FY25 Testbeds NOFO Final 09.13.24.pdf

FY2025 Weather Program Office Research Programs

NOTICE OF FUNDING OPPORTUNITY

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Federal Agency Name(s): Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce

Funding Opportunity Title: FY2025 Weather Program Office Research Programs Announcement

Type: Initial

Funding Opportunity Number: NOAA-OAR-WPO-2025-28601

Federal Assistance Listings Number: 11.459, Weather and Air Quality Research

Funding Opportunity Website: wpo.noaa.gov/nofo

IMPORTANT NOTE: Applicants will need an eRA Commons Account PRIOR to full application submission. Registration for an eRA Commons account can take up to 10 business days. It is recommended to start this process six weeks before the application deadline to allow ample time for registration.

Letter of Intent (LOI) Submission Date: Pre-proposal Letters of Intent (LOIs) are strongly encouraged for potential applicants and must be received by 5:00 pm ET on October 2, 2024 in order to receive a pre-proposal review.

Full Application Submission Date: Full applications must be received by 5:00 pm Eastern Time (ET) on December 2, 2024. Applications received after this deadline will not be considered. Award notifications are expected by June 2025. Financial awards for this competition will be for a maximum of three years in length. Estimated award start dates and further details are described in Section II.B “Project/Award Period.”

Funding Opportunity Description:

NOAA’s Weather Program Office (WPO, wpo.noaa.gov/nofo) is soliciting proposals for the Testbeds grant competition from this funding opportunity notification. The program competition's approximate total award funding per year is $4,200,000.00.

http://wpo.noaa.gov/nofo

In alignment with the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 (Public Law 115-25), this funding opportunity will allow NOAA to support new weather, water, and earth system observing and forecasting applications, including improved analysis techniques, better statistical or dynamic forecast models and techniques, development of calibrated, probabilistic forecasts, and communication of that information to better inform the public. In particular, this NOFO will seek projects that are responsive to the priorities articulated in the Science Advisory Board's 2021 Priorities for Weather Research Report (https://sab.noaa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/PWR-Report_Final_12-9-21.pdf) as well as the National Weather Service’s strategic priority to advance probabilistic forecasting and decision support services (https://www.weather.gov/media/wrn/NWS-2023-Strategic-Plan.pdf).

For the purposes of NOAA-funded projects, the maturity of projects is broadly classified using Readiness Levels (RLs), as adopted by NOAA and other federal agencies. The numerical RL scale from 1 to 9 is designed to track project maturity across a progressive spectrum from research to development to demonstration to deployment. Some science priorities in this announcement may target research at a specific maturity level and restrict proposals to specific RL ranges. Additional information can be found in the Program Objectives (Section I.A) and Priorities (Section I.B), and definitions of RLs can be found in the WPO FY25 General Information Sheet (herein referred to as the “General Information Sheet”) accompanying this announcement.

NOAA, OAR, and WPO encourage applicants and awardees to write their proposals and perform their work in a manner consistent with NOAA’s core values, including those on diversity, inclusion, accessibility, civil rights, and scientific integrity. Promoting diversity and inclusion improves creativity, productivity, and the vitality of the weather and water research community in which WPO engages. Further information can be found at https://www.noaa.gov/organization/inclusion-and-civil-rights/diversity-and-inclusion and https://research.noaa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/FinalDraft-OAR-DEI-StrategicPlan-07Se p2021.docx.pdf.

Included under the ‘Related Documents’ tab of this announcement are several Information Sheets as well as external forms required to be submitted with proposals. If there is any conflicting information between the NOFO announcement and the attached Information Sheets, then the NOFO announcement takes priority and should be followed over any external attachments.

https://sab.noaa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/PWR-Report_Final_12-9-21.pdf https://www.weather.gov/media/wrn/NWS-2023-Strategic-Plan.pdf https://www.noaa.gov/organization/inclusion-and-civil-rights/diversity-and-inclusion https://research.noaa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/FinalDraft-OAR-DEI-StrategicPlan-07Sep2021.docx.pdf https://research.noaa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/FinalDraft-OAR-DEI-StrategicPlan-07Sep2021.docx.pdf

FULL ANNOUNCEMENT

I. Funding Opportunity Description

A. Testbeds Program Objectives

Project proposals submitted to this competition will focus on applied research and development, and, in particular, the demonstration and testing of that research in NOAA’s quasi-operational forecasting environment through engagement with one of NOAA’s testbeds (http://www.testbeds.noaa.gov/). The hazard focus areas relevant to this competition include:

subseasonal-to-seasonal (two weeks to two years) prediction capabilities; fire weather;

tornadoes, severe wind, and hail storms; tropical cyclones; and extreme precipitation, including heavy snow, ice, and flash flooding. The five NOAA testbeds relevant to these focus areas and this competition are i) the Climate Testbed (CTB), ii) the Fire Weather Testbed (FWT), iii) the Hazardous Weather Testbed (HWT), iv) the Hurricane and Ocean Testbed (HOT), and v) the Hydrometeorology Testbed (HMT). Collaboration across testbeds is also possible. If proposing to work on a project that explores multiple hazards (e.g., tornadoes and flash floods, wildfire burn scars and flash floods), the letters of intent and proposal should clearly identify each participating testbed, and explain the collaborative aspects of the proposed work. Projects associated with other NOAA testbeds are not supported in this competition. Projects can include one hazard that is appropriate for one testbed or multiple hazards (e.g. tornadoes and flash floods) that are appropriate for multiple testbeds.

The Weather Program Office (WPO) Testbeds Program, a component of the U.S. Weather Research Program (USWRP), and Joint Technology Transfer Initiative (JTTI) Program support projects that will transition applied research to NOAA’s operations and services through close collaboration with NOAA testbeds. Close collaboration with one or more of the testbeds outlined above is critical and therefore required of all projects. The focus is on mature projects that are nearly ready or ready to be tested in a quasi-operational forecasting environment through one or more of the testbeds listed above. It is in these testbeds where project outcomes, such as new observing systems, improved data products and analysis techniques, or better statistical or dynamical models and forecast techniques, including probabilistic forecasts or tools, will be presented to various end users through the testbed and evaluated for potential future implementation in the National Weather Service (NWS) forecast offices at the local, regional, and/or national center levels to improve services to the public. Projects that are most appropriate for the five testbeds generally fall in or near the “demonstration” level of technical maturity, i.e., readiness levels of about 5 through 8 during the duration of the project.

It is expected that NOAA’s funding support of these new forecasting capabilities will speed the transition of this new research and technology into forecasting operations in the next three to five years in order to improve NOAA weather and water services for the public. Testbed projects that address improvements to NOAA’s existing or near-term future technologies (e.g., numerical models part of NOAA’s Unified Forecast System (UFS) or forecast techniques that NOAA http://www.testbeds.noaa.gov/ already employs) are most appropriate for this funding opportunity as opposed to those that propose totally new, revolutionary models or approaches that would not be reasonably expected to be operationally implementable within NOAA’s existing operational framework in the next two to five years. Depending upon the availability of funding, projects that are at higher RL may be funded through JTTI.

For additional Testbed Program information, please review the supplemental Information Sheet for the Testbeds competition in the package associated with this announcement at https://www.grants.gov.

B. Testbeds Program Priorities

NOAA’s highest priorities for the competition funded through this announcement are identified below. Applicants must clearly indicate and address in their proposal one or more of the associated priorities. Proposals not directly associated with one or more of these priorities are discouraged.

WPO, in collaboration with the NWS and other NOAA stakeholders, developed the following priorities for the Testbeds Program for each of the five testbeds funded through this competition.

The overarching themes and priorities of each testbed are described below. The science focus of a specific proposed project will determine which testbed is most appropriate for a given proposal. Applicants should clearly indicate in their letters of intent and proposal the specific testbed and priorities relevant to their proposal. Collaboration across testbeds is also possible. If proposing to work with multiple testbeds, letters of intent and proposals should clearly identify each participating testbed and explain the collaborative aspects of the proposed work.

Climate Testbed (CTB) Program Priorities: The CTB mission is to accelerate improvements in high-priority operational sub-seasonal to seasonal (S2S) monitoring and prediction products.

CTB is managed by the NWS Climate Prediction Center (CPC) and the NWS Environmental Modeling Center (EMC) both located in College Park, Maryland. The CTB seeks to leverage research innovations in order to improve the S2S models, products, and services at CPC and EMC. Proposals for this competition should fall within the range of RL 5 to RL 8; applicants to this competition should clearly identify and address one or more of the following priorities in their proposal.

Priority CTB-1: Improvements to data assimilation systems, including integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI)/Machine Learning (ML) methods, that support short-range climate monitoring and prediction, with a focus on ocean, sea ice and land data assimilation using the Joint Effort for Data-Assimilation Integration (JEDI), while also contributing to coupled Global Data Assimilation System (GDAS) developed for Global Forecast System (GFS)/Global Ensemble Forecast System (GEFS)/Seasonal Forecast System (SFS). Projects targeting enhancements to current data assimilation (DA) systems toward innovations in coupled DA may also be considered. Additionally, enhancements to methods used to create reanalyses, or enhancements to existing reanalysis datasets that improve current climate monitoring and prediction products, including drought monitoring/prediction are encouraged.

https://www.grants.gov

Priority CTB-2: Developmental activities to accelerate the Seasonal Forecast System (SFS), the S2S portion of the Unified Forecast System (UFS). Proposed activities may include the development of new methods (such as AI/ML methods) or improvements to existing physics parameterizations, including scale- and aerosol-aware parameterizations, using the Common Community Physics Package (CCPP), coupled system model conservation properties, physically based marine (ocean/sea-ice/waves) component stochastic perturbations for UFS S2S ensemble applications, stochastic and numerical representations/perturbations of the coupling (e.g. of fluxes/interfaces), mathematical methods for process level diagnostics and verifications as related to climate-scale modes of variability (such as Madden-Julian Oscillation, North Atlantic Oscillation, Quasi-Biennial Oscillation, El Nino-Southern Oscillation, etc.), and improvements to UFS model components to help reduce systematic biases. To facilitate the science priorities, proposed activities may target software enhancements to increase code efficiency for fast, asynchronous input and output across the model components.

Priority CTB-3: Activities leading to improvements to methods used to make S2S outlooks, including model post-processing via innovative statistical techniques, applications of existing statistical techniques (possibly AI/ML methods), and probabilistic S2S forecasts. Model and outlook diagnostic and verification tools, particularly those compatible with or extending Model Evaluation Tools (METplus), those that help diagnose process problems, and those that fill EMC Verification System gaps are encouraged. These techniques should be applicable to existing operational NOAA numerical models and ensemble modeling suites, such as those included in the North American Multi-Model Ensemble (NMME), or possibly to NOAA’s operational outlooks. Ideally projects supporting concepts such as multi-model combinations, extraction of information above currently employed methods, and future ensembling strategies by informing optimization strategies are particularly encouraged to apply. The development of innovative products that meet a new/unique, validated stakeholder need could also be considered a favorable attribute of a proposal.

Fire Weather Testbed (FWT) Priorities: The FWT mission is to transition advanced technologies and new applications to operational platforms as quickly as possible. The FWT is managed by the OAR Global Systems Laboratory in Boulder, Colorado, in collaboration with NWS and NESDIS.

Priority FWT-1: Fire Weather forecast verification and predictability:

a. Develop fire weather verification datasets, success metrics and tools for any or all stages of fire conditions and evolution (i.e. fire spread and smoke verification data sets);

b. Further develop and improve existing operational fire weather environmental parameters and end user-oriented verification datasets in poorly observed environments;

c. Perform research to determine the microscale to mesoscale environmental conditions, using operationally-available tools and datasets, most responsible for rapid fire spread at timescales of minutes to hours.

Priority FWT-2: Social science research and decision support services: Apply and integrate relevant social and behavioral science theoretical frameworks and/or methodologies that support the Fire Weather Testbed, including but not limited to co-production/development approaches that:

a. Improve fire weather end-users’ ability to receive, assess, understand, and respond to forecasts, warnings, and Impact-Based Decision Support Services (IDSS) for wildland fire hazards. This includes, but is not limited to:

○ improving their comprehension of data, products, and tools needed before, during, and after a wildland fire;

○ improving how to effectively convey probabilistic, intensity, and timing information via actionable risk messaging.

b. Improve forecasters’ use of long-lead (days to week 2) and subseasonal (weeks 3-6) fire weather forecasting data, techniques, and guidance to support IDSS needed during this longer-term decision timeline.

Hazardous Weather Testbed (HWT) Priorities: The HWT is a facility jointly-managed by the OAR National Severe Storms Laboratory, the NWS Storm Prediction Center (SPC), and the NWS Norman Weather Forecast Office, all located at the National Weather Center in Norman, Oklahoma. The HWT serves as a critical step in the process of bringing new hazardous weather science to NWS operations by examining ways to increase the lead-time and accuracy for weather and water forecasts and warnings for severe convective weather.

Priority HWT-1: Identify and validate concepts and techniques to improve convection-allowing/resolving ensemble forecast system performance from the rapidly updating, very short-term (next-few hours) through the next few days for tornado, large hail, damaging wind, and lightning applications, including sensitivity to factors such as number of ensemble members, data assimilation methodology, experimental observation systems, scale-appropriate initial conditions and lateral boundary condition perturbations, physics diversity, and use of artificial intelligence and machine-learning approaches.

Priority HWT-2: Identify and validate innovative post-processing and verification techniques for deterministic models and ensembles across spatial and temporal scales to create skillful and reliable probabilistic thunderstorm and severe hazard threat guidance from the very short term (i.e., next hour) through the week-two forecast period in support of advancing probabilistic forecast information delivery. In addition to developing reliable techniques, projects may include assessment of the limits to predictability for these hazards.

Priority HWT-3: Identify and validate via testbed demonstrations new high temporal and spatial resolution in-situ and remotely-sensed observation datasets and dynamically consistent 3-D objective data analysis techniques to provide the best state of the current environment and storm characteristics. This would lead to improving the detection, tracking, and analysis of severe convective phenomena (i.e. tornado, hail, strong winds, etc.) and to support warning, nowcasts, and short-term forecasts for severe convective weather hazards.

Priority HWT-4: Apply and integrate relevant social and behavioral science theoretical frameworks and/or methodologies that support the Hazardous Weather Testbed to improve forecasters’ use of convection-allowing/resolving data, techniques, and guidance, as well as end-users’ ability to receive, assess, understand, and respond to forecasts and warnings for severe convective hazards, including understanding and messaging of probabilistic, intensity, and timing information.

Hurricane and Ocean Testbed (HOT) Priorities: The HOT mission is to accelerate the transfer of promising products and services, focused on tropical weather and marine phenomena, into operational forecast centers. HOT is managed by the NWS National Hurricane Center (NHC) and the OAR Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, both located in Miami, Florida.

Priority HOT-1: Improved near real-time two-dimensional analysis of the near-surface wind and wave field in tropical cyclones (TC), including incorporating all available data sources (remote sensing, aircraft reconnaissance, ground-based radar, etc) for rapid analysis of the TC structure and hazards: center location, maximum sustained winds, radius of maximum winds, wind radii, significant wave height and associated uncertainty of each parameter.

Priority HOT-2: Improved guidance on the best supplemental observing system strategies (when and where to deploy crewed or uncrewed systems, supplemental rawinsondes, satellite targeting, etc.) that take into account all available observing platforms and consider forecasters’ use of data as well as data assimilation needs for operational models, including data addition and data denial studies; enhance, improve, and/or automate the real-time flight planning software for forecasters.

Priority HOT-3: Tools and techniques to improve TC guidance (0-7 days) and/or improvements to forecasters’ ability to interrogate guidance. This could include developing new post-processing techniques or data-driven AI models to provide skillful and reliable probabilistic forecasts, improving “early” models, developing new consensus techniques, incorporating ensemble guidance into existing consensus techniques, etc. The resulting guidance will be used to predict:

● The full two-dimensional surface wind field and wave heights, achieved by leveraging all available dynamical ensemble systems, AI/ML, and/or statistical post-processing approaches;

● Rapid TC intensity changes;

● TC genesis to support pre-genesis disturbance track, intensity, size, and hazard forecasts at both the short-range (0-48 hours) and the medium-range (48-168 hours).

Priority HOT-4: Tools to help forecasters better interpret and integrate disparate real-time observational data (e.g. remote sensing, aircraft reconnaissance, etc.) to more quickly assess the TC location, intensity and three-dimensional structure. Examples include: cross-validating measurements from various reconnaissance sources (e.g., flight-level winds, SFMR, dropsondes) using statistical or AI/ML techniques, Large Eddy Simulation (LES), or others; probabilistic satellite-based classifications; statistical assessments of the current TC structure and intensity and associated uncertainty; capacity to calculate important diagnostic quantities from dropwindsondes "on the ground" from full resolution data within the NHC computational framework.

Priority HOT-5 - Tools to enable forecasters to diagnose numerical weather prediction (NWP) model characteristics, especially hurricane models, compared to available observations.

Examples include: NWP initialization, vortex tilt, and surface wind field structure. Ideally, projects will leverage relationships between NWP and observational differences to provide novel forecast guidance for forecasters.

Hydrometeorology Testbed (HMT) Priorities: The HMT sits at the NWS Weather Prediction Center in College Park, MD, partnered with OAR Physical Sciences Laboratory in Boulder, Colorado, with goals of improving forecasts of extreme precipitation (e.g. convection) that leads to flash flooding and precipitation that leads to winter weather and its impacts (i.e. snow, sleet, freezing rain, atmospheric rivers).

Priority HMT-1: Improve probabilistic flash flood and winter precipitation forecasting. Identify and validate concepts and techniques to improve NOAA’s convection-allowing/resolving ensemble forecast system (e.g. Rapid Refresh Forecast System) performance from the rapidly updating, short-term (next-few hours) through the next few days for snowfall, flash flooding, ice accumulation, precipitation type, and atmospheric rivers. Other examples of forecast challenges are: event timing, duration, multi-day threats, intensity, rates, position of rain-freezing precip-snow line, melt level/snow level, and forecast risk.

Priority HMT-2: Improve post-processing and verification for flash flood and winter precipitation forecasts. Identify and validate new or improved post-processing and verification techniques for NOAA’s regional and/or global deterministic models and ensembles across spatial and temporal scales to create skillful and reliable probabilistic flash flood and winter precipitation hazard guidance from the short term through the Day 10 forecast period in support of Probabilistic IDSS.

Priority HMT-3: Enhance forecaster use of probabilistic information. Identify and validate new or improved ways of enhancing forecaster use of probabilistic precipitation (frozen or liquid) information from the short-term (next-few hours) through Day 10 , including 1) best practices for conveying the uncertainty inherent in these forecasts (i.e. the possibility of different types of messaging for different time scales, different stakeholders, and different meteorological phenomena) and 2) applying and integrating social and behavioral science theoretical frameworks and/or methodologies to improve forecasts and end-users ability to receive, assess, understand, and respond to these probabilistic forecasts and warnings for flash flood or winter weather hazards. Proposals could utilize existing probabilistic tools developed at NOAA, such as Dynamic Ensemble-based Scenarios for IDSS (DESI). For more information on these existing tools, please see the General Information Sheet.

Priority HMT-4: Improve atmospheric forcings for hydrologic models. Identify and validate new or improved methods, data assimilation and models, to evaluate and improve atmospheric forcings for NOAA hydrologic models. This could include evaluation and/or improvements to how high-resolution forecast guidance, extreme precipitation events, and longer-lead time prediction are used in existing NOAA hydrologic models.

C. Program Authority

Public Law 115-25 Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017, 15 U.S.C.

8512(c).

II. Award Information

A. Funding Availability

The total available funding and total per-project (or per-project-per-year) funding limits for each project under this competition are identified below. These estimates are based on either actual or anticipated NOAA funding availability, and may not divide evenly depending on project submissions. For the case of collaborative multi-institution projects, the amounts identified below are per-project (or annual project total) amounts and not per-institution amounts. Please confirm that the requested funding amounts in your application’s budget satisfy these stated maximum limits before submitting your application to this competition. Any proposal that exceeds the stated per-project or per-project-per-year funding limit for this competition will be rejected and not reviewed.

Funds allocated for this competition may be altered depending on the number and quality of proposals submitted within this competition, and federal funding appropriations. Funding of any proposal is contingent upon the availability of these NOAA funds. “M” refers to millions of U.S.

dollars. “K” refers to thousands of U.S. dollars.

Testbeds Anticipated total Testbeds competition funding per year: $4.2M Expected number of funded projects: 13-15 projects Maximum funding limit per project per year: $300K

In the event of a lapse in government appropriations, any changes to this published timeline will be posted to Grants.gov. Pre-award spending is authorized 90 days prior to the start date of the award. However, all costs incurred before NOAA makes the award are at the recipient's risk (i.e., NOAA is not required to reimburse such costs if for any reason the recipient does not receive an award or if the award is less than anticipated and inadequate to cover such costs).

B. Project/Award Period

The maximum time period of awards and recommended project start date for this competition are outlined below. Any proposal that exceeds the stated project award period will be rejected and not reviewed. Applicants are advised to use the recommended award start date in their project schedule and other planning materials in their proposal.

http://grants.gov

Testbeds Maximum Award Length: 3 years Start Date: August 1, 2025

C. Type of Funding Instrument

The funding instrument for these awards will be either a grant or a cooperative agreement. If it is proposed or anticipated that NOAA employees will be substantially involved in the research or implementation of the project, the funding instrument will be a cooperative agreement. Examples of substantial involvement may include, but are not limited to, collaboration between NOAA scientists and a recipient scientist or contemplation by NOAA of detailing federal personnel to work on proposed projects. NOAA will make decisions regarding the use of a cooperative agreement or grant on a case-by-case basis based on the nature of the work proposed in the application package. All awards that fund projects intending to use one or more of NOAA’s testbeds are expected to be awarded as a cooperative agreement due to the planned involvement of NOAA staff in the testbed demonstration testing. Funding for contractual arrangements for services and products for delivery to NOAA is not available under this announcement.

Approved funding allocated for collaborators at federal NOAA institutions shall be awarded using the Line Office Funds Transfer or the Direct Cite Process. Inter-Agency Agreement (IAA) fund transfers to non-NOAA federal agencies, or non-NOAA Federally Funded R&D Centers (FFRDCs) that are not legally authorized to receive financial assistance awards, are not permitted under the funding opportunities in this notice. See Section III.A for more details. Non-NOAA federal collaborators are permitted to partner with eligible applicants as unfunded collaborators.

For multi-institutional proposals involving investigators from separate institutions, awards for federal assistance will be issued to each separate institution that submits an approved proposal.

III. Eligibility Information

A. Eligible Applicants

Applicants are responsible for ensuring that they are eligible for this competition and identify with the appropriate title listed hereafter. The following entities are eligible and encouraged to participate in this funding opportunity, in conjunction with the Weather Program office: any public or private corporation, partnership, or other association or entity or any State, political subdivision of a State, Tribal government or agency or officer thereof. Non-NOAA 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 a match. If any applicants requesting funding are ineligible, the application(s) will be rejected without review.

To be eligible to apply or receive an award, applicant organizations must complete and maintain three system registrations and access to include: SAM.gov, Grants.gov, and eRA Commons. For each, the complete registration process can take 4 to 6 weeks, so applicants must begin this activity as soon as possible and well before the proposal due date. For more information on how to meet these registration and application submission requirements without errors, we advise all to carefully review relevant eRA Applicant and Grantee Training modules:

https://www.commerce.gov/ocio/programs/gems/applicant-and-grantee-training. Additionally, we advise that all applicants carefully read “Additional Application Package Forms” within the “Full Proposal Required Elements” section below.

No foreign applicants based outside of the U.S. may request funding.

Applicability to Federal Employees and Federal Contractors: Federal employees (hereafter referred to as “federal collaborator(s)”) may serve as co-Principal Investigators (co-PIs) or co-Investigators (co-Is) but their salary costs are ineligible expenses to be covered by awards from this NOFO. NOAA Federal applicants are required to partner with one or more eligible non-federal institution(s) who would submit the application for the competition through Grants.gov per instructions in Section IV.K “Other Submission Requirements.” Eligibility also depends on the statutory authority that permits NOAA to fund the proposed activity. For the purposes of this funding announcement, prospective PIs that are also employed as federal contractors have the same eligibility restrictions as Federal employees.

Costs incurred by NOAA federal collaborators are eligible for funding through this NOFO only if they fit into one of the categories listed below. Further details are provided in the attached General Information Sheet.

● Allowed: NOAA federal collaborator travel is only eligible in critical project-dependent cases. Other allowable expenses include project-critical equipment, indirect costs for NOAA affiliate institutions, infrastructure, and testbed-related costs.

● NOT Allowed: Conference and workshop travel. Any other direct funding for federal institutions, including employee salaries or other costs not listed as eligible in Section III.A, will not be considered as part of this funding opportunity.

All funded investigators must assure and verify, if requested, that they will not be allocated for greater than 100% of their annual employment time should their proposal be selected for funding. NOAA will verify this requirement if the proposal is recommended for funding.

B. Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement

No cost sharing is required under this announcement.

C. Other Criteria that Affect Eligibility https://www.commerce.gov/ocio/programs/gems/applicant-and-grantee-training

None.

IV. Application and Submission Information

A. Address to Request Application Package

Application packages for full proposals are available at:

https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/apply-for-grants.html. There is no similar official application package for Letters of Intent (LOI) other than the requirements identified below in Section IV.E.

B. Content and Form of Application

Applicants are required to submit a full application and are strongly encouraged to submit an LOI. Applications must adhere to the provisions under the "Full Proposal Required Elements" section 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. Some helpful resources for applicants can be found at this website: http://wpo.noaa.gov/nofo.

C. Personally Identifiable Information (PII)

The submitting applicant must redact all 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.

D. Special Information

1. MULTI-INSTITUTION PROPOSALS

For joint projects involving applications from multiple institutions, a PI must be identified for each institution submitting an application. All applications for that project must have the same title and identify the same Lead PI, co-PIs, and co-Is on the applications’ title pages. The designated Lead PI and their associated institution will then be responsible for additional documents as described in Section IV.D.3.

For multi-institutional proposals that include multiple applications, each partner or PI institution wishing to receive funds directly from NOAA is responsible for submitting to Grants.gov a separate proposal package with identical project titles, title pages, project narratives, and project start dates. If any non-federal institution proposed to receive funding directly from NOAA as part of a multi-institution collaborative project fails to submit a full application package, then all partner proposals may be rejected without review. Federal institutions may not submit an application; please refer to the section below for NOAA Federal Collaborators.

https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/apply-for-grants.html

All external proposal package components must be identical among all separate proposal submissions to Grants.gov for a multi-institution collaborative project, with two exceptions: 1) each institution’s separate budget information tables and budget justification (which will apply only to their own institution’s portion of the collaborative project and not the budgets for any other funded institution); and 2) any other institution-specific documents. Each identical title page must list all funded and unfunded investigators and their institutional affiliation(s), even if from a separate funded institution, for a given joint project.

2. SUBAWARDS

If a subaward agreement has been arranged with the funded co-PIs such that the full award amount will be distributed directly from NOAA to one institution, then only one application package must be submitted (by the Lead-PI’s institution) to Grants.gov. Any institutions receiving funding through a subaward by another institution and not directly from NOAA should not submit an application package. However, the subaward should be clearly listed in the full application package’s budget justification immediately below the budget table (Section IV.D.3.n).

3. REQUIREMENTS FOR NOAA FEDERAL COLLABORATORS

Any NOAA federal employee listed as a co-PI, co-I, or collaborator on the title page of a proposal (if eligible) must have provided explicit pre-approval to the PI to be identified as a contributor to the proposed project. Proposals including a federal co-PI, co-I, or collaborator who is requesting funding should include a signed Request for NOAA Federal Support (see Section III.A for a list of allowable and non-allowable expenses).

Any proposal that intends to work with a testbed and/or use DESI should include a Testbed Collaboration Form (attached to this announcement) that should be completed and submitted by the Lead PI as part of the proposal package. On Grants.gov the Testbed Collaboration Form will be accessible to applicants under this announcement number in the related documents section.

The Testbed Collaboration Form must be completed by the NOAA Testbed Manager of each testbed proposed or by Global Systems Laboratory (GSL) for use of DESI to host the proposed project’s experiment(s). Further details are provided in the General Information Sheet attached under the “Related Documents” tab of this announcement.

Request for NOAA Federal Support for Federal collaborator’s funding request(s) should be signed by the NOAA collaborating organization’s Director outlining the funding request(s).

Additionally, Federal collaborator costs should be included in the budget summary on each application’s title page and be identified in the Lead-PI institution’s budget summary and budget justification described in Section IV.D.3. However, federal institution costs should not be included in the non-federal PI’s SF-424 budget documents.

If institutional indirect (overhead) charges are included in the budget, the applicant must have an approved negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement and must include it as a part of the application package. Any NOAA Laboratory overhead costs at this pre-agreed-upon rate (such as those required of affiliated NOAA Cooperative Institutes) may be requested as part of the proposal’s budget.

All eligible funding requested by a NOAA institution, to cover overhead or otherwise, will count against the maximum total project cost as specified for the competition (Section II.A), and the proposed project-total cost must not exceed that limit. Requested costs for NOAA federal collaborators (excluding indirect overhead costs) must not exceed 20% of the project total cost.

The request for these funds will be considered by the WPO Program Manager and, if approved, will be provided directly to the NOAA organization if the proposal is selected. If this proposed funding is not properly and clearly documented, the application may be rejected without review.

E. Letter of Intent (LOI)

Letter of Intent (LOI) Submission Date: Pre-proposal Letters of Intent (LOIs) are strongly encouraged for potential applicants and must be received by 5:00 pm ET on October 2, 2024 in order to receive a pre-proposal review. Letters of Intent should include the following information listed below. For further information please reference Section IV.

Prior to submitting a full application package (proposal) for the competition identified in this announcement, all PIs are strongly encouraged (but not required) to submit an LOI for each planned project. Only one LOI should be submitted by the Lead PI for multi-institution projects.

There is no limit to the number of unique LOIs that may be submitted by a single applicant.

The purpose of the LOI process is twofold: 1) to provide the funding agency with a description of the projects that PIs are considering submitting for funding, and 2) to inform potential applicants whether their proposed project aligns with the competition objectives and priorities.

Full applications will be encouraged only for LOIs deemed to be most aligned with program objectives and priorities. Applicants who have not been encouraged may still submit a full application. While LOIs are strongly encouraged, applicants are not required to submit them and may submit a full application even if they did not submit an LOI.

LOIs will be reviewed by WPO against the Program Objectives and Priorities of this funding competition to assess potential value of the proposed research and relevance to stated program goals. PIs will be provided a concise summary of the review that led to the non-binding recommendation.

Each LOI should be submitted through the smartsheet form at the following address:

https://tinyurl.com/FY25WPOCompetition, or by email to oar.wpo.nofocompetition@noaa.gov

The LOI should include the following information:

1. Proposal Title;

2. The name(s) of all PI(s), co-PIs, and co-Investigators, as well as each of their home institution(s);

3. The NOFO competition to which the proposal is applying, and that competition’s https://tinyurl.com/FY25WPOCompetition mailto:oar.wpo.nofocompetition@noaa.gov priority(ies) the proposed work will address;

4. Planned products/outputs;

5. Planned impacts/benefits/outcomes;

6. Planned methodology and timelines;

7. The proposed starting and ending Readiness Levels (RLs), any proposed use of NOAA

Testbeds, HPC resources, and whether a NOAA Transition Plan has been developed for earlier work on this topic;

8. Potential operational, commercial, or other end-user adopter(s) of the project outputs; and

9. A simple budget table to summarize the funding allocation.

F. Full Application Package

Full Application Submission Date: Full applications must be received by 5:00 pm Eastern Time (ET) on December 2, 2024. Applications received after this deadline will not be considered. Award notifications are expected by June 2025. Financial awards for this competition will be for a maximum of three years in length depending on the program, and are recommended to begin in August 2025, as described in Section II.B “Project/Award Period.”

FORMAT. All pages should be single-spaced and set in 12-point font with one-inch margins on

8.5 x 11 inch paper. The proposal should be submitted as a PDF file, dated, display page numbers and organized in the order listed below.

● PROJECT NARRATIVE (items with asterisk (*) are not included in the 14 page limit)

○ Title Page

○ Abstract page

○ Problem/Opportunity Statement

○ Methods and Activities

○ Products/Outputs

○ Impacts, Benefits, Outcomes, & Recipients

○ Schedule with Key Milestones

○ Outreach and Education

○ Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility

○ Data Management Plan*

○ Reference List*

○ Curricula Vitae (CV)*

○ Current and Pending Support*

○ Underserved Groups Information Request (VOLUNTARY)

○ Letters of Support (if needed)*

○ Other Attachments (see section IV.D.3.(m))

● BUDGET*

○ Budget table

○ Budget justification

● STANDARD FORMS*

○ Standard Form 424 - Application for Federal Assistance

○ Standard Form 424A - Budget Information - Non-Construction Programs

○ Standard Form 424B - Assurances - Non-Construction Program

○ Form CD-511 - Certifications Regarding Lobbying

○ Standard Form LLL - Disclosure of Lobbying Activities

PROJECT NARRATIVE: (14 pages plus additional attachments)

The project narrative shall not exceed 14 pages, including Sections IV.D.3.(a–i) below (including the title page, abstract, and figures). All other required attachments identified in Section IV.D.3.j–o are not included in this 14 page limitation (i.e., the Data Management Plan, Curricula Vitae (CVs), reference list, Underserved Groups Information Request, Letter(s) of Support, Testbed Collaboration Form(s), and Budget Documents). Project narratives (sections a-i listed below) that exceed 14 pages will be rejected without review. Proposers are encouraged to indicate in the project narrative the extent to which, if any, generative AI technology was used and how it was used to develop their proposal.

For multi-institution projects, each institution is required to submit an identical project narrative clearly describing the work contributions of each funded investigator. For the purposes of compliance in the eRA system, this is a requirement to chronicle how each institution contributes to the overall project scope of work.

The Application, including the Project Narrative (sections a - i), supplementary material (sections j - m), budget information (section n), and standard forms (section o) must contain the following elements:

a) TITLE PAGE (one page): Provide the following information:

● For each PI, co-PI, and co-Investigator (co-I) as well as each respective institutional representative, include their full name, title, organization, telephone number, email address; the mailing address for the institution’s Lead PI;

● The total requested funds for each annual period for the project as a whole, and for each individual institution (including each internal federal and external non-federal institution), including indirect costs;

● The Funding Opportunity Number, NOFO Competition to which the proposal is applying, and the relevant competition’s priority(ies); and

● The starting and ending Readiness Levels (RLs).

For an example title page template, please visit wpo.noaa.gov/how-to-apply/

For a multi-institution proposal, each institution’s respective application must include the names of all institutions along with the PI information for each institution and total requested funding for each annual period for each institution on the title page. If the requested information does not fit onto a single title page with reasonable effort, then a second title page that does not count against the proposal page limit may be added. Additional information, including examples, can http://wpo.noaa.gov/how-to-apply/ be found in the General Information Sheet.

b) ABSTRACT: The abstract must appear on a separate one page document. Instead of using a single paragraph format to write the body of your abstract, we ask that you provide a concise response to several prompts. Each response should be a maximum of 50 words (not to exceed 1-2 sentences). Please ensure your descriptions are clear, concise, and informative. If funded, NOAA may, at its own discretion, make publicly visible the abstract or components of it to increase public awareness of research knowledge. Therefore, avoid technical jargon, use plain-language, and focus on the key points that highlight the significance and impact of your project. Please provide concise responses to the following prompts:

● Project Goal: Describe the primary goal or purpose of the project.

● Problem/Opportunity Statement: Explain the specific operational problem you are aiming to address or the opportunity you are exploring.

● Methodology/Activities to be Performed: Summarize the approach, methods, or activities you will use to conduct the research.

● Primary Project Products/Outputs: Describe the main output(s) or product(s) you expect to result from your project.

● Expected Results, Outcomes, and Benefits: Outline the expected results and outcomes of this project, as well as the intended operational and/or societal benefits.

● Intended Beneficiaries and Recipients: Include who you anticipate will use the outputs and how they will (or may) be applied.

Additional information, including examples, can be found in the General Information Sheet and by visiting wpo.noaa.gov/how-to-apply/.

c) PROBLEM/OPPORTUNITY STATEMENT: Identify the problem and/or the opportunity and its relevance to one or more of the competition’s science priorities identified in Section I.B.

Please reference the priorities listed under this competition. If appropriate, concisely cite results from prior relevant research and/or previously-funded NOAA projects that contributed to the proposed research concept, and if applicable, provide the NOAA project award number, title, and period of performance for any previously-funded NOAA projects performed either by you or other researchers. Additionally, please indicate if a NOAA Transition Plan has been developed for earlier work on this topic.

d) METHODS AND ACTIVITIES: Concisely describe the method(s) and key activities that will be conducted to successfully complete the project. This may include information on model frameworks, simulations, HPC availability, data collection, analysis, collaborations needed (including needed operational collaborations for transition), and necessary travel (associated with data collection, project meetings, testbed planning meetings, testbed experiments, and the presentation of results at scientific conferences, as appropriate). Applicants are encouraged to consider contingencies in the event of scenarios that restrict travel or completion of other project activities, such as those resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

http://wpo.noaa.gov/how-to-apply/

If applicable, the methods section should also include information on:

● Institutional Review Board (IRB): Applicants submitting proposals that involve the use of human subjects should state so clearly in their Methods, and also include appropriate milestones in the schedule for completion of the IRB process. If the recipient seeks agency assistance conducting or sponsoring any collection of information, Office of Management and Budget (OMB)/Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) clearance will be needed. Applicants should take this factor into account in planning their project.

Additional information about requirements for the inclusion of human subjects, including applicability to focus groups and testbed experiments, can be found in the General Information Sheet;

● High-performance computing (HPC): The availability of HPC the project has access to ensure success; and

● Use of Testbeds: Any proposed testing in one or more of the NOAA Testbeds.

e) PROJECT PRODUCTS/OUTPUTS: Identify the primary planned products/outputs. Outputs could include, but are not limited to: research-guided recommendations, methodologies, tools, software applications, algorithms, other technologies,…