General Social Survey Competition | 24 537

Opportunity Information: Apply for 24 537

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is soliciting proposals under its General Social Survey (GSS) Competition to support the continued operation and modernization of one of the United States most important long-running social science data resources. The GSS is a nationally representative interview survey of U.S. adults that has tracked social change since 1972 by collecting a broad mix of measures, including behaviors (such as group membership and civic participation), psychological and well-being indicators (including life satisfaction and related evaluations), public attitudes on major issues (crime and punishment, race relations, gender roles, spending priorities), and detailed demographic and background characteristics (including information about respondents and their parents). Because it has been fielded for decades with consistent measurement, the GSS functions as a core barometer for understanding how American beliefs, experiences, and social conditions shift over time, and it is widely used for research, policy-relevant analysis, and education.

A key part of the opportunity is sustaining not only the U.S. time series but also the U.S. role in international comparison through the International Social Survey Program (ISSP). The ISSP began in 1984 when the GSS collaborated with Australia, Britain, and Germany to create comparable surveys; it has since expanded to 43 participating countries. Funding under this competition is expected to cover both the 2026 and 2028 waves of the GSS and the U.S. component of the ISSP, allowing researchers to place U.S. trends in a broader cross-national context and to maintain the comparability that makes those comparisons meaningful.

The award will be made through NSF's Research Infrastructure in the Social and Behavioral Sciences (RISBS) program within the Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences. NSF expects to make a single award for a four-year period spanning fiscal years 2025 through 2028. The anticipated funding level is about $14 million, with an upper limit of $16 million total over the four years, intended to support two full waves of data collection plus dissemination and outreach activities. The start date is expected to be August 2025. A central expectation is that awardees will continue key operational features of the GSS, including timely public release of data: historically, GSS data are made available to scholars, students, and the public within 12 months of data collection.

The competition also emphasizes carrying forward several methodological innovations introduced in recent years. Most notably, the GSS has been actively testing expanded use of web-based survey modes while protecting the integrity of the long-term time series. The 2022 and 2024 surveys used web mode in different combinations with face-to-face interviewing to test and benchmark mode effects and comparability. The project has also developed partnerships and enhancements that NSF expects to continue, including collaboration with the American National Election Studies (ANES) tied to the 2020 and 2024 elections, respondent-consented linkages to administrative data (in place since 2018), and the use of post-stratification weights (implemented since 2020). In practical terms, NSF is looking for a proposal that can manage large-scale, high-quality biennial data collection while also handling the technical and scientific challenges of mixed-mode surveying, weighting, linkage protocols, and maintaining trend comparability.

Eligibility is limited to two broad categories of U.S.-based organizations: (1) non-profit, non-academic organizations such as independent museums, observatories, research laboratories, professional societies, and similar entities directly associated with education or research activities, and (2) accredited two- or four-year Institutions of Higher Education (including community colleges) with a campus located in the United States, submitting on behalf of their faculty. If the proposal would direct funding to an international branch campus of a U.S. institution (including through subawards or consultants), the applicant must clearly explain why work at the international branch campus benefits the project and why those activities cannot be performed at the U.S. campus.

Administrative details included in the notice identify this as a discretionary grant opportunity from NSF (CFDA 47.075), titled "General Social Survey Competition" (Funding Opportunity Number 24-537). The proposal deadline listed is August 15, 2024, and NSF anticipates making one award to support the 2026 and 2028 GSS waves and related ISSP responsibilities, along with dissemination and outreach that keep the dataset broadly accessible and heavily used by the research and education communities.

• The National Science Foundation in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "General Social Survey Competition" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 47.075.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2024-02-08.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-08-15. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for 24 537

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