Exchange Network Grant Program

Important Update

The Exchange Network Grant Program has been informed that the current Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Exchange Network (EN) Grant Program Solicitation Notice (SN) must be revised in accordance with updated Agency priorities. As such, the application due date will be extended until at least Monday, April 28, 2025. An updated Solicitation Notice is not yet available but will be linked below as soon as possible. See FY 2025 Exchange Network Solicitation Notice for more information.

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Overview

The Exchange Network (EN) was launched in 2002 as an inter-governmental, collaborative partnership of EPA, states, territories, and Tribes to foster better environmental management and decision-making through increased access to timely, high quality environmental information. This was achieved through a standards-based approach to facilitate environmental data sharing among EPA, states, Tribes, and territories. The framework adopted allows organizations to exchange data over the Internet regardless of the specific information technology used (see also the Environmental Information Exchange Network site).

The Exchange Network continues to evolve to adapt to emerging technologies and to meet new programmatic needs. Applicants are encouraged to participate in EPA’s Exchange Network Forum which is  a call that is held monthly to discuss how to improve and better use the Exchange Network’s services and partnerships.  The Forum is open to all participants.

The EPA Exchange Network Grant Program solicits project applications annually to support the Environmental Information Exchange Network (EN) to:

  • Facilitate sharing of environmental data, especially through shared and reusable services.
  • Reduce burden and avoid costs for co-regulators and the regulated community.
  • Streamline data collection and exchanges to improve its timeliness for decision making.
  • Increase the quality and access to environmental data through discovery, publishing, outbound and analytical services so it is more useful to environmental managers.
  • Increase data and IT management capabilities needed to fully participate in the EN.

Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 is the twenty-third year that EPA will award competitive funding to eligible recipients for projects through the Exchange Network Grant Program. Between FY 2002 and FY 2024, EPA provided approximately $280 million for state, Tribal, and territorial awards and associated program support through the grant program. As of February 1, 2024, all 50 states and the District of Columbia, 93 Tribes, and 5 territories have received EN assistance agreements. See FY 2025 Exchange Network Solicitation Notice for relevant information on the current FY25 EN Grants open application period. 

It is anticipated that up to 35 award(s) will be made under the FY25 announcement. Awards are expected to be in the $200,000 to $600,000 range, depending on Agency funding levels, the quality of applications received, agency priorities, and other applicable considerations.

Following the application due date, EPA will review and score eligible applications. Final selection decisions are anticipated to be made by late June, with FY25 applicants informed about their application’s status by July or August 2025.

All applicants, even those who are familiar with the Exchange Network Grant Program and prior SNs, are highly encouraged to careful review the information contained with the FY25 Notice, as information is updated annually. 

For descriptions of previously awarded EN assistance agreements, please see:

FY25 Exchange Network Solicitation Notice

Critical update as of March 19th, 2025

The Exchange Network Grant Program has been informed that the current Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Exchange Network (EN) Grant Program Solicitation Notice (SN) must be revised in accordance with updated Agency priorities. As such, the application due date will be extended until at least Monday, April 28, 2025.

An updated Solicitation Notice is not yet available, but will be linked in this section as soon as possible. 

We are anticipating updates to Section 3B, Program Goals and Objectives, which will further impact evaluation criterion 1A (see SN page 17) and the project description section of the project narrative (see SN page 67). If additional changes are reflected in the new Solicitation Notice, the EN Grant Program will clearly state these edits at the bottom of this section. An updated optional project narrative template will also be posted under Resources for Applicants and Grantees, following the publication of the updated Notice.

Applicants who have already submitted an application for the FY25 cycle will be able to resubmit their application, with the updated requirements, following the publication of the revised FY25 EN Solicitation Notice. We apologize for this inconvenience.

Please note that the new FY25 EN Solicitation Notice, once published to Grants.gov, will be the official Notice, with the most up-to-date information and applicant instructions.

The original version of the FY25 EN Solicitation Notice (as published in January of 2025) underwent a significant reorganization within its front section (prior to the appendices), in accordance with EPA’s new standard NOFO template. Additional FY25 Solicitation Notice updates for that version include, but are not limited to:

  • Section 1D: Funding thresholds were updated for all applicant types by $100k. 
  • Section 1E: Contact information added for each EN Project Opportunity. 
  • Section 2A (1): New threshold criterion, ensuring that proposals support one or more EN Funding Areas.
  • Section 4D: Updated language to reflect current Quality Assurance (QA) approach and requirements. 
  • Section 6B, General: Programmatic involvement criterion removed.
  • Section 6B, Criteria 3F: E-Enterprise Digital Strategy (EEDS) criterion simplified. 
  • Appendices A-C: Annual updates made to each EN project opportunity, including the addition of one new opportunity (UST Finder (V2)) and the removal of an opportunity (UIC Data).
  • Appendix D: Update to equipment and supplies thresholds; items less than $10K should be categorized as ‘supplies’ and items $10,000 and above should be categorized as ‘equipment’.
  • Appendix E, Project Narrative Overview: Updates to project narrative guidance, to reflect the two updates to evaluation criteria. 
  • Appendix E, Project Narrative Overview: Clarifying language added to the ‘technical solution’ section.
  • Appendix E, Formal Project Partners: Addition of a new bullet, clarifying that the document needs to include how partner progress will be reported (so it can be included in semi-annual reports).
  • Appendix E, Formal Project Mentor: Addition of a new bullet, clarifying that the document needs to include how mentor activities will be reported (so it can be included in semi-annual reports).
  • Appendix F: Minor updates to pre-submission checklist, for improved applicant guidance.
  • Appendix G: Addition of three new terms/phrases, including business and administrative needs, persona, and technical solutions.

Webinar Series: FY25 Applicant Webinars

In support of the FY 2025 Exchange Network (EN) Grant cycle, the EPA hosted two general informational webinars (from 3-4:30 pm ET on February 27 and March 6) and one Tribal informational webinar (from 3-4:30 pm ET on March 4) to help potential applicants better understand the EN grant program and the requirements for applying for an EN assistance agreement. Agenda topics included an overview of the EN grant program, notable changes from prior solicitation notices, an overview of available guidance, and common applicant mistakes to avoid. Please note that the tribal session covered the same information as the general sessions.

Each webinar will conclude with a question-and-answer (Q&A) session. Any questions and the answers provided by EPA (across all webinars) were added to the FAQs under the section(s) titled Applicant Questions Asked in FY25; see the Resources for Applicants and Grantees section, below. 

Resources for Applicants and Grantees

Note: Optional templates, budget tools, FAQs, and the applicant webinar presentation are updated annually; applicants should always be sure to use the current grant cycle’s guidance.

Requirements of the EN Grant Program

Please note that the below language is not intended to be an exhaustive overview, but a highlight of some of the key requirements under the Exchange Network Grant Program. Applicants should review annual EN Solicitation Notices (SNs) for further details on current requirements. 

Quality Assurance (QA) Document Submittal Requirements

EPA will review applications to determine what QA documentation is required, if any. QA requirements will be communicated to the grantee at the time of award by the applicant’s Regional Exchange Network Coordinator (RENC). 

EN grant projects which include environmental information operations (EIO) such as collection and/or data monitoring, etc., will be required to submit applicable QA documentation such as a Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP) and/or a Quality Management Plan (QMP). Grantees are responsible for submitting any required QA documentation within 90 days of the award issuance date. 

RENCs may reject semi-annual progress reports for grantees who fail to submit and implement required QA documentation. Additionally, project work (goals and outputs) which includes EIO cannot begun until the formal approval of submitted QA documentation by EPA.

Applicants who believe their projects include EIO are encouraged to budget for the preparation and submission of QA documentation within their project workplan (as the first goal(s) and output(s) of the proposed project). 

See the following links for additional information on QA:

EN Reusability Requirement

Applicants must commit, in writing within submitted applications, to reuse existing data flows, EN services, and other IT resources (e.g., widgets, RESTful web services, etc.) when/where possible within proposed projects. Please see the annual Solicitation Notice for further information on the Exchange Network’s emphasis on reusability.

Applicants are encouraged to explore the IT Component and Project Registration section of this website for potential IT components and technologies that may be appropriate for reuse. 

EN IT Component and Project Registration Requirement

Applicants must register any newly developed resources and the reuse of existing resources by completing an EN ‘IT Component and Project Registration Form’ at the time of grant close-out. EN grantees must work with their Regional Exchange Network Coordinator (RENC) to complete this registration. Upon review and approval of this form by EPA, it will be made available on the EN website. Examples of this form, as filled out by prior grantees, can be found in the IT Component and Project Registration section of this website.

The current version of the IT Component and Project Registration Form is available here:  IT Component and Project Registration Form (pdf) (1.79 MB, 4/11/23)

The completion of this form (required since 2011) is a scored element within the past performance evaluation criterion, during application scoring for submitted EN applications. Past grantees who have not met this requirement can submit these forms to their RENC at any time to avoid point loss under this criterion.

Please note that the sharing of developed code, proprietary software, etc., is not mandatory under this requirement. However, grantees are encouraged to share technical information, to the extent they are comfortable doing so, to promote the Exchange Network’s emphasis on reusability.  

EN Monthly Forums

The Exchange Network Forum is a monthly online venue to discuss how to improve and better use the Exchange Network’s services and partnerships to share information among EPA, States, Tribes, and Territories. The Forum convenes on the second Thursday of each month from 1:00-2:00 PM Eastern.

See the Environmental Information Exchange Network Forum page for more information on these monthly forums, including meeting links and recordings of past calls. 

  • Previous Exchange Network Grant Projects
    Review information on Exchange Network grants awarded between 2002 to 2023. Find out more about the types of activities in which states, tribes and territories are involved to support the Environmental Information Exchange Network.
  • Grants Awards Database
    Read a summary record for all non-construction EPA grants awarded in the last 10 years, including grants that were awarded before that time, but that remain open.

  • Grants and Debarment
    Understanding, managing, and applying for EPA grants.

  • Grants.gov
    Visit the federal government's single access point for over 1,000 grant programs offered by all federal grant-making agencies.

  • Searchable IT Component and Project Registration Forms

    PDF versions of completed 'IT Component and Project Registration Forms' can be viewed at this link. Additionally, users can search for specific applicant or project types by selecting one or more filters as provided in the field options.

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Last updated on March 20, 2025