issue the solicitation or request for proposals. Any costs incurred by prospective proposers in preparing submissions in response to this information will be incurred completely at the submitters’ own risk. The ability of the government to issue any planned solicitation is contingent upon the expectation of sufficient appropriated funds, and the ability of the government to make awards is contingent upon the availability of sufficient appropriated funds. For question(s) about this schedule and for general inquiries, please contact TEAMii@nasaprs.com.

Program Description

NASA TEAM II seeks to:

• Create unique opportunities for a diverse set of students to contribute to NASA’s work in exploration and discovery

• Build a diverse future STEM workforce by engaging students in authentic learning experiences with NASA’s people, content and facilities

• Attract diverse groups of students to STEM through learning opportunities that spark interest and provide connections to NASA’s mission and work

Since 2008, under this program, NASA has issued over 150 awards to 130+ organizations in 41 U.S. states, plus D.C. and Puerto Rico.

TEAM II Selection Summary

(Click on link for solicitation and award information.)

NRA/NOFO	Selections Announced	# Selected	Comments
2008 CP4SMP	June 3, 2009	13
2009 CP4SMP	January 12, 2010	9
2009 CP4SMP	May 12, 2010	9
2011 CP4SMP+	June 18, 2012	18	Includes 7 NASA Visitor Centers
2013 CP4SMP+	December 18, 2013	10	Includes 4 NASA Visitor Centers
2013 CP4SMP+	August 24, 2014	12	Includes 3 NASA Visitor Centers
2015 CP4SMPVC+	June 30, 2015	9	Includes 1 NASA Visitor Centers
2015 CP4SMPVC+	September 6, 2016	3	Includes 1 NASA Visitor Centers
2018 TEAM II	June 5, 2018	3
2018 TEAM II	March 25, 2019	3
2019 TEAM II	December 17, 2019	4
2019 TEAM II	December 3, 2020	3
2020 TEAM II RORR	October 6, 2020	7
2021 TEAM II	December 9, 2021	21	Community Anchor Awards
2021 TEAM II	January 19, 2022	3
2021 TEAM II	June 2, 2022	1	Additional selection
2021 TEAM II	March 16, 2023	4	Additional selections
2021 TEAM II (2022 Update)	March 16, 2023	17	Community Anchor Awards – Cohort 2
2023 TEAM II- FULL	March 28, 2024	4
2023 TEAM II- ANCHR	March 28, 2024	13	Community Anchor Awards- Cohort 3