NOAA-NOS-OCM-2021-2006566 NOFO Report.pdf

FY21-22 CRCP State and Territorial Coral Reef Conservation Cooperative Agreements

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Funding Opportunity Description 4

A. Program Objective 4 B. Program Priorities 5 C. Program Authority 11

II. Award Information 11 A. Funding Availability 11 B. Project/Award Period 12 C. Type of Funding Instrument 13

III. Eligibility Information 13 A. Eligible Applicants 14 B. Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement 14 C. Other Criteria that Affect Eligibility 16

IV. Application and Submission Information 16 A. Address to Request Application Package 16 B. Content and Form of Application 17 C. Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management (SAM) 29 D. Submission Dates and Times 29 E. Intergovernmental Review 31 F. Funding Restrictions 31 G. Other Submission Requirements 33

V. Application Review Information 34 A. Evaluation Criteria 34 B. Review and Selection Process 35 C. Selection Factors 38 D. Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates 39

VI. Award Administration Information 40 A. Award Notices 40 B. Administrative and National Policy Requirements 40 C. Reporting 44

VII. Agency Contacts 45 VIII. Other Information 46

Notice of Federal Funding Page 1 of 46

NOTICE OF FUNDING OPPORTUNITY

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Federal Agency Name(s): National Ocean Service (NOS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce

Funding Opportunity Title: FY21-22 CRCP State and Territorial Coral Reef Conservation Cooperative Agreements

Announcement Type: Initial

Funding Opportunity Number: NOAA-NOS-OCM-2021-2006566

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 11.482, Coral Reef Conservation Program

Dates: PROJECT LISTS are required and must be received by email no later than 11:59 p.m.

Eastern Time on Thursday, August 27, 2020 to allow adequate time for NOAA review and recommendation of proposed projects.

PRE-APPLICATIONS must be received by email no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on Thursday, October 8, 2020.

FINAL APPLICATIONS must be received through grants.gov no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on Thursday, February 11, 2021.

Funding Opportunity Description: The NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program, as authorized by the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000, provides matching awards of financial assistance to State, Territorial and Commonwealth resource management agencies appointed by their respective Governors to serve as the primary point of contact agencies for coral reef conservation activities in each of the jurisdictions of American Samoa, Florida, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The awards are administered as cooperative agreements to enable the collaboration and involvement of NOAA in the planning and implementation of the work. The objective of these Cooperative Agreements is to support coral reef management and monitoring programs and conservation projects that seek to improve the condition of coral reef ecosystem resources located in these seven U.S. States, Territories and Commonwealths.

Funding for this program is subject to the availability of Congressional appropriations and is expected to range between approximately $3,500,000 and $4,500,000 in FY 2021. Funding made available from NOAA's Coral Reef Conservation Program is intended to support priority coral reef management activities as described in Section I.B. of this Federal Funding Opportunity announcement. Continued support in FY 2022 is contingent upon the availability of future

Notice of Federal Funding Page 2 of 46 funding; the recipient's ability to administer Federal funds provided by NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program; and the performance of the recipient during the initial year of the award and past awards. NOAA expects that each eligible applicant will request Federal funding at a funding level between $300,000 and $900,000 per year, depending on the existing capabilities of the applicant agency to implement the proposed work. The average annual award size is expected to be approximately $575,000 per year.

Notice of Federal Funding Page 3 of 46

FULL ANNOUNCEMENT TEXT

I. Funding Opportunity Description

A. Program Objective

Coral reefs and associated seagrass and mangrove communities are among the most complex and diverse ecosystems on earth. They support important fishing and tourism industries, protect coasts from wave and storm damage, build tropical islands, contain an array of potential pharmaceuticals, and provide local communities with a source of food, materials and traditional activities.

As shallow-water, near shore communities, coral reef ecosystems are ecologically linked to adjacent watersheds and are highly vulnerable to human activity. Stresses in the coral reef environment include poor water quality from runoff and inadequate sewage treatment, sedimentation, destructive fishing practices, recreational overuse and misuse, and impacts from climate change, including changes in ocean chemistry.

To address these and other threats, Congress passed the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000 (Act), 16 U.S.C. 6401-6409, which established the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) and provided guidance for allocation of Federal funding toward efforts to conserve coral reef ecosystems in the U.S. and internationally. As described in the Act, one of the primary functions of the CRCP is to provide financial assistance to external partners for coral reef conservation projects consistent with the Act and CRCP priorities. From 2002 to 2008, CRCP efforts were focused on priorities articulated in A National Coral Reef Action Strategy (http://coris.noaa.gov/activities/actionstrategy), which outlined the efforts needed to better understand coral reef ecosystems and reduce impacts from 13 key threats that had been identified by NOAA in conjunction with the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force.

Coral Reef Conservation Program priorities have been refined and redirected in 2018 to refocus program investments on three existing pillars which include the most pressing threats to coral reefs: land-based sources of pollution, fishing impacts, and climate impacts; and a new fourth pillar: restoration. The CRCP’s approach for addressing these threats is described in more detail in a number of documents, including:

*the new CRCP Strategic Plan (2018;

https://www.coris.noaa.gov/activities/strategic_plan2018);

*the seven Jurisdictional Coral Reef Management Priorities documents (http://www.coris.noaa.gov/activities/management_priorities/);

*the Jurisdictional Capacity Assessments, which identify impediments to effective coral reef conservation and management in each jurisdiction and offer both practical and creative

Notice of Federal Funding Page 4 of 46 solutions to address those challenges (http://www.coris.noaa.gov/activities/capacity_assessment/);

*Local Action Strategies developed after 2010 based on CRCP priorities. If used, the applicant must reference the relevant document(s) with either a URL or attach in the appendix.

All applications submitted in response to this Federal Funding Opportunity announcement must be consistent with the requirements stated herein and the CRCP Grant Program Implementation Guidelines. Funding is subject to the availability of Federal appropriations.

In FY 2021, the CRCP only intends to initiate new awards through this opportunity.

B. Program Priorities

Since 2001, CRCP has provided annual funding to eligible State, Territorial, and Commonwealth agencies for conservation projects in coral reef jurisdictions. This funding, in the form of cooperative agreements, has supported development and implementation of numerous projects and activities, based on guidance provided by the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force, NOAA, strategic guidance documents, such as Local Action Strategies and the National Coral Reef Action Strategy, and the State and Territorial agencies themselves.

Subject to Congressional Appropriations, NOAA's National Ocean Service (NOS), Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) anticipates being able to continue to provide funding for cooperative agreements in FY 2021 to support state and territorial coral reef ecosystem management, monitoring and other conservation activities which lead to or support an improvement in the condition of U.S. coral reef ecosystems. Activities funded under this announcement are intended to focus on shallow water coral reefs and associated ecosystems, including those found at mesophotic depths, which occur in U.S. States, Territories, and Commonwealths and are subject to local management authority. Applicants are also invited to propose conservation projects in watersheds immediately adjacent to or directly influencing U.S. coral reef ecosystems in an effort to reduce acute and/or chronic threats to adjacent reefs.

CRCP developed overarching goals and objectives to help guide the program’s funding investments beginning FY 2019 and articulated those goals and objectives in a new CRCP Strategic Plan which is available on the NOAA CRCP website (https://www.coris.noaa.gov/activities/strategic_plan2018) At the same time, the CRCP sponsored priority-setting processes at the jurisdictional level to help local coral reef managers articulate a set of common priority goals and objectives upon which local coral reef management efforts would focus and identify priority locations for conservation action;

these Jurisdictional Coral Reef Management Priorities are captured in a series of documents that were published in the spring of 2010 at http://www.coris.noaa.gov/activities/management_priorities/. Subsequently, some

Notice of Federal Funding Page 5 of 46 jurisdictions developed additional action-oriented strategies, site-based management plans and conservation action plans, and updated their coral reef Local Action Strategies based on CRCP priorities. CRCP has also sponsored an assessment of the administrative and technical capacity of each jurisdiction to help identify bottlenecks and impediments to coral reef conservation efforts. The resulting Jurisdictional Capacity Assessment documents, which contain a variety of recommendations, are available at:

http://www.coris.noaa.gov/activities/capacity_assessment/.

Together, these documents identify the actions needed to address the specific priority conservation needs identified by the CRCP and jurisdictional partners, particularly in instances where the priorities of both overlap. As such, CRCP expects that the majority of projects proposed in applications to this competition will involve the development and implementation of projects that address both the CRCP Strategic Plan and either a Jurisdictional Coral Reef Management Priority or a recommendation from the Jurisdictional Capacity Assessment, and that applications will focus effort in the locations and associated watersheds previously identified to CRCP as priority sites for coral reef management.

Projects involving Jurisdictional Capacity Assessments should focus on an aspect of capacity building that it is appropriate for NOAA, as a science agency, to address. Projects that do not specifically address established priorities or designated locations may be proposed, but are likely to be less competitive.

In an effort to explain how these strategic documents will influence preferences in funding determinations, the CRCP has developed a tiered approach scheme, which the CRCP will apply to both external (e.g., grants and cooperative agreements) and internal funding decisions. The amount of investment is expected to decline from Tiers 1 through 3, as scores will be weighted (See Section V.B. for more information about the review and selection process).

*Tier 1 consists of projects that address BOTH a National Objective from the new CRCP Strategic Plan AND a Jurisdictional Priority; including, but not limited to, priorities identified in the 2019 Jurisdictional Priority Workshops.

*Tier 2 consists of projects that address an established Jurisdictional Priority, Local Action Strategy, or a recommendation from a Jurisdictional Capacity Assessment that is appropriate for NOAA to address. Funding for projects that are identified as a jurisdictional priority but do not meet a National Objective from the new CRCP Strategic Plan are included because the CRCP recognizes that circumstances and management issues vary by jurisdiction over time.

*Tier 3 includes management goals or objectives that were not previously identified as a priority, including emerging issues or new threats. The CRCP understands jurisdictions require flexibility to effectively manage their reefs, and certain opportunities or conditions

Notice of Federal Funding Page 6 of 46 might make working on these off-priority goals important in a given year. Applicants are encouraged to clearly state the importance of immediate action for each identified issue or threat. Due to the fluid nature of this tier, CRCP may elevate emerging issues or threats to a higher tier at its discretion and without prior notification to applicants. However, all proposed projects initially identified as Tier 3 may not total more than 10% of the overall proposed budget in any year.

Cooperative agreements between the CRCP and governor-appointed coral reef agencies in each of seven U.S. States, Territories, and Commonwealths are intended to provide programmatic support for coral reef management in each location as well as funding for various specific conservation projects and/or studies that will be undertaken by local agency staff in collaboration with NOAA offices and/or other local partners. NOAA will allocate funding competitively among eligible recipients based on the merits of the scopes of work described in the PRE-APPLICATIONS and according to the tiered approach described above.

1. Programmatic funding:

Programmatic funding may be provided to eligible applicants to support the costs associated with maintaining a local coral reef conservation program. Examples of the types of costs commonly requested under programmatic funding include salary and fringe benefits for key and/or long-term program staff (e.g., local program coordinator, grant administration staff, monitoring staff, watershed coordinator and/or other technical specialists who provide ongoing legal support or outreach or education services; not simply staff needed for one-time individual projects); appropriate training and professional development opportunities;

computers and office supplies; limited staff travel to relevant regional and national meetings focused on coral reef conservation; purchase and maintenance of equipment; etc. Application materials should indicate which staff will work on each project and the percentage of time they expect to spend on each. Funding requests for all staff positions, whether included as a federal expense or matching contribution, must be accompanied by a specific scope of work and be directly related to project tasks within the proposal or the day-to-day execution of a jurisdiction’s coral program, as described in Section IV.B.3.

Funding for long-term coral reef monitoring efforts that collect, analyze and report on the condition of coral reef ecosystems based on established, scientifically defensible methodologies may be incorporated into applications as part of the programmatic funding described in this section. Priorities for long-term coral reef monitoring efforts include continuation of programs to collect data that document trends in the condition of nearshore benthic habitats (seafloor communities), associated biological communities (including reef-associated fish and invertebrates), and water quality in reef environments. All monitoring projects should include regular communication of results to, and/or the direct involvement of

Notice of Federal Funding Page 7 of 46 staff from resource management agencies, and monitoring program staff will be required to work with NOAA to complete data archiving and regional coordination tasks.

Monitoring data collected in each jurisdiction are intended to complement national-level monitoring efforts and to inform local coral reef conservation and management decisions, particularly with regard to fisheries management and efforts to manage marine protected areas. NOAA/CRCP expects proposed monitoring efforts to concentrate on answering the most urgent questions being asked by local coral reef managers, and to focus effort on coral reef habitats and key reef species that are subject to local management authority or are part of a long-term study, on reefs that have been identified previously by the jurisdiction as a priority location, and/or on reefs adjacent to other CRCP projects in order to measure the project's conservation impact. Summarized results and data collected by jurisdictions under this award must be made available to management authorities and the interested public on a regular basis through the publication of periodic assessment reports and other communication methods, in addition to any peer-reviewed publications. NOAA also requires a copy of all data files in accordance with the applicant’s Data and Information Sharing Plan as described in Section IV.B.6. Funding requested for the coral reef monitoring component of the application is expected to fall within a range of $120,000 to $200,000 per jurisdiction per year in FY 2021 and FY 2022.

Because CRCP and its collaborating offices have considerable expertise in designing and implementing coral reef monitoring programs, the agency may contribute technical assistance to award recipients conducting coral reef monitoring activities as part of NOAA’s substantial involvement in the award. As a result, recipients must consult with their Federal Program Officer prior to making any major changes to their coral reef monitoring plan, including approval of changes to staff scopes of work and a review of the qualifications of the top three candidates under consideration for positions funded through the long-term monitoring program. CRCP wishes to work closely with each jurisdiction to ensure that monitoring efforts are coordinated, to the maximum extent possible, with both NOAA's National Coral Reef Monitoring Plan and other agency-sponsored efforts.

Monitoring efforts may include both the continued long-term monitoring programs included in the programmatic funding portion of the application described above and other targeted studies or assessments. Targeted studies or assessments that supplement long-term monitoring efforts may receive funding under this program in an effort to: provide recent, reliable information about the condition of particular coral reef ecosystem components in a given location (i.e., near a disposal site or sediment source); build capacity in local monitoring expertise; investigate and respond to disturbance events including boat groundings and coral reef bleaching events; and produce reliable scientific information that has a direct application for a pressing coral reef management concern.

2. Project funding: In addition to programmatic funding, the CRCP will consider supporting

Notice of Federal Funding Page 8 of 46 conservation projects proposed by recipient agencies in collaboration with other local partners in an effort to promote greater community participation in coral reef conservation and management efforts. All projects proposed under this funding opportunity should be clearly linked to CRCP and/or Jurisdictional priorities and/or other established local coral reef management priorities or initiatives (e.g., watershed management plans, conservation action plans, Local Action Strategies, communication and outreach strategies, MPA management plans, restoration plans), and linkages should be clearly explained in application materials. Project proposal narratives should clearly articulate links between programmatic and project goals, and include quantifiable performance indicators to demonstrate progress toward conservation goals. All proposed projects should be coordinated, to the degree possible, with ongoing and proposed NOAA coral reef mapping, monitoring, coastal zone and fishery management initiatives, and other Federal, state and local coral reef conservation activities. Applicants are expected to submit a proposal that addresses multiple threats to coral reef ecosystems in their jurisdiction and supports of variety of activities to address those threats.

To ensure that the results of funded projects are communicated to other relevant resource management agencies at local, State and Federal levels, all projects should include a description of the specific ways in which partners will be informed of project results and any recommendations for how project results can be applied to coral reef management. This requirement may be accomplished in a number of ways, from the involvement of additional coral reef manager(s) on the project team during planning and implementation phases to presentation of interim and final results during meetings that allow managers and interested stakeholders to interact with principal investigators. At a minimum, applicants must submit a Data Management Plan as described in Section IV.B.6.

Restoration Projects: Only projects that have clear linkages to an established local strategic restoration plan are eligible for funding under Tier 1 or Tier 2. Any proposed project without clear linkages to an established plan may be proposed as a Tier 3 project. The applicant must provide evidence of this strategic restoration plan by providing a URL within the narrative and/or attaching the plan in the appendix. If a strategic restoration plan is under development and expected to be complete by the start of the award, the applicant must provide the latest draft version and note the expected completion date to be considered for Tier 1 or Tier 2.

Proposals are expected to have a balance of threat reduction and restoration activities and restoration-heavy proposals will not be favored over other proposals.

Research Projects: CRCP recognizes that scientific studies and research projects can be an important part of coral reef management strategies and programs, however, research oriented projects are not a priority under this funding category. Only scientific studies and research

Notice of Federal Funding Page 9 of 46 projects that have a clear linkage and application to urgent management priorities are eligible for consideration under this funding category. Furthermore, the following criteria must be satisfied for research studies or projects to be eligible for funding: a) The project results must contribute to pressing coral reef management decisions or actions under consideration by local management authorities;

b) The project must be an integral component of a broader management initiative and the proposal narrative must clearly explain the management need for the research project; and

c) The project/task description must include a clear and concrete plan for how the research findings or observations data will translate into management action including:

i) Identification of the management authority, organization that will take action;

ii) A letter of support from the management authority or organization identified if different from the applicant organization;

iii) A list of management-relevant products that will result from the project; and

iv) A plan for communicating and providing research results to the identified management authority, other managers and stakeholders.

3. Expected Outcomes and Outputs:

CRCP Coral Reef Conservation Cooperative Agreements are intended to support programmatic activities and projects that result in tangible and significant improvements in the condition of coral reef ecosystems. To achieve this outcome, the activities proposed under this competition should be coordinated with CRCP and local program staff throughout the duration of the project(s), including the provision of project updates, interim results, and final project results in a timely manner. Approaches for accomplishing this type of communication could include periodic workshops and/or meetings of management and technical advisory committees that involve a spectrum of regional stakeholder interests.

Some activities and projects funded through these cooperative agreements may contribute toward a set of common CRCP performance metrics that will be applied to all projects awarded across all CRCP funding mechanisms; in such instances, CRCP will assist the applicant in determining how to measure the contribution of the project to CRCP performance metrics.

Outputs that are expected to result from funded awards include:

a) Specific management actions that address Jurisdictional Coral Reef Management Priorities (http://www.coris.noaa.gov/activities/management_priorities/), Jurisdictional Capacity Assessment recommendations (http://www.coris.noaa.gov/activities/capacity_assessment/) and/or goals and objectives outlined in the CRCP Strategic Plan, such as developing and implementing management plans in priority coral reef areas, developing new laws, regulations or policies to conserve coral reef resources, addressing gaps in local technical capacity, outreach and education initiatives, applying best management practices to reduce threats to coral reef ecosystems, Notice of Federal Funding Page 10 of 46 and conducting research that addresses specific information gaps. Proposed activities should support improving coral reef ecosystem condition through novel and/or traditional approaches, and management recommendations should be communicated broadly;

b) Other outputs, such as assessments, publications, summary reports, outreach and education materials, and other useful products that provide resource managers and the public with timely and readily understandable information on coral reefs. These outputs and products should be identified in the original application as described in Section IV.B.4 and provided to NOAA at the end of the award period; products of awards may be made available to the public via NOAA's Coral Reef Information System. As such, all products should be of publishable quality, be written in English unless another language is specified in the application and approved by NOAA, and include appropriate acknowledgement of the support provided by NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program. A graphic identifier can be provided by the Program at the time of product preparation.

Applicants should document their previous involvement in coral conservation efforts in each jurisdiction in which they are proposing to work. If the applicant does not have previous experience or existing staff in a particular jurisdiction, they should provide specific information about how the applicant intends to fill such gaps through reassignment of existing staff or through the establishment of agreements and/or subawards with other partner organizations that have successfully worked in that location.

C. Program Authority

Authority for the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Grant Program is provided by Section 6403 (Coral Reef Conservation Program) of the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 6401 et seq).

II. Award Information

A. Funding Availability

Funding for this program is subject to the availability of Congressional appropriations and is expected to range between approximately $3,500,000 and $4,500,000 in FY 2021.

Funding made available from NOAA's Coral Reef Conservation Program is intended to support priority coral reef management activities as described in Section I.B. of this Federal Funding Opportunity announcement. Continued support in FY 2022 is likewise contingent upon the availability of future funding; the recipient's ability to administer Federal funds provided by NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program; and the performance of the recipient during the initial year of the award and during past awards. NOAA expects that each eligible applicant will request Federal funding at a funding level between $300,000 and $900,000 per

Notice of Federal Funding Page 11 of 46 year, depending on the existing capabilities of the applicant agency to implement the proposed work. The average award size is expected to be approximately $575,000 per year.

In certain instances, when requested by the applicant and agreed upon by NOAA, NOAA may hold back a portion of awarded funds in order to provide specific technical assistance to the recipient in the form of contractual or other services. Such requests will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis with respect to the specific management objectives of the local coral reef program. NOAA will work with recipients to ensure the greatest degree of success in meeting local, state, territorial and national coral reef management needs.

The lead applicant on any proposal will be responsible for ensuring that allocated funds are used for the purposes of, and in a manner consistent with, this program, including any funds awarded to an eligible sub-awardee.

There is no guarantee that funds will be available for this federal funding opportunity or that any proposal will be selected for funding. If an applicant incurs any costs prior to receiving an award agreement signed by an authorized NOAA official, the applicant does so at their own risk of not being selected and these costs not being included in a subsequent award.

Proposal preparation costs shall not be included as direct costs within the project application budget. In addition, NOAA and DOC will not be responsible for project costs if this program fails to receive funding. Recipients and subrecipients are subject to all federal laws and agency policies, regulations, and procedures applicable to federal financial assistance awards.

If no proposal is funded in the current fiscal period a proposal may be considered for funding in another fiscal period without NOAA repeating the competitive process outlined in this announcement.

B. Project/Award Period

Each applicant must submit an application that covers a 24-month period with an anticipated start date of either July 1, 2021 or October 1, 2021.

Multi-year applications must specify the budget and activities for each year, including an SF- 424A budget form accounting for all Federal funding and matching funds individually for each year. Awards made in FY 2021 will only provide funding for the first year of activities and are expected to cover 12 months of expenses. Funding for the second year is contingent on subsequent years' appropriation and acceptable performance in administering previous funding, hiring Federally-funded positions, and implementing projects and activities in the first year. Provided NOAA receives continued funding for this program in FY 2022, CRCP intends to implement out-year activities as described in the original multi-year application

Notice of Federal Funding Page 12 of 46 unless there is a need to reprogram funds, significantly alter the original scope of work, or reduce funding based on lack of performance.

C. Type of Funding Instrument

Successful applicants will enter into a 24-month (2-year) cooperative agreement with NOAA's Coral Reef Conservation Program. Federal cooperative agreements are different from traditional grants in that they allow for 'substantial federal involvement' in the planning and implementation of funded projects. Substantial involvement on the part of NOAA may include the participation of NOAA Coral Reef Management Liaisons and other CRCP staff in project development, planning and implementation; and coordination of funded projects with other CRCP-funded efforts as needed. NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) staff, including the Federal Program Officer (FPO) and the assigned CRCP Management Liaison, will provide technical assistance and guidance to cooperative agreement recipients and participate in programmatic activities beyond the normal financial and technical stewardship responsibilities in the administration of these awards. CRCP staff will monitor implementation of the awards and coordinate with recipients as needed to help accomplish project objectives. CRCP staff will also provide assistance to recipients in the management and technical performance of grant activities and help to coordinate award-funded activities with other activities supported by NOAA CRCP. Federal involvement in these awards may include but is not limited to: project planning and implementation, coordination with project partners, participating in the hiring process for positions funded through this award (i.e., through the NOAA Federal Program Officer’s evaluation of the qualifications of the top 3-5 candidates for key personnel positions, prior to an offer of employment); considering requests for professional development opportunities and out-of-state/territory travel experiences; assisting with data management, dissemination and documentation of information products generated through this and previous awards;

providing training and/or assistance with grants administration issues; and other coordination activities as appropriate. CRCP staff will also become substantially involved if the recipient submits a request to change or amend their award, such as through a reprogramming request or a change in scope, and recipients should consult with CRCP staff prior to formally requesting such changes in a funded project.

Applications should be written as cooperative agreements and the proposal should clearly identify this funding instrument in the proposal abstract and cover sheet. The federal government will be substantially involved in the project; applicants propose anticipated Federal roles and responsibilities in their proposal. NOAA will add a condition to each award further describing its substantial involvement.

III. Eligibility Information

Notice of Federal Funding Page 13 of 46

A. Eligible Applicants

Eligible applicants are limited to the State, Territorial and Commonwealth natural resource management agencies that were appointed by their respective Governors to serve as the primary point of contact agencies for coral reef conservation activities in each of the jurisdictions of American Samoa, Florida, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The designated point of contact agency is considered to be the lead applicant on any proposal and is responsible for ensuring that allocated funds are used for the purposes of, and in a manner consistent with, this program, including any Federal funds awarded to an eligible sub-recipient.

NOAA employees and affiliates (contract staff) are not permitted to assist in the preparation of applications or write letters of support for any application. NOAA CRCP staff is available to provide general information on programmatic goals and objectives, ongoing coral reef conservation programs/activities, and regional funding priorities. For proposals that involve collaboration with current NOAA projects or staff, NOAA employees may provide a limited statement verifying the nature and extent of the collaboration and confirming any prior coordination activities. Letters of support from NOAA employees are not allowable and will not be included among the materials considered by merit reviewers.

Federal agencies and employees are not allowed to receive funds under this announcement but may serve as collaborative project partners. Federal agencies and employees "in-kind" services cannot be considered as part of an applicant’s match on shared costs. If federal agencies are collaborators, applicants are expected to provide detail on the planned level of federal engagement in the application. Examples might include, but are not limited to partnership services; serving in a review capacity; or participating in priority task teams, working groups, or leadership teams. Federal staff may provide a limited statement verifying the nature and extent of any such collaboration and confirming any prior coordination activities.

B. Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement

NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Grant Program awards are subject to statutory and regulatory matching fund policies. Federal funds for any coral conservation award funded under 16 U.S.C. 6403(b) may not exceed 50 percent of the total cost of the award. Therefore, any coral conservation project under this Grant Program requires a 1:1 contribution of non-federal matching funds.

Notice of Federal Funding Page 14 of 46

“Cost sharing or matching” is defined by 2 CFR 200.29 as “the portion of project costs not paid by federal funds (unless otherwise authorized by federal statute).” NOAA will accept any shared costs or matching funds and all contributions, including cash and third party in-kind contributions of goods and services, will be accepted as part of an applications cost sharing or matching when they meet all of the following criteria listed in 2 CFR 200.306(b):

Are verifiable from the non-federal entity's records;

Are not included as contributions for any other federal award;

Are necessary and reasonable for accomplishment of project or program objectives;

Are allowable under Subpart E—Cost Principles of this part;

Are not paid by the federal Government under another federal award, except where the federal statute authorizing a program specifically provides that federal funds made available for such program can be applied to matching or cost sharing requirements of other federal programs;

Are provided for in the approved budget when required by the federal awarding agency; and Conform to other provisions of this part, as applicable.

Matching funds may come from a variety of public and private sources and may include third party in-kind goods and services such as private boat use and volunteer labor. Goods and services provided by the recipient have the valuation described in 2 CFR 200.306.

Federal agencies and employees’ in-kind services cannot be considered as part of an applicant’s matching funds, but can be described in the budget narrative to demonstrate additional leverage. Applicants are permitted to combine contributions from multiple non-federal partners in order to meet the 1:1 match requirement, consistent with the standards described in 2 CFR 200.306, and if funds are available within the project period stated in the application.

Applicants should specify the source(s) of match in their proposal and detailed budget narrative and may provide or be asked to provide letters of commitment to confirm stated match contributions. Applicants whose proposals are selected for funding will be bound by the percentage of cost sharing reflected in the award document signed by the NOAA Grants Officer. Successful applicants should be prepared to carefully document matching contributions, including the number of volunteer or community participation hours devoted to specific projects, and all other cash or third party in-kind contributions.

If the applicant plans to use any federal funds as match, the applicant should identify the federal statute authorizing the program to use federal funds to meet the match or cost sharing requirements.

Applicants may choose to designate part or all of their federally-negotiated indirect costs as

Notice of Federal Funding Page 15 of 46 match. This may be convenient because the valuation of such costs has already been federally-approved and documentation is readily available. Refer to the “Indirect Costs” policies in Section IV.B.12 and Section IV.E of this announcement.

In addition, any Program Income that may arise in the project may be applied toward cost sharing or added to the project, consistent with 2 CFR 200.307.

The NOAA Administrator may waive all or part of the matching requirement if the Administrator determines that the project meets the following two requirements identified in 16 U.S.C. 6403(b)(2):

No reasonable means are available through which an applicant can meet the matching requirement, and the probable benefit of such project outweighs the public interest in such matching requirement.

In the case of a waiver request, the applicant must provide a detailed justification explaining the need for the waiver including attempts to obtain sources of matching funds, how the benefit of the project outweighs the public interest in providing match, and any other extenuating circumstances preventing the availability of match. Match waiver requests, including the appropriate justification,must be submitted as part of the FINAL APPLICATION. Please address the waiver request as described in Section IV.B.11 of this announcement.

In addition, under 48 U.S.C. 1469a, the Department of Commerce has determined that any requirement for local matching funds under $200,000 (including third party in-kind contributions) to be provided by the governments of American Samoa, Guam, the Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands shall be waived, notwithstanding any other provision of law. Any matching funds otherwise required by law to be provided by government entities of an insular area may be waived at the discretion of the operating unit.

Please contact the individual listed in Section VII. Agency Contacts for more information about eligibility for this exemption.

C. Other Criteria that Affect Eligibility

This section is intentionally left blank.

IV. Application and Submission Information

A. Address to Request Application Package

The standard SF-424 application package is available through the Apply function on

Notice of Federal Funding Page 16 of 46

Grants.gov (http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/forms.html). If an applicant does not have Internet access, application packages may be requested from Craig Reid via mail at 1305 East-West Highway, SSMC4, 10th floor, Silver Spring, MD 20910; via phone 240-533-0783 or via e-mail at Craig.A.Reid@noaa.gov.

B. Content and Form of Application

This funding announcement requires that each applicant submit a PROJECT LIST and a PRE-APPLICATION several months in advance of the submission of a FINAL APPLICATION. A PROJECT LIST is a simple table of basic information describing all proposed projects. PROJECT LISTS should be submitted to the appropriate NOAA Coral Reef Management Liaison and Craig.A.Reid@noaa.gov by Thursday, August 27, 2020. The list of liaisons and their contact information is in Section VII. All application materials should use a legible 11- or 12-point font with 1-inch margins on all sides. Electronic applications must be submitted as Adobe Acrobat (PDF) files.

PROJECT LISTS are a table of proposed projects with: descriptive title, description of activities (one to two paragraphs, maximum), number of years, estimated cost per year, and NOAA and/or Jurisdictional Priority(ies) to be addressed.

PRE-APPLICATIONS must include fully developed drafts of the application cover sheet, summary table, and project narrative (as described in items 1-3 below) but do not include the Federal forms that are submitted as part of the FINAL APPLICATION. Applicants may request an optional PRE-APPLICATION template by contacting Craig Reid at Craig.A.Reid@noaa.gov. PRE-APPLICATIONS will be reviewed by technical experts and CRCP staff according to the process described in Section V of this funding announcement.

Initial proposed funding allocations will be communicated to the applicant along with summarized reviewer comments at least four weeks in advance of the FINAL APPLICATION due date to allow time for the applicants to respond to comments and/or adjust their FINAL APPLICATION to NOAA as needed.

FINAL APPLICATIONS must be revised to respond to and/or incorporate changes suggested by the reviewers into the final project and budget narratives, and provide additional detail where requested. Applicants may request a conference with CRCP staff to review and discuss the comment letter and clarify any necessary modifications to the FINAL APPLICATION. FINAL APPLICATIONS are comprised of the PRE-APPLICATION materials described below and all required forms.

PRE-APPLICATIONS may not exceed 60 pages and FINAL APPLICATIONS may not exceed 75 pages in Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat format, exclusive of the required Federal financial assistance forms and other documentation that is part of the final

Notice of Federal Funding Page 17 of 46 cooperative agreement application package. Please paginate your application to ensure your application that it remains within the allotted length. PRE-APPLICATIONS that exceed the 60-page limit will be shortened by removing pages at the end of the proposal narrative (item 3 below) before it is forwarded to merit reviewers for evaluation. Because pages excised from lengthy applications will not be reviewed, activities described therein will not be reviewed for funding consideration. Application materials, including the application cover sheet, summary table, project narrative, products table and budget narrative should be in legible 11 or 12 point font with 1- inch margins on all four sides. Scopes of work for staff funded through the Cooperative Agreements or included as a matching contribution (and spending 50% or more of their time working on the award) should be included as appendices if available at the time of application submission; otherwise a Special Award Condition will be placed on the award to prevent expenditure of any federal funds until complete and acceptable scopes of work for all positions have been provided. Scopes of work must describe all of the efforts and activities that will be completed by funded personnel during the first 12 months of the award (at minimum) and indicate the percentage of their time represented in this proposal. If the award continues to receive funding in FY 2022 and the scope of work for the second year was not already provided, a Special Award Condition will be placed on the award to require that the recipient submit scopes of work for all federally-funded positions to account for the efforts and activities planned for the subsequent 12 months of the 24-month award period.

Applications must include the following information in this order:

1. Application Coversheet

a. Applicant Name and Contact Information;

b. Applicant organization;

c. Primary and alternate points of contact; and,

d. Contact information including address, phone/fax numbers, and e-mail address;

e. Project title;

f. Geographic Location;

g. Amount of Federal funding requested by Fiscal Year;

h. Amount and sources of matching funds provided by Fiscal Year;

i. Requested award start date and award period;

j. A brief application summary that provides an overview of the types of projects and tasks that are proposed for funding in each year; provide one paragraph for each year of funding, indicating the year in which each of the projects is expected to occur. This information may be utilized during Congressional notification or shared with the public.

2. Summary Table

Notice of Federal Funding Page 18 of 46

Each application must include a table that summarizes all the positions, projects and tasks contained in the application. For each entry, please include a title, a brief description, information about Federal and matching funds, and a list of anticipated work products or outcomes. Please organize the summary table by year to show which projects will be active in each year. Multi-year projects should report this information for each year and may appear multiple times in the table in the same way that programmatic expenses would be listed in each year.

3. Proposal Narrative A project description (proposal), as described in the application component section below, should be limited to no more than a total of 60 pages for the PRE-APPLICATION and 75 pages for the FINAL APPLICATION. The project description should also include a title page and a table of content but these pages (title and table of content) will not count towards the project description 60- or 75-page limit. For applications submitted in electronic format, acceptable formats are limited to Adobe Acrobat (.PDF) or Microsoft Word files.

PRE-APPLICATION project descriptions that exceed the 60-page limit will be shortened by removing pages at the end of the proposal narrative (see elements a-c of the component section below) before it is forwarded to merit reviewers for evaluation. Pages excised from lengthy applications will not be reviewed or considered. Applications that are incomplete, unclear, or contain numerous typographical errors may not be understood effectively by reviewers, resulting in lower evaluation scores, so applicants are advised to review their application materials closely before they are submitted to the agency for consideration.

Appendices should be limited to materials that directly support the main body of the proposal (e.g., resumes, references, lists of relevant work products or reports, detailed methodologies, data sources, detailed budget information, letters of collaboration, letters of support, a data management plan, and maps). Applicants should paginate their proposal and any appendices. When attaching appendices, please keep in mind that the total Grants.gov electronic file size of the proposal narrative and appendices combined should not exceed 200 megabytes and much less is encouraged. Files that are larger may not be properly downloaded, uploaded, or received by the agency or the reviewers. Files that cannot be opened or downloaded will not be reviewed.

Sufficient detail should be provided to enable reviewers to evaluate the relevance and applicability of proposed work to program priorities described in Section I.B. of this announcement; to determine the technical/scientific merit of the proposed work; to adequately review the qualifications of the applicants; and to assess whether the proposed scope of work raises any concerns with regard to Federal policy considerations, such as

Notice of Federal Funding Page 19 of 46 those related to the National Environmental Policy Act, Endangered Species Act, Historic Preservation Act, and Marine Mammal Protection Act. Applicants should clearly describe how each activity or project will directly benefit coral reef management efforts.

The…