Exchange Network Grant Program

Important Update

The Exchange Network Grant Program initially published its FY25 Solicitation Notice (SN) in January of 2025; however, this competition was extended and then paused in April 2025, to allow for mandatory Solicitation Notice updates in alignment with new Agency priorities and strategic alignment.

The revised FY25 SN has now been re-published, with an application due date of Wednesday, October 22nd, 2025, by 11:59 PM ET. Applicants are encouraged to revise any draft applications to align with the new guidance before submittal. See ‘FY25 Exchange Network Solicitation Notice’ for more information and a description of the changes reflected in the new published SN. Please note that any applicants who applied during the first open application period may resubmit an application in alignment with the updated guidance; EPA will review the most recent application submitted to grants.gov. New applicants are also welcome.

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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 bi-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, finalize application selections, and then inform all applicants of their application's status via email.

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

IMPORTANT UPDATES AS OF 10/06/2025 – See Below

An updated FY25 Solicitation Notice has been republished to grants.gov and is available here: EPA-OMS-25-01 - Fiscal Year 2025 National Environmental Information Exchange Network (EN) Grant Program Solicitation Notice. Applications must be submitted no later than Wednesday, October 22nd, at 11:59 PM ET. 

The revised FY25 EN Solicitation Notice, as published to Grants.gov, is the official Notice, with the most up-to-date information and applicant instructions.

Applicants who applied in the spring of 2025, during the first FY25 EN open application period, are able to resubmit their application with the updated requirements. New applicants are also welcome.

The majority of this republished document was not edited compared to the original version published in January of 2025. However, there are several key changes that impact the drafting of a FY25 application, including:

SN GENERAL UPDATES (throughout):

  • Updating of due date to October 22nd, 2025;
  • Updating of indirect cost rate agreement ‘must be valid until’ date, until 9/30/26;
  • Updated period of performance dates to 10/1/26-9/30/29.

SN SECTION SPECIFIC UPDATES:

  • Section C: Key Dates – estimated timelines have been updated;
  • Section D: Funding Details: added: “the period of performance for FY25 awards will be 10/1/26 – 9/30/29, due to delays with this Notice’s publication”;
  • Section 3B Program Goals and Objectives: replaced prior strategic alignment language to reflect updated Agency guidance requiring projects to align with EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin’s “Powering the Great American Comeback” Initiative;
    • Specifically, language has been updated to align the EN Grant Program with EPA Pillar 3, while also requesting applicants to speak about additional Pillar alignment as may be applicable.
  • Section 3D: Funding Type, Indirect Costs: updated the indirect cost rate agreement requirement to be valid until 9/30/26;
  • Section 4D, Quality Assurance Requirements: addition of one new QA guidance link;
  • Section 6B, Criterion A: editing of language under evaluation criterion 1A to score project on alignment specifically with EPA Pillar 3 from EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin’s “Powering the Great American Comeback” Initiative;
  • Appendix D, Budget Guidance, 424A Form: added: “POPs must be listed as 10/1/26 – 9/30/29 for all projects submitted under this Notice”;
  • Appendix D, Budget Guidance, Indirect Costs: updated example to reflect an indirect cost rate which was valid until 9/30/26;
  • Appendix E, General: updated: “key contacts are requested to check their email inboxes frequently in the spring and summer of 2026’;
  • Appendix E, Project Narrative Guidance, Section One: updating of section one language and Table 1 to reflect alignment specifically with EPA Pillar 3 from EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin’s “Powering the Great American Comeback” Initiative;
  • Appendix E, Project Narrative Guidance, Section Two: added language noting that EPA Pillar 3 must be listed in association with at least one project goal and also added: “workplans should reflect a period of performance which runs from 10/1/26 – 9/30/29.”
  • Appendix F, Optional Pre-Submission Checklist, General: updated the indirect cost rate agreement requirement to be valid until 9/30/26;
  • Appendix F, Optional Pre-Submission Checklist, Project Narrative: updated language over two bullets to check for alignment specifically for EPA Pillar 3.
  • Appendix G, Glossary: Added revised period of performance (POP) dates (10/1/26 – 9/30/29) to the POP definition. 

NOTE: Updates have also been made to the optional templates (for the cover letter, project narrative, and budget narrative attachment form) and the optional budget tool, as provided in the grants.gov listing and at Resources for Applicants and Grantees (below). 

Webinar Series: FY25 Applicant Webinars

The FY25 application webinar series has closed; a revised version of the FY25 webinar slide deck, reflecting the revised FY25 Solicitation Notice, is provided in the Resources for Applicants and Grantees section (below). Applicant FAQs are also available in this section, and include applicant questions as asked during the spring 2025 open application period.  

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.

See Post Award Guidance for Grantees for grantee guidance related to post-award management, including reporting requirements, change requests, and close-out activities.

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 bi-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 alternating months from 1:00-2:00 PM Eastern.

See the Environmental Information Exchange Network Forum page for more information on these bi-monthly forums, including meeting dates, connection 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.
  • Post Award Guidance for Grantees
    Guidance for current Exchange Network grantees, as relates to the management of grants following award; includes an overview of reporting requirements and grantee instructions for processing change requests and close-outs. 
  • Exchange Network Applicant and Grantee FAQs
    A comprehensive compilation of frequently asked questions by EN applicants and grantees over recent competition cycles. 

Exchange Network

Contact Us About the Environmental Information Exchange Network
Contact Us About the Environmental Information Exchange Network to ask a question, provide feedback, or report a problem.
Last updated on October 6, 2025