NOAA-NOS-NCCOS-2018-2005327 FFO Report.pdf

Coastal Hypoxia Research Program (CHRP)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Funding Opportunity Description 4

A. Program Objective 4 B. Program Priorities 5 C. Program Authority 7

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

III. Eligibility Information 10 A. Eligible Applicants 10 B. Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement 11 C. Other Criteria that Affect Eligibility 11

IV. Application and Submission Information 11 A. Address to Request Application Package 11 B. Content and Form of Application 11 C. Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management (SAM) 19 D. Submission Dates and Times 19 E. Intergovernmental Review 20 F. Funding Restrictions 21 G. Other Submission Requirements 21

V. Application Review Information 22 A. Evaluation Criteria 22 B. Review and Selection Process 23 C. Selection Factors 26 D. Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates 27

VI. Award Administration Information 27 A. Award Notices 27 B. Administrative and National Policy Requirements 27 C. Reporting 30

VII. Agency Contacts 33 VIII. Other Information 34

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ANNOUNCEMENT OF FEDERAL FUNDING OPPORTUNITY

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Federal Agency Name(s): National Ocean Service (NOS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce

Funding Opportunity Title: Coastal Hypoxia Research Program (CHRP)

Announcement Type: Initial

Funding Opportunity Number: NOAA-NOS-NCCOS-2018-2005327

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 11.478, Center for Sponsored Coastal Ocean Research - Coastal Ocean Program

Dates: Full applications for the CHRP program must be received and validated by Grants.gov by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on January 30, 2018. NOAA will also accept paper applications subject to further details described in this Announcement that are postmarked or provided to a commercial carrier with tracking number and receipt on or before 11:59 pm Eastern Time on January 30, 2018. Private metered postmarks will not be accepted. Applicants submitting by paper are responsible for tracking their applications and should notify the Program Manager in Section VII of this Announcement that they are submitting by paper. Electronic or paper copies received after the deadline will not be considered, and paper copy applications will be returned to the sender.

When developing your submission timeline, keep in mind the following information necessary to submit an application on Grants.gov: (1) a free annual registration process in the electronic System for Award Management (SAM) may take between three and five business days or as long as several weeks, as described in Section IV.F. of this Announcement, and (2) if you submit an application via Grants.gov, you will receive a series of email notifications for up to two business days before learning via validation or rejection whether NOAA has received your application.

Funding Opportunity Description: The purpose of this document is to advise the public that NOAA/NOS/National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) is soliciting proposals for the Coastal Hypoxia Research Program (CHRP). Funding is contingent upon the availability of Fiscal Year 2018 Federal appropriations. It is anticipated that projects funded under this announcement will have a September 1, 2018 start date. Applicants should submit proposals not to exceed $275,000 per year for projects generally 2-4 years in duration, with a total multi-year budget not to exceed $1,100,000. If funds become available for this program, up to

Federal Funding Opportunity Page 2 of 35 approximately $900,000 may be available in Fiscal Year 2018 for the first year of about 3-5 projects with expected start dates of September 1, 2018. Funding for this program is contingent upon availability of funds, which may not have been appropriated at the time of this announcement.

Electronic Access: Background information about NOAA’s CHRP Program can be found at https://coastalscience.noaa.gov/research/stressor-impacts-mitigation/habhrca/chrp/. Proposals should be submitted through Grants.gov, http://www.grants.gov. Sign up to receive any potential amendments to this Announcement at www.grants.gov.

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FULL ANNOUNCEMENT TEXT

I. Funding Opportunity Description

A. Program Objective

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) develops and improves the predictive capabilities for managing the Nation's use of its coastal resources through its Competitive Research Program. NCCOS also supports efforts to translate the results of its research investments, and those of others, into accessible and useful information for coastal managers, planners, lawmakers, and the public to help balance the needs of economic growth with those of conserving the resources of our Nation's oceans, coasts, and Great Lakes.

NCCOS provides a focal point for regional ecosystem-scale, multidisciplinary coastal ocean research within NOAA’s National Ocean Service (NOS). Together with partners in NOAA and other organizations responsible for coastal resources, NCCOS advances the scientific understanding needed to protect coastal resources and ensure their viability for future generations. This increased understanding of the ocean, coasts, and Great Lakes directly benefits the management of U.S. coastal and ocean resources, and helps NOAA, other Federal agencies, and state, tribal, and local governments achieve their stewardship responsibilities.

A key objective of NCCOS research is the production of user-driven predictive tools that will enable managers to assess alternative management strategies to restore degraded ecosystems and protect healthy ones. Research supported is outcome-oriented towards predictions, as well as increased scientific understanding that will provide managers and the public with sound scientific information for making decisions in support of societal objectives. Meritorious proposals articulate outcome-based management goals (see Section IV.B.4.) and recipients will be expected to report progress toward achieving outcome-based goals annually.

Hypoxia, or low dissolved oxygen, is a globally expanding problem impacting aquatic ecosystems. Although hypoxia can occur naturally, it is often a symptom of degraded water quality resulting from anthropogenic activities (e.g. nutrient pollution). Over half of U.S.

estuaries experience natural or human-induced hypoxic conditions at some time each year and the frequency and duration of hypoxic events have increased exponentially over the last few decades. Today, over 50% of examined U.S. estuaries have experienced hypoxia, many on a seasonal basis.

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Hypoxia can have a wide range of detrimental effects on living resources. Increases in hypoxia have led to increased frequencies and magnitudes of mortality events. Non-lethal effects of hypoxia are more common and include shifts in spatial distribution of organisms, changes in community structure, alteration of migratory patterns, cell damage and other oxidative stresses, endocrine disruption, and reproductive impairment. The cumulative effects may impact habitat quality and ecosystem structure, function, and stability. Mortality and longer-term sublethal effects can have large economic impacts on commercial and recreational fisheries.

Eutrophication-driven water quality impairments started to become evident in the 1960s and grew to be a national issue in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, ultimately leading to passage of the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Act of 1998 (HABHRCA), as amended, codified at 33 U.S.C. §4001-4009. HABHRCA mandates NOAA to administer national competitive programs to advance the scientific understanding and management capabilities to assess, predict, and mitigate hypoxia events. The first hypoxia competitive program established through HABHRCA legislation was the Northern Gulf of Mexico Ecosystems and Hypoxia Assessment Program (NGOMEX) in Fiscal Year 2000. The Coastal Hypoxia Research Program (CHRP) was established in Fiscal Year 2005 to address national research needs to improve the understanding of hypoxia throughout the Nation’s estuaries, coasts, and Great Lakes and excludes the northern Gulf of Mexico hypoxic zone covered under NGOMEX.

B. Program Priorities

This announcement solicits proposals to better understand the effects of hypoxia on the Nation’s oceans, estuaries, coasts, and Great Lakes ecosystems; ecosystem services; and human communities. CHRP will support targeted laboratory and/or field studies and/or the development of quantitative predictive models or other relevant methods. Applicants are encouraged to include field studies to ground-truth results from proposed laboratory studies and models developed. Examples of research areas are:

• Characterizing the impacts of hypoxia on the structure and function of benthic and mobile communities with an emphasis on ecologically- and economically-important species;

• Quantifying hypoxia-induced food web alterations, and the consequences on reproductive fitness of important fish and shellfish species;

• Quantifying sub-lethal effects of sub-optimal oxygen levels on individuals, including bioenergetic implications for short- and long-term population responses;

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• Improving the understanding of spatial and temporal movements of organisms in relation to the hypoxic zone;

• Quantifying the effects of hypoxia on habitat quantity and quality, and the consequences on populations of ecologically- and economically-important species;

• Refining ecosystem modeling capabilities to incorporate spatially explicit effects of hypoxia and subsequent changes in predator-prey relationships; and

• Quantifying hypoxia effects on the economy and ecosystem services.

Application to Management: State-of-the art scientific data and predictions that quantify the effects of hypoxia on habitats, living resources, ecosystem services and coastal economies are lacking for most ocean and coastal systems affected by this growing threat. The information provided by this research is intended for use by managers to improve their understanding of the effects of hypoxia on the resources under their purview. To ensure transition to applications, successful proposals must demonstrate a clear link to management issues and specify outputs and outcomes that will provide managers and the public with sound scientific information for making decisions. Proposals should clearly articulate how the research results will be used by managers to improve their ability to make informed decisions and assess alternative management strategies, and must describe specific plans for sharing information and research products with end-users and the community in a timely manner, for example by proposing workshops and public outreach activities throughout the life of the project. Articulation of outcome-based management goals is required in proposals.

Projects should include annual Principal Investigator (PI) meetings with other PIs.

Applicants are encouraged to have resource managers attend these meetings to ensure that their outputs are useful to them.

In addition, if appropriate, applicants may consider including:

(1) a representative from a management agency on the project team that has committed to using the results of this research for upcoming decisions on the management of hypoxia;

and/or

(2) a Management Transition Advisory Group (MTAG), consisting of at least three individuals from local, state, and/or Federal agencies, who will meet with the PIs annually to evaluate progress and suitability to management goals. Based on the project’s progress toward development of management tools and transition to management application, the

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MTAG will make recommendations to the project on how to make their information most applicable to management. Members of the MTAG must be named and letters included in the proposal indicating that they have agreed to serve on the MTAG; these letters do not count against the page limits.

C. Program Authority

33 U.S.C. §4001-4009, The Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Act of 1998 (HABHRCA), as amended; Public Law 102-567, § 201(c), Coastal Ocean Program.

II. Award Information

A. Funding Availability

Applicants should submit proposals not to exceed $275,000 per year for projects generally 2-4 years in duration, with a total multi-year budget not to exceed $1,100,000. If funds become available for this program, up to approximately $900,000 may be available in Fiscal Year 2018 for the first year of about 3-5 projects with expected start dates of September 1, 2018. Funding for this program is contingent upon availability of funds, which may not have been appropriated at the time of this announcement.

B. Project/Award Period

Full applications may cover a project/award period of 2 to 4 years.

Awards may be funded incrementally, generally on an annual basis, but, once awarded, those awards will not compete for funding in subsequent years. This multi-year funding is often appropriate for projects to be funded for two to five years. Once approved, full applications are not required for the continuation out years. While applicants are not required to divide Federal assistance project activities into annual increments based on appropriations law, this approach may be constructive given the possibility that funding may not be available in subsequent years.

Funding for each year's activity is contingent upon the availability of funds from Congress, satisfactory performance, and is at the sole discretion of the agency.

During the implementation phase of research projects funded under this announcement, regardless of the funding mechanism used, NCCOS Program Managers will analyze financial statements and progress reports for each continuing award, and will have dialogue with the PIs and Authorized Representatives of the recipient institutions to discuss research

Federal Funding Opportunity Page 7 of 35 progress and expected time lines for the remaining award period. If NOAA experiences budget reductions in future fiscal years, the amount of funding provided in any given fiscal year will be determined on a project-specific basis by the remaining tasks to be completed, the overall pace of the research and the length of time remaining on the award and/or across the board reductions based on the overall funds available.

Regardless of the budget for any given fiscal year, Program Managers will consider the length of time remaining for each project, the amount of funds available, the tasks to be completed in the upcoming fiscal year, the pace of research, and any delayed progress relative to that originally proposed, before determining the funding amount in any given fiscal year.

C. Type of Funding Instrument

In an effort to maximize the use of limited resources, applications from non-Federal, non-NOAA Federal and NOAA Federal applicants will be evaluated in the same competition, with different funding instruments applicable to the type of applicant.

The funding instrument for a research application selected for funding from a non-Federal researcher is expected to be a cooperative agreement. A cooperative agreement is appropriate when substantial Federal government involvement is anticipated. This means that the recipient can expect substantial agency collaboration, participation, or intervention in project performance. Substantial involvement exists when: responsibility for the management, control, direction, or performance of the project is shared by the assisting agency and the recipient; or the assisting agency has the right to intervene (including interruption or modification) in the conduct or performance of project activities. "Substantial involvement” will be coordinated and communicated by NCCOS Program Managers, and can include collaboration and participation by NOAA researchers, as well as NCCOS Program Manager involvement in PI meetings, setting up management advisory groups, development of management transition plans, and communication of project results.

If the non-Federal applicant is at an institution that has a NOAA Cooperative Institute (CI), it is allowed to submit applications that reference the CI by attaching a cover letter to the application stating its desire to have the application associated with the CI. This letter should specify the name of the cooperative institute, the CI cooperative agreement number, and the NOAA-approved research theme and task that applies to the proposal. The application will use the Facilities & Administrative (F&A, or indirect cost) rate associated with the main CI agreement. If the application is selected for funding, NOAA will notify the university that a separate award will be issued with its own award number. However, the award will include two Special Award Conditions (SACs): (1) the existing University/NOAA Memorandum of

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Agreement (MOA) would be incorporated by reference into the terms of the competitive award, and (2) any performance report(s) for the competitive project must follow the timetable of the funding program and be submitted directly to the funding program.

Report(s) will be copied to the CI's administrator when due, to be attached to the main cooperative agreement progress report as an appendix. This will allow the CI to coordinate all the projects submitted through the CI, since the terms of these awards will specify that this is a CI project via the MOA.

If the non-Federal applicant is at an institution that has a NOAA approved Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units (CESU), it is allowed to submit applications that reference the CESU . If the applicant is a member of one of these CESUs and is interested in using its CESU status, it may state its wishes in a cover letter to the application stating its desire to have the application associated with the CESU. This letter should specify the name of the CESU. Of the seventeen CESUs across the nation, NOAA is a member of ten: North and West Alaska, California, Hawaii-Pacific Islands, South Florida-Caribbean, Gulf Coast, Piedmont-South Atlantic Coast, Chesapeake Watershed, North Atlantic Coast, Pacific Northwest, and Great Plains.

The following criteria must be met for NOAA to use the established partnerships with CESUs:

The proposed funding opportunity must fit within the objectives of the National CESU Network Program outlined below:

• To provide research, technical assistance, and education to federal land management, environmental, and research agencies and their partners in biological, physical, social, cultural, and engineering disciplines needed to address natural and cultural resource management issues at multiple scales and in an ecosystem context.

• The proposed funding opportunity must fit the intent of the Cooperative and Joint Agreements, which means o The research partnership will carry out or stimulate an activity (data, products or services) for a public purpose; and o NOAA will be significantly involved in the work.

Previous research completed by a local CI will be considered in decisions made to issue an award to a CESU.

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The funding instrument for a selected application from an eligible NOAA Federal applicant will be an intra-agency transfer of funds.

The funding instrument for a selected application from a non-NOAA Federal applicant will be through an inter-agency transfer of funds, provided legal authority exists for the Federal applicant to receive funds from another agency. Non-NOAA Federal applicants that intend to be the lead institution must call Laura Golden/240-533-0285 to discuss technical details.

PLEASE NOTE: Before non-NOAA Federal applicants may be funded, they must demonstrate that they have applicable legal authority for an interagency transfer of funds.

Support may be solely through NCCOS or partnered with other Federal offices and agencies.

The intra- and inter-agency transfers of funds are not Federal assistance (grants or cooperative agreements), and the policies described in this Announcement applicable to Federal assistance awards do not apply to Federal entities receiving intra- and inter-agency transfers of funds. Refer to the Agency Contact officials in Section VII. for more information.

III. Eligibility Information

A. Eligible Applicants

Eligible applicants for Federal financial assistance in this competition are institutions of higher education, other non-profits, state, local, Indian Tribal Governments, for-profit organizations, U.S. Territories and Federal agencies that possess the statutory authority to receive transfers of funds. DOC/NOAA supports cultural and gender diversity and encourages applications involving women and minority individuals and groups. In addition, 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. DOC/NOAA encourages applications involving any of the above institutions to apply.

Please note that:

(1) PIs should be employees of an eligible entity listed above; and applications should be submitted through that entity. Non-Federal researchers should comply with their institutional requirements for application submission.

(2) Non-NOAA Federal applicants will be required to submit certifications or documentation showing that they have specific legal authority to accept funds for this type of research.

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(3) Foreign researchers must apply as subawards or contracts through an eligible US entity.

(4) Non-Federal researchers affiliated with NOAA-University Cooperative/Joint Institutes will be funded through cooperative agreements.

(5) NCCOS researchers may apply as subawards through an eligible US entity but cannot be the lead PI on the application.

B. Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement

None.

C. Other Criteria that Affect Eligibility

Each application must substantially comply with the sixteen elements listed under Content and Form of Application, Required Elements, (1) - (16), or it will be returned to sender without further consideration. A checklist with the required and requested application elements can be found in Section VIII.

IV. Application and Submission Information

A. Address to Request Application Package

Laura Golden

1305 East West Hwy

SSMC 4 Station 8219

Silver Spring, MD 20910

B. Content and Form of Application

Example Application

An example application can be found on the NCCOS website at:

https://coastalscience.noaa.gov/about/funding-opportunities/application-forms/.

Required Elements

Collaborative Proposals - If more than one institution is collaborating in a project awarded

Federal Funding Opportunity Page 11 of 35 funds, the lead institution will be responsible for distributing funds to the partner institutions with the exception of Federal partners. Federal partners will be funded with either intra- or inter-agency agreements initiated by NCCOS. Collaborating institutions expected to receive funds must be budgeted as subawards or contracts. Unfunded collaborators may also participate.

Each application must substantially comply with the following sixteen elements to be forwarded for merit review. The Summary, Title page, Abstract, Project Description, References, Biographical Sketch, and Budget Justification must be single spaced in 12-point font with 1-inch margins. The Collaborators List must be an Excel spreadsheet. The sixteen elements are as follows:

(1) Standard Form 424. The applicant must submit the Standard Form, SF-424, “Application for Federal Assistance,” to indicate the total amount of funding proposed for the whole project period. This form is to be the cover page for the original application and is the first required form in the grants.gov application package.

(2) Summary title page. One-page maximum. The Summary title page identifies the project's title, starting with the acronym: CHRP 2018 and the PI’s name and affiliation, complete address, phone and e-mail information. The requested funding amounts for each fiscal year should be included on the Summary title page. If this proposal is a resubmission from a previous NCCOS competition, indicate that information on the Summary title page.

(3) One-page abstract/project summary. The summary (abstract) should appear on a separate single page, headed with the proposal title, institution(s), investigator(s), total proposed cost, and budget period. It should be written in the third person. The summary is used to help compare proposals quickly and allows the respondents to summarize their key points in their own words. Project summaries of applications that receive funding may be posted on program-related websites.

The project summary should include an introduction of the problem, rationale, scientific objectives and/or hypotheses to be tested, and a brief summary of work to be completed.

(4) Project Description. The description of the proposed project must include narratives of the Proposed Research (elements a through d), the Applications to Management (element e), and the Data Management Plan (element f).

The description of the proposed project must not be more than 15 pages for elements (a) through (e) and an additional 2 pages for the Data Management Plan (f).

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The Proposed Research Narrative should be thorough and explicitly indicate its relevance to the program goals and scientific priorities by:

(a) Identifying the topic that is being addressed by the proposal.

(b) Describing the proposed scientific objectives and research activities in relation to the present state of knowledge in the field and in relation to previous and current work by the proposing PI(s).

(c) Discussing how the proposed project lends value to the program goals.

(d) Identifying the function of each PI. The Lead PI(s) will be responsible for communicating with the Federal Program Manager on all pertinent verbal or written information.

(e) The Applications to Management Narrative should establish the connection to relevant resource management needs by explicitly identifying the end user group(s) including evidence of the linkage between the scientific questions and management needs. If the applicant proposes the establishment of an MTAG, then its activities should also be included in this section (see required information in Section I.B.2.). This narrative should provide the management justification for the research through:

(i) Articulating the coordination with one or more management entities.

(ii) Discussing the expected significance of the project to management priorities and needs. Specific management targets, with proposed outputs and outcomes, should describe how this project will improve management capabilities. Outputs are defined as products (e.g. publications, models) or activities that lead to outcomes (changes in management knowledge or action). Definitions and examples of outputs and outcomes can be accessed at https://coastalscience.noaa.gov/about/funding-opportunities/outputs-and-outcomes/ The timeline for achieving outcomes should be included in the Milestone Chart (below).

(iii) Describing specific activities, such as workshops or development of outreach materials that will enhance information transfer from project scientists to relevant management entities, other end-users, or the public.

If the proposal is a resubmission from a previous competition, any concerns identified in the

Federal Funding Opportunity Page 13 of 35 previous review process and provided to the applicant should be addressed in the resubmitted proposal.

(f) Providing a detailed Data Management Plan that describes how metadata and data collected as part of the project will be disseminated to the broader community, and plans for longer term archiving of these data. PIs that propose to collaborate with data centers or networks, except the National Center for Environmental Information, are advised to obtain letters of commitment that affirm the collaboration. Where possible, all PIs are strongly encouraged to use existing data centers and data portals to archive and disseminate their data. Costs associated with use of data centers, or data archiving, should be included in the application budget. See the section on the NOAA Data Reporting requirements below (Section VI.C.).

(5) References cited. Reference information is required. Each reference should include the names of all authors in the same sequence they appear in the publications, the article title, the journal or book title, volume number, page numbers, and year of publications. While there is no established page limitation, this section should include bibliographic citations only and should not be used to provide parenthetical information outside of the Project Description.

(6) Milestone chart. Provide timelines of major tasks covering the duration of the proposed project.

(7) Biographical sketch. All PI(s) and co-PI(s) must provide summaries of up to 2 pages that include the following:

(a) A listing of professional and academic credentials and mailing address.

(b) A list of up to five publications most closely related to the proposed project and five other significant publications.

(8) Current and pending support. Describe all current and pending Federal financial/funding support for all PI(s) and co-PI(s). Continuing grants must also be included. A current and pending support form is available on the NCCOS website for your use:

https://coastalscience.noaa.gov/about/funding-opportunities/application-forms/. You should respond to this element whether or not you have any current and/or pending support, e.g. by indicating “not applicable.”

(9) A list of all known applicable permits that will be required to perform the proposed work.

You should respond to this requirement element whether or not permits are required.

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(10) Accomplishments from Prior Federal Support addressing hypoxia research. If any PI or co-PI identified on the project has received Federal funding in the past five years for hypoxia research, information on the award(s) is required. Each PI and co-PI who has received more than one award (excluding amendments) must report on the award most closely related to the proposal. This section should not exceed two pages per award in addition to the 15 pages for the Project Description.

The following information should be provided:

a) the Federal agency, award number, amount and period of support;

b) the title of the project;

c) a summary of the results of the completed work;

d) publications resulting from the award;

e) a brief description of outputs and outcomes; and

f) as appropriate, a description of the relation of the completed work to the proposed work.

When applicable, this information will be considered by reviewers in the evaluation of overall qualifications of applicants. You should respond to this element whether or not you have accomplishments from prior Federal support on hypoxia; e.g. by indicating “no prior Federal research on hypoxia.”

(11) Budget narrative/justification. In order to allow reviewers to fully evaluate the appropriateness of costs, all applications must include a detailed budget narrative and a justification to support all proposed budget categories for each fiscal year. Personnel costs should be broken out by named PI and number of months and percentage of time requested per year per PI. Support for each PI should be commensurate with their stated involvement each year in the milestones chart (see Required Elements (6) Milestone chart).

Any unnamed personnel (graduate students, post-doctoral researchers, technicians) should be identified by their job title, and their personnel costs explained similar to PI personnel costs above. The contribution of any personnel to the project goals should be explained. Travel costs should be broken out by number of people traveling, destination and purpose of travel, Federal Funding Opportunity Page 15 of 35 and projected costs per person. Equipment costs should describe the equipment to be purchased, and its contribution to the achievement of the project goals. Each subaward should be listed as a separate item in the budget justification. Provide separate budget justifications for each subaward and indicate the basis for the cost estimates. Describe project activities for subawards and products/services to be obtained for acquisitions, and indicate the applicability or necessity of each to the project.

For additional information concerning each of the required categories and appropriate level of disclosure please see http://www.ago.noaa.gov/grants/docs/gmd_budget_narrative_guidance_-_05-24- 2017_final.pdf.

Any ship time needs must be clearly identified in the proposed budget. The applicant is responsible for requesting ship time through appropriate channels and for meeting all requirements to ensure the availability of requested ship time. Copies of relevant ship time request forms should be included with the proposal.

If any NOAA personnel will be present during ship operations, vessel safety clearances must be obtained through the NOAA Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (OMAO) in advance of the cruise. Required information and procedures are detailed in a Charter Vessel Acquisition and Safety NOAA Administrative Order, which can be accessed via the OMAO website at http://www.omao.noaa.gov/learn/headquarters/safety-environmental-compliance/vessel-chartering-info.

If more than one institution is collaborating in a project awarded funds, a separate budget justification is required for each subaward. Signed approval from each identified subaward institution is also required. The lead institution is responsible for sending funds to their subaward institutions. For acquisition contracts, the purpose and cost or price must be fully justified and the contract must fully comply with 2 C.F.R. 200.317-.326.

An applicant requesting funds for indirect costs in its proposal budget that has a current Federally approved rate should submit documentation of the indirect cost rate agreement as an attachment to its application submission. An applicant without a Federally approved rate should refer to Section IV.F. of this Announcement regarding options.

(12) CD-511. Certification Regarding Lobbying. Lead institutions can submit these forms through the grants.gov CD-511 document placeholder without a hard signature because electronic signatures are allowed on documents from the submitting institution.

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(13) Standard Form 424B. Assurances - Non-Construction Programs. Lead institutions can submit these forms through the grants.gov SF-424B document placeholder without a hard signature because electronic signatures are allowed on document from the submitting institutions.

(14) Standard Form 424A. All applicants are required to submit a SF-424A Budget Form that identifies the budget for each fiscal year of the proposal. Place each fiscal year in separate columns in Section B of page 1 on the SF-424A by filling in the fiscal years 1 to 4 in Section A Budget Summary - Grant Program Function or Activity column. (Note that this revised SF-424A Section B format is a NOAA requirement that is not reflected in the Instructions for the SF-424A). The budget figures must correspond with the descriptions contained in the proposal.

Each subaward should provide a SF-424A listing each year of funding being requested. List total subaward costs under line item 6.h. other on the SF-424A. Signed approval from the institution of each identified subaward should be provided. Indirect cost may not be applied to ship costs unless specified within the indirect cost rate agreement of the institution.

(15) Provide one list that includes all (U.S. and Foreign) collaborators, advisors, and advisees for each investigator (PI(s), co-PIs, post-docs, and subawardees), complete with corresponding institutions. Submit only one, combined and alphabetized list per application in an excel spreadsheet using First Name, Last Name and Institution for the column headings. Collaborators are individuals who have participated in a project or publication within the last 48 months with any investigator, including co-authors on publications in their resumes. Collaborators also include those persons with which the investigators may have ongoing collaboration negotiations. Advisees and Advisors do not have a time limit.

Advisees are persons with whom the individual investigator has had an association as thesis advisor or postdoctoral sponsor. Advisors include an individual’s own graduate and postgraduate advisors. Unfunded participants in the proposed study should also be listed (but not their collaborators). This information is critical for identifying potential conflicts of interests and avoiding bias in the selection of reviewers.

(16) Key Contacts form. All applicants must submit the Key Contacts form. This form can be found on the NCCOS website: https://coastalscience.noaa.gov/about/funding-opportunities/application-forms/. This form identifies the official applicant contacts.

Applications should not contain extra documents or appendices.

Application format and assembly. Applications submitted via Grants.gov APPLY should

Federal Funding Opportunity Page 17 of 35 follow the format guidelines below:

Attachments must be submitted in Adobe Acrobat PDF, text document or Microsoft word or excel format to maintain format integrity. Please submit the required documents as described below. Follow the instructions found on the Grants.gov web site for application submission into the Grants.gov system. All required forms that do not have specific placeholders in the Mandatory Document box must be submitted in the Optional Form box as Other Attachments and labeled with the document name: i.e., collaborator list, budget narrative, milestone chart, etc. For a collaborative application: the documents for each additional institution should be combined into one file. The lead institution should label the file with the name of the institution and upload the file into the Optional Form box as Other Attachments. Repeat this procedure for each collaborating institution.

Save your completed application package with two different names before submission to avoid having to re-create the package should you experience submission problems. If you experience submission problems that may result in your application being late, send an e-mail to support@grants.gov and call the Grants.gov help desk. Their phone number is posted on the Grants.gov web site. The Program Manager associated with this Federal Funding Opportunity will use programmatic discretion in accepting applications due to documented electronic submission problems. Please note: if more than one submission of an application is performed, the last application submitted before the due date and time will be the official version.

In addition to the sixteen required elements, applicants may provide the following:

(1) A list of potential merit reviewers on a page after the Summary Title Page.

(2) Letters from unfunded collaborators, verifying their contribution to the project, and MTAG members, verifying their willingness to serve on the MTAG. These letters do not count against the page limit for the Project Description. Letters of support may also be included, which also will not count against the page limit for the Project Description. These elements can be uploaded into the Optional Form box under Other Attachments in Grants.gov.

Applications containing known subawards must provide an SF-424A, Budget Justification, Current and Pending Support, and Key Contacts for each subaward. Signed approval from the institution of each subaward and contractor should be provided. We also request submission of the indirect rate agreement for subawards, if applicable. Applicants should provide Key Contacts for acquisition contracts and may provide additional information

Federal Funding Opportunity Page 18 of 35 similar to that requested in this section for an acquisition contract if it may help NOAA assure compliance of the contract with 2 C.F.R. 200.317-326. Permits, accomplishments, Biographical sketches and the collaborators lists should be supplied to the lead institution in order for them to be combined within the lead application information.

It will be the applicant's responsibility to obtain all necessary Federal, state and local government permits and approvals where necessary for the proposed work to be conducted.

Applicants are expected to design their proposals so that they minimize the potential adverse impact on the environment. If applicable, documentation of requests or approvals of environmental permits should be received by the Program Manager prior to funding.

Applications will be reviewed to ensure that they have sufficient environmental documentation to allow program staff to determine whether the proposal is categorically excluded from further National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analysis, or whether an Environmental Assessment is necessary in conformance with requirements of the NEPA. For those applications needing an Environmental Assessment, affected applicants will be informed after the peer review stage, and will be requested to assist in the preparation of a draft of the assessment (prior to award). Failure to apply for and/or obtain Federal, state, and local permits, approvals, letters of agreement, or failure to provide environmental analysis where necessary (e.g. NEPA environmental assessment) may delay the award of funds if a project is otherwise selected for funding.

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

To enable the use of a universal identifier and to build the quality of information available to the public as required by the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act, 31 U.S.C. 6101. Note, to the extent applicable, any applicant awarded in response to this Announcement will be required to use the System for Award Management (SAM), which may be accessed online at https://www.sam.gov/portal/public/SAM/. Applicants are also required to use the Dun and Bradstreet Universal Numbering System (DUNS) and will be subject to reporting requirements, as identified in OMB guidance published at 2 CFR Part 25, which may be accessed online at: http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?tpl=/ecfrbrowse/Title02/2cfr25_main_02.tpl. See Section IV.G. of this Announcement for more information.

D. Submission Dates and Times

The deadline for receipt of full applications for CHRP at NOAA is 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time on January 30, 2018. Full applications should be submitted electronically to Grants.gov (http://www.grants.gov) and must be received and validated by Grants.gov by the

Federal Funding Opportunity Page 19 of 35 deadline. Applications received after the deadline will be rejected and returned to the sender without further consideration. Investigators submitting applications via Grants.gov are advised to submit well in advance of the deadline.

If use of Grants.gov is not feasible, an applicant is concerned about possible problems associated with the Grants.gov system, or Grants.gov is unable to accept an application electronically in a timely fashion, an applicant may submit a paper copy of their application.

Paper applications must include all application elements described in this Announcement, including an SF-424 form with original ink or valid electronic signature and date from an Authorized 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 before 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time on January 30, 2018. Private metered postmarks will not be accepted. Applicants submitting by paper are responsible for tracking their applications and should notify the Program Manager (refer to Section VII) that they are submitting by paper.

Late-arriving paper applications will be accepted for review only if the applicant can document that:

(a) The application was postmarked or provided to a delivery service with delivery to the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, 1305 East-West Highway, SSMC4, Mail Station 8219, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910 by the deadline;

(b) The application was received by 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time no later than two business days following the closing date. The applicant is responsible for notifying the Program Manager (refer to Section VII) of its submission. If an applicant is not notified of receipt of its application by NOAA, the applicant is responsible for contacting the Program Manager and providing documentation that demonstrates the application was provided to the delivery service ahead of the deadline.

Important: All applicants, both electronic and paper, 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.

E. Intergovernmental Review

Applications under this program are not subject to Executive Order 12372, "Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs." It has been determined that this notice is not significant for purposes of Executive Order 12866. Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553(a) (2), an

Federal Funding Opportunity Page 20 of 35 opportunity for public notice and comment is not required for this notice relating to grants, benefits and contracts. Because this notice is exempt from the notice and comment provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act, a Regulatory Flexibility Analysis is not required, and none has been prepared. It has been determined that this notice does not contain policies with Federalism implications as that term is defined in Executive Order 13132.

F. Funding Restrictions

Indirect Costs: If an applicant has not previously established an indirect cost rate with a Federal agency it may choose to use the de minimis indirect cost rate of 10% of Modified Total Direct Cost as allowable under 2 C.F.R. §200.414 or negotiate a rate with the Department of Commerce. The negotiation and approval of such a new 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.

NCCOS will not fund start up or operational costs for private business ventures and neither fees nor profits will be considered as allowable costs. Ship costs may not be included in indirect cost calculations unless specified within the indirect cost rate agreement of the institution. NCCOS will not pay for ship overhead expenses otherwise. If indirect costs are applied incorrectly, an approved indirect cost agreement or budget revision will be required before an application can be recommended for funding.

G. Other Submission Requirements

Applications previously submitted to NCCOS Federal Funding Opportunities and not recommended for funding must be revised to address any reviewer or panel concerns before resubmission. Resubmitted applications that have not been revised to address identified concerns may be returned without review.

Applications submitted in response to this announcement are strongly encouraged to be submitted through the Grants.gov web site. The full funding announcement for this program is available via the Grants.gov web site: http://www.grants.gov. You will be able to access, download and submit electronic grant applications for NOAA Programs in this announcement at http://www.grants.gov. NOAA strongly recommends that you do not wait until the application deadline date to begin the application process through Grants.gov.

Applicants must register with Grants.gov before any application materials can be submitted.

To use Grants.gov, applicants must have a Dun and Bradstreet Data Universal Number

Federal Funding Opportunity Page 21 of 35

System (DUNS) number and be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM), and periodic renewals are required. 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. Allow a minimum of five days to complete the SAM registration. (Note: Your organization’s Employer Identification Number (EIN) will be needed on the application form). An organization's one-time registration process may take up to three weeks to complete. In addition, it may take two days until the applicant is notified as to whether NOAA received the application, so allow sufficient time to ensure applications are submitted before the closing date.

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. Only validated applications are sent to NOAA for review. After the application has been validated, this same person will receive a third email when the application has been downloaded by the Federal agency.

In addition to Grants.gov, this announcement will also be available by contacting the program…