Bearing Land Bridge Kids APP | NPS DOIP16AC00607

Opportunity Information: Apply for NPS DOIP16AC00607

The Bearing Land Bridge Kids APP opportunity is a National Park Service (NPS) funding notice meant to inform the public that NPS plans to support a specific project without open competition. It is explicitly not a call for applications. Instead, it documents NPS intent to issue a task agreement to the University of Maryland, College Park under an existing Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) master agreement (Cooperative Agreement Number P14AC00888). The anticipated award total is $28,200 with no cost share required, and the project is planned to run for about 11 months during the period of performance from August 1, 2016 to July 31, 2017. The assistance listing is tied to CFDA 15.954 and the activity category is education, with statutory authority cited under 54 USC 100101, which covers NPS responsibilities to promote and regulate use of park units while conserving resources for future generations.

The core purpose of the project is to co-design an educational mobile application for children in roughly 3rd to 4th grade that helps them learn about Bering Land Bridge National Preserve (BELA). BELA is described as one of the most remote and least visited NPS units, located about 100 miles north of Nome, Alaska and typically accessed by small aircraft. Despite limited in-person visitation, the preserve reaches many young people online through its website, social media, Junior Ranger materials, and distance learning programs. The app is intended to expand and modernize those digital education offerings by giving kids a "park-like" experience on a mobile device no matter where they live, building a sense of place through content about the preserve's ecology, environmental conditions and natural processes, volcanic and geothermal features, and cultural connections with Alaska Native communities.

A defining feature of the work is that it uses participatory design with children rather than designing only from an adult perspective. The University of Maryland will contribute its established Kids Design Team, which includes children alongside university staff with expertise in child development, computer science, and interface design. NPS staff from Bering Land Bridge will collaborate directly, and a separate developer will be brought in through contracting to turn design concepts into digital mockups and ultimately an app. The design approach is organized around four structured participatory design sessions that cycle through idea generation, analysis, evaluation, and iteration. Each session is bracketed by planning meetings to set goals and debriefs to capture what worked, what did not, and what should change in the next build.

The deliverables emphasize practical design guidance that a developer can use immediately. After each design session, the University of Maryland is expected to produce a summary package documenting high-level findings and recurring themes, clear action points about elements kids responded to positively or negatively, and photos or records of design artifacts created during sessions (for example, sketches, paper prototypes, or workshop outputs). The methods listed for these sessions include low-tech prototyping using craft supplies, structured feedback techniques such as "sticky note" frequency analysis to capture likes and dislikes, and group synthesis methods like "mixing ideas" on large sheets of paper. Journaling or video documentation may also be used to preserve ideas and decision rationale. The agreement also includes a wrap-up period of roughly 60 days after the last product due date for final collaboration and closeout activities.

Responsibilities are shared between the University of Maryland and NPS. The University is tasked with coordinating closely with the NPS Agreement Technical Representative (ATR) and complying with NPS information quality and peer review expectations for cultural and natural resources work. UM also works with the NPS Visual Information Specialist to set timelines and session goals, co-facilitates the sessions, runs adult debrief discussions to translate outcomes into actionable development guidance, and produces the written and visual summaries that will steer the next app iteration. On the NPS side, the agency provides the $28,200 in financial assistance, assigns an ATR (named in the document as Peter Neitlich) to manage coordination and decisions with the university principal investigator, and supplies a Visual Information Specialist as the key day-to-day point of contact who will help set scope and timelines and co-facilitate the design and debrief sessions. NPS also commits to supplying background research, data, maps, photos, artwork, audio, and other media elements that can feed into the app, and it outlines documentation expectations around acknowledging the CESU arrangement and properly crediting creators of any materials used. NPS also commits to formally acknowledging the University of Maryland in any publications or presentations derived from the work.

The notice also explains why the award is being made without competition. Under Department of the Interior single-source policy (505 DM 2), NPS must justify why competitive procedures are not practical. Here, the justification is that this is a task agreement issued under a previously competed CESU master agreement (P14AC00888), meaning the overarching partnership vehicle was already competed and established, and the task is being placed within that existing framework. Administrative and compliance requirements are governed by the Uniform Guidance at 2 CFR Part 200, which the announcement states takes precedence over older OMB circular frameworks where applicable.

Overall, the opportunity is best understood as an education-focused NPS-university collaboration aimed at reaching children who cannot easily visit one of the nation’s most inaccessible parks. The main product is not just a finished app, but a kid-tested design foundation created through structured co-design sessions, documented findings, and iterative developer mockups, aligned with NPS goals to reach new audiences by strengthening the agency’s digital experience and interactive learning content.

• The National Park Service in the education sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Bearing Land Bridge Kids APP" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.954.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2016-07-13.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2016-07-29. (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 $28,200.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education.

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