DOC NOAA-NOAA-NMFS-HCPO-2021-2006812 -2.22.2018.pdf

Fiscal Year 2021 Chesapeake Bay Fisheries Research Program

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Funding Opportunity Description 3

A. Program Objective 3 B. Program Priorities 5 C. Program Authority 7

II. Award Information 7 A. Funding Availability 7 B. Project/Award Period 7 C. Type of Funding Instrument 8

III. Eligibility Information 8 A. Eligible Applicants 8 B. Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement 9 C. Other Criteria that Affect Eligibility 9

IV. Application and Submission Information 9 A. Address to Request Application Package 9 B. Content and Form of Application 9 C. Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management (SAM) 16 D. Submission Dates and Times 17 E. Intergovernmental Review 17 F. Funding Restrictions 17 G. Other Submission Requirements 18

V. Application Review Information 18 A. Evaluation Criteria 18 B. Review and Selection Process 21 C. Selection Factors 22 D. Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates 25

VI. Award Administration Information 25 A. Award Notices 25 B. Administrative and National Policy Requirements 26 C. Reporting 28

VII. Agency Contacts 29 VIII. Other Information 29

Notice of Federal Funding Page 1 of 30

NOTICE OF FUNDING OPPORTUNITY

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Federal Agency Name(s): National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce

Funding Opportunity Title: Fiscal Year 2021 Chesapeake Bay Fisheries Research Program

Announcement Type: Initial

Funding Opportunity Number: NOAA-NMFS-HCPO-2021-2006812

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 11.457, Chesapeake Bay Studies

Dates: The deadline for applications is 11:59 PM Eastern Time on April 26, 2021 and applications must be submitted using www.grants.gov (Grants.gov). PLEASE NOTE: it may take Grants.gov up to two business days to validate or reject the application. Please keep this in mind in developing your submission timeline. Due to limited staffing of federal offices, hardcopy applications will not be accepted.

An informational webinar about the FY 2021 Chesapeake Bay Fisheries Research Program funding announcement will be held on February 26, 2021 at 1 PM Eastern Time. To register for these webinars, please visit: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/6536859823217219087

Funding Opportunity Description: The NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office (NCBO) is directed by law to provide technical assistance in: (1) identifying science-based management options for restoration and protection of living resources and their habitats; (2) monitoring and assessing the status of living resources and their habitats; and, (3) evaluating the effectiveness of management plan implementation.

For FY 2021, it is anticipated that up to approximately $250,000 could be made available for projects that address funding priorities identified in the Program Priorities Section (I.B.1 - I.B.2).

NCBO encourages projects that are collaborative, interdisciplinary, and will leverage other resources. Preference will be given to projects with clear near term management application, to projects targeted in specific tributaries or watersheds to improve understanding of the local ecosystem, and to principal investigators that have not been funded through the Chesapeake Bay Fisheries Research Program within the past five years.

An informational webinar about the FY 2021 Chesapeake Bay Fisheries Research Program funding announcement will be held on February 26, 2021 at 1 PM Eastern Time. To register for this webinar, please visit: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/6536859823217219087

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FULL ANNOUNCEMENT TEXT

I. Funding Opportunity Description

A. Program Objective

NCBO’s Fisheries Research Program targets better understanding of fisheries status, trends, and ecosystem value to inform ecosystem based management of Chesapeake Bay estuarine species and habitats. The program seeks to establish a strong understanding of the Chesapeake Bay system, the complex connections among organisms and their habitats, multispecies interactions, and the wide range of processes that affect their dynamics.

Research conducted under this program should help to inform fisheries management and natural resource decisions through:

¿ Integration of species, habitat and ecosystem information ¿ Increased understanding of climate change and related ecological shifts, ¿ Improved habitat assessment techniques, and ¿ Quantification and valuation of habitat ecosystem services.

Data, findings and products resulting from projects supported through this research program should lead to tools and applications that guide management decisions for commercial, recreational, and non-consumptive uses of Chesapeake Bay living resources to support ecosystem based management, sustainable fisheries and vibrant coastal communities and economies.

This research program aims to support NOAA Fisheries Ecosystem Based Fisheries Policy and Road Map and the Chesapeake Bay Program’s 2014 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement (located here https://www.chesapeakebay.net/what/what_guides_us/watershed_agreement).

The NOAA Fisheries Ecosystem Based Fisheries Policy outlines principles to guide long-term actions and decisions. It directs continued progress toward Ecosystem Based Fisheries Management (EBFM) development and implementation and reinforces NOAA Fisheries’ commitment to incorporate EBFM into its resource management decisions. The policy has six guiding principles:

1. Implement ecosystem-level planning.

2. Advance our understanding of ecosystem processes.

3. Prioritize vulnerabilities and risks of ecosystems and their components.

4. Explore and address trade-offs within an ecosystem.

5. Incorporate ecosystem considerations into management advice.

6. Maintain resilient ecosystems.

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The EBFM Roadmap guides implementation of the EBFM policy and outlines actions to further the policy’s six guiding principles. This research program in the context of the FY21 request for proposal primarily addresses EBFM roadmap actions 2.2.a Conduct science to understand ecosystems, 2.2.b Provide Ecosystem Status Reports for each Large Marine Ecosystem, 2.5.a Develop and monitor Ecosystem-Level Reference Points, 2.5.b Incorporate ecosystem considerations into appropriate living marine resource assessments, control rules, and management decisions, and 2.5.c Provide integrated advice for other management considerations. More specifically the program priorities in section B below seek to better understand a broader suite of ecosystem processes, drivers, and threats, including:

1) Measurable biogeochemical, biophysical, and ecological factors, processes, and interactions, such as:

a) spatiotemporal distributions and abundance and key species

b) climate change and associated species thresholds

c) habitat quality, and linking habitat to ecosystem productivity patterns; and

2) Social and economic considerations, such as:

a) Economic welfare and social well-being of resource users and dependent communities

b) Community vulnerability and resilience.

The 2014 Chesapeake Watershed Agreement establishes goals and outcomes for the restoration of the Bay, its tributaries and the lands that surround them. This research program supports science needed to improve living resource outcomes associated with the following interrelated goals:

1) Sustainable Fisheries Goal: Protect, restore and enhance finfish, shellfish and other living resources, their habitats and ecological relationships to sustain all fisheries and provide for a balanced ecosystem in the watershed and Bay.

2) Vital Habitats Goal: Restore, enhance and protect a network of land and water habitats to support fish and wildlife and to afford other public benefits, including water quality, recreational uses and scenic value across the watershed.

3) Water Quality Goal: Reduce pollutants to achieve the water quality necessary to support the aquatic living resources of the Bay and its tributaries and protect human health.

4) Climate Resiliency Goal: Increase the resiliency of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, including its living resources, habitats, public infrastructure and communities, to withstand adverse impacts from changing environmental and climate conditions.

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Descriptions and reports from previously funded projects can be found on the NOAA Fisheries website: https://go.usa.gov/xAGBE

This FY 21 Notice of Funding Opportunity will focus on 1) evaluating living resource responses to changing habitat, climate and other environmental conditions 2) improving social science for fisheries and habitat.

B. Program Priorities

The Chesapeake Bay is an important spawning, nursery area and forage area for many ecologically, commercially and recreationally important fish species along the Atlantic Coast. There is limited information connecting the abundance, distribution and productivity of these species to changing habitat, climate and other environmental conditions. Likewise there is limited socioeconomic data on the value of nearshore habitat conservation to local communities and fisheries. This FY 21 Notice of Funding Opportunity is seeking projects that improve understanding of the links between habitat condition, water quality, and living resources and that develop approaches for valuing nearshore habitat conservation.

This research program has previously addressed timely management questions and research needs as identified by the science and resource management community. For example, multiple research projects focused on blue catfish (Ictalurus furcatus) from 2011-2014 in response to fishery managers and stakeholders expressing concern about the potential ecological impact of this non-native species on the Bay ecosystem. Funded research included diet and growth studies that directly informed work of the Chesapeake Bay Invasive Catfish Workgroup. These projects were followed by several Oyster Reef Ecosystem Services (ORES) studies quantifying the ecosystem service benefits (fish utilization, denitrification) of tributary-scale oyster restoration projects. More recently projects focused on forage dynamics, habitat suitability and connectivity between estuarine and marine habitat for species such as summer flounder and black sea bass.

NCBO is interested in expanding our grantee applicant pool for this funding opportunity and is placing a priority on receiving applications from principal investigators that have not received a Chesapeake Bay Fisheries Research Program award in the last five years.

Furthermore, NCBO is also interested in supporting research projects that employ and educate undergraduate or graduate students from groups underrepresented in marine science careers, including minorities.

We are soliciting proposals for projects under the following priority areas:

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1. Priority Area 1: Synthesis and analysis of existing information that connects living resource responses to changing habitat, climate and other environmental conditions

NCBO is interested in proposals that will link environmental conditions to fish species’ response. Projects should have clear federal-state management applications for species such as striped bass and summer flounder. Projects should include existing observations such as Chesapeake Bay Interpretive Buoys, telemetry arrays, satellites and data sources to evaluate habitat condition and measure impacts on fishery resources. Projects should consider focusing on utilizing existing data sets and not extensive field studies. The intent is for projects to develop quantitative relationships that can be analyzed on a routine basis to report on habitat condition and corresponding changes in living resources for consideration in fisheries and other resource management decision making.

Potential project objectives under this topic are:

A. Quantitative assessment of water column habitat variability (temperature, salinity, depth, turbidity, dissolved oxygen) impacts on species abundance, distribution and/or productivity, species interactions or community structure at annual and seasonal time scales.

B. Evaluation of habitat changes over time and impacts on species abundance, distribution and/or productivity, species interactions or community structure at long term, interannual time scales.

C. Climate change associated critical thresholds or indicators for species and projected shifts in fish community structure.

2. Priority Area 2: Improving social science for fisheries and habitat

NCBO is interested in proposals that will quantify and value the role of nearshore habitat for local communities and fisheries. Projects should focus studies in the Middle Peninsula of Virginia (defined for this purpose, per the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Chesapeake Bay Watershed Comprehensive Plan as the watersheds of the York River, the Piankatank River, and Mobjack Bay) where habitat conservation and new shoreline restoration efforts are being designed and implemented to support community resilience. The focus of these projects should be on tidal nearshore areas of the above geographies.

Potential project objectives under this topic are:

A. Ecological models for nearshore habitats and restoration that can be coupled with economic models and/or analyses that value the ecological and social benefits provided

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C. Program Authority

The Secretary is authorized under the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act, as amended, at 16 U.S.C. 661, to provide assistance to, and cooperate with, Federal, State, and public or private agencies and organizations in the development, protection, rearing, and stocking of all species of wildlife, resources thereof, and their habitat, in controlling losses of the same from disease or other causes, and in minimizing damages from overabundant species.

Under 33 U.S.C. § 893a(a), the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is authorized to conduct and support formal and informal educational activities at all levels to enhance public awareness and understanding of ocean and coastal science and stewardship by the general public and other coastal stakeholders, including underrepresented groups in ocean science careers. In conducting those activities, the Administrator shall build upon the educational programs and activities of the agency with consideration given to the goal of promoting the participation of minorities in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields.

II. Award Information

A. Funding Availability

This solicitation announces that approximately $250,000 may be available in FY 2021 in award amounts to be determined by the proposals and available funds. Funding is anticipated to maintain cooperative agreements for up to 2 years duration, but is dependent on funding made available annually by Congress. NOAA does not anticipate supporting project proposals requesting federal funding less than $50,000 annually or greater than $125,000 annually.

There is no guarantee that sufficient funds will be available to make awards for all qualified projects. The exact amount of funds that may be awarded will be determined in pre-award negotiations between the applicant and NOAA representatives. Publication of this notice does not oblige NOAA to award any specific project or to obligate any available funds. If applicants incur any costs prior to an award being made, they do so at their own risk of not being reimbursed by the government. Notwithstanding verbal or written assurance that may have been received, there is no obligation on the part of NOAA to cover pre-award costs unless approved by the Grants Officer as part of the terms when the award is made.

B. Project/Award Period

The project start date should not begin before September 1, 2021. Applications should cover a project period between 12 and 24 months. Projects that request multi-year funding

Notice of Federal Funding Page 7 of 30 must include in their submission a full description of the activities and estimated budget by line item (e.g. personnel, equipment, supplies) for all proposed work for each year.

Multi-year project period requests may be funded incrementally on an annual basis, but once awarded, multi-year partnerships will not need to compete for funding in subsequent years.

NOAA has no obligation to provide additional funding in subsequent years. Funding for subsequent years of work will depend on availability of funds, and the performance of grantees to successfully conduct activities as determined by the Federal Program Officer through performance reports, site visits, and compliance with award conditions. A recommendation to the NOAA Grants Management Division (GMD) to continue an award in subsequent years, or to extend the period of performance, is at the discretion of the selecting official based on recommendations by the Federal Program Officer.

Single year requests or projects that NOAA chooses to fund for only one year will be required to re-compete in subsequent years. Any continuation of the award period will depend on the submission of a new proposal subject to review, adequate progress on previous award(s), and available funding.

Future opportunities for submitting proposals to the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Fisheries Research competitive process are anticipated, but will depend on funding levels and resources available to support new projects.

C. Type of Funding Instrument

Applications selected for funding will be funded through a cooperative agreement under the terms of this notice. Applications funded through cooperative agreements will include substantial involvement of the Federal government, which may include, but is not limited to, collaboration on the scope of work, such as liaison activities between the grantee and NOAA personnel who are contributing data or expertise to the project. Additional forms of substantial involvement that may arise are described in Chapter 5.C of the Department of Commerce (DoC) Grants and Cooperative Agreements Manual, which is currently available at: https://go.usa.gov/xpR9e.

III. Eligibility Information

A. Eligible Applicants

Eligible applicants are institutions of higher education, non-profit or for-profit organizations, U.S. territories, and state, local and Native American tribal governments.

Applications from individuals, federal agencies, or employees of federal agencies will not be

Notice of Federal Funding Page 8 of 30 considered. Individuals and federal agencies are strongly encouraged to work with states, non-governmental organizations, municipal and county governments, and others that are eligible to apply.

The Department of Commerce/ National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (DOC/NOAA) is strongly committed to broadening the participation of historically black colleges and universities, Hispanic serving institutions, tribal colleges and universities, and institutions that work in underserved areas. The NCBO encourages proposals involving any of the above institutions.

B. Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement

No cost sharing is required under this program.

C. Other Criteria that Affect Eligibility

IV. Application and Submission Information

A. Address to Request Application Package

Electronic application packages are required and are available at: http://www.grants.gov/ (Grants.gov).

If the applicant has difficulty accessing Grants.gov or downloading the required forms from the NOAA website, they should contact Andrew Larkin at the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office by email at andrew.w.larkin@noaa.gov. The NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office does not have a direct telephonic device for the deaf, however, TDD capabilities can be accessed through the State of Maryland-supplied TDD contact number, 800-735-2258, between the hours of 8 AM-4:30 PM.

Potential applicants may contact the NCBO Federal Program Officer before submitting an application to discuss applicability of project ideas to NCBO goals and objectives.

B. Content and Form of Application

Required Elements for Applications:

(a) At the time of application submission, all applicants shall submit the following forms with signatures of the authorized representative of the submitting institution. (Note:

submission through Grants.gov results in automatic electronic signatures on these forms.):

1) Application for Federal Assistance: Form SF-424

2) Budget Information, Non-construction Programs: Form SF-424A

3) Assurances, Non-Construction Programs: Form SF-424B

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4) Certifications Regarding Lobbying: Form CD-511

5) Disclosure of Lobbying Activities: Form SF-LLL (if applicable, see instructions on form)

(i) Project Summary (1 page):

- Detailed narrative Budget Justification.

Content Requirements

NOAA requests the following as part of a complete application package:

1. Project summary (2 page limit);

2. Project narrative (15 page limit);

3. Federal, state, and local government activities and permits (2 page limit)

4. Data management plan (2 page limit);

5. Budget Narrative (4 page limit), Provide justifications for all budget items in sufficient detail to enable the reviewers to evaluate the appropriateness of the funding requested. The budget justification should be broken out and detailed using the same budget categories as noted on the SF-424A budget form;

6. Supporting Documentation (15 page limit, combine into one PDF document) such as:

-Brief curriculum vitae or resume(s) for up to three (3) key personnel (maximum of one page per person) and examples of similar projects that have been successfully completed by the project team;

-Documentation of a federally Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement

1. Project Summary (2 page limit):

a. Applicant Organization

b. Project Title

c. Site Location(s) if applicable: nearest town or watershed, and geographic coordinates

d. Brief Project Description/Executive Summary: Briefly describe the activities to be completed with grant funds

e. Project Time Line

f. Amount of Federal Funding Requested

g. Non-Federal Match Proposed (if applicable, but note that no match is required under this program)

2. Project Narrative (15 page limit):

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The project narrative comprises the research plan for the project. The narrative must be detailed enough for reviewers to make a clear connection between the proposed activities and the proposed project costs. The major part of the narrative should be devoted to a description and justification for the proposed project, including details of the method to be used. It should include a timeline for major activities of the proposed project, and should indicate who will be responsible for which activities. There should be a description of how a student(s) from a group underrepresented in marine science careers will be involved, educated and trained as part of the project. There should be no ambiguity about who will perform particular parts of the project, and the time at which these activities take place. The tables and visual materials, including charts, graphs, maps, photographs and other pictorial presentations that you submit to document the project and the problem/opportunity you seek to address are included in the 15-page limit.

The following do not count towards the 15-page limit: standard application forms, project summary, budget and justification, letters of support, vitae; lists of permits, NEPA questionnaire; and data sharing plan.

The project narrative should closely follow the organization of the evaluation criteria (see Section V. A. Evaluation Criteria) for the application to receive a consistent review against competing applications. The narrative should demonstrate your knowledge of the need for the project, and show how your proposal builds upon any past and current work in the subject area, as well as relevant work in related fields. The narrative should highlight any relationship to fishery management plans, or other fishery-related strategic planning or management documents, and if the project will yield environmentally compatible socio-economic benefits.

You should not assume that reviewers already know the relative merits of the project you describe. You must describe your project as follows:

(A). Project goals and objectives. Identify the problem/opportunity you intend to address and describe its significance to Chesapeake Bay fisheries and ecosystem management community. Objectives should be simple and understandable; as specific and quantitative as possible; and attainable within the time, money and human resources available. Projects should be accomplishment oriented and identify specific performance measurements.

(B). Project impacts - Describe the anticipated impacts of the project on Chesapeake Bay fisheries management. Identify the benefits that will be achieved as a result of this effort, both to the recipient and the general public as a whole. Identify where expected end products can be used (for example, an indicator for use in the Mid Atlantic State of the

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Ecosystem Report or Bay Program decision support). Describe how you/your organization (or others) will monitor progress and measure the project’s impacts.

(C). Evaluation of project - Specify the criteria and procedures that you will use to monitor and evaluate the relative success or failure of a project in achieving its objectives.

(D). Need for government financial assistance - Explain why you need NOAA financial assistance for the proposed work, and why other funding sources, if applicable, cannot fund all the proposed work. List all other sources of funding you have or are seeking for the project.

(E). Statement of Work

a) What is the project design? What specific work, activities, procedures, statistical design, or analytical methods will you undertake? You should provide sufficiently detailed information on the proposed activities and potential environmental effects so that NOAA can analyze the impacts of the project as required under the National Environmental Policy Act (see Section VI. B.4.). Examples of the level of detail to be incorporated into the project design section to assist in the environmental review can be found in National Marine Fisheries Service “Project Details” section of the NOAA NEPA questionnaire available here:

https://www.nepa.noaa.gov/docs/NOAA-Grants-Questionnaire-final.pdf

b) Who will be responsible for carrying out the various activities? Provide information about the specific responsibilities of other personnel funded through the proposal, including the technical and administrative points of contact as appropriate.

c) How will project results be disseminated? Describe any expected products of the project, such as a training manual, management plan, number of people trained, video, or techniques.

Detail if/how products will be distributed to potential users (resource managers, researchers, other interested parties.)

d) What are the project milestones? Display timelines for major tasks, target milestones for important intermediate and final products, and key project outcomes. This includes identifying all consultation and permitting requirements and their status (e.g., not applied for, pending, secured). Describe the timelines in increments (e.g., month 1, month 2), rather than by specific dates. Identify the individual(s) responsible for the various specific activities.

(F). Project management - Describe how the project will be organized and managed.

Proposals should demonstrate the applicant organization’s knowledge and experience in delivering the project requested in this application. The principal investigator may or may not be the applicant; however, if the applicant is not the principal investigator, there must be an explanation of the relationship between the applicant and principal investigator (e.g., the applicant may be responsible for managing the grant funds and the principal investigator will

Notice of Federal Funding Page 12 of 30 be responsible for completing the work).

Include the resume or curriculum vitae of the principal investigator(s) and any consultants and/or subcontractors, and indicate their level of involvement in the project. Include copies of any agreements between you and the participants describing the specific tasks to be performed. Agreement documents and resumes/curriculum vitae (2 page maximum) should be included in the “Supporting Documentation.” This information does not count toward the project narrative’s 15 page limitation.

(G). Participation by persons or groups other than the applicant - Describe how Federal, state and non-government entities, will participate in the project, and the nature of their participation. If applicable, specifically describe how the applicant will conduct the project in such a way as to employ and educate undergraduate or graduate students from groups underrepresented in marine science careers, including minorities.

(H). Outreach and Education - How will this project provide a focused and effective education and outreach strategy regarding NOAA’s mission to protect the Nation’s natural resources? This includes the degree to which the potential users of the results, i.e., state and federal resource managers, have been involved in the planning of activity, will be involved in the execution of the activity and/or are providing funds, and whether there is a plan to disseminate the results to user groups (including the Chesapeake Bay Sustainable Fisheries Goal Implementation Team, Maryland and Virginia fisheries management agencies, Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, Mid Atlantic Fisheries Management Council etc.) and the public. The principal investigator should describe how the involvement of undergraduate or graduate students from underrepresented groups, including minorities, will support those students in future Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) careers. Describe specific outreach goals and activities.

3. Federal, state, and local government activities and permits (2-pages)

It is the responsibility of the applicant to obtain all necessary Federal, State, and local government permits and approvals where necessary for the proposed work to be conducted.

You must note whether or not permits are required. If no permits are required, this section must indicate “no permits are required”. If yes, provide a list of all applicable permits that will be required to perform the proposed work and an indication of the status of any permits needed (e.g., not yet applied, permit application submitted/pending, permit granted, etc.) or a statement indicating that no permits are necessary. List any existing Federal, state, or local government programs or activities that this project would affect, including activities requiring: certification under state Coastal Zone Management Plans; Section 404 or Section 10 permits issued by the Corps of Engineers; experimental fishing or other permits under

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Federal Fishery Management Plans (FMP); environmental impact statements to meet the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act; scientific permits under the Endangered Species Act and/or the Marine Mammal Protection Act; or Magnuson-Stevens Act Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) consultation if the project may adversely affect areas identified as EFH. Describe the relationship between the project and these FMPs or activities, and list names and addresses of persons providing this information. You may obtain information on these activities from the NMFS Regions (see Section VII- Agency Contacts).

4. Data Management Plan (2 pages)

Proposals submitted in response to this announcement must include a Data Management Plan of up to two pages. This Data Management Plan does not count against the 15-page Project Narrative page limit. NOAA may, at its own discretion, make publicly visible the Data Management Plan from funded proposals, or use information from the Data Management Plan to produce a formal metadata record and include that metadata in a Catalog to indicate the pending availability of new data. Proposal submitters are hereby advised that the final pre-publication manuscripts of scholarly articles produced entirely or primarily with NOAA funding will be required to be submitted to NOAA Institutional Repository after acceptance, and no later than upon publication. Such manuscripts shall be made publicly available by NOAA one year after publication by the journal.

The contents of the Data Management Plan will be considered as part of application review.

A typical plan should include descriptions of the types of environmental data and information expected to be created during the course of the project; the tentative date by which data will be shared; the standards to be used for data/metadata format and content;

methods for providing data access; approximate total volume of data to be collected; and prior experience in making such data accessible. The costs of data preparation, accessibility, or archiving may be included in the application budget unless otherwise stated in the Guidance. Accepted submission of data to the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) is one way to satisfy data sharing requirements; however, NCEI is not obligated to accept all submissions and may charge a fee, particularly for large or unusual datasets. Final Data Management Plans will be developed in coordination with NOAA as part of NOAA’s substantial involvement, as described in Section II.C

5. Budget narrative (4 page limit): Total project costs are the amount of funds required to accomplish what is proposed in the Project Description, including cost-share contributions and donations.

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a) The budget narrative must include: Personnel costs, including salary and wages, should be broken out by named principal investigator (PI) and number of months requested per year per PI as a percentage of their normal salary rate. Support for each PI should be commensurate with their stated involvement, which may or may not correspond to their current position. Any unnamed personnel (graduate students, post-doctoral researchers, technicians) should be identified by their job title, and their personnel costs explained similar to PI personnel costs above. Fringe benefits should be identified separately from salary and wages; fringe benefit rates should be applied consistently, and should apply equally to both Federal and non-Federal (matching) funds, if applicable. Funds for salaries and fringe benefits may be requested only for those personnel who are directly involved in implementing the proposed project and whose salaries and fringe benefits are directly related to specific products or outcomes of the proposed project.

b) Travel costs should be broken out by number of people traveling, destination and purpose of travel, and projected costs per person. Projected travel costs should be inclusive of transport costs, lodging costs, and per diem expenses for all travelers, which are to be described in detail in the budget narrative. If travel details for a particular trip are unknown, explain the basis for estimating proposed costs. To qualify for support, attendance at meetings or conferences must enhance the investigator’s capability to perform the research or disseminate its results. Domestic travel is to be justified separately from foreign travel, since the latter may require additional clearances. You must adhere to the provisions of the 'Fly America Act'.

c) "Equipment" is non-expendable, tangible personal property with a unit cost of $5,000 or more and a useful life of more than one year. Items that do not meet the equipment definition must be included under supplies. List each piece of equipment separately and reference the type/model to be purchased and its contribution to the achievement of the project goals.

General use equipment must be used 100% for the proposed project if charged directly to the award; if the equipment will be used for multiple projects, only a portion of the expense that is commensurate with the actual use of the equipment during the project may be requested.

d) Supplies should be itemized to the level of detail known or may be based on established historical costs. Whenever possible, you should include the quantity/number of units and cost per unit to justify expenses listed in the supplies category.

e) Contractual costs should be itemized separately, according to standard budget categories that appear in the SF-424A; all types of contractual costs should be included in the Contractual line on the SF-424A and explained in detail in the budget narrative. You must

Notice of Federal Funding Page 15 of 30 indicate the basis for each contract's cost or price estimate and specify the products or services to be obtained through all contracts.

f) Other costs should be listed by type of material or nature of expense and should be broken down by quantity/number of units and cost per unit if applicable.

g) The budget may include an amount for indirect costs if the applicant has an approved indirect cost rate agreement with the federal government. Indirect costs are essentially overhead costs for basic operational functions (e.g., lights, rent, water, and insurance) that are incurred for common or joint objectives and therefore cannot be identified specifically within a particular project. A copy of the current, approved negotiated indirect costs agreement with the federal government must be included with the application.

If an applicant has not previously established an indirect cost rate with a Federal agency they may choose to negotiate a rate with the Department of Commerce or use the de minimis indirect cost rate of 10% of Modified Total Direct Costs (as allowable under 2 C.F.R.

§200.414). The negotiation and approval of a rate is subject to the procedures required by NOAA and the Department of Commerce Standard Terms and Conditions Section B.06. The NOAA contact for indirect or facilities and administrative costs is:

Lamar Revis, Grants Officer NOAA Grants Management Division 1325 East West Highway 9th Floor Silver Spring, Maryland 20910 lamar.revis@noaa.gov

6. Supporting Documentation

This section should include the supporting documentation such as: qualifications of the primary project personnel (resumes or curriculum vitae, limit two pages each), agreements with key partners, and letters of support received from the relevant jurisdictional representatives, partners, or communities involved in the project.

C. Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management (SAM)

Each applicant is required to (i) register in the Federal System for Award Management (SAM) before submitting an application; (ii) provide a valid unique entity identifier in the application; and (iii) continue to maintain an active SAM registration with current

Notice of Federal Funding Page 16 of 30 information at all times during which it has an active Federal award or an application or plan under consideration by NOAA (or any other Federal agency). NOAA may not make a Federal award to an applicant until the applicant has complied with all applicable unique entity identifier and SAM requirements. If an applicant has not fully complied with the requirements by the time NOAA is ready to make a Federal award, NOAA may determine that the applicant is not qualified to receive a Federal award and use that determination as a basis for making a Federal award to another applicant. See 2 C.F.R. Part 25 at http://go.usa.gov/cTbMk.

D. Submission Dates and Times

Full Applications must be received by http://www.Grants.gov by 11:59 pm, Eastern Standard Time, April 26, 2021. Please note: Validation or rejection of your application by Grants.gov may take up to 2 business days after submission. In addition, initial registration or annual updated registration processes in the Federal System for Award Management (SAM) can take several weeks and involve multiple steps. In order to allow sufficient time for these processes, applicants should register as soon as they decide to apply even if they are not ready to submit their proposal. Please consider this process in developing your submission timeline. Applications received after the deadline will be rejected/returned to the sender without further consideration. No facsimile or electronic mail applications will be accepted.

E. Intergovernmental Review

Applications under this program (CFDA 11.457, Chesapeake Bay Studies) are subject to Executive Order 12372, Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs. Any applicant submitting an application for funding is required to complete item 16 on SF-424 regarding clearance by the State Single Point of Contact (SPOC) established as a result of EO 12372.

To find out about and comply with a State's process under EO 12372, the names, addresses and phone numbers of participating SPOC's are listed in the Office of Management and Budget's home page at: https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/SPOC-4- 13-20.pdf

F. Funding Restrictions

Projects that primarily involve business start-up or infrastructure development are not eligible for funding under the Chesapeake Bay Fisheries Research Program. NOAA will not consider expenses associated with fees, fund-raising activities, travel for activities not directly related to project implementation, travel or salaries for Federal employees, or profit as allowable costs in the proposed budget. The total costs of a project consist of all allowable costs incurred in accomplishing project activities during the project period. Project costs can

Notice of Federal Funding Page 17 of 30 only include support for activities conducted between the effective start date and end date of the award, and cannot include activities undertaken either before or after the agreed upon dates. Applicants will not be reimbursed for time expended or costs incurred in developing a project or in preparing an application, or in any discussions or negotiations with the agency prior to the award. Such expenditures may not be considered as part of the applicant's cost share or matching contribution.

G. Other Submission Requirements

Proposals must be received by 11:59 PM Eastern Time on April 26, 2021 in Grants.gov.

PLEASE NOTE: When submitting through Grants.gov, you will receive two emails. An initial email will be sent to confirm your attempt to submit a proposal. This is NOT a confirmation of acceptance of your application. It may take Grants.gov up to two business days to validate or reject the application and send you a second email confirming successful submission. NOAA considers the validation time as receipt. In addition, applicants may need days or weeks to complete registration or updating of registration described in Section IV.C.

and D. of this NOFO Announcement. Please keep this in mind in developing your submission timeline.

V. Application Review Information

A. Evaluation Criteria

Reviewers will assign scores to applications ranging from 0-100 points based on the following five standard NOAA evaluation criteria. The maximum score for each criterion is indicated in parentheses. Each criterion also includes the factors that the reviewers will consider to determine how well an application meets the criterion. We encourage applicants to make explicit connections to the evaluation criterion and factors in their applications.

Written comments are required to justify provided scores in each section of the review.

Applications that best address these criteria will be most competitive.

1. Importance/relevance and applicability of proposed projects to the program goals (40 points).

This criterion ascertains whether there is intrinsic value in the proposed work and/or relevance to NOAA, Federal, regional, state, or local activities. Does the proposal describe its relevance to a Chesapeake Bay Fisheries Research Program Objective in Section A and Priorities in Section B, and how information gathered will contribute to NOAA mission to enhance the understanding of the fishery resource and contribute to the body of information on which management decisions are made? Does the applicant demonstrate familiarity with

Notice of Federal Funding Page 18 of 30 previously developed studies or assessments and describe how their project builds upon or incorporates previous work? Does this study address an important problem, providing a clear definition of the problem, need, issue or research need to be addressed? Can the research question be answered using existing data or require a field study? Will the project(s) yield environmentally compatible socio-economic benefits, such as increased business and recreational opportunities? Is the project focused in a specific tributary or watershed? The appropriateness of the data sharing plan: Has the proposal included a Data Information Sharing Plan including description of the types of environmental data and information created during the course of the project; the tentative date by which data will be shared; the standards to be used for data/metadata format and content; policies addressing data stewardship and preservation; procedures for providing access, sharing and security; and prior experience in publishing such. Does the proposal describe how it will use NOAA observations (such as but not limited to Chesapeake Bay Interpretive Buoy System, Coastwatch, telemetry) in the analysis? Does the proposal include a plan to engage and collaborate with NOAA staff and resources managers to guide management application of project results (for example, setting up a project advisory team)? If applicable, does the applicant specifically describe how they will conduct the research project in such a way as to employ and educate undergraduate or graduate students from groups underrepresented in marine science careers, including minorities?

Using the scale below, score Item 1 (lowest score possible is 0) Poor Fair Good Commendable Excellent 0-------------8----------------15------------------30-------------40

2. Technical and/or scientific merit (30 points).

This criterion assesses whether the approach is technically sound and/or innovative, if the methods are appropriate, and whether there are clear project goals and objectives. Proposals should provide a clear definition of the approach to be used, including descriptions of field work, theoretical studies, and laboratory analysis to support the proposed research. Are the conceptual framework, design, methods, and analyses adequately developed, well-integrated, and appropriate to the aims of the project? Are the objectives in the proposal clearly defined and focused, realistic and can be reached within the proposed project period? Does the applicant acknowledge potential problem areas and consider ways to resolve the issues or implement alternative tactics? Does the project challenge existing paradigms or develop new methodologies or technologies? Is sufficient detail provided in the proposal about the methods proposed for monitoring and evaluating the success of the project, and are they appropriate? Is there sufficient description of the project’s utility to resource management? If

Notice of Federal Funding Page 19 of 30 field studies will be conducted, have permits been applied for or acquired?

Poor Fair Good Commendable Excellent 0----------------10--------------20----------------30-------------30

3. Overall qualifications of the applicants (10 points).

This criterion assesses whether the applicant, and team members, possess the necessary education, experience, training, facilities, and administrative resources to accomplish the project. Does the applicant have the capacity/knowledge to conduct the scope and scale of the proposed work, as indicated by the qualifications and past experience of the project leaders and/or partners that show adequate administrative capability and experience in successfully completing similar projects? Are the institutional support, equipment and other physical resources available to the investigators adequate for the proposed project? Does the proposal include resumes of the Principal Investigator(s)? In cases where subcontracts are proposed for carrying out specific tasks, are the quality/appropriateness of the personnel, facilities and procedures (laboratory methods, work plan and or quality oversight procedures) adequate? Has the principal investigator been funded in the past five years through this program?

Poor Fair Good Commendable Excellent 0--------------4-----------------6------------------8---------------------10

4. Project costs (10 points).

This criterion evaluates the budget to determine if it is realistic and commensurate with the project needs and time frame. Cost effectiveness of the project is considered. Is the proposed budget cost-effective and realistic based on the applicant’s stated objectives, time frame, and amount of overall project budget already secured from other sources? Is the proposed budget sufficiently detailed, with appropriate budget breakdown and justification of costs by object class?

Poor Fair Good Commendable Excellent 0---------------4---------------8------------------10---------------------10

5. Outreach and education (10 points).

This criterion assesses whether the project provides a focused and effective education and outreach strategy regarding NOAA's mission to protect the Nation's natural resources. Does the proposal identify anticipated benefits, potential users, indicators of success, and methods

Notice of Federal Funding Page 20 of 30 of disseminating results? Is an effective method proposed for dissemination of project results? Are the various target audiences, such as resource managers, the fishing community, or the general public identified? Did the principal investigator describe how the involvement of undergraduate or graduate students from underrepresented groups, including minorities, will support those students in future Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) careers?