NOAA-NMFS-NCBO-2018-2005490 FFO Report.pdf

Fiscal Year 2018 Chesapeake Bay-Watershed Education and Training Program

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Funding Opportunity Description 3

A. Program Objective 3 B. Program Priorities 7 C. Program Authority 11

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

III. Eligibility Information 12 A. Eligible Applicants 12 B. Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement 13 C. Other Criteria that Affect Eligibility 13

IV. Application and Submission Information 13 A. Address to Request Application Package 13 B. Content and Form of Application 14 C. Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management (SAM) 22 D. Submission Dates and Times 23 E. Intergovernmental Review 24 F. Funding Restrictions 24 G. Other Submission Requirements 24

V. Application Review Information 26 A. Evaluation Criteria 26 B. Review and Selection Process 28 C. Selection Factors 30 D. Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates 31

VI. Award Administration Information 31 A. Award Notices 31 B. Administrative and National Policy Requirements 32 C. Reporting 34

VII. Agency Contacts 34 VIII. Other Information 34

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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: Fiscal Year 2018 Chesapeake Bay-Watershed Education and Training Program

Announcement Type: Initial

Funding Opportunity Number: NOAA-NMFS-NCBO-2018-2005490

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

Dates: The deadline for applications is 11:59 PM Eastern Time on March 9, 2018 when submitting through www.grants.gov (Grants.gov). PLEASE NOTE: for applicants that submit through Grants.gov, it may take Grants.gov up to two business days to validate or reject the application. Please keep this in mind in developing your submission timeline. If use of Grants.gov is impractical for technical or other reasons, paper copy applications will be accepted only as described in Section IV.C.

Informational webinars about the FY 2018 Chesapeake B-WET funding announcement will be held on January 9, 2018 at 2:00 PM Eastern Time January 12, 2018 at 11:00 AM. To register for these webinars, please visit https://go.usa.gov/xnRbu.

Funding Opportunity Description: Chesapeake B-WET funds locally relevant, authentic experiential learning for K-12 audiences through Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences (MWEEs) throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed. MWEEs involve learning both outdoors and in the classroom as students engage in issue definition, outdoor field experiences, synthesis and conclusions, and action projects. The goal is to increase understanding and stewardship of the Chesapeake Bay and its local watersheds, including the rivers, upland streams, and natural habitats found throughout the region. Projects advance the environmental literacy goal of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement and the NOAA Education Strategic Plan.

This year’s funding announcement is focused on expanding the reach of NOAA B-WET into school districts that have never received funding for systemic programs.

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FULL ANNOUNCEMENT TEXT

I. Funding Opportunity Description

A. Program Objective

a. OVERVIEW NOAA recognizes that knowledge and commitment built from firsthand experience, especially in the context of one's community and culture, is essential for achieving environmental stewardship. Carefully selected experiences driven by rigorous academic learning standards, engendering discovery and wonder, and nurturing a sense of community will further connect students with their watershed, help reinforce an ethic of responsible citizenship, and promote academic achievement. Environmentally literate individuals can become effective future workers, problem solvers, and thoughtful community leaders and participants.

The NOAA Bay Watershed Education and Training (B-WET) Program is an environmental education program that promotes locally relevant, experiential learning in the kindergarten through 12th grade (K-12) environment. B-WET was established in 2002 in the Chesapeake Bay watershed and currently exists in seven regions: Chesapeake Bay, Gulf of Mexico, New England, California, Pacific Northwest, Hawaii, and Great Lakes.

The goal of this funding opportunity is to support K-12 environmental literacy programs that provide students with Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences (MWEEs) related to the Chesapeake Bay and related professional development for in-service teachers, administrators, or other educators serving K-12 students. The Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries are an excellent resource for environmental education. Its tidal and non-tidal waters and the surrounding landscape provide hands-on, place-based laboratories where students can see, touch, and learn about the Chesapeake Bay watershed and the greater environment.

Successful B-WET projects provide formal education that supports the environmental literacy goal of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement (http://www.chesapeakebay.net/chesapeakebaywatershedagreement/page) and NOAA’s Education Strategic Plan (http://go.usa.gov/cjnMQ)

b. DEFINING THE MEANINGFUL WATERSHED EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE

(MWEE)

The definition of the MWEE that follows was created by the NOAA B-WET National Program and is used by all seven B-WET regions throughout the country. It is based on the MWEE definition developed by the Chesapeake Bay Program Education Workgroup, which recently produced “An Educator’s Guide to the Meaningful Watershed Educational

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Experience.” This document provides information and tools to help education professionals develop MWEEs and can be accessed online:

https://www.chesapeakebay.net/documents/2017_MWEE_Guide.pdf

MWEEs for students should be learner-centered and focused on questions, problems, and issues to be investigated through collecting, analyzing and sharing data; learning protocols;

exploring models; and examining natural phenomena. These activities, grounded in best practices and the context of the local community and culture, help increase student interest, motivation, and attitudes toward learning, and achieve environmental stewardship. As a result of the MWEE activities students should have an understanding of basic watershed concepts, as well as the interaction between natural systems (e.g. wildlife, plants, and water cycle) and social systems (e.g. communities, transportation systems, and schools), highlighting the connection between human activity and environmental conditions. MWEEs consist of multiple components as defined below.

MWEEs - Student Components

1.1 Issue definition and background research

Students focus on an environmental question, problem, or issue requiring background research and investigation. They learn more about the issue through classroom instruction, the collection of data, conducting experiments, talking to experts and reviewing credible publications. This process should be age appropriate with practices growing in complexity and sophistication across the grades, starting with educator guided investigation and progressing to student-led inquiry.

1.2 Outdoor field activities

Students participate in multiple outdoor field activities sufficient to collect the data or make observations required for answering the research questions and informing student actions, or as part of the issue definition and background research. Students should be actively involved in planning the investigation, taking measurements, or constructing the project within appropriate safety guidelines, with teachers providing instruction on methods and procedures, data collection protocols, and proper use of equipment as needed. These activities can take place off-site and/or on the school grounds.

1.3 Stewardship action projects

Students participate in an age appropriate project during which they take action to address environmental issues at the personal or societal level. Participants in B-WET MWEE activities should understand they have control over the outcome of environmental issues, be encouraged to identify actions to address these issues and understand the value of those actions.

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1.4 Synthesis and conclusions

Students analyze and evaluate the results of projects and investigations. Students synthesize and communicate results and conclusions to an external audience such as other classrooms, schools, parents, or the community.

2. Support for MWEEs In addition to the components identified above, NOAA recommends that the following elements are in place to fully support successful MWEE implementation with students.

2.1 Teacher participation for the duration of the MWEE

While external partners are entirely appropriate to support MWEEs, teachers should support the experience in the classroom and in the field. Teachers are in the best position to help students make connections and draw on past lessons, serve as environmental role models, and enhance students overall outdoor education experience and should be involved in all components of the experiences detailed above. To support them in this role, teachers should have appropriate knowledge of environmental issues and watershed concepts, skill in connecting these issues to their curriculum, and competency in environmental education pedagogy, including the ability and confidence to teach outdoor lessons and to lead students in critical thinking about environmental issues.

2.2 Integration with classroom curriculum

Experiences should be integrated into what is occurring in the classroom, and can provide authentic, age appropriate, engaging multi-disciplinary content to address academic standards. Specifically, elements of science and social studies standards related to questioning and investigation, evidence-based analysis and interpretation, model and theory building, knowledge of environmental processes and systems, skill for understanding and addressing environmental issues, and personal and civic responsibility align well with MWEEs. Non-school activities may enrich traditional classroom curriculum when needed, though this need should be documented and supported by local education agencies.

2.3 Use of the local context for learning

The local community and environment should be viewed as a primary resource for student MWEEs. Place-based education promotes learning that is rooted in the unique history, environment, culture, economy, literature, and art of a students’ schoolyard, neighborhood, town or community, and thus offering students and teachers the opportunity to explore how individual and collective decisions impact their immediate surroundings. Once a firm connection to their local environment is made, students are better positioned to expand their

Federal Funding Opportunity Page 5 of 35 thinking to recognize the far-reaching implications of the decisions they make to the larger national and global environment.

2.4 Experiences are a set of activities over time

The MWEE includes the full duration leading up to and following the outdoor field experiences. Each component should involve a significant investment of instructional time, incorporate time for reflection, and include all students. Experiences such as tours, simulations, demonstrations, or nature walks may be instructionally useful, but alone do not constitute an entire MWEE as defined here.

2.5 Includes NOAA assets, including personnel and resources

NOAA has a wealth of applicable products and services as well as a cadre of scientific and professional experts that can heighten the impact of environmental instruction both in the classroom and in the field. Additionally, environmental professionals can serve as important role models for career choices and stewardship. For more on NOAA assets for education please see: http://www.oesd.noaa.gov/grants/NOAA_assets.html

3. Teacher Professional Development for MWEEs Teachers should be skilled in using environmental education and MWEEs to address multiple subjects’ curriculum standards and local education agency initiatives. In order to gain and maintain environmental education competencies, teachers need access to sustained, high quality professional development that includes ongoing support and feedback. Teachers should gain confidence in the value of MWEEs and strategies for conducting them so that they will conduct MWEES after the B-WET supported program has ended. Specifically, the following elements are recommended for professional development to support teachers implementing MWEEs:

3.1 Increases teachers’ knowledge and awareness of environmental issues Teachers must have an adequate level of content knowledge for their MWEE topic area specific to their grade level and discipline, including an understanding of basic watershed concepts and the human connection to the watershed. Recognizing that environmental issues often include different perspectives and opinions, teachers must also have a deep understanding of the facts related to environmental issues along with an understanding of the various stakeholder values. In addition, teachers who demonstrate environmentally responsible attitudes and behaviors may be role models for their students and increase their ability to guide students in actions to address complex environmental issues.

3.2 Models environmental education pedagogy

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Facilitators/trainers should utilize the same techniques and experiences in trainings that teachers are expected to use with their students, such as hands-on, place-based, outdoor field experiences and environmental issue investigation and action.

3.3 Allows for adequate instructional time

Professional Development trainings should be multi-day, occurring consecutively or over the course of several months. Trainings should include ample opportunity for teachers to reflect on their own teaching practices and planning for how to use knowledge and skills gained from professional development in the classroom.

3.4 Provides ongoing teacher support and appropriate incentives Even in cases where teachers participate in robust multi-day trainings, such as a summer or weekend courses, it is still essential that professional development providers have a structure in place for on-going teacher support and enrichment. This can take the form of follow up meetings, creating web-based forums for communication and feedback, establishing mentor teachers who can serve as points of contact, or including teams of teachers from one particular school. Continuing education credits and stipends can be used to encourage participation in on-going professional development opportunities. Outreach and training opportunities for school administrators may help increase high level support for both environmental education and continuing teacher professional development for teachers.

3.5 Meets jurisdictional guidelines for effective teacher professional development Each jurisdiction has established guidance and recommendations germane to all forms of teacher professional development. When possible, professional development opportunities in environmental education should adhere to these general guidelines set forth by local education agencies.

Information on the Chesapeake B-WET program, including examples of education partnerships that have been funded to date, can be found at http://go.usa.gov/cjnuA.

Potential applicants may contact the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office (contact information in Section VII) before submitting an application with questions about applicability of project activities to B-WET goals and objectives.

B. Program Priorities

a. B-WET projects under this funding announcement support the direct implementation of the MWEE. In addition, Chesapeake B-WET is intended to serve audiences within the boundaries of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, therefore, only school districts with more than 25% of their land mass falling within the Chesapeake Bay watershed are eligible for funding.

A map of school districts meeting these criteria can be found online at the Chesapeake B-

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WET Applying for a Grant webpage: https://go.usa.gov/xnRbu.

Field investigations funded under the Chesapeake B-WET program should occur within the Chesapeake watershed. If they cannot occur within the Chesapeake watershed or an experience outside the watershed is more appropriate for the project, applicants must adequately justify the reasons for this.

b. Proposals to this announcement must address the following priority area:

MWEE Implementation in School Districts Not Previously Served by B-WET

Chesapeake B-WET focuses on the development and implementation of systemic MWEEs in school districts throughout the Chesapeake Bay watershed. This year’s funding announcement is focused on expanding the reach of NOAA B-WET into school districts that have never received support through the B-WET Program for systemic programs, either through grants directly to school districts or through grants awarded to non-profit organizations, state, agencies, universities, or other partners to work with school districts on their systemic programs. A list of school districts that have previously received or been served by systemic B-WET grants can be found on the Chesapeake B-WET Applying for a Grant webpage: https://go.usa.gov/xnRbu.

Systemic MWEE projects reach the entire student population in one or more grades with teacher-supported MWEEs and ensure that the teachers of these students receive high quality professional development to give them the content knowledge and pedagogical skills for outdoor learning to support all aspects of the MWEE. Projects that are systemic encourage ownership from a broad range of constituents and promote long-term sustainability of the MWEE project in a school district. These programs require leadership and support from the school district, however, because of the broad reach of systemic projects, partnerships with multiple partners are often required to ensure all students receive all components of a MWEE and meaningful professional development for teachers is provided.

While Chesapeake B-WET strongly believes in systemic MWEE implementation, the program recognizes there are organizations and school districts across the watershed that strive to implement high quality MWEE programming, but face challenges in developing and implementing systemic projects that are hard to overcome in a single grant cycle. While every organization faces some barriers to project implementation, these districts have greater challenges due to lack of local resources or partners, policies that conflict with outdoor education, or limited internal capacity. Not being able to become fully systemic over the course of the 3-year grant cycle should not discourage school districts and their partners to

Federal Funding Opportunity Page 8 of 35 apply under this funding announcement as long as they can create meaningful programs with the elements described below.

Students should participate in all MWEE elements (issue definition, outdoor field experiences, synthesis and conclusions, and action projects). MWEEs should be organized around a driving question that has students focus on a locally relevant environmental issue, problem, or phenomenon. Students should engage in background research in order to understand the issue and develop supporting questions for further investigation, and have the opportunity to reflect on personal and stakeholder values and perspectives related to the issue. Applicants should consider the following characteristics of driving questions when developing projects: supports learning objectives; is relevant and related to everyday life, is thought-provoking and intellectually engaging; is open-ended (i.e. typically will not have a single, final, and correct answer); promotes further inquiry (i.e. raises additional questions);

encompasses both natural and social systems and topics; requires students to revisit the problem frequently as knowledge and understanding evolves; calls for higher-order thinking, including analysis, inference, prediction, and evaluation; and includes concepts and practices from multiple disciplines

Students should participate in multiple outdoor experiences that are directly related to the issue the students are studying. Whenever possible, students should be actively involved in planning the inquiry that occurs during the outdoor field experience. These outdoor experiences should be fully supported by their teachers to ensure that the concepts of watershed education are reinforced in the classroom throughout the school year. Outdoor experiences can support any element of the MWEE and can occur wherever appropriate to reinforce the unit of study, including at partner sites and/or on or near school grounds.

Students should participate in an action project as part of the MWEE. These projects should be directly related to the issue the students are studying. Action projects are most powerful when students are actively involved in planning and implementing the action project to address the issue. Action projects can take many forms, including: Watershed Restoration or Protection (e.g., create schoolyard habitat, planting trees or grasses, invasive species removal, community cleanup, stormwater management); Everyday Choices (e.g., reduce/reuse/recycle/upcycle, composting, energy conservation, water conservation);

Community Engagement (e.g., presentations, social media, event-organizing, messaging at community events/fairs/festivals, mentoring, PSAs, flyers, posters); and Civic Action (e.g., town meetings, voting, writing elected officials/decision makers, advocating for policy change).

Throughout the process students have dedicated class time to make conclusions based on

Federal Funding Opportunity Page 9 of 35 their research, outdoor field experiences, and related data analysis. Students should communicate these results and conclusions to an audience beyond their classroom.

Teacher professional development should be offered for all teachers whose students will be engaged in MWEEs so they can support classroom integration. It is recommended that professional development opportunities are at least 24 cumulative hours in duration, which can be accomplished in consecutive days or over the course of a school year. Trainings should deliver training on both content and instruction in the outdoors, include year-long support for teachers, and include a plan for how teachers will be involved in implementing watershed education with their students. This kind of in-depth professional development reinforces a teacher's ability to teach, inspire, and lead young people toward thoughtful stewardship of our natural resources. If the teacher professional development requirements are not feasible in the targeted school district, applicants should explain why it is not feasible and how they will build towards these requirements over the course of the grant and into the future. If funding requested under this priority area is dedicated solely to providing teacher professional development (i.e. grant dollars are not directly supporting any student MWEE activities), applicants must demonstrate how trained teachers will implement student MWEEs, and what resources (funds, staff, facilities, partner organizations, etc.) exist to support student components of the MWEE. Successful applicants under this priority will be asked to document the number of students receiving MWEEs as a direct result of the project.

Proposals should include details about where the project fits in the scope and sequence of school district curriculum, and applicants should clearly understand and convey the primary learning objectives. Multi-disciplinary objectives are encouraged. Letters of support from curriculum supervisors and science, socials studies, and other relevant subject coordinators at the district level can be effective in communicating such details.

Whenever possible, MWEEs should be embedded across an entire grade level or levels, or be part of a broader systemic program in a school district to reach every student. For example, projects may reach only half of a grade level’s teachers and students if the application includes documentation from the school district and other partners that the proposed project is a component of a larger systemic effort that reaches the entire grade level. If this is not feasible, applicants should explain why it is not feasible and how they will build toward systemic implementation over the course of the grant and into the future.

Applications for projects can come from any applicant type, however, substantial coordination and support from the school district is required. To document the appropriate level of support and engagement from school districts, official letters from superintendents, school boards, and/or school district curriculum supervisors are requested with proposals.

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C. Program Authority

Under 33 U.S.C. § 893a(a), the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is authorized to conduct, develop, support, promote, and coordinate formal and informal educational activities at all levels to enhance public awareness and understanding of ocean, coastal, Great Lakes, and atmospheric science and stewardship by the general public and other coastal stakeholders, including underrepresented groups in ocean and atmospheric science and policy careers. In conducting those activities, the Administrator shall build upon the educational programs and activities of the agency.

II. Award Information

A. Funding Availability

Under this announcement, NOAA anticipates that approximately $1 million may be available in FY 2018 to fund new applications, subject to the availability of appropriations.

NOAA anticipates making 7-10 new awards. Projects should not exceed $150,000 annually in Federal funds. Performance periods may be up to three years, but funding beyond the first increment, usually one year, is subject to the incremental funding policy described in Section II.B of this Announcement. The distribution of funding will depend on the Selection Factors in Section V.C. of this Announcement.

B. Project/Award Period

The project start date should not begin before July 1, 2018. Applications should cover a project period of between one and three years. Projects that request multi-year funding must include in their submission a full description of the activities and estimated budget by line item (e.g. personnel, equipment, supplies) for all proposed work for each year.

When a multi-year project is awarded, the scope of work and budget for all years is approved at the time of the award, but funding is usually provided only for the first year of the project with the remainder of the award subject to incremental funding, usually annually. NOAA anticipates continuing these multi-year awards for the entirety of their project periods;

however, the agency has no obligation to provide any additional funding in connection with the award beyond the initial funding increment. Continuation of an award to increase funding or extend the period of performance beyond the initial funding increment is at the sole discretion of NOAA and will be contingent upon satisfactory performance, continued relevance to the NOAA mission and priorities, and the availability of funds.

Recipients of incrementally-funded projects will not need to compete for funding in subsequent years, and current recipients seeking continued funding of these multi-year

Federal Funding Opportunity Page 11 of 35 awards issued under the incremental funding policy do not need to apply to this funding announcement.

Single-year awards and awards for which NOAA shortens the period of performance are required to re-compete for continued funding after the initial period of performance. Any renewal of the project will depend on the submission of a new proposal subject to review, adequate progress on previous award(s), and available funding.

Future opportunities for submitting proposals to the B-WET competitive process are anticipated, but will depend on funding levels and resources available to support new projects.

C. Type of Funding Instrument

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

III. Eligibility Information

A. Eligible Applicants

Eligible applicants are K-through-12 public and independent schools and school systems, institutions of higher education, community-based and nonprofit organizations, state or local government agencies, interstate agencies, and Indian tribal governments. For profit organizations, foreign organizations, and foreign public entities are not eligible to apply; however, for-profit and foreign organizations and foreign public entities may participate with an eligible applicant as a project partner. Likewise, Federal agencies are not eligible to receive Federal assistance under this announcement, but may be project partners.

While applicants that have previously received B-WET funding are eligible to apply, to be competitive they should address the program priority of expanding the reach of NOAA B- WET into school districts that have never received B-WET support as described in Section I.B., Program Priorities. In addition, only school districts with more than 25% of their land

Federal Funding Opportunity Page 12 of 35 mass falling in the Chesapeake Bay watershed are eligible, as described in Section I.B., Program Priorities.

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

B. Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement

Cost-sharing is not required for this program.

C. Other Criteria that Affect Eligibility

Projects whose sole audience is outside the Chesapeake watershed are not eligible.

Applications received after the deadline will not be reviewed. Applications that are lacking any of the required elements of the application or do not follow the form prescribed in IV.B of this Announcement may not receive merit review as described in Section V.B.

IV. Application and Submission Information

A. Address to Request Application Package

Electronic application packages are strongly encouraged and are available at:

http://www.grants.gov/ (Grants.gov).

If the applicant has difficulty accessing Grants.gov or downloading the required forms from the NOAA website, they should contact Shannon Sprague at the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office by phone at 410-267-5664, or via the internet at Shannon.Sprague@noaa.gov. The NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office does not have a direct telephonic device for the deaf, however, TDD capabilities can be accessed through the State of Maryland-supplied TDD contact number, 800 735 2258, between the hours of 8 AM-4:30 PM.

Information on the Chesapeake B-WET program, including examples of currently supported projects, can be found on NOAA’s website at http://go.usa.gov/cjnhk. Potential applicants may contact the NCBO before submitting an application to discuss the applicability of project ideas to B-WET goals and objectives.

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B. Content and Form of Application

Required Elements for Applications:

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

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

Application for Federal Assistance: Form SF-424 Budget Information, Non-construction Programs: Form SF-424A Assurances, Non-Construction Programs: Form SF-424B Certifications Regarding Lobbying: Form CD-511 Disclosure of Lobbying Activities: Form SF-LLL (if applicable, see instructions on form)

(i) Project Summary (1 page):

Project Title Project duration: 12 to 36 month project period starting on the first of the month and ending on the last day of the month.

Organization and Partnerships: Briefly describe your organization and list your key partners for this grant, if applicable. Partnerships are encouraged.

Summary: Provide a brief statement that explains the need for your project and its goals and objectives. In addition, identify what NOAA priority you will address. Your summary should use layman's terms to provide reviewers with an understanding of the purpose and expected outcomes of your educational project. A person unfamiliar with your project should be able to read this paragraph and grasp your plan. More information about NOAA assets and educational resources can be found at: http://www.education.noaa.gov/.

Delivery Method: Explain how you will reach your audience, such as workshops, field experiences, interactive programs, summer institutes, classroom outreach, etc.

Audience: Describe the demographics of your target audience including the school district(s) and the number and types of participants you expect to reach, such as teachers and students and the specific grade levels, environmental educators, principals, etc.

Budget Information: Total Federal funding requested this fiscal year; Total Non Federal match for this fiscal year. Total multi-year request and match (if applicable). Please list requested amounts in whole dollars.

(ii) Project Description (up to 12 pages): Describe in detail what your project will achieve with the following headings: What, Who, Why, and How. Explain each aspect of your proposal clearly and address each topic below. Please address all of the following to ensure that grant reviewers can fully comprehend and score your project correctly. Specific Evaluation Criteria are defined in Section V.A.

What: Explain the goals and objectives for your project. Include information about how the

Federal Funding Opportunity Page 14 of 35 project contributes to greater understanding and stewardship of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, identify the NOAA B-WET program priority and NOAA special interest area, and how your project incorporates NOAA resources and assets. If your project may trigger consideration under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) as described in the NOAA NEPA policy in Section VI.B.4. of this Announcement, applicants should provide relevant information in the project description. Any applicable supporting documents may be included as attachments that do not count toward the page limit. This section will be scored using evaluation criterion V.A.1 (Importance/relevance and applicability of proposal to the program goals).

Who: Identify the target audience, and give a precise location of the project and area(s) to be served. Please include specifics of how many students are receiving MWEEs annually in your project, and how many teachers are receiving professional development annually. This section will be scored using evaluation criterion V.A.2 (Technical merit) How: This is the logistical work plan for your project and should be the most in-depth section of the project description. Clearly define the activities that will be conducted during this project, and their frequency. Reviewers must be able to determine the duration and frequency of student MWEE activities in the classroom and outdoors, as well as the amount and type of professional development teachers are receiving. If multi-year, provide objectives for each year. Detail how the project meets or supports the definition of the MWEE as defined in this funding opportunity and what NOAA products, services, or staff will be used in program delivery. This section addresses technical merit of the proposal. This section will be scored using evaluation criterion V.A.2 (Technical merit).

(iii) Sustainability: Discuss a plan for sustainability of project beyond NOAA funding.

Explain how requested funding can build a project that can be sustained after NOAA grant funds expire. List other sources of funding that have been sought for the project and the status of those requests. This section will be scored using evaluation criterion V.A.4 (Project Costs).

(iv) Outreach and Education: Projects should include significant external sharing and communication beyond the primary audience (typically students and teachers). Projects should include mechanisms that encourage students and/or teachers to share their knowledge with peers, their school, and their local community. This should focus on students sharing their work and conclusions with other students, teachers, administrators, and/or the community to advance environmental stewardship. This can also include presentations of project design and evaluation at conferences or media outreach about the project. This section will be scored using evaluation criterion V.A.5 (Outreach and Education).

(v) Project Evaluation: Evaluation here is defined as the systematic collection and

Federal Funding Opportunity Page 15 of 35 documentation of information about your project's outcomes in order to improve the project's effectiveness, guide judgments about its impact, and/or inform decisions about future programming or funding. In this section, you must explain your plans for meeting the goals and objectives of your project and for tracking and measuring progress on your outputs and your short-term outcomes. If your medium- and long-term outcomes can also be measured within the project period, explain your plans for that evaluation as well. Evaluation plans may be quantitative and/or qualitative and may include, for example, evaluation tools, observation, or outside consultation. No more than 10% of the budget can be spent on the evaluation component of your proposal. This section will be scored using evaluation criterion V.A.2 (Technical Merit).

If funded by NOAA, grant recipients must be willing to report evaluation results to NOAA.

For detailed information on how to create an evaluation plan visit NOAA’s website at http://go.usa.gov/cjQqF.

Participation in B-WET National Evaluation:

In addition to project evaluation, grantees will be asked to participate in data collection for the national B-WET evaluation. The B-WET national evaluation consists of two parts; part 1 is for all recipients of B-WET grants while part 2 is only for programs that work with teachers. The B-WET national evaluation is intended to monitor program implementation and outcomes on an ongoing basis. Results of this evaluation will be used to improve the B- WET program, document its value, and better tailor it to program audiences. Grantees with teacher participants will be able to view a summary of responses from their participating teachers. Success of this effort depends on grantee participation, so applicants are strongly encouraged to review the information about the national evaluation system (available here:http://go.usa.gov/x8xwp) and consider how they can support it as part of their projects.

National Evaluation Part 1 (for all B-WET grantees): As part of this evaluation system, one individual from each recipient organization will be asked to voluntarily complete an online questionnaire once per year of the award. The questionnaire should be able to be completed within 30-60 minutes (depending on the nature of the program) and may require some internal data compilation.

National Evaluation Part 2 (for programs with teacher professional development): For projects that work extensively with teachers, the teacher-participants will be asked to complete one questionnaire at the close of their professional development and one after implementing MWEEs with their students (at the end of the following school year). Each teacher questionnaire should be able to be completed within 30 minutes. Along with

Federal Funding Opportunity Page 16 of 35 completing the recipient questionnaire, grantees will be asked to provide the email addresses of participating teachers (after notifying teachers that their email will be shared) and to encourage teachers to participate in the national evaluation.

B-WET grantees and teachers who respond to the questionnaires will remain anonymous to B-WET and NOAA. NOAA will only view the resulting data in aggregate at the national or regional level; however, grantees will receive a password-protected report link to allow them to view data from teacher participants of their project in aggregate.

All applicants should provide information about how they plan to support this national evaluation system, incorporate it into the project timeline, and ensure responses from participating teachers as part of their application. Applicants may incorporate staff time required to complete the B-WET national evaluation in their budget proposal. More information, including all of the survey instruments, is available on the NOAA B-WET National Evaluation website here: http://go.usa.gov/xkc7P.

Grantees should review the information available and take this into consideration in the planning for their project evaluations. For example, grantees may not need to include questions that will be answered through the teacher instrument in their own evaluations.

Wherever possible grantees should try to incorporate participation in the evaluation system into existing requirements for professional development program completion. For example, on completion of the teacher professional development survey, teachers will receive some program incentive.

Note that this evaluation system is not intended to replace project level evaluation. While will have access to their teacher’s results from the evaluation system, the national evaluation may not provide the level of detail needed to fully understand, describe, and improve specific grant projects. Grantees are therefore encouraged to balance these needs within their planning and budgeting process.

Additional information about this project, including background, FAQs, survey instruments,and suggested text for communicating with your teacher participants about this project, is available here: http://go.usa.gov/xkc77

(b) APPENDICES (not included in 10-page limit):

(i) Budget Justification: Provide a detailed spreadsheet with narrative to support the requested items or activities (personnel/salaries, fringe benefits, travel, equipment, supplies, contract costs, and indirect costs). If applying for multiple years of funding, the budget should be broken down for each year requested. Applicants are encouraged to use the B

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WET budget template found at http://go.usa.gov/cjQaG. The budget justification submitted with the application should match the dollar amounts on the required Forms SF- 424 and SF- 424A. This section will be scored using evaluation criterion V.A.4 (Project Costs).

For Maryland applicants: Specify how much funding has been requested from the Chesapeake Bay Trust Environmental Education Grants Program to support the project, if such funding has been requested.

For multi-year projects: Ensure that there is a detailed budget narrative detailing the budget requested for each year matching each Form SF-424A.

Grant recipients will be encouraged to attend a state or regional B-WET meeting once during the duration of their grant. This will be an opportunity for former and current B-WET grant recipients to present their B-WET projects and learn from each other. This meeting may be part of an existing state conference environmental or science education conference to minimize travel expenses. Budgets should include, in the travel category, estimated funds this meeting (such as meals, lodging, and transportation including rental car, shuttle, or taxi).

No more than $1000 should be budgeted for this expense.

The budget may include an amount for indirect costs, which are essentially overhead costs for basic operational functions (e.g., lights, rent, water, insurance) that are incurred for common or joint objectives and therefore cannot be identified specifically within a particular project. See 2 C.F.R. 200.56-.57 and 200.412-.415 at http://go.usa.gov/SBYh and http://go.usa.gov/SBg4. An applicant may also propose all allowable project charges as direct costs.

An applicant requesting indirect costs should provide a current approved Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement established with its cognizant Federal agency or an acknowledgement letter from the cognizant agency to which the applicant has submitted a proposed rate. In addition, if an award recipient has never established an indirect cost rate with any Federal agency, the recipient may request to use the de minimus rate described at 2 C.F.R. 200.414 or it may negotiate a new rate with the Department of Commerce. The negotiation and approval of a new rate is subject to the procedures required by the NOAA and the Department of Commerce.

The U.S. Department of Commerce Financial Assistance Standard Terms and Conditions, https://go.usa.gov/xRuaF, require that within 90 days of the award start date, recipients submit documentation (indirect cost proposal, cost allocation, plan, etc.) necessary to perform the review to establish a new rate to the address listed below.

Lamar Revis, Grants Officer

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NOAA Grants Management Division 1325 East West Highway, 9th Floor Silver Spring, MD 20910

(ii) Timeline: Include a project schedule that indicates when each action, event, milestone, product development, and evaluation will occur. Timelines should be detailed enough for reviewers to ascertain the number and duration of teacher and student contacts. This section will be scored using evaluation criterion V.A.2 (Technical Merit).

(iii) Environmental Literacy Model for MWEE Integration: Include a document that illustrates how the proposed project will meet the full definition of the MWEE, including being embedded into school curriculum, using issue investigation, and conducting a stewardship action project. The document should include brief (2-3 sentence) descriptions about how the proposed project will address the following information. A template can be found at: http://baybackpack.com/assets/documents/ELM.pdf.

-Defining the Learning objectives,curricular indicators, and/or performance expectations to be reached during the course of study -Identifying the Driving question that will guide inquiry for the investigation -Determining the Local context that will establish the relatable connections and life-relevancy of the content and core ideas -Defining the issue to be investigated and develop focused questions that are relevant for investigation -Planning and conducting student investigations -Analyzing and interpreting data from their investigations -Constructing, communicating, and refining explanations about findings from their investigations -Developing a claim and identifying solutions about their investigations -Designing a plan and taking informed actions to address their issue -Evaluating the effectiveness of the action taken to address their issue

This section will be scored using evaluation criterion V.A.2 (Technical Merit).

(iv) Technical Experience and Qualifications: Attach a description of your programmatic capabilities and ability to successfully implement and manage the proposed project including staff expertise/qualifications, staff knowledge, and resources or the ability to obtain them to successfully achieve the goals of the project, and your organizational experience and past history in performing tasks similar to the proposed project. Also include a paragraph describing qualifications of each of the key personnel conducting the project. If you send

Federal Funding Opportunity Page 19 of 35 resumes for the key personnel conducting the project, please keep them to a maximum of three, one-page resumes. This section will be scored using evaluation criterion V.A.3 (Overall Qualifications of Applicants).

(v) Partnership Letters of Commitment: If the applicant organization has partners, such as school districts, state agencies, or other organizations, include letters of commitment from partners explaining their role in and/or funding of the proposed project. Do not include letters of endorsement from previous participants, teachers, or others not directly involved in project implementation, except letters from school district personnel demonstrating support and/or articulating where MWEEs will align with district curriculum . Letters should be received as part of application submission. This section will be scored using evaluation criterion V.A.3 (Overall Qualifications of Applicants).

(vi) Results from prior NOAA support: If any principal investigator (PI) or co-PI identified on the project has received support from NOAA in the past five years, information on the prior award(s) is required. The following information should be provided:

T-he NOAA award number, amount and period of support;

-The title of the project;

-Summary of the results of the completed work (including # of teachers/students);

-If the proposal is for renewed support, a description of the relation of the completed work to the proposed work.

(vii) Data Sharing Plan: Proposals submitted in response to this…