Earth Science Information Partners

What Earth Science Information Partners does

Earth Science Information Partners (ESIP) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1998 by NASA in response to a National Research Council recommendation for community stakeholder involvement in NASA's Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS). Headquartered in Vienna, Virginia, ESIP functions as a neutral collaboration hub for Earth science data professionals across government, academia, nonprofits, and industry, with 170+ partner organizations and 30+ volunteer-driven Collaboration Areas (Clusters and Committees) addressing domains ranging from Agriculture & Climate to Wildfires. The organization's core offerings include twice-yearly ESIP Meetings (January virtual, July hybrid) that draw 500+ attendees, the ESIP Lab microfunding program ($100K annually plus $200K in cloud credits), the Community Fellows and Raskin Scholarship programs for early-career professionals, the Data Help Desk, and Spark@AGU science communication events. The technology stack is non-proprietary and community-oriented: ESIP operates through GitHub (ESIPFed), Zenodo, figshare, Slack, YouTube, and a public website, with no disclosed AI/ML capabilities or own software products.

ESIP's business model is primarily grant-funded rather than commercial. Core operating revenue flows from federal cooperative agreements with NASA, NOAA, and USGS, supplemented by meeting sponsorships (Premier $30,000, Gold $15,000, Silver $10,000, Friend $5,000 tiers plus event-specific add-ons) and meeting registration fees ($400-$900 per attendee). Organizational partnership is free and primarily serves as a gateway to ESIP Lab funding eligibility, leadership positions, and voting rights. The organization is governed by a Board of Directors elected from partner organizations and led by Executive Director Sarah Cooley, with a five-person staff (Operations, Community, Technical Community, and Communications Directors) executing day-to-day operations. Quantified impact includes >$2M in follow-on funding secured by ESIP Lab pilot projects from NSF, NASA, and NOAA, 50+ projects funded through the innovation pipeline, and a newsletter reach spanning 17 time zones.

Name

Earth Science Information Partners

Legal name

Earth Science Information Partners

Website

https://esipfed.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

ESIP is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1998 by NASA that convenes Earth science data professionals through 170+ partner organizations, 30+ Collaboration Areas, biannual meetings, and an ESIP Lab microfunding program, funded primarily by federal cooperative agreements.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Severna Park

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Federal Cooperative Agreements: ESIP is primarily funded through cooperative agreements with NASA, NOAA, and USGS. These federal agencies provide the core operational funding that supports ESIP's collaboration infrastructure, staff, meetings, and programs.
2. ESIP Meeting Sponsorships: Companies and organizations sponsor ESIP Meetings at various levels (Premier $30,000, Gold $15,000, Silver $10,000, Friend $5,000) and for specific events (Opening Reception, FUNding Friday, Coffee Breaks, etc.). Sponsors receive meeting registrations, logo placement, and access to the Earth science data professional community.
3. ESIP Lab Partnership: ESIP Partner organizations receive eligibility for ESIP Lab funding. While partnership is free, this creates a pathway for funded projects to flow through partner organizations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels11 records

Core offering

ESIP is a nonprofit organization that provides a neutral space for Earth science data professionals to collaborate across organizations, disciplines, and funding sources. Its core offerings include twice-yearly ESIP Meetings, approximately 30 volunteer-driven Collaboration Areas (clusters and committees), the ESIP Lab microfunding program for innovative projects, student fellowship and scholarship programs, and the Data Help Desk service.

Product overview

Earth Science Information Partners (ESIP) is a nonprofit organization that functions as a collaborative platform and community hub for Earth science data professionals, rather than a traditional product company. The organization operates through a suite of interconnected programs: ESIP Meetings (twice-yearly gatherings), approximately 30 Collaboration Areas (technical committees/clusters), the ESIP Lab (microfunding for innovation), Community Fellows Program, Raskin Scholarship, Data Help Desk, and Spark@AGU science communication events. ESIP is funded by cooperative agreements with NASA, NOAA, and USGS, and supports 170+ organizational partners.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ESIP Lab: Microfunding program providing small-grant funding opportunities for Earth science technology research projects
• FUNding Friday
• Community Fellows Program
• Raskin Scholarship
• Spark@AGU

Products and services

• ESIP Lab Microfunding program that provides grants for innovative Earth science technology research projects, emphasizing learning objectives and experimentation. Includes the ESIP Lab grants and FUNding Friday mini-grant competition, with $100K annually plus $200K in cloud provider credits.
• ESIP Meetings ESIP Meetings are twice-yearly gatherings (January virtual, July hybrid) bringing together 300+ Earth science data professionals for plenary talks, breakout sessions, poster presentations, technical workshops, networking, and special events like FUNding Friday.
• Collaboration Areas Approximately 30 volunteer-driven technical committees and clusters that tackle domain-specific and cross-domain Earth science data challenges through monthly calls, webinar series, publications, guidelines, and meeting sessions. Open to anyone.
• Community Fellows Program Year-long fellowship supporting early-career graduate and post-doctoral researchers who contribute to ESIP Clusters while developing professional skills in Earth science data management.
• Raskin Scholarship Scholarship program for graduate students working at the intersection of Earth science and informatics, named in honor of Lee Rabbiner and Raskin family contributions.
• Data Help Desk Conference-based service connecting scientists, researchers, and students to Earth science data tools, software, and open science practices through free consultations and support.
• FUNding Friday Annual microgrant competition held during ESIP's July Meeting where attendees pitch ideas and vote on small grant awards ($5,000 per project) for creative Earth science data projects.
• Spark@AGU Science communication event featuring fast-paced 5-minute talks with 20 auto-advancing slides, enabling scientists to showcase their work creatively. Sponsored by NASA's Earth Science Division and held in partnership with AGU at their Annual Meeting.
• ESIP Partner Directory Directory of 170+ organizational partners including government agencies, academic institutions, nonprofits, and commercial enterprises that collaborate within the ESIP ecosystem.
• ESIP Community Calendar Online calendar aggregating events from all ESIP Collaboration Areas, committee meetings, ESIP Meetings, and related Earth science data community events with subscription options for Google Calendar, iCalendar, and Outlook.

Quantifiable outcome

• ESIP Lab pilot projects have secured over $2M in follow-on funding from NSF, NASA, and NOAA
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers14 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• AGUcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerESIP Partner organization. American Geophysical Union is a major professional organization for Earth and space scientists. AGU and ESIP collaborate on meetings and initiatives.
• CyVersemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerESIP Partner organization providing cyberinfrastructure for life sciences. Collaborates with ESIP on data management and computational needs.
• HDF GroupmajorTechnology or IntegrationESIP Partner organization providing HDF (Hierarchical Data Format) technologies widely used in Earth science data storage and exchange.
• OpenscapesmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerESIP Partner organization focused on open science workflows and practices. Collaborates with ESIP on open science initiatives.
• TERN (Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerESIP Partner organization from Australia focused on terrestrial ecosystem research data and infrastructure.
• LTER NetworkmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerESIP Partner organization - Long Term Ecological Research network providing standardized ecological data from sites across the US.
• World Data System (WDS)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerESIP Partner organization - International organization promoting open access to scientific data from diverse disciplines.
• Ocean Networks CanadamajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerESIP Partner organization operating ocean monitoring systems and providing marine data infrastructure.
• California Water Data ConsortiummajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerESIP Partner focused on cross-sector collaboration to advance open water data in California.
• KnologymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerESIP Partner organization connecting social science disciplines with Earth science systems research.
• eScience Institute (University of Washington)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerESIP Partner organization - hub of data-intensive discovery at University of Washington empowering researchers across fields.
• AWS (Amazon Web Services)majorTechnology or IntegrationMeeting sponsor providing cloud infrastructure support. AWS Open Data team collaborates with ESIP on geospatial data initiatives.
• MicrosoftmajorTechnology or IntegrationMeeting sponsor supporting ESIP activities and programs.
• figsharemajorTechnology or IntegrationMeeting sponsor and platform partner. ESIP shares resources on figshare platform for open access to community-developed materials.
• iSciencesmajorTechnology or IntegrationMeeting sponsor providing environmental data and analytics services.
• AGU (for Spark@AGU)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSpark@AGU (formerly Ignite@AGU) is held in partnership with AGU at their Annual Meeting in December. Sponsored by NASA's Earth Science Division.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• American Meteorological Society (AMS): AMS is a scientific society for atmospheric, oceanic, and climate professionals and is an ESIP Partner. Both convene domain communities, publish standards, and engage overlapping government (NOAA, NASA) and academic stakeholders in Earth science data.
• Research Data Alliance (RDA): RDA is a global community organization that builds working groups and recommendations around research data sharing — directly comparable to ESIP's Collaboration Areas and Endorsed Guidelines model, serving overlapping research data professional audiences.
• DataONE: DataONE is a community-driven data federation for environmental and Earth observational data. It parallels ESIP's role in providing collaboration infrastructure, best-practice tools, and training for Earth science data professionals.
• American Geophysical Union (AGU): AGU is a major scientific society for Earth and space scientists and is itself an ESIP Partner. Both organizations convene Earth science communities, host meetings (AGU Annual Meeting with Spark@AGU), and serve overlapping individual and institutional audiences.
• EarthScope Consortium: EarthScope is an ESIP Partner and operates a community-governed, NSF-funded facility for geoscience data and instrumentation. Both function as member-driven nonprofit entities that convene Earth science data communities and run domain-specific working groups.
• CUAHSI (Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science): CUAHSI is an ESIP Partner and a community consortium supporting water-related Earth science data infrastructure. Both serve as neutral, multi-institution convening bodies for domain-specific Earth science data work.
• CODATA: CODATA is an interdisciplinary committee focused on scientific and technical data, with working groups and task teams analogous to ESIP's Collaboration Areas. Both serve as neutral international forums for data policy, standards, and best practices across scientific domains.
• World Data System (WDS): WDS is an ESIP Partner and an international body promoting open access to scientific data. Both organizations operate as community/membership bodies for Earth and interdisciplinary science data stewardship, with overlapping members and standards activities.

Emerging players

• Open Science Community (e.g., Openscapes): Openscapes is an ESIP Partner and a community organization supporting open science workflows. It overlaps with ESIP's Collaboration Areas in scope (open practices for Earth science data), but is more focused on cloud-based workflow training and mentorship.
• FORCE11: FORCE11 is a community organization focused on the future of research communication and data sharing — it overlaps with ESIP's open-science and FAIR data guidance work and serves a similar (though more digital/cyberinfrastructure-tilted) audience.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• GitHubgithub.com/ESIPFed
• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/ESIPFed
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/earth-science-information-partners
• Xx.com/ESIPFed

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles18 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Earth Science Information Partners