NOAA-NMFS-FHQ-2016-2004689 FFO Report.pdf

ANNOUNCEMENT OF FEDERAL FUNDING OPPORTUNITY

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

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

Funding Opportunity Title: Fisheries International Cooperation and Assistance Program

Announcement Type: Initial

Funding Opportunity Number: NOAA-NMFS-FHQ-2016-2004689

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 11.463, Habitat Conservation

Dates: Full applications must be submitted to Grants.gov by 11:59:59 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time March 31, 2016.

Funding Opportunity Description: The purpose of this notice is to request applications for special projects and programs associated with NMFS Office of International Affairs and Seafood Inspection (IASI) strategic plan and mission goals (http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/ia/), as well as to provide the general public with information and guidelines on how IASI will select proposals and administer discretionary Federal assistance under this National Marine Fisheries Service Fisheries International Cooperation and Assistance Program (FICAP) - FY 2016 Announcement.

This program is a mechanism to encourage research, policy, and outreach, innovative projects, or sponsorship that are not addressed through our other competitive discretionary programs.

Funding for potential projects in this notice is contingent upon the availability of Fiscal Year 2016 appropriations. Applicants are hereby given notice that funds have not yet been appropriated for any potential activities in this notice. Publication of this announcement does not oblige IASI to review an application, or to award any specific project, or to obligate any available funds.

FULL ANNOUNCEMENT TEXT

I. Funding Opportunity Description

A. Program Objective

The purpose of this notice is to request applications for special projects and programs associated with the NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) International Affairs and Seafood Inspection (IASI) strategic plan and mission goals (http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/ia/) aimed to promote international cooperation to achieve effective and responsible marine stewardship and ensure sustainable global fisheries and protected marine species management. This funding opportunity is a mechanism to build international cooperation that supports science-based management by encouraging research, policy, and outreach, innovative projects, or sponsorships, and strengthen our existing international development work building strategic partnerships with other nations, particularly with developing countries. NMFS has the authority to engage in international cooperation and development activities with other countries in order to implement the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the High Seas Driftnet Fishing Moratorium Protection Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the Whaling Convention Act.

Funding for activities described in this notice is contingent upon the availability of Fiscal Year 2016 appropriations. If available, the funds to be used will have been appropriated by Congress to the Department of Commerce, but not specifically for these activities as stated below. Publication of this announcement does not oblige IASI to review an application beyond an initial administrative review, or to award any specific project, or to obligate any available funds.

B. Program Priorities

The NMFS Office of International Affairs and Seafood Inspection (IASI) issues this funding opportunity to address one or more of the following high priority areas:

1. Engage in efforts to address Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing in West Africa, building on previous efforts in the region, including assessing levels of IUU fishing, assistance in the development or revision of fisheries management laws, training for fisheries prosecutors and enforcement agents, and facilitation of regional capacity for fisheries monitoring, control, and surveillance (MCS). Continue to build and strengthen capable and accountable government institutions by promoting increased regional cooperation and exchange of information in fisheries MCS and legal reform in the fisheries sector;

2. Engage in efforts to reduce IUU fishing in South and South East Asia trawl fisheries through the application of fisheries management plans. Priorities include enhancement of regional engagement, sharing and piloting of best management practices appropriate to points of entry into trade, supporting applied projects that require enhanced coordination of government, private sector and civil society (including universities), and enhancing the coordination of aquaculture and capture fisheries industries where clear synergies exist, such as in fish meal and fish oil production;

3. Support initiatives and efforts to obtain more and improved data on shark and billfish species from the artisanal and the semi/industrial sectors operating in West African countries. Areas of focus are the harmonization of data, distribution of data, transparent and efficient processing of data, and obtaining technologically simple storage methods to strengthen data collection and its use as a management tool;

4. Support efforts to strengthen knowledge of the trade of sharks, skates, and rays, including a detailed characterization of this trade;

5. Ensure that the international trade of species listed on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), is legal and sustainable, particularly in priority regions of West Africa and Latin America/Caribbean;

6. Support initiatives to enhance the capacity of provincial or district level personnel (smaller scale government institutions) who are responsible for data collection, analysis and applied management as they relate to existing projects in the priority region of Asia-Pacific;

7. Support initiatives, particularly in developing countries to estimate marine mammal population abundance, bycatch and to find effective measures to reduce that bycatch to sustainable levels in fisheries where the product is exported to the United States;

8. Support research, development, and implementation of fishing gear in the Upper Gulf of California that does not result in the bycatch of vaquita;

9. Ensure the development of sustainable legal fisheries by continuing to promote the automated approach to data analysis and data dissemination to improve on product traceability by providing relevant data for management decisions and enhance monitoring for local communities, municipal governments, and national government management agencies; and

10. Support initiatives to strengthen and enforce legal frameworks where coastal marine spatial planning is being used as a management tool and continue supporting efforts to promote integrated coastal zone management.

C. Program Authority

The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. § 1829) authorizes NOAA to undertake activities to promote improved monitoring and compliance for high seas fisheries, or fisheries governed by international fishery management agreements.

The High Seas Driftnet Fishing Moratorium Protection Act (16 U.S.C. § 1826k) authorizes NOAA to support equivalent conservation measures through international support and assistance.

The Marine Mammal Protection Act (16 U.S.C. § 1378) authorizes NOAA to undertake an international program with other nations for the protection and conservation of all marine mammals covered by the Act, including (i) cooperative research into alternative methods of locating and catching yellowfin tuna which do not involve the taking of marine mammals,

(ii) cooperative research on the status of affected marine mammal population stocks, and (iii) reliable monitoring of the number, rate, and species of marine mammals taken by vessels of harvesting nations.

The Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. § 1537) authorizes NOAA to provide assistance for the worldwide protection of endangered species and threatened species.

The specific program authority will vary depending on the nature of the proposed project.

II. Award Information

A. Funding Availability

Funding for potential projects in this notice is contingent upon the availability of Fiscal Year 2016 appropriations. IASI anticipates between $1 to 1.5 million will be made available for this funding opportunity, which will be distributed among 10-20 projects and that awards will range from $25,000 to $100,000.

B. Project/Award Period

If approved for funding the anticipated start date for projects generally will be three to six months after receipt of proposals by IASI. Applications should generally be submitted for a one-year-award period of performance, but this may be negotiated if the application is recommended for funding. Multiple-year applications must specify the budget and activities for each year. Multi-year projects are usually funded only for an initial increment (usually the first year), and continued funding is contingent on satisfactory performance, continued relevance to the program mission and priorities, and availability of funds. Continuation of an award to extend funding or the period of performance is the sole discretion of NOAA. There is no assurance that a project will receive future funding.

C. Type of Funding Instrument

Selected applicants will either enter into a grant or a cooperative agreement depending upon the amount of IASI’s involvement in the project. Applications funded through cooperative agreements will include substantial involvement of IASI, which may include, but is not limited to, collaboration on the scope of work by means such as liaison activities between the grantee and NOAA personnel who are contributing data or expertise to the project, or other substantial involvement as described in the Department of Commerce Grants Manual, Chapter 5.C, at http://go.usa.gov/cgS7R.

III. Eligibility Information

A. Eligible Applicants

Eligible applicants are institutions of higher education, nonprofits, for-profit commercial organizations, international or foreign organizations or foreign public entities, organizations under the jurisdiction of foreign governments, individuals, and state, local and Indian Tribal governments.

If the applicant is a university that has a NOAA Joint or Cooperative Institute (CI), the institution is encouraged to submit an application that will be associated with the CI. The application must specify the name of the CI, its most recent award number, and the NOAA-approved research theme applicable to the work to be performed in the project narrative. The application must use the facilities and administrative rate (F&A or Indirect Cost Rate) associated with most recent CI award.

If the application is selected for funding, NMFS will notify the university that a separate competitive award will be issued with its own award number. However, the competitive award will include a Special Award Condition (SAC) that evidences the link between it and the CI award. The SAC will provide (1) that the university has submitted the proposal to be associated with the CI; (2) that any existing University/NOAA Memorandum Of Agreement will be incorporated by reference into the terms of the competitive award, and (3) that any progress report(s) for the competitive award must follow the timetable of and be submitted by the CI directly to the funding program. Copies of these progress reports will be attached to the CI's performance report as an appendix.

B. Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement

Cost sharing is not required; however, NMFS IASI strongly encourages applicants to leverage as much investment as possible. The nature of any cost sharing contribution (from recipient sources versus third party in kind goods and services) and the amount of any matching funds should be submitted within the proposal. Refer to 2 C.F.R. 200.306.

C. Other Criteria that Affect Eligibility

Not applicable.

IV. Application and Submission Information

A. Address to Request Application Package

Electronic application packages are strongly encouraged and are available at:

www.grants.gov. If this is not accessible for the applicant, paper copies of materials may be obtained from the official listed in Section VII. of this Announcement. Potential applicants are strongly urged to begin the registration process described in Section IV.C. and F. as soon as possible to allow sufficient time for an application to be received before the closing date.

Grants.gov requires applicants to register prior to submitting an application. Applicants (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)) are required to: (i) be registered with System for Award Management (SAM) before submitting an application; (ii) provide a valid unique entity identifier in the application; and (iii) continue to maintain an active SAM registration with current information at all times during when it has an active Federal award or an application or plan under consideration by a Federal awarding agency.

These registration processes can take several weeks and involve multiple steps. In order to allow sufficient time for these processes, applicants should begin the registration process as soon as possible.

If an applicant has not fully complied with the requirements by the time the Federal awarding agency is ready to make a Federal award, the Federal awarding agency 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.

Applications should be submitted using Grants.gov. If use of Grants.gov is impractical for technical or other reasons, paper copy applications will be accepted at the address listed in Section VII. Paper copies may be submitted by postal mail or commercial delivery service. Applications submitted by mail must include a SF-424 form with original ink or valid electronic signature and date from an authorized recipient organization representative, and must be stamped with an official U.S. Postal Service postmark or provided to a commercial carrier with tracking number and receipt on or before 11:59 pm Eastern Time on March 31, 2015; private metered postmarks are unacceptable. Paper applications received more than three business days after the deadline will not be reviewed, and applicants submitting by paper are responsible for tracking their applications. No email or fax copies will be accepted. To submit a hand-delivered application, applicants should make advance arrangements with NOAA by contacting the official listed in Section VII. of this Announcement, and the application must be received by 5 p.m. Eastern Time on March 31, 2015.

B. Content and Form of Application

Format Requirements.

All application materials should be composed in PDF or a common word processing format, and when printed out should meet all format requirements. All pages must be single-or double-spaced, printed or typed in at least 12-point font, and printable on 8.5-inch x 11-inch paper, with 1-inch margins.

Applicants must submit the following forms during submission of the application:

- Application for Federal Assistance (Form SF-424),

- Budget Information, Non-construction Programs (Form SF-424A), and

- Assurances, Non-construction Programs (Form SF-424B).

Applicants may submit the information typically included on these documents through the http://www.grants.gov/ website. The Department of Commerce Form(s) CD 511, "Certifications Regarding Debarment, Suspension and Other responsibility Matters; Drug Free Workplace Requirements and Lobbying;" and if applicable the SF-LLL lobbying form will be required with the application.

Brevity will assist reviewers and program staff in quickly evaluating proposals.

Therefore, the Project Description may not exceed 10 pages. Tables and visual materials, including charts, graphs, maps, photographs and other pictorial presentations are included in the 10-page limit. Title page, data management plans and/or access agreements as well as budgets and justifications, project summary, approved indirect cost rate documentation, literature cited, and previous, current and pending support sections do not count towards the 10-page limit. Additional supporting documentation may be provided in appendices that may be included with proposals but must not exceed a total of 10 pages in length. Such appendices may include information such as curriculum, resumes, and/or letters of endorsement. Additional informational material will be disregarded. Failure to follow the requirements may result in the rejection of the application.

2. Content Requirements.

The following information must be included:

a. Signed Form SF-424: The Form SF-424 must be signed by the authorized representative. Electronic signatures submitted through grants.gov satisfy this requirement.

b. Title Page (1-page limit): The title page identifies the project's title, total budget, start and end dates; and the Principal Investigator's (PI’s) and co-PI's names, affiliations, complete mailing addresses, email addresses, telephone numbers, and fax numbers.

c. Project Synopsis (1-page limit): It is critical that the project synopsis accurately describes the project being proposed and conveys all essential elements of the activities. It is imperative that potential applicants tie their proposals to one of the priority issues described in Section I.B., Program Priorities and state it here in the synopsis.

d. Project Description (10-page limit): The applicant should describe and justify the project being proposed and address each of the evaluation criteria as described below in Section V, Application Review Information. Project descriptions should include clear objectives and specific approaches to achieving those objectives, including methods, timelines, and expected outcomes.

e. Literature Cited: If applicable.

f. Assurances: The Form SF-424B must be completed and submitted for all non-construction applications.

g. Certification regarding debarment, suspension, and other responsibility matters;

drug free workplace requirements and lobbying: The applicant must complete and submit Form CD-511.

h. Resumes for each major participant.

i. Standard Application Forms: Please refer to the application package available through www.Grants.gov. Please review each form to determine which are required with submission. Each applicant may not be required to submit all forms listed, depending on the project type or applicant type.

j. NEPA Questionnaire. Applicants do not need to provide answers to the NOAA NEPA Questionnaire at this time. However, NOAA may require additional information from the applicant regarding potential environmental impacts prior to reviewing the application.

Refer to Section VI.B. of this announcement.

k. Budget and Budget Justification: Form SF-424A must be completed, and there should be an accompanying detailed budget justification. Indicate matching funds, if provided, in a separate column. Provide justifications for all budget items in sufficient detail to enable the reviewers to evaluate the appropriateness of the funding requested. The budget justification should be broken out and detailed using the same budget categories as the Form

SF- 424A.

Applicants proposing to use an approved Federal indirect cost (IDC) rate agreement are required to submit a copy of the signed indirect cost rate agreement with the application package. Applicants without an approved rate proposing indirect costs should refer to Section IV.E.

l. Data management plan. Refer to Section VI.B. of this announcement.

m. Previous, current, and pending support. Refer to http://go.usa.gov/cghYm.

C. Unique entity identifier and System for Award Management (SAM)

Grants.gov requires applicants to register prior to submitting an application. Applicants (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)) are required to: (i) be registered with System for Award Management (SAM) before submitting an application; (ii) provide a valid unique entity identifier in the application; and (iii) continue to maintain an active SAM registration with current information at all times during when it has an active Federal award or an application or plan under consideration by a Federal awarding agency.

D. Submission Dates and Times

Full applications can be submitted on a rolling basis starting from the publication date of this announcement up to 11:59:59 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on March 31, 2016.

Applications received after the deadline time will not be reviewed or considered for funding.

Applications shall be evaluated for funding generally within 3 to 6 months of receipt. An applicant can expect to receive either a rejection notice based on the initial prescreening review (if found ineligible), a rejection notice based on merit review or program restrictions, a request for additional information, and/or an award within that timeframe. Applicants should not assume prior knowledge on the part of NMFS as to the relative merits of the project described in the application.

When planning your submission timeline, please keep in mind that a free annual registration process in the System for Award Management (SAM) may take up to three weeks or more for new registrations, up to ten days or more for renewal registrations, and will likely take more time if problems are encountered. Refer to in addition to the time required for the SAM registration referenced in Section IV.F.,for details. In addition, if you submit an application via Grants.gov you will receive a series of e-mail notifications for up to two business days before learning via validation or rejection whether NOAA has received your application. NOAA considers validation as the time of receipt.

While applications should be submitted using Grants.gov, if use of Grants.gov is impractical for technical or other reasons, paper copy applications will be accepted at the address listed in Section IV.F. Paper copies may be submitted by postal mail or commercial delivery service. Applications submitted by mail must include a SF-424 form with original ink or valid electronic signature and date from an authorized recipient organization representative, and must be stamped with an official U.S. Postal Service postmark or provided to a commercial carrier with tracking number and receipt on or before 11:59 pm Eastern Time on March 31, 2015; private metered postmarks are unacceptable. Paper applications received more than two business days after the deadline will not be reviewed, and applicants submitting by paper are responsible for tracking their applications. No email or fax copies will be accepted. To submit a hand-delivered application, applicants should make advance arrangements with NOAA by contacting the official listed in Section IV.F. of this Announcement, and the application must be received by 5 p.m. Eastern Time on March 31, 2015.

Important: All applicants should be aware that adequate time must be factored into applicant schedules for delivery of the application. Electronic applicants are advised that volume on Grants.gov is currently extremely heavy, and if Grants.gov is unable to accept applications electronically in a timely fashion, applicants are encouraged to exercise their option to submit applications in paper format. Paper applicants should allow adequate time to ensure a paper application will be received on time, taking into account that guaranteed overnight carriers are not always able to fulfill their guarantees.

Paper applications must be postmarked or provided to a delivery service that provides a tracking number and receipt on or before the deadline of 11:59:59 p.m. Eastern Time on March 31, 2016 to the submission address in Section IV.F. Paper applications meeting the deadline must also be received within 2 business days of the deadline, and applicants are responsible for tracking their applications. Applications submitted via U.S. Postal Service must have an official postmark; private metered postmarks are not acceptable.

D. Intergovernmental Review

Applications submitted by state and local governments are subject to the provisions of Executive Order 12372, "Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs." Any applicant submitting an application for funding is required to complete item 16 on the Form SF-424 regarding clearance by the State Single Point of Contact (SPOC) established as a result of EO 12372. To find out about and comply with a State's process under EO 12372, the names, addresses and phone numbers of participating SPOC's are listed in the Office Management and Budget's home page at www.whitehouse.gov/omb/grants/spoc.html.

E. Funding Restrictions

Allowable Costs

Funds awarded cannot necessarily pay for all the costs that the recipient might incur in the course of carrying out the project. Allowable costs are determined by reference to the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements, codified at 2 C.F.R. Part 200. Generally, costs that are allowable include salaries, equipment, supplies, and training, as long as these are “necessary and reasonable.”

Indirect Costs

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

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

Lamar Revis, Grants Officer

NOAA Grants Management Division

1325 East West Highway

9th Floor

Silver Spring, Maryland 20910 lamar.revis@noaa.gov

F. Other Submission Requirements

1. Additional Information about Grants.gov

Applicants are strongly encouraged not to wait until the application deadline date to begin the application process through http://www.grants.gov. Grants.gov requires applicants to register prior to submitting an application. These free registration processes can take several weeks and involve multiple steps. In order to allow sufficient time for these processes, applicants should begin the registration process as soon as possible.

Proposals should be submitted through Grants.gov.

Specifically, to use Grants.gov, an applicant must have a Dun and Bradstreet Data Universal Number System (DUNS) number and be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM), https://www.sam.gov/portal/public/SAM/, and periodic renewals are required. Allow a minimum of five days to complete the SAM registration, although it may take three or more weeks if issues arise. (Note: Your organization’s Employer Identification Number (EIN) will be needed on the application form.) Applicants can receive a DUNS number at no cost by calling the dedicated toll-free DUNS Number request line at 1-866-705-5711 or online at http://fedgov/.dnb.com/webform.

Even if an applicant has registered with Grants.gov previously, the applicant's password may have expired or its registration may need to be renewed prior to submitting to Grants.gov., which may take ten days or more. Grants.gov will not accept submissions if the applicant has not been authorized or if credentials are incorrect. Authorizations and credential corrections can take several days or longer to establish.

After electronic submission of the application through Grants.gov, the person submitting the application will receive within the next 24 to 48 hours two email messages from Grants.gov updating them on the progress of their application. The first email will confirm receipt of the application by the Grants.gov system, and the second will indicate that the application has either been successfully validated by the system before transmission to the grantor agency or has been rejected because of errors. After the application has been validated, this same person will receive another email when the application has been downloaded by the Federal agency. Only validated applications are sent to NOAA for review, and the validation time is deemed the time NOAA received it.

These registration policies implement the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act, 31 U.S.C. 6106 Note, by enabling the use of a universal identifier and building on the quality of information available to the public. Applicants (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)) are required to: (i) be registered with System for Award Management (SAM) before submitting an application; (ii) provide a valid unique entity identifier in the application; and (iii) continue to maintain an active SAM registration with current information at all times during when it has an active Federal award or an application or plan under consideration by a Federal awarding agency.

If an applicant has not fully complied with the requirements by the time the Federal awarding agency is ready to make a Federal award, the Federal awarding agency may determine that the applicant is not qualified to receive a Federal award and use that determination as a basis for making a Federal award to another applicant. See 2 C.F.R. Part 25 at http://go.usa.gov/cTbMk.

2. Paper proposals may be mailed to:

National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)

Christopher Rogers

Phone Number: 301-427-8375

Email: Christopher.Rogers@noaa.gov

1315 East-West Hwy

SSM3 #10648

Silver Spring, MD 20910-3282

V. Application Review Information

A. Evaluation Criteria

NMFS has standardized evaluation criteria for all competitive assistance announcements. The criteria for this funding opportunity are listed below. Applicants are required to adhere to all the noted submission requirements and to provide a demonstrable link and/or to emphasize manner in which study objectives results will serve to support IASI’s mission goals/priorities. Since proposals responding to this funding opportunity may vary significantly in their activities/objectives, assigning a set weight for each evaluation criterion is not feasible but is based on a total possible score of 100. The Program Office and/or Selection Official will determine which of the following criteria and weights will be applied. Some proposals, for example sponsorships, may not be able to address all the criteria like technical/scientific merit. However, it is in your best interest to prepare a proposal that can be easily evaluated against these five criteria.

1. Importance and/or relevance and applicability of proposed project to the mission goals (40 points):

This ascertains whether there is intrinsic value in the proposed work and/or relevance to NOAA, federal, regional, state, or local activities: i.e., how does the proposed activity enhance IASI’s mission goals? Proposals should also address significance/possibilities of securing productive results, i.e., does this study address an important problem?; if the aims of the application are achieved, how will scientific knowledge and/or science based management be advanced?; what will be the effect of these studies on the concepts or methods that drive this field?; what effect will the project have on improving public understanding of the role of NMFS IASI.

Proposals may also be scored for innovation, i.e., Does the project employ novel concepts, approaches or methods? Are the aims original and innovative? Does the project challenge existing paradigms or develop new methodologies or technologies? In addition, the data sharing plan in Section VI.B. will be considered in this criterion.

2. Technical/scientific merit (20 points):

This assesses whether the approach is technically sound and if the methods are appropriate, and whether there are clear project goals and objectives. Proposals should address the approach/soundness of design: i.e., are the conceptual framework, design, methods, and analyses adequately developed, well-integrated, and appropriate to the aims of the audiences to be engaged through the project? Does the applicant acknowledge potential problem areas and consider alternative tactics? This criterion will also evaluate the applicant's proposed methods for monitoring, measuring, and evaluating the success or failure of the project, i.e., what are they? Are they appropriate?

3. Overall qualifications of applicants (10 points):

This ascertains whether the applicant possesses the necessary education, experience, training, facilities, and administrative resources to accomplish the project. If appropriate, proposals should also address the physical environment and collaboration, if any, i.e., Does the environment in which the work will be done contribute to the probability of success? Do the proposed experiments or activities take advantage of unique features of the intended environment or employ useful collaborative arrangements?

4. Project costs (20 points):

The Budget is evaluated to determine if costs are reasonable, allowable, allocable, and necessary and if the budget is realistic, and commensurate with the project needs and time frame. The budget is also evaluated to see if it meets the needs for the project to start as soon as funds are received. Cost sharing or matching is not required, but cost sharing or other documented leverage may be considered as a tie-breaker for equivalent applicants.

5. Outreach and education (10 points):

IASI assesses whether this project provides a focused and effective education and outreach strategy regarding IASI’s mission to protect the Nation's and global marine resources. For example, how will the outcomes of the project be communicated to NOAA and the interested public to ensure it has met the project objectives over the short, medium, or long term? Does the project address any of the goals or employ any of the strategies of the NOAA Education Plan (http://www.oesd.noaa.gov/NOAA_Ed_Plan.pdf)? Outreach and education is not central to this grant program.

B. Review and Selection Process

An initial administrative review of each timely received application will be conducted to determine eligibility, responsiveness, for award, compliance with requirements, and completeness of the application. Applications determined to be ineligible, incomplete, and/or non-responsive may be eliminated from further review. However, NOAA, in its sole discretion, may continue the review process for an application with non-substantive issues that may be easily rectified or cured, including a review to verify that:

- The applicant is eligible to apply;

- The application was received on time; and

- All required elements of the application are present and follow format guidance.

Applications not passing this initial review will not be considered further for funding through this funding opportunity, and will not receive further review. All applications that meet the eligibility and minimum requirements will be evaluated by at least three mail reviewers and/or peer panel reviewers. Each reviewer will individually evaluate the proposal(s) using the evaluation criteria provided above. The reviewers may be any combination of Federal and/or non-federal personnel. The proposal(s) will be individually scored (i.e., a consensus is not reached) unless all reviewers are Federal employees. If more than one non-Federal reviewers is used, reviewers may discuss the proposals but no consensus scoring will be used. If all of the reviewers are Federal employees, the program officer has the discretion to authorize a score based on consensus scoring.

IASI selects evaluators on the basis of their professional qualifications and expertise as related to the unique characteristics of the proposal. The Program Officer will assess the evaluations and make a fund or do-not-fund recommendation to the Selecting Official with an explanation of the reasons for the recommendation. Any application considered for funding may be required to address the issues raised in the evaluation of the proposal by the reviewers, Program Officer, Selecting Official, and/or Grants Officer before an award is issued.

vii. Applications not selected for funding in FY2016 may be considered for funding in the next funding cycle, anticipated in FY2017, but may be required to revalidate the terms of the original application or resubmit in the next funding opportunity cycle when one is published for FY2017. The Program Officer, Selecting Official and/or Grants Officer may negotiate the final scope of work and funding level of the proposal with the intended applicant. The Selecting Official makes the final recommendation for award to the Grants Officer who is authorized to commit the Federal Government and obligate the funds. NOAA may select all, some, or none of the applications, or part of any application, or ask applicants to work together. NOAA may defer applications to the future or reallocate funds to different funding categories to the extent authorized.

The NOAA Grants Management Division (GMD) will review financial and grants administration aspects of awards recommended by the Selecting Official. GMD will conduct an assessment of the risk posed by the applicant in accordance with 2 C.F.R. § 200.205. In addition to reviewing repositories of government-wide eligibility, qualifications or financial integrity information, the risk assessment conducted by NOAA may consider items such as the financial stability of an applicant, quality of the applicant’s management systems, an applicant’s history of performance, previous audit reports and audit findings concerning the applicant and the applicant’s ability to effectively implement statutory, regulatory, or other requirements imposed on non-Federal entities. Applicants should be in compliance with the terms of any existing NOAA grants or cooperative agreements and otherwise eligible to receive Federal awards, or make arrangements satisfactory to the Grants Officer, to be considered for funding. All reports due should be received and any concerns raised by the agency should be timely addressed in order to receive a new award. Upon review of these factors, if appropriate, specific award conditions that respond to the degree of risk may be applied by the NOAA Grants Officer pursuant to 2 C.F.R. § 200.207. In addition, NOAA reserves the right to reject an application in its entirety where information is uncovered that raises a significant risk with respect to the responsibility or suitability of the applicant. The final approval of selected applications and issuance of awards will be by the NOAA Grants Officer. The award decisions of the Grants Officer are final.

C. Selection Factors

The average rank order from the merit review will be the primary consideration for the Selection Official, who will be the Chief, International Fisheries, Office for International Affairs and Seafood Inspection or designee, in deciding which of the new proposals will be recommended for funding to the NOAA Grants Officer. The Selecting Official shall award in rank order unless the proposal is justified to be selected out of rank order based upon the following factors:

1. Availability of funding;

2. Balance/distribution of funds:

• Geographically

• By type of institutions

• By type of partners

• By research areas

• By project types;

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

4. Program priorities and areas of interest as set out in section I. B of this

FFO;

5. Applicant’s prior award performance;

6. Partnerships with/Participation of targeted groups; and

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.

D. Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates

Subject to the availability of funds, awards are expected to be made three to six months after receipt by IASI of the full application. Applicants not receiving funding will be notified in a similar time frame.

The notice of Federal award signed by the Grants Officer (or equivalent) is the authorizing document, and may be provided through postal mail or by electronic means to the applicant as indicated on the application.

VI. Award Administration Information

A. Award Notices

The official notice of award authorizing and obligating funds is the Standard Form CD-450, Financial Assistance Award, issued by the NOAA Grants Officer through postal mail or electronically through NOAA’s online grants management system, Grants Online.

The CD-450 award cover page is available at http://go.usa.gov/SNMR. The Internet Explorer browser should be used with Grants Online.

The notice of award is approved by the Grants Officer. To enable the use of a universal identifier and to enhance the quality of information available to the public as required by the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006, to the extent applicable, any proposal awarded in response to this announcement will be required to use the System for Award Management (SAM) and a unique entity identifier and be subject to reporting requirements, as identified in OMB guidance published at 2 CFR Parts 25, 170 (2010), http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=ecfr&tpl=/ecfrbrowse/Title02/2cfr25_main_02.tpl, http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=ecfr&tpl=/ecfrbrowse/Title02/2cfr170_main_02.tpl

The Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 includes a requirement for awardees of applicable Federal grants to report information about first-tier subawards and executive compensation under Federal assistance awards issued in FY 2013 or later. All awardees of applicable grants and cooperative agreements are required to report to the Federal Subaward Reporting System (FSRS) available at www.FSRS.gov on all subawards over $25,000.

B. Administrative and National Policy Requirements

Department of Commerce Pre-Award Notification

Administrative and national policy requirements for all Department of Commerce awards are contained in 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.

Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements

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

Department of Commerce Financial Assistance Standard Terms and Conditions

The Department of Commerce Financial Assistance Standard Terms and Conditions will apply to awards in this program. A current version of this document is available at http://go.usa.gov/hKbj. These terms will be provided in the award package in Grants Online at http://www.ago.noaa.gov. In addition, award documents provided by NOAA in the Grants Online award package may contain special award conditions unique to this program and the applicant’s project, including conditions that may limit the use of funds for activities due to compliance requirements for the award as applicable and will be applied on a case-by-case basis.

In accordance with the Federal Register notice published on (79 FR 75871) and the regulation at 2 C.F.R. 1327.101, effective December 26, 2014, the DOC adopted the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements codified at 2 C.F.R. Part 200 (Uniform Guidance). The Uniform Guidance streamlines the language from eight Office of Management and Budget (OMB) circulars, including cost principles (OMB Circulars A-21, A-87, A 122) and administrative requirements (OMB Circulars A-102 and A 110), into one consolidated set of guidance applicable to federal assistance awards. Note that the OMB Uniform Guidance supersedes DOC’s uniform administrative requirements set out at 15 C.F.R. parts 14 and 24. In addition, the audit requirements of the Uniform Guidance applies to audits of non-Federal entities beginning on or after December 26, 2014. The Uniform Guidance as codified at 2 C.F.R. Part 200 may be found at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2014-title2-vol1/pdf/CFR-2014-title2-vol1-subtitleA-ch apII-subchap-id302.pdf. Additional information on the substance of and transition to the Uniform Guidance may be found at https://cfo.gov/cofar.

Limitation of Liability

In no event will NOAA or the Department of Commerce be responsible for proposal preparation costs. Publication of this announcement does not oblige NMFS IASI to award any specific project or to obligate any available funds. Recipients and sub-recipients are subject to all Federal laws and agency policies, regulations, and procedures applicable to Federal financial assistance awards. This program is subject to the availability of appropriations.

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 Web site: http://www.nepa.noaa.gov/, including our NOAA Administrative Order 216-6 for NEPA, http://www.nepa.noaa.gov/NAO216_6.pdf, NEPA Questionnaire, http://www.nepa.noaa.gov/questionnaire.pdf, and the Council on Environmental Quality implementation regulations, http://ceq.hss.doe.gov/nepa/regs/ceq/toc_ceq.htm.

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 of 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. The 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.

Paperwork Reduction Act

This notification involves collection-of-information requirements subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act. The use of Standard Forms SF-424, 424A, 424B, and SF-LLL and CD-346 has been approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) under control numbers 0348-0043, 0348-0044, 0348-0040 and 0348-0046 and 0605-0001.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person is required to respond to, nor shall any person be subject to a penalty for failure to comply with, a collection of information subject to the requirements of the PRA unless that collection of information displays a currently valid OMB control number.

Executive Order 13132 (Federalism)

It has been determined that this notice does not contain policies with Federalism implications as that term is defined in Executive Order 13132.

Data Sharing

Environmental data and information, collected and/or created under NOAA grants/cooperative agreements must be made visible, accessible, and independently understandable to general users, free of charge or at minimal cost, in a timely manner (typically no later than two years after the data are collected or created), except where limited by law, regulation, policy, or by security requirements.

1. Unless otherwise noted in this federal funding announcement, a Data/Information Sharing Plan of no more than two pages shall be required as an appendix. A typical plan may include the types of environmental data and information to be created during the course of the project; the tentative date by which data will be shared; the standards to be used for data/metadata format and content; policies addressing data stewardship and preservation;

procedures for providing access, data, and security; and prior experience in publishing such data. The Data/Information Sharing Plan will be reviewed as part of the NOAA Standard Evaluation Criteria, Item 1 -- Importance and/or Relevance and Applicability of Proposed Project to the Mission Goals.

2. The Data/Information Sharing Plan (and any subsequent revisions or updates) will be made publicly available at time of award and, thereafter, will be posted with the published data.

3. Failing to share environmental data and information in accordance with the submitted Data/Information Sharing Plan may lead to disallowed costs and be considered by NOAA when making future award decisions. Additionally, PIs must indicate how and when they have made their data accessible and usable by the community in the past. Information on NOAA's Data Management Policy is available under:

http://www.corporateserv…