North Dakota Space Grant Consortium

What North Dakota Space Grant Consortium does

The North Dakota Space Grant Consortium (NDSGC) is a NASA-funded educational consortium established in 1989 as part of the federal National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program and hosted at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks. Its mandate is to expand aerospace and STEM education, research, and workforce development across North Dakota through a network of 21 affiliate institutions that includes tribal colleges, community colleges, and four-year universities. The consortium operates under the federal STEM engagement framework and is one of 52 consortia in the national Space Grant network, which collectively span more than 950 affiliate organizations.

The consortium's program portfolio covers the full STEM educational pipeline: undergraduate and graduate fellowships and scholarships, paid research internships, faculty research grants, higher-education STEM enhancement awards, mini-grants (capped at $500), pre-service and in-service teacher workshops, and the 4-H STEM Ambassador Program. It also participates in cross-cutting federal initiatives, including NASA's Solar System Ambassador Program and the Build the Moon Challenge. A core staff of four — Director Caitlin Milera, Associate Director Laurie Salander, Assistant Director Dawn Cleveland, and Administrative Secretary Grecia Flaws — administers operations out of Clifford Hall at UND, with programming executed through the affiliate institutions.

Funding flows exclusively from NASA's Space Grant appropriations, which are reauthorized by Congress and competitively distributed through the national network. The consortium does not generate commercial revenue, charge tuition, or sell proprietary technology; all benefits are disbursed as grants, fellowships, scholarships, and services to students, faculty, and educators in North Dakota. Geographic scope is statutorily limited to the state, and partner relationships are formalized with federal agencies and the National Space Grant Foundation rather than commercial entities.

Name

North Dakota Space Grant Consortium

Legal name

North Dakota Space Grant Consortium

Website

https://ndspacegrant.und.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The North Dakota Space Grant Consortium is a NASA-funded network hosted at the University of North Dakota that administers STEM fellowships, scholarships, mini-grants, and educator programs across 21 affiliate institutions to develop the state's aerospace workforce.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

STEM Education Grant Administration

NAICS

Space Research and Technology (927110), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Grantmaking Foundations (813211)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Grantmaking Agencies & Education Program Grants Administration (EDADAHAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Research & Science Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAI), Space & Astronomy Programs (EDAMABAE)

Keywords

• STEM education funding
• NASA research fellowships
• Higher education grants
• STEM workforce development
• Teacher mini-grants

Headquarters

HQ city

Grand Forks

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. NASA Space Grant Federal Funding: All NDSGC awards are made from federal grant funds provided through NASA's National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program. Awards cannot be concurrent with other federal grant funding. NASA Space Grant funds shall not be used for civil-service personnel, their labor, or their travel.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels12 records

Core offering

The North Dakota Space Grant Consortium administers NASA-funded STEM education and research funding programs across North Dakota as part of NASA's National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program, in operation since 1989. Its sellable offerings are competitive funding mechanisms — fellowships, scholarships, internships, STEM Ambassadors, and a portfolio of mini-grants (Student, Higher Education, K-12 Teacher, and Research) — distributed to students, faculty, and educators through 21 affiliated higher-education institutions statewide.

Product overview

The North Dakota Space Grant Consortium (NDSGC) is not a traditional product company but rather a federally-funded educational organization administered by NASA through the National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program. The organization operates as a consortium connecting students, educators, and faculty with NASA and STEM research opportunities across North Dakota. Its core offerings are funding programs and educational services including: student funding programs (research fellowships, NASA internships, industry internships, bridge fellowships, mini-grants, travel grants, and various scholarships); faculty programs (mini-grants, ASCEND seed grants, and summer faculty fellowships); educator services (K-12 educator mini-grants, pre-college competition team funding, conference travel stipends, professional development workshops); outreach programs (STEM Ambassador Program conducting classroom visits, the STEM Ambassador Program at $18/hr, and K-12 educational resources including lesson plans and activities); and educational challenges (Plant the Moon Challenge, Build the Moon Challenge, Human Exploration Rover Challenge, App Development Challenge, and Micro-gravity NEB). The NDSGC also publishes the annual Aurora Newsletter and hosts the Annual Affiliates Meeting. Funding is provided through federal grant funds with awards ranging from $2,500 to $30,000 depending on program type.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• NASA Summer Fellowship Program
• STEM Scholarship Program
• NASA Internship Program
• STEM Ambassadors Program
• Higher Education Mini-Grants
• Student Mini-Grants
• K-12 Teacher Mini-Grants
• Research Mini-Grants

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 100 Plant the Moon teams sponsored in North Dakota since 2022
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration11 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• NASAflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1989NASA initiated the National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program in 1989. NDSGC is one of 52 consortia in all 50 states, DC, and Puerto Rico. The program supports fellowships, scholarships, curriculum enhancement, and faculty development in STEM fields. NASA Space Grant funds cannot be used for civil-service personnel, their labor, or travel.
• ND Vision Services/School for the Blind (NDVS/SB)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to award annual scholarships to students eligible for NDVS/SB services. Up to 5 scholarships totaling $2,500 are awarded through this partnership to support STEM education for visually impaired students.
• Institute of Competition SciencesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNDSGC pays the Institute of Competition Sciences to send requested Plant the Moon Challenge kits to North Dakota K-12 teams. Over 100 teams have been sponsored since 2022.
• North Dakota University SystemcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNDSGC is a member of the ND University System. UND is the host institution, and awards must comply with NDUS spending guidelines and travel regulations.
• 21 Affiliate Institutions (North Dakota)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner21 affiliate colleges, universities, tribal colleges, K-12 schools, museums, and non-profits across North Dakota collaborate on STEM education and research programs. Includes: UND, NDSU, Minot State, Dickinson State, Valley City State, Bismarck State College, ND College of Science, Lake Region State, Mayville State, Williston State, Dakota College at Bottineau, Cankdeska Cikana, Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish, Sitting Bull, Turtle Mountain, United Tribes Technical Colleges, Dakota Science Center, Gateway to Science, Grand Forks Children's Museum, NDVS/SB, State Historical Society.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• National Space Grant Foundation: The umbrella foundation supporting all 52 NASA Space Grant consortia, providing coordination, advocacy, and shared services. Directly connected to NDSGC through the national affiliate network of 950+ organizations.
• NSF Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR): NSF's parallel federal program building research capacity in underserved states; NASA runs its own EPSCoR counterpart that operates alongside Space Grant. Comparable federal-grant distribution model targeting STEM workforce development in non-R1 institutions.
• NASA Office of STEM Engagement: NASA's central office overseeing all STEM engagement programming including the Space Grant network. Provides the funding, programmatic direction, and national platform that NDSGC operates within; sets the agenda that filters down to each state consortium.

Emerging players

• Institute of Competition Sciences: Operates the Plant the Moon Challenge that NDSGC sponsors; runs multiple STEM competitions for K-12 and college students including NASA-relevant ones. A partner-vendor relationship but functionally an adjacent player in the same NASA-aligned competition ecosystem.

Direct peers

• ND NASA EPSCoR: North Dakota's NASA Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research, run by the same director (Caitlin Milera) at UND. Closely aligned federal-grant research funding mechanism for NASA-relevant research in North Dakota, sharing institutional infrastructure with NDSGC.
• Wyoming NASA Space Grant Consortium: NASA Space Grant consortium at the University of Wyoming serving Wyoming students, faculty, and educators with NASA-funded STEM programming. Comparable small-state scale, affiliate model, and STEM ambassador-style outreach structure.
• Minnesota Space Grant Consortium: NASA Space Grant consortium hosted at the University of Minnesota, serving Minnesota higher education and K-12 with NASA-aligned scholarships, fellowships, and educator programs. Operates the same federal-grant distribution model with a comparable affiliate institution network.
• Montana Space Grant Consortium: NASA Space Grant consortium hosted at Montana State University, distributing NASA Space Grant funds across Montana through scholarships, research opportunities, and K-12 outreach. Comparable rural-state structure and tribal college inclusion to NDSGC.
• South Dakota Space Grant Consortium: One of 52 NASA Space Grant consortia serving South Dakota, hosted at South Dakota School of Mines. Directly comparable structure, federal funding model, scholarship/fellowship/internship portfolio, and statewide affiliate network; the closest geographic and operational peer to NDSGC.

Others

• University of North Dakota Department of Space Studies: UND's academic department co-located with NDSGC in Clifford Hall, providing graduate-level space research and education infrastructure that NDSGC leverages. Institutional host and program delivery partner rather than a competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCx_WhdU-3C6g_oUr7z14mdQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/NorthDakotaSpaceGrant
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ndsgc
• Instagraminstagram.com/ndspacegrant

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about North Dakota Space Grant Consortium