Foa_Content_of_NOAA-OAR-SG-2024-24677.pdf

NOTICE OF FUNDING OPPORTUNITY

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Table of Contents Executive Summary

Full Text of Announcement

I. Funding Opportunity Description

II. Award Information

III. Eligibility Information

IV. Application and Submission Information

V. Application Review Information

VI. Award Administration Information

VII. Agency Contacts

VIII. Other Information

Executive Summary Federal Agency Name OAR National Sea Grant College Program (SG) Funding Opportunity Title FY2024 National Aquaculture Initiative: Enhancing Production of Coastal, Marine, and Great Lakes Aquaculture Species Announcement Type Competitive Funding Opportunity Number

NOAA-OAR-SG-2024-24677

Assistance Listing Number(s) 11.417 Dates Deadline(s): Letters of Intents due 01/17/2024

Full applications due 04/03/2024

Period of Performance: Projects should have a start date no earlier than 9/1/2024 and an end date of no later than 8/31/2027.

Funding Opportunity Description The National Sea Grant College Program was enacted by the U.S. Congress in 1966 (amended in 2020, Public Law 116-221) to support leveraged federal and state partnerships that harness the intellectual capacity of the nation’s universities and research institutions to solve problems and generate opportunities in coastal communities.

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Subject to the availability of funding, Sea Grant anticipates $5,000,000 to $6,000,000 will be available for research projects and programs that will develop and refine methods, protocols, techniques, and/or strategies to enhance the production (e.g. performance, growth, survival, yield) of one or more life stages of aquaculture species (described below) with the overall goal of improving the efficiency, output, and profitability of commercial coastal, marine, or Great Lakes region aquaculture businesses. Successful proposals will address topical needs (described below) and integrate research and extension. Proposals are sought that will support broad, non-proprietary research to address issues and/or barriers to aquaculture production; make that information available to aquaculture businesses; and preferably include participation and involvement of Sea Grant extension personnel and industry stakeholders. These investments are consistent with Sea Grant’s focus area of Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture (SFA) and the Sea Grant Network’s 10-year Aquaculture Vision, both which support NOAA and Department of Commerce aquaculture goals.This opportunity is open to: any individual; any public or private corporation, partnership, or other association or entity (including any Sea Grant College, Sea Grant Institute or other institution); or any State, political subdivision of a State, Tribal government or agency or officer thereof. Federal agencies and their personnel are not permitted to receive federal funding under this competition; however, federal scientists and other employees can serve as uncompensated partners or co-Principal Investigators on applications. Federal labs and offices can also make available specialized expertise, facilities or equipment to applicants but cannot be compensated under this competition for their use, nor can the value of such assets be used as match.

This document sets out requirements for submitting to NOAA-OAR-SG-2024-24677.

Full Text of Announcement I. Funding Opportunity Description A. Program Objective NOAA provides funding to Sea Grant to increase the understanding, assessment, development, management, utilization, and conservation of the Nation’s ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes resources by providing assistance to promote a strong educational base, responsive research and training activities, broad and prompt dissemination of knowledge and techniques, and multidisciplinary approaches to environmental problems, in accordance with 33 USC 1121(b). This opportunity is open to: any individual; any public or private corporation, partnership, or other association or entity (including any Sea Grant College, Sea Grant Institute or other institution); or any State, political subdivision of a State, Tribal government or agency or officer thereof.

The U.S. has a goal to sustainably increase aquaculture production in marine systems (ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes) while increasing the economic resilience and nutritional security of communities across the country. Farming of finfish, shellfish, sea vegetables/algae, and other aquaculture provides great potential in the U.S. for increasing the supply of ocean and Great Lakes-sourced products while supporting and growing rural and coastal communities and economies.

This competition ("National Aquaculture Initiative: Enhancing Production of Coastal, Marine, and Great Lakes Aquaculture Species,"(NOFO number: NOAA-OAR-SG-2024-24677) focuses on enhancing research and programs that will develop and refine methods, protocols, techniques, and/or strategies to enhance the production of one or more life stages of aquaculture species (described below). The overall goal of this competition is to enhance the production of aquaculture species to improve the efficiency, output, and profitability of commercial coastal, marine, and the Great Lakes region aquaculture businesses.

Strong applications will address program priorities described below and will integrate research and extension.

Proposals are sought that will support broad, non-proprietary research to address critical issues and/or barriers with respect to the production of aquaculture species; make that information available to U.S. aquaculture businesses; and preferably include participation and involvement of Sea Grant extension personnel and industry stakeholders (contact information for Sea Grant Programs can be found at: https://seagrant.noaa.gov/About). If further assistance is needed in identifying Sea Grant extension personnel to partner with, please contact one of the Sea Grant Aquaculture Managers listed below.

Principal investigators and/or project team members of proposals selected for funding will be required to participate in an annual National Sea Grant Aquaculture Symposium to be held at a future aquaculture meeting venue to share results of work conducted.

https://seagrant.noaa.gov/About

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B. Program Priorities An essential means of improving and optimizing the efficiency, output, and profitability of coastal, marine, and Great Lakes aquaculture businesses is through enhancing the production (e.g. growth, yield, survival) of the aquatic species being cultured. This competition is focused on funding research projects and programs that will develop and refine methods, protocols, techniques, and/or strategies to enhance the production of one or more life stages (e.g.

reproduction, hatchery, nursery, ongrowing to market) of aquaculture species.

Projects that focus on the following aquaculture categories and organisms in both marine and freshwater are eligible for this competition and include:

• Microalgae and macroalgae (seaweed) • Molluscs • Crustaceans • Ornamentals

• Baitfish • Finfish species for food production • Misc. invertebrates

Proposals that focus on addressing production challenges of species that are currently being produced or have good potential for commercialization in coastal, marine, or the Great Lakes region environments are preferred.

Proposals may address one or more topical areas of research including:

• Reproduction and/or selective breeding • Genetics • Larviculture/early development

• Nursery production • Ongrowing • Disease/health management • Nutrition • Physiology

• Production systems/engineering/automation • Production methods/strategies/technologies

Successful proposals will:

• Demonstrate a clear understanding of current limitations and research needs regarding the production of eligible aquaculture species.

• Increase the knowledge base of various aspects of enhancing the production of aquaculture species with the overall goal of improving the efficiency, output, and profitability of commercial coastal, marine, and Great Lakes region aquaculture businesses.

• Involve Sea Grant extension personnel and relevant activities (e.g., education, outreach, transfer of technology and results) to build on past research and inform industry stakeholders and others involved in U.S. aquaculture, including funding (federal or match), as appropriate. Contact information for Sea Grant Programs can be found at: https://seagrant.noaa.gov/About. If further assistance is needed in identifying Sea Grant extension personnel to partner with please contact one of the Sea Grant Aquaculture Managers listed below in Section VII. Agency Contacts.

• Involve industry stakeholder participation.

• Engagement with and support of investigators and/or students through partnerships with Minority Serving

Institutions is encouraged.

• Engagement of underserved audiences and communities is encouraged.

The above criteria should lead to the selection of proposals that: 1) enhance the production (e.g. performance, growth, survival, yield) of the aquaculture species being studied; 2) demonstrate that the work proposed will meaningfully improve the efficiency, output, and profitability of commercial coastal, marine, or Great Lakes region aquaculture businesses; and 3) demonstrate a plan to extend the results of work to industry stakeholders and others involved in U.S. aquaculture.

C. Program Authority Statutory authority for this program is provided under the National Sea Grant College Program Act of 1966, as amended (33 USC 1121 et seq.).

II. Award Information A. Funding Availability https://seagrant.noaa.gov/About

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Subject to the availability of funding, this announcement describes how eligible applicants should apply for this funding opportunity entitled “National Aquaculture Initiative: Enhancing Production of Coastal, Marine, and Great Lakes Aquaculture Species.” The National Sea Grant Office (NSGO) anticipates approximately $5,000,000- $6,000,000 in FY2024 federal funds will be available in order to support approximately 4-12 projects for up to three years in the following categories:

• Up to $250,000 in federal funds can be requested by individual entities (e.g. a single individual, group, or institution) for research projects addressing the program priorities.

• Up to $1,200,000 in federal funds can be requested for projects proposing collaborative, multi-partner efforts addressing the program priorities.

Applications require the standard 50% non-federal match for Sea Grant projects.

There is no guarantee that funds will be available to make awards, or that any application will be selected for funding. If an applicant incurs any costs prior to receiving an award agreement signed by an authorized NOAA official, it does so at its own risk of not being selected or of these costs not being included in a subsequent award.

NOAA and DOC will not be responsible for any incurred project costs if a project fails to receive full funding.

B. Project/Award Period The anticipated start date is September 1, 2024 with projects to be completed by August 31, 2027.

Pre-award spending may be authorized 90 days prior to the start date of the award.

C. Type of Funding Instrument The funding instrument is a cooperative agreement to an eligible institution. A cooperative agreement is used when substantial involvement of the federal government during performance of the proposed work is anticipated. The nature of the substantial involvement includes strategic engagement with the National Sea Grant Aquaculture Team, support from National Sea Grant communication efforts and requires that award recipients follow reporting requirements and participate in a future Sea Grant Aquaculture Research Symposium.

III. Eligibility Information A. Eligible Applicants The following entities are eligible and encouraged to participate in this funding opportunity: any individual; any public or private corporation, partnership, or other association or entity (including any Sea Grant College, Sea Grant Institute or other institution); or any State, political subdivision of a State, Tribal government or agency or officer thereof. Federal agencies and their personnel are not permitted to receive federal funding under this competition;

however, federal scientists and other employees can serve as uncompensated partners or co-Principal Investigators on applications. Federal labs and offices can also make available specialized expertise, facilities or equipment to applicants but cannot be compensated under this competition for their use, nor can the value of such assets be used as match.

The National Sea Grant College Program champions diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) by recruiting, retaining and preparing a diverse workforce, and proactively engaging and serving the diverse populations of coastal communities. Sea Grant is committed to building inclusive research, extension, communication and education programs that serve people with unique backgrounds, circumstances, needs, perspectives and ways of thinking. We encourage applicants of all ages, races, ethnicities, national origins, gender identities, sexual orientations, disabilities, cultures, religions, citizenship types, marital statuses, education levels, job classifications, veteran status types, income, and socioeconomic status types to apply for this opportunity.

B. Cost Share or Matching Requirement

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Non-federal matching funds equal to at least 50 percent of the federal funding request must be provided unless a waiver justified by statute is granted, such as the waiver for insular areas granted by the Department of Commerce pursuant to 48 U.S.C. 1469a. If you believe your application may qualify for a waiver, please contact the National Sea Grant Office before submission to discuss it. The cumulative match at the end of each year of the grant must not fall below 50 percent of the cumulative federal request up to that point. In-kind contributions directly supporting this application may count towards this matching requirement.

C. Other Criteria that Affect Eligibility Applicants are ineligible to apply unless a Letter of Intent is submitted by the Letter of Intent deadline.

IV. Application and Submission Information A. Address to Request Application Package

Application packages are available online and can be downloaded from www.grants.gov under opportunity NOAA-OAR-SG-2024-24677. If an eligible applicant does not have access to the internet, please contact the Agency Contacts listed in Section VII for submission instructions.

B. Content and Form of Application This section provides an overview of the required proposal elements (and where to locate them). Applications must adhere to the provisions under "Required Elements" below. Failure to adhere to these provisions may result in a delay in award processing or rejection of the application, based on the extent of the noncompliance.

The submitting applicant(s) must redact all Personally Identifiable Information (PII) in the application materials prior to final submission to grants.gov. PII that must be redacted from the application includes, but is not limited to, social security number, date of birth, student identification number (from transcripts) or other information which if lost, compromised, or disclosed without authorization, could result in harm, embarrassment, inconvenience, or unfairness to an individual.

IMPORTANT NOTE: This proposal package will be using a different set of forms than Sea Grant programs have completed in the past. Instead of the “SF424 NOAA Standard Non-Construction Application Package” of forms, this application will include the “SF424 NOAA Research & Related (R&R) Forms Package.” While many of the forms may be familiar, please pay special attention to the headings and instructions in this section.

Required Elements:

Applications must include the following elements. Failure to adhere to these provisions may result in a delay in award processing or rejection of the application, based on the extent of the noncompliance.

Letter of Intent Requirements

Letters of Intent (LOI) will allow the National Sea Grant Office to gauge interest and topics that may be submitted.

To do this, please provide the following basic information:

The LOI (please limit to two pages) must include the following:

• Tentative Project Title

• Lead submitting entity and project point of contact email address

• Potential Co-PIs and other existing or potential project partners

• Type of project (individual entity research project or multi-partner effort)

• Tentative Objectives

• Estimation of Federal funds requested by year.

While LOIs are required, they will not be used to decide whether or not a full proposal should be encouraged. All applicants submitting a Letter of Intent will be eligible to submit a full proposal.

http://www.grants.gov/

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To be eligible for full proposal submission, LOIs must be received via email by the Program Managers (oar.hq.sg.aquaculture@noaa.gov) by 5:00 pm (local time of lead submitting entity) January 17, 2024. Contact information for Sea Grant Programs can be found at https://seagrant.noaa.gov/About. If you need further assistance in identifying Sea Grant extension personnel to partner with please contact the National Sea Grant Office at the e-mail address above.

Full Proposal Required Elements

(please also see VIII. Other Information for additional post-application required elements for submission):

1. Research & Related Senior/Key Person Profile Form (Grants.gov, OMB Control No. 4040-0001)

This form must be completed and include a profile for the Principal Investigator and any co-PI(s). CVs and Current and Pending Support for each person’s profile will also be attached to this form. The first listed PD/PI on the application must include their eRA Commons ID in the “Credential, e.g., agency login” field of form. Failure to register in eRA Commons and to include a valid PD/PI Commons ID in the Applicant Identifier field will prevent the successful submission of an electronic application.

Additional personnel included on the form do not need to include this information, however eRA will create a warning recommending those personnel also have valid eRA Commons IDs. Again - it is not required that those additional personnel include valid eRA Commons IDs regardless of the warnings created by the eRA system.

2. Research and Related Budget Form

The Research and Related Budget is a single form that will need to be completed covering the entire award by budget period following the instructions from Grants.gov. At the end of the Research and Related Budget form, “Section L” provides space for one attachment titled, “Budget Justification.” The budget narrative for the project must be attached there. The budget narrative should explain the budget items by object class category (both federal and non-federal/match) in sufficient detail to enable review of the appropriateness of the funding requested. Additional budget narrative guidance can be found at: NOAA Grants Management Division's Budget Narrative Guidance

3. Research & Related Other Project Information Form (Grants.gov, OMB Control No. 4040-0001)

This form must be completed for the application, and should also be used to attach the Project Abstract Summary Form, the Project Narrative, Bibliography & References Cited (if applicable), and any other relevant forms or information as applicable. See form-specific instructions available on Grants.gov for additional instructions as needed.

a. Project Summary/Abstract Attachment

This attachment should be the completed Project Abstract Summary Form (Grants.gov, OMB Control No. 4040-0019) that is available as part of the application package. Using 4,000 characters or less, the Project Abstract should provide an overview of the application. Ensure the Project Abstract succinctly describes the project in plain language that the public can understand and use without the full proposal. It should be a self-contained description of the application and should contain a general statement of objectives and methods to be employed. It should be informative to other persons working in the same or related fields and understandable to a technically literate lay reader. Do not include personally identifiable, sensitive or proprietary/confidential information. This project abstract information (as submitted) will be made available on public websites and/or databases including USAspending.gov.

Project Abstract Elements:

• Use the following format:

o Purpose:

o Activities to be performed:

o Expected Outcomes:

o Intended Beneficiaries:

o Subrecipient Activities:

mailto:oar.hq.sg.aquaculture@noaa.gov https://seagrant.noaa.gov/About https://www.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/gmd_budget_narrative_guidance_-_05-24-2017_final.pdf https://www.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/gmd_budget_narrative_guidance_-_05-24-2017_final.pdf

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• Keep it short. In most cases, each element above should be a couple of sentences to a paragraph in length.

• DO NOT repeat the Proposal Title. The Proposal Title is always presented with the Project Description, so including it in the abstract is not necessary.

• Include a high quality description that includes specificity regarding the purpose of the project.

Characteristics of strong abstracts include a plain language description of the purpose for the project (which may include specific performance goals, indicators, milestones, or expected outcomes of the project), activities to be performed, deliverables and expected outcomes, intended beneficiary or recipient.

• Keep it simple. Do not use abbreviations, acronyms, technical terminology, or agency-specific terms. The intended audience is Congress and the general public, not specific interested parties and/or federal employees. The education level of the reader should be assumed to be the fifth grade of elementary school.

Even those who are highly educated will appreciate a simply written document when they have hundreds of projects to review in one sitting.

b. Project Narrative Attachment

Full applications to this competition must be submitted to Grants.gov by 11:59 pm Eastern Time on April 3, 2024.

The project proposal narrative should clearly lay out the topical nature of the proposal, how it responds to the priorities of the competition, and how it will lay the foundation for future work. The proposal should also identify appropriate end user groups and demonstrate their involvement throughout the project. Applicants should budget travel to attend and participate in a National Sea Grant Aquaculture Symposium to be held at a future aquaculture meeting venue to share results of work conducted. Dates and location for the symposium will be announced annually by the National Sea Grant Office.

The project proposal narrative should be not more than 15 pages using 12-pt font with 1” margins, inclusive of footnotes, tables, figures, and appendices. Reviewers will not be responsible for reviewing more than 15 pages of the project proposal narrative. Please note that the 15 page limit excludes the title page and letters of support.

Applicants need not fill the entire 15 page maximum for the project proposal narrative.

Project Narrative Elements:

1. Title page (not included in 15-page limit) including:

o Proposal title o Type of project (individual entity research project or multi-partner effort) o Listing of all project investigators with email addresses o Listing of collaborators/partners o Estimated budget by year of federal funds requested with matching funds

2. Project Summary (no more than 300 words summarizing elements 3, 4, 6, and 7 below)

3. Introduction/background/justification including a description of need(s) to be addressed by the project

4. Project objectives o Provide a list of clearly defined project objectives o For each objective, provide a concise statement explaining how it is aligned with the goals and priorities of this funding opportunity

5. Work plan/methodology for each objective including a timeline chart illustrating project activities and milestones

6. Anticipated outcomes and deliverables including:

o A description of how the project will advance production of one or more aquaculture species o A description of how the project will advance the efficiency, output, and profitability of coastal, marine, or Great Lakes region aquaculture businesses

7. Outreach and technology transfer plan o Describe how project results will be disseminated/transferred to the aquaculture industry and aquaculture stakeholders, including underserved groups and communities o Describe how Sea Grant extension personnel will be involved in the outreach and technology transfer plan

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8. Applicants submitting proposals that involve the use of human test subjects should state so clearly in their application. These proposed research activities require approval of the applicant’s Institutional Review Board (IRB) before such research can proceed. Applicants are responsible for obtaining IRB approval from their institution and providing that documentation to NOAA once the approval is obtained and prior to any NOAA-funded human subject testing. Proposals intending to use human test subjects should specify clearly in the timeline approximately when IRB approval will be obtained and when the testing is expected to occur.

9. Diversity statement o NSGO recognizes it has a particular and unique opportunity to support NOAA’s commitment to diversity and inclusion by taking an intentional step that encourages applicants to consider diversity and inclusion as part of their scientific projects. This action has the potential to make an impact on not only the diversity and inclusion in science at NOAA, but also in the equity of services provided by NOAA. In this section, describe how the proposed activity incorporates the input of underrepresented groups and how these groups benefit from its outcomes (e.g., race/ethnicity, gender identities, sexual orientation, disability, geography, etc.) and how they benefit from its outcomes. Applicants are encouraged to review the resources and best practices compiled by NSGO related to diversity, equity, and inclusion in the Resources for Applicants & Reviewers section found here: https://seagrant.noaa.gov/funding/.

10. Letters of support confirming partnerships as listed in the proposal (does not count against the page limit)

11. Other letters of support (as relevant; if included, they do not count against the page limit)

c. Bibliography & References Cited Attachment (if applicable)

If applicable, provide a bibliography of any references cited in the Project Narrative. Each reference must include the names of all authors (in the same sequence in which they appear in the publication), the article and journal title, book title, volume number, page numbers, and year of publication. Include only bibliographic citations. Applicants should be especially careful to follow scholarly practices in providing citations for source materials relied upon when preparing any section of the application.

d. Other Attachments

Abbreviated Environmental Compliance Questionnaire (OMB Control No. 0648-0538)

Applicants must ensure that the questionnaire is completed in full and includes detailed information regarding project location, methodology, and permits. Copies of all permits required for project activities should be included with application materials. If a permit is pending or planned, please provide this information.

• A separate questionnaire must be completed for each relevant action/project in the proposal.

• The questionnaire can be found in the Resources for Applicants & Reviewers section found here:

https://seagrant.noaa.gov/funding/.

• Guidance on how to complete the questionnaire, including how to describe work that will not involve any environmental impact, can be found in the Resources for Applicants & Reviewers section found here:

https://seagrant.noaa.gov/funding/. Examples of questionnaires can be found on the linked page.

NEPA Questionnaire

A separate NEPA Questionnaire must be completed for each relevant individual project in the application, following the details below. The Questionnaire can be found in the Resources for Applicants & Reviewers section found here: https://seagrant.noaa.gov/funding/. Applicants must ensure that the Questionnaire is completed in full and includes detailed information regarding project location, methodology, and permits.

Copies of all permits required for project activities should be included with application materials. If a permit is pending or planned, please provide this information. Guidance on how to complete the Questionnaire and example Questionnaires for different types of projects can be found in the Resources for Applicants & Reviewers section found here: https://seagrant.noaa.gov/funding/.

The NEPA Questionnaire is required for ALL research projects even if the project is fully lab-based or relies on social science. The NEPA Questionnaire is also required for any project that meets the following criteria:

• Environmental permits, authorizations or waivers https://seagrant.noaa.gov/funding/ https://seagrant.noaa.gov/funding/ https://seagrant.noaa.gov/funding/ https://seagrant.noaa.gov/funding/ https://seagrant.noaa.gov/insideseagrant/Implementation.

https://seagrant.noaa.gov/funding/

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• Biological take and/or release

• Environmental sampling

• Hazardous or toxic substances and waste

• Permanent or temporary environmental effects

• Endangered or threatened species and/or protected areas

• Known or unknown risks to human health or the environment

• Controversial environmental subject matter

4. Additional Application Package Forms

In addition to the forms required above, standard federal forms and assurances are required and can be found with the application package on Grants.gov. These include:

a. SF-424 R&R Form (Grants.gov, OMB Control No. 4040-0001)

This form, titled “Application for Federal Assistance,” must identify the entire funding period, as well as the federal funding amount being requested by the applicant and any non-federal matching fund amount. The form must be completed with the institution’s accurate EIN and DUNS and point of contact, and signed by the institution’s authorized representative or designee. Total federal and non-federal amounts listed in the SF-424 R&R, the Cumulative Budget of the Research and Related Budget form, and budget narrative must be the same.

b. SF-424B Assurances (Grants.gov, OMB Control No. 4040-0007)

The form, titled “Assurances – Non-Construction Programs,” must be completed and signed by the institution's authorized representative or designee.

c. CD-511 (Grants.gov, US DOC)

The form, titled “Certification Regarding Lobbying,” must be completed and signed by the institution’s authorized representative or designee.

d. SF-LLL (Grants.gov, OMB Control No. 0348-0046) - optional form, include if appropriate

This form, titled “Disclosure of Lobbying Activities,” is an optional form and should be included if appropriate. If included, it must be completed and signed by the institution’s authorized representative or designee.

Proposals submitted in response to this Announcement must include a Data Management Plan (up to 2 pages). See Section VI.B., Administrative and National Policy Requirements, below for additional information on what the plan should contain.

C. Unique entity identifier and System for Award Management (SAM) Each applicant (unless the applicant is an individual or Federal awarding agency that is excepted from those requirements under 2 CFR 25.110(b) or (c), or has an exception approved by the Federal awarding agency under 2 CFR 25.110(d)) is required to: (i) Be registered in SAM before submitting its application; (ii) Provide a valid unique entity identifier (UEI) in its application; and (iii) Continue to maintain an active SAM registration with current information at all times during which it has an active Federal award or an application or plan under consideration by a Federal awarding 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 and, 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.

D. Submission Dates and Times Applications must be submitted to Grants.gov by 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on April 3, 2024.

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Please note: validation or rejection of an application by Grants.gov may take up to two business days after submission. Eligible applicants should consider this process in developing their submission timeline. For eligible applications submitted through Grants.gov, a date and time receipt indication is included and will be the basis of determining timeliness.

E. Intergovernmental Review Applications under the National Sea Grant College Program are not subject to Executive Order 12372, “Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs.”

F. Funding Restrictions The Sea Grant Act at 33 USC 1124(d)(2) states:

“No payment under any grant or contract under this section may be applied to:

(A) the purchase or rental of any land; or

(B) the purchase, rental, construction, preservation, or repair of any building, dock, or vessel; except that payment under any such grant or contract may be applied to the short-term rental of buildings or facilities for meetings which are in direct support of any Sea Grant Program or project and may, if approved by the Secretary, be applied to the purchase, rental, construction, preservation, or repair of non-self-propelled habitats, buoys, platforms, and other similar devices or structures, or to the rental of any research vessel which is used in direct support of activities under any Sea Grant Program or project.”

G. Other Submission Requirements Applicant organizations must complete and maintain three registrations to be eligible to apply for or receive an award. These registrations includeSAM.gov,Grants.gov,andeRA Commons. All registrations must be completed prior to the application being submitted. The complete registration process for all three systems can take 4 to 6 weeks, so applicants should begin this activity as soon as possible. If an eligible applicant does not have access to the internet, please contact the Agency Contacts listed in Section VII for submission instructions.

Prior to registering with eRA Commons, applicant organizations must first obtain a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) from SAM.gov, if needed (refer to Section IV. Applications and Submission Information, Section C). Organizations can register with eRA Commons in tandem with completing their full SAM and Grants.gov registrations; however, all registrations must be in place by time of application submission. eRA Commons requires organizations to identify at least one Signing Official (SO) and at least one Program Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) account in order to submit an application.

The first PD/PI listed on the application must include their eRA Commons ID in the"Credential, e.g. agency login" Applicant Identifier field on the SF424 form.Failure to register in the Commons and to include a valid PD/PI Commons ID in the Applicant Identifier field will prevent the successful submission of an electronic application.

V. Application Review Information Evaluation Criteria Technical/scientific merit Maximum Points: 25 This criterion assesses whether the approach is technically sound and/or innovative, if the methods are appropriate, and whether there are clear project goals, objectives, and data management considerations. For the FY24 Enhancing Production of Coastal, Marine, and Great Lakes Aquaculture Species competition, this includes:

• A description of the project objectives

• A description of the approach and methods proposed for the work that are appropriate and sufficient to address proposed objectives Importance/relevance and applicability of proposed projects to the program goals Maximum Points: 25

This criterion ascertains whether there is intrinsic value in the proposed work and/or relevance to NOAA, Federal, regional, state, or local activities. For the FY24 Enhancing Production of Coastal, Marine, and Great Lakes Aquaculture Species competition, this includes:

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• A description of need(s) to be addressed by the project Outcomes and deliverables Maximum Points: 15 This criterion assesses whether the project provides a clear description of anticipated outcomes and deliverables that will result from the project. For the FY24 Enhancing Production of Coastal, Marine, and Great Lakes Aquaculture Species competition, this includes:

• A description of how the project will advance production of one or more aquaculture species

• A description of how the project will advance the efficiency, output, and profitability of coastal, marine, or

Great Lakes region aquaculture businesses Outreach and education Maximum Points: 15 This criterion reviews whether the project provides a focused and effective education and outreach strategy regarding NOAA’s mission to protect the Nation’s natural resources, Sea Grant's strategic focus areas, and the goals of the competition announcement to target the developing US aquaculture industry. Outreach to and inclusion of underserved and underrepresented audiences as part of this competition has the potential to make an impact on not only the diversity and inclusion in science at NOAA, but also in the equity of services provided by NOAA and is encouraged. For the FY24 Enhancing Production of Coastal, Marine, and Great Lakes Aquaculture Species competition, this includes:

• A description of how project results will be disseminated/transferred to the aquaculture industry and aquaculture stakeholders in general, including underserved and underrepresented groups and communities

• A description of how Sea Grant extension personnel will be involved in the outreach and technology transfer plan

Overall qualifications of applicants and project costs Maximum Points: 20 This criterion ascertains whether the applicant possesses the necessary education, experience, training, facilities, and administrative resources to accomplish the project, and also evaluates the budget to determine if it is realistic and commensurate with the project needs and time frame.

Review and Selection Process Once a full proposal application has been received by NOAA, an initial administrative review is conducted to determine compliance with requirements and completeness of the application. Applications that are missing required elements listed in Section IV. B. above, or applications coming from ineligible applicants may be rejected without further review.

Applications that pass the administrative review will be reviewed by a technical panel drawn from experts in a range of disciplines that are relevant to the applications. Each proposal will receive at least three written reviews from the panelists assessing its merits with regard to the evaluation criteria. These reviews will be averaged to produce a rank order. The selecting official shall award in the rank order unless the application is justified to be selected out of rank order based upon any of the selection factors provided in Section V.C. The selecting official shall make final recommendations for awards to the Grants Officer who is authorized to obligate the funds and execute the award.

The program manager, NEPA staff lead, or grants specialist may contact the applicants to discuss questions about the merit or administrative correctness of the application and may delay approval of the application, or impose conditions on the award preventing funding or execution of certain activities, until all questions are satisfactorily answered.

Selection Factors The Selecting Official shall award in the rank order unless the proposal is justified to be selected out of rank order based on one or more of the following factors:

1. Availability of funding.

2. Balance/distribution of funds:

a. geographically

b. by type of institution

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c. by type of partners

d. by research priority

e. by project types

3. Duplication of other projects funded or considered for funding by NOAA/Federal agencies.

4. Program priorities and policy factors.

5. Applicant’s prior award performance.

6. Partnerships with/Participation of targeted groups.

7. Adequacy of information necessary for NOAA staff to make a NEPA determination and draft necessary documentation before recommendations for funding are made to the Grants Officer.

Consequently, awards may not necessarily be made to the highest-scored applications. Investigators may be asked to answer questions; and/or modify objectives, work plans, and/or budgets (including overall funding level) to address the issues raised by the reviewers, the competition manager, the Selecting Official, or the Grants Officer before an award is made. Subsequent administrative processing will be in accordance with current NOAA grants procedures.

Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates Subject to the availability of funds, projects are expected to start September 1, 2024.

VI. Award Administration Information A. Award Notices PRE-AWARD COSTS. Per 2 CFR 200.458, NOAA authorizes award recipients to expend pre-award costs up to 90 days before the period of performance start date at the applicant’s own risk without approval from NOAA and in accordance with the applicant’s internal policies and procedures. Such costs are allowable only to the extent that they would have been allowable if incurred after the date of the Federal award. This does not include direct proposal costs (as defined at 2 CFR 200.460). In no event will NOAA or the Department of Commerce be responsible for direct proposal preparation costs. Pre-award costs will be a portion of, not in addition to, the approved total budget of the award. Pre-award costs expended more than 90 days prior to the period of performance start date require approval from the Grants Officer. This does not change the period of performance start date.

GRANTS OFFICER SIGNATURE. Proposals submitted in response to this solicitation are not considered awards until the Grants Officer has signed the grant agreement. Only Grants Officers can bind the Government to the expenditure of funds. The Grants Officer’s digital signature constitutes an obligation of funds by the federal government and formal approval of the award.

LIMITATION OF LIABILITY. Funding for programs listed in this notice is contingent upon the availability of funds. Applicants are hereby given notice that funds may not have been appropriated yet for the programs listed in this notice. Publication of this announcement does not oblige NOAA to award any specific project or to obligate any available funds.

B. Administrative and National Policy Requirements

UNIFORM ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS, COST PRINCIPLES, AND AUDIT

REQUIREMENTS. Through 2 C.F.R. § 1327.101, the Department of Commerce adopted Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards at 2 C.F.R. Part 200, which applies to awards in this program. Refer to http://go.usa.gov/SBYh and http://go.usa.gov/SBg4.

RESEARCH TERMS AND CONDITIONS. For awards designated on the CD-450 as Research, the Commerce Terms, and the Federal-wide Research Terms and Conditions (Research Terms) as implemented by the Department of Commerce, currently, at https://www.nsf.gov/awards/managing/rtc.jsp, both apply to the award. The Commerce Terms and the Research Terms are generally intended to harmonize with each other; however, where the Commerce Terms and the Research Terms differ in a Research award, the Research Terms prevail, unless otherwise indicated in a specific award condition.

http://go.usa.gov/SBYh http://go.usa.gov/SBg4 https://www.nsf.gov/awards/managing/rtc.jsp

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE PRE-AWARD NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS FOR GRANTS

AND COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS. The Department of Commerce Pre-Award Notification Requirements for Grants and Cooperative Agreements contained in the Federal Register notice of December 30, 2014 (79 FR 78390) are applicable to this solicitation and may be accessed online at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2014-12- 30/pdf/2014-30297.pdf.

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE (DOC) TERMS AND CONDITIONS. Successful applicants who accept a NOAA award under this solicitation will be bound by the DOC Financial Assistance Standard Terms and Conditions. This document will be provided in the award package in eRA at http://www.ago.noaa.gov and at https://www.commerce.gov/oam/policy/financial-assistance-policy.

BUREAU TERMS AND CONDITIONS. Successful applicants who accept an award under this solicitation will be bound by bureau-specific standard terms and conditions. These terms and conditions will be provided in the award package in NOAA’s Grants Online system. For NOAA awards only, the Administrative Standard Award Conditions for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Financial Assistance Awards U.S. Department of Commerce are applicable to this solicitation and may be accessed online at https://www.noaa.gov/organization/acquisition-grants/financial-assistance

NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT (NEPA). NOAA must analyze the potential environmental impacts, as required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), for applicant projects or proposals which are seeking NOAA federal funding opportunities. Detailed information on NOAA compliance with NEPA can be found at the following NOAA NEPA website: http://www.nepa.noaa.gov/, including our NOAA Administrative Order 216-6 for NEPA, http://www.nepa.noaa.gov/NAO216_6.pdf, and the Council on Environmental Quality implementation regulations, http://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/NEPA-40CFR1500_1508.pdf. Consequently, as part of an applicant's package, and under their description of their program activities, applicants are required to provide detailed information on the activities to be conducted, locations, sites, species and habitat to be affected, possible construction activities, and any environmental concerns that may exist (e.g., the use and disposal of hazardous or toxic chemicals, introduction of non- indigenous species, impacts to endangered and threatened species, aquaculture projects, and impacts to coral reef systems). In addition to providing specific information that will serve as the basis for any required impact analyses, applicants may also be requested to assist NOAA in drafting an environmental assessment, if NOAA determines an assessment is required. Applicants will also be required to cooperate with NOAA in identifying feasible measures to reduce or avoid any identified adverse environmental impacts of their proposal. Failure to do so shall be grounds for not selecting an application. In some cases if additional information is required after an application is selected, funds can be withheld by the Grants Officer under a special award condition requiring the recipient to submit additional environmental compliance information sufficient to enable NOAA to make an assessment on any impacts that a project may have on the environment.

FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT. Department of Commerce regulations implementing the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. Sec. 552, are found at 15 C.F.R. Part 4, Public Information. These regulations set forth rules for the Department regarding making requested materials, information, and records publicly available under the FOIA. Applications submitted in response to this Notice of Funding Opportunity may be subject to requests for release under the Act. In the event that an application contains information or data that the applicant deems to be confidential commercial information that should be exempt from disclosure under FOIA, that information should be identified, bracketed, and marked as Privileged, Confidential, Commercial or Financial Information. In accordance with 15 CFR § 4.9, the Department of Commerce will protect from disclosure confidential business information contained in financial assistance applications and other documentation provided by applicants to the extent permitted by law.

MINORITY SERVING INSTITUTIONS. The Department of Commerce/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (DOC/NOAA) is strongly committed to increasing the participation of Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs), i.e., Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-serving institutions, Tribal colleges and universities, Alaskan Native and Native Hawaiian institutions, and institutions that work in underserved communities.

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2014-12-30/pdf/2014-30297.pdf http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2014-12-30/pdf/2014-30297.pdf https://www.commerce.gov/oam/policy/financial-assistance-policy https://www.noaa.gov/organization/acquisition-grants/financial-assistance http://www.nepa.noaa.gov/ http://www.nepa.noaa.gov/NAO216_6.pdf http://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/NEPA-40CFR1500_1508.pdf

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DATA SHARING PLAN.1. Environmental data and information collected or created under NOAA grants or cooperative agreements must be made discoverable by and accessible to the general public, in a timely fashion (typically within two years), free of charge or at no more than the cost of reproduction, unless an exemption is granted by the NOAA Program. Data should be available in at least one machine-readable format, preferably a widely-used or open-standard format, and should also be accompanied by machine-readable documentation (metadata), preferably based on widely used or international standards. 2. Proposals submitted in response to this Announcement must include a Data Management Plan of up to two pages describing how these requirements will be satisfied.