noaa-nos-nms-2013-2003449.pdf

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: FY13 Great Lakes Bay Watershed Education and Training Program

Announcement Type: Initial

Funding Opportunity Number: NOAA-NOS-NMS-2013-2003449

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 11.429, Marine Sanctuary Program

Dates: Full proposals must be received and validated by Grants.gov on or before 5:00 pm EDT on November 2, 2012. PLEASE NOTE: When submitting through www.Grants.gov, you will receive 2 emails. An initial email will be sent to confirm your attempt to submit a proposal.

This is NOT a confirmation of acceptance of your application. It may take www.Grants.gov up to two (2) business days to validate or reject the application and send you a second email. Please keep this in mind in developing your submission timeline.

If an applicant does not have Internet access or if www.Grants.gov has technical issues that prohibit submission, hard copy applications will be accepted. Hard copies may be submitted by postal mail, commercial delivery service, or hand-delivery, postmarked by 5 pm on November 2, 2012. Use of U.S. mail or another delivery service must be documented with a receipt. No facsimile or electronic mail applications will be accepted.

Funding Opportunity Description: The Great Lakes B-WET grant program is a competitively based program that supports existing environmental education programs, fosters the growth of new programs, and encourages the development of partnerships among environmental education programs throughout the Great Lakes watershed. Projects support organizations that provide students "meaningful" watershed educational experiences and teachers professional development opportunities in the area of environmental education, while helping to support regional education and environmental priorities in the Great Lakes.

FULL ANNOUNCEMENT TEXT

I. Funding Opportunity Description

A. Program Objective

The NOAA Bay Watershed Education and Training (B-WET) Program is an environmental education program that supports experiential learning through competitive grant awards in specific geographic regions. Currently, B-WET Programs are implemented in the Chesapeake Bay, California, the Hawaiian Islands, New England, the Gulf of Mexico, the Pacific Northwest, and the Great Lakes. The Great Lakes B-WET program was established in 2011 with funding provided by the EPA through the Great Lakes Restoration

Initiative. For purposes of this solicitation, the "Great Lakes" includes the states of New

York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin.

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. Experiential learning techniques, such as those supported by the NOAA B-WET Program, have been shown to increase interest in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), thus contributing to NOAA's obligations under the America COMPETES Act (33 USC 893a(a)).

The Great Lakes B-WET program is a competitively based program that supports existing environmental education programs, fosters the growth of new programs, and encourages the development of partnerships among environmental education programs throughout the Great Lakes basin. Funded projects provide meaningful watershed educational experiences to students and teachers. The NOAA B-WET Great Lakes Program is funded through the EPA-administered Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. In addition to providing meaningful watershed educational experiences, all applicants must demonstrate how their project supports and aligns with the goals, strategies, and principles of the GLRI

Action Plan.

Information on the Great Lakes B-WET program can be found on the internet at http://www.thunderbay.noaa.gov/B-WET. Potential applicants are invited to contact the

Great Lakes B-WET Program Manager (contact information in Section VII) before submitting an application to discuss the applicability of partnership ideas to B-WET goals and objectives.

B. Program Priorities

Proposals must address one the following areas of interest: (1) Meaningful Watershed

Educational Experiences for Students; (2) Professional Development in the Area of

Environmental Education for Teachers ;(3) Exemplary Programs; (4) Continuation of

Existing B-WET Grants. If proposals do not address one of the areas of interest, they will be returned without further review.

1. Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences for Students

The NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries seeks proposals for projects that provide opportunities for students to participate in a meaningful watershed educational experience.

The Great Lakes environment and the surrounding watershed provide an excellent opportunity for environmental education. In many cases, the Lakes, their coastlines and the landscape around them can provide "hands-on" laboratories where students can see, touch, and learn about the environment. In other cases, the environment can be brought alive to the classroom through a strong complement of outdoor and classroom experiences. The environment can provide a genuine, locally relevant source of knowledge that can be used to help advance student learning skills and problem-solving abilities across the entire school curriculum.

Proposals submitted under this area should address the following elements and types of activities:

a. Projects make a direct connection to the Great Lakes environment. Experiences demonstrate to students that local actions can impact the larger Great Lakes environment.

b. Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences are an integral part of the instructional program: Experiences should be clearly part of what is occurring in the classroom. Experiences should be part of the curriculum and be aligned with the Content

Standards for their state's public schools.

c. Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences are project-oriented, hands-on, and investigative:Experiences should be centered on questions, problems, and issues pertaining to their local watershed or coastal area; Experiences should be investigated through data collection, observation, and hands-on activities.

d. Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences are part of a sustained activity:

Experiences should be part of a sustained activity, preferably over the course of a school year, which stimulates and motivates the student from beginning to end. Experiences should consist of at least two outdoor experiences. Experiences should consist of three general parts

- a preparation phase; an outdoor phase; and an analysis, reporting phase.

e. Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences reflect an integrated approach to learning: Experiences should involve the use of materials, resources, and instruments to address multiple topics, such as civics, history, economics, math, English, art, and the cultural significance of our natural resources.

f. Projects involve external sharing and communication: Projects must promote sharing and emphasize the need for external sharing and communication. Projects should include a mechanism that encourages the students to share their experiences with other students, family members or with the community, e.g., through a mentoring program, newsletters, journals, community presentations, or family audits.

g. Projects demonstrate partnerships: Project proposals should include multiple partners.

A partnership is a collaborative working relationship between two or more organizations. All partners should be actively involved in the project, not just supply equipment or curricula.

Letters from each partner must be submitted with the application package to demonstrate the level of commitment and involvement. The Great Lakes B-WET Program strongly encourages applicants to partner with a school or school system and demonstrate full support by the school administration.

h. Experiences are for all students: The Great Lakes B-WET Program is strongly committed to expanding the knowledge and participation of a low income and underserved student population in marine and environmental education. At least 50% of the target audience served by this project should be from a low income or underserved student population. Please include the ethnic, social and gender demographics of the classroom participants, for example (46% Latinos, 80% free lunch, 15% females) and the webpage(s) that was used to gather the demographic information.

i. Projects utilize NOAA programs or personnel: Many NOAA offices have excellent programs that can be geared towards K-12 students and have personnel that are experts in

Great Lakes issues. Utilizing NOAA programs or issues focused on Great Lakes resources and/or employing the expertise of NOAA scientists and natural resource professionals can heighten the impact of a Meaningful Watershed Experience (for more information about

NOAA programs, please visit the following NOAA websites:http://www.noaa.gov, http://www.oesd.noaa.gov/, http://www.oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/welcome.html, http://www.estuaries.gov, http://www.ioos.gov/catalog/, and http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/education).

j. Projects are aligned with the NOAA Education Plan, the Great Lakes Restoration

Initiative (GLRI) Action Plan, and the Great Lakes Literacy Essential Principles: Applicants must demonstrate how their project supports and aligns with the goals and strategies of the

NOAA Education Plan, GLRI Action Plan, and the essential principles of Great Lakes

Literacy.

Proposals must not just list the goals, strategies, and principles but must provide examples of how their project aligns with them. For more information, please visit the

NOAA Office of Education website for the NOAA Education Plan, http://www.oesd.noaa.gov/NOAA_Ed_Plan.pdf ; the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative website for the GLRI Action Plan, http://greatlakesrestoration.us/pdfs/glri_actionplan.pdf;

and the Great Lakes Literacy website for a listing of the essential principles and fundamental concepts, http://greatlakesliteracy.net/_downloads/gllp-brochure-web.pdf.

2. Professional Development in the Area of Environmental Education for Teachers

The NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries seeks proposals for projects that provide teachers (in-service or pre-service) opportunities for professional development in the area of environmental education related to the Great Lakes watershed. As the purveyors of education, teachers can ultimately make meaningful environmental education experiences for students by weaving together classroom and field activities within the context of their curriculum and of current critical issues that impact the watershed. Systematic, long-term professional development opportunities will reinforce a teacher's ability to teach, inspire, and lead young people toward thoughtful stewardship of our natural resources. Proposals submitted under this area should address the following elements and types of activities:

a. Projects should provide teachers the understanding and essence of a Meaningful

Watershed Educational Experience: Professional development opportunities should instruct teachers about the meaning of a Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience. Please include number of contact hours before, during and after the workshop. Projects should be designed so that teachers are capable of conducting an experience in their classroom. The goal is to ensure that professional development experiences for the teacher ultimately benefit the student. In person follow up is recommended to ensure that the teacher is actually implementing an experience in his/her classroom.

b. Projects involve external sharing and communication: Projects must promote peer-to-peer sharing and emphasize the need for external sharing and communication. Projects should include a mechanism that encourages teachers to share their experiences with other teachers and with the environmental education community, e.g., through mentoring opportunities, presentations at conferences, in-school service days, or other public forums.

c. Projects demonstrate partnerships: Project proposals should include multiple partners.

A partnership is a collaborative working relationship between two or more organizations. All partners should be actively involved in the project, not just supply equipment or curricula.

Letters of support from each partner must be submitted with the application package to demonstrate the level of commitment and involvement. The Great Lakes B-WET Program strongly encourages applicants to partner with schools and/or school systems.

d. Experiences are for all teachers: The Great Lakes B-WET Program is strongly committed to expanding the knowledge and participation of teachers who serve a low income and underserved student population. At least 50% of the target audience served by this project will be from a low income or underserved student population. Please include the ethnic, social and gender demographics of the classroom participants, for example (46%

Latinos, 80% free lunch, 15% females) and the webpage(s) that was used to gather the demographic information.

e. Projects utilize NOAA programs or personnel: Many NOAA offices have excellent programs that can be geared towards K-12 students and have personnel that are experts in

Great Lakes issues. Utilizing NOAA programs and issues focused on Great Lakes resources and/or employing the expertise of NOAA scientists and natural resource professionals can heighten the impact of a meaningful watershed experience (for more information about

NOAA programs, please visit the following NOAA websites: http://www.noaa.gov, http://www.oesd.noaa.gov/, http://www.oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/welcome.html, http://www.estuaries.gov, http://www.ioos.gov/catalog/, and http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/education).

f. Projects are aligned with the NOAA Education Plan, the Great Lakes Restoration

Initiative (GLRI) Action Plan, and the Great Lakes Literacy Essential Principles: Applicants must demonstrate how their project supports and aligns with the goals and strategies of the

NOAA Education Plan, GLRI Action Plan, and the essential principles of Great Lakes

Literacy. Proposals must not just list the goals, strategies, and principles but must provide examples of how their project aligns with them. For more information, please visit the

NOAA Office of Education website for the NOAA Education Plan, http://www.oesd.noaa.gov/NOAA_Ed_Plan.pdf ; the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative website for the GLRI Action Plan, http://greatlakesrestoration.us/pdfs/glri_actionplan.pdf;

and the Great Lakes Literacy website for a listing of the essential principles and fundamental concepts, http://greatlakesliteracy.net/_downloads/gllp-brochure-web.pdf.

3. Exemplary Projects

The NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries seeks exemplary projects that combine Teacher Professional Development with long-term K-12 classroom-integrated

Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences for their students. Long-term professional development for teachers coupled with multiple meaningful watershed experiences for students that are fully supported in the classroom by their teachers will ensure that the concepts of watershed education are reinforced throughout the school year.

4. Continuation of Existing B-WET Grants

The NOAA B-WET Program has existing grants that were identified by applicants as potential continuation projects (up to 3 years). Renewal grants will be awarded to continue these projects under this announcement pending successful review of a new proposal, and adequate progress reports and/or site visits.

In appropriate circumstances, NOAA reserves the right to partially fund proposals by funding discrete portions or phases of a proposed project. If NOAA decides to partially fund a proposal, it will do so in a manner that does not prejudice any applicants or affect the basis upon which the proposal, or portion thereof, was evaluated or selected for the award, and therefore maintains the integrity of the competition and selection process.

C. Program Authority

Under 33 USC 893 a(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

This solicitation announces that approximately $325,000 may be available in award amounts to be determined by the proposals and available funds. NOAA anticipates making up to 7 new awards during FY 2013. The total Federal amount that may be requested from

NOAA shall not exceed $75,000 per year. The minimum Federal amount that must be requested from NOAA for one year is $25,000. Applications requesting Federal support from NOAA outside of these parameters will not be considered for funding.

NOAA will consider only projects with duration of one year. Proposals may be considered eligible for continuation beyond the first project period. However, funds will be made available for only a one-year award period and any continuation of the award period will depend on submission of a successful continuation proposal subject to panel reviews, adequate progress on previous award(s), and available funding to continue the award. No assurance for funding for a continuation exists; funding will be at the complete discretion of

NOAA. Projects that plan on continuation must include in their first-year submission a full description of the activities and budget for the first year as described in this announcement, and a summary description of the proposed work and estimated budget for each subsequent year. If selected for funding, the applicant will be required to submit a full proposal each subsequent year by the deadline announced in the following competitive cycle. In addition to the requirements for new proposals, continuation projects should include the accomplishments to date on the previous year's grant in their subsequent grant submissions.

No proposal will be considered for continuation more than two times.

There is no guarantee that sufficient funds will be available to make awards for all qualified projects. The exact amount of funds that may be awarded will be determined in pre-award negotiations between the applicant and NOAA representatives. Publication of this notice does not oblige NOAA to award any specific project or to obligate any available funds. If applicants incur any costs prior to an award being made, they do so at their own risk of not being reimbursed by the government. Notwithstanding verbal or written assurance that may have been received, there is no obligation on the part of NOAA to cover pre-award costs unless approved by the Grants Officer as part of the terms when the award is made.

Applicants are hereby given notice that funds have not yet been appropriated for this program.

B. Project/Award Period

The project start date should not begin before June 1, 2013. Applications should cover a project period of 12 months duration. Applications must include a project description and a budget for the entire period.

Applicants selected to receive funding may be asked to modify the project start date. It is recommended to include in your project description the flexibility of the requested start date.

C. Type of Funding Instrument

Whether the funding instrument is a grant or a cooperative agreement will be determined by the amount of involvement by the federal government in the project. A cooperative agreement will be used if the NOAA B-WET Program shares responsibility for management, control, direction, or performance of the project with the recipient. Specific terms regarding substantial involvement will be contained in special award conditions.

III. Eligibility Information

A. Eligible Applicants

Eligible applicants are K-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.

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 service underserved areas. The NOAA B-WET program encourages proposals involving any of the above institutions.

B. Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement

No cost sharing is required under this program, however, the NOAA B-WET Program strongly encourages applicants share as much of the costs of the award as possible. Funds from other Federal awards may not be considered matching funds. The nature of the contribution (cash vs. in-kind) and the amount of matching funds will be taken into consideration during the review process with cash being the preferred method of contribution. Other Federal funds cannot be used as cost share/match.

C. Other Criteria that Affect Eligibility

None

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 requires applicants to register with the system prior to submitting an application. This registration process can take several weeks and involves multiple steps. In order to allow sufficient time for this process, you should register as soon as you decide to apply, even if you are not yet ready to submit your proposal. If an applicant has problems downloading the application forms from Grants.gov, contact Grants.gov

Customer Support at 1-800-518-4726 or support@grants.gov. For non-Windows computer systems, please see http://www.grants.gov/MacSupport for information on how to download and submit an application through Grants.gov.

Paper application packages are available on the NOAA Grants Management website at:

http://www.ago.noaa.gov/ago/grants/forms.cfm. If the applicant has difficulty accessing

Grants.gov or downloading the required forms from the NOAA website, the applicant should contact: Cathy Green, Great Lakes B-WET Program, Thunder Bay National Marine

Sanctuary, 500 W. Fletcher Street, Alpena, MI 49707, or by phone at 989-356-8805 ext.10, or via internet at cathy.green@noaa.gov.

B. Content and Form of Application

Proposals must be complete and must follow the format described in this notice.

Applicants should not assume prior knowledge on the part of NOAA staff or the reviewers as to the relative merits of the project described in the application. Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit applications electronically through http://www.grants.gov.

Hard copy applications must be submitted with completed forms containing the original signature of the submitting institution's authorized representative and an electronic copy of the entire application on CD, including scanned signed forms.

1.Application Form

The page margin on standard letter-size paper must be one inch (2.5 cm) at the top, bottom, left, and right. All pages should be numbered. The typeface must be standard 12-point size and must be clear and easily legible. All narrative sections of the application should be single spaced and consist of the sections described in Section IV.B.2. The entire proposal narrative shall not exceed 20 pages. The budget narrative and budget table are not included in this 20 page limit.

2. Federal Forms

(1) Application for Federal Assistance: SF-424.

(2) Budget Information, Non-construction Programs: SF-424A.

(3) Assurances, Non-Construction Programs: SF-424B

(4) Certifications Regarding Lobbying: CD-511

Depending on the applicant, the following forms may also be required:

(5) Disclosure of Lobbying Activities: SF-LLL (if applicable)

(6) Application for Federal Assistance (Required for the following individuals - Sole

Proprietorship, Partnerships, Corporations, Joint Venture, Non-profit Organizations): CD-

3. Proposal Format

Required elements for all submissions- In addition to the Federal Forms outlined above, proposals must include the following information. Brevity will assist reviewers and program staff in dealing effectively with proposals. Proposal narratives should not exceed the one-page project summary page PLUS 19 pages. Proposals must be in at least an 12-point font, and be single-spaced.

(1) Project summary (1 page limit):

* Organization title.

* Principal Investigator(s) (PI).

* Address, telephone number, and email address of Principal Investigator(s).

* Program Priority you are using (i.e., Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences for Students; Professional Development for Teachers related to Meaningful Watershed

Educational Experiences; Exemplary Programs; or Continuation Grant)

* Project title.

* Project duration (12-month project period starting on the first of the month and ending on the last day of the month). Specify whether the project is being submitted with the intention of continuation beyond the first year.

* Summary of work to be performed during the project period: 3-5 sentences that succinctly describe the entire project period (including number of teachers/students reached).

This will be used as a project summary in funding reports for NOAA B-WET.

* List primary objectives for entire project.

* Budget Information:

* Total Federal funding requested this fiscal year.

* Cost-sharing to be provided from non-Federal sources, if any. Specify whether contributions are project-related cash or in-kind.

* Total project cost this fiscal year.

* Cost per student and/or teacher.

(2) Project description: Describe in detail what your project will achieve with the following headings: Need, Target Audience, Objectives, What, Where.

- Need: Provide a statement that describes the need for this type of project. Why are you proposing this project? Cite studies or sources, where appropriate, that verify the need for your project.

- Target audience: Identify the target audience and demonstrate an understanding of the needs of that audience. Identify specifically how many students and/or teachers are involved in your project and their demographics. Please also provide a plan of action that outlines how you will recruit your target audience and identify incentives to be used such as teacher stipends or continuing education credits.

- Objectives: Explain your objectives and how you are going to accomplish these objectives. Objectives do not include the number of people served or the activities you and your audience(s) engage in. Objectives should be simple and understandable; as specific and quantitative as possible. Clearly explain how you will achieve your expected outputs and outcomes.

- What: Provide a statement of your project that includes a clear statement of the work to be undertaken. Demonstrate how your project meets the criteria defined in the Program

Priorities. If you have previously received a B-WET grant and are reapplying for another year, please list the new components of your project, in addition to the elements listed above.

- Where: Give a precise location of the project and the area(s) that will be served.

(3) Who:

- Organization and Personnel: Proposals should demonstrate knowledge and experience in delivering the type of project requested in this application or otherwise explain why this organization can reasonably be expected to succeed in the delivery of this project. Explain who from your organization will conduct the project. Include key individuals who will work on the project and a short description of the nature of their effort or contribution. A resume for each individual that is participating significantly in the project is required (see "(10)

Appendices" below).

- Partners/collaborators: List each partner organization, cooperator, or other key individuals who will work on the project. Letters of support from each partner that is making a significant contribution to the project are required with the application package (see "(10)

Appendices" below). Please limit letters of support to persons with substantial involvement in the project. Wherever reasonable, proposals should include partnerships with school divisions and/or the state department of education (if the applicant is not one of these entities). Projects are also encouraged to collaborate with NOAA entities as partners.

NOAA entities include programs, offices, and organizations, such as the National Marine

Sanctuary Program, National Sea Grant College Program, National Weather Service

Weather Forecast Offices, NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration, National Marine Fisheries

Service, Coastal Management Programs, National Estuarine Research Reserves, and NOAA

Cooperative Institutes.

(4) Project timeline: Provide a project timeline in a table format that outlines the project from beginning to end. (see "(10) Appendices" below)

(5) Project evaluation: Evaluation here is defined as the systematic collection and documentation of information about the 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. Up to 10% of the budget can be spent on the evaluation component of your proposal.

For this section, describe your evaluation plan, that is, how you will measure and document the outcomes and impacts of your project on your audience(s). How will your audience(s) be different after their involvement in your project and how will you measure those differences? The outcomes you measure should correlate to your goals and objectives and the B-WET Program's definition of Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences.

Indicators of outcomes may be audience satisfaction with the project experience and changes in their knowledge, skills, attitudes, and/or behaviors. Indicators of outcomes do not include the number of people served or the activities you and your audience(s) engage in. In this section, also include how and when you will gather evaluation data. Data can be quantitative and/or qualitative and data-gathering instruments might include (but are not limited to) pre-and post-tests, surveys, interviews, guided observations, or rubric-rated presentations.

Please include in your supporting documents any evaluation tools that you will be using as part of your evaluation.

Also explain how you will document your evaluation results and if your evaluation will be front-end (used to determine audience needs/understandings and plan for project), formative (used to improve a project) and/or summative (used to guide judgments about a project's impact or value). For detailed information on how to create an evaluation plan, a please see the evaluation resources on the national B-WET website:

http://www.oesd.noaa.gov/grants/bwet.html In addition, grantees may be required to participate in a programmatic B-WET evaluation as a condition of funding.

(6) Benefits or results expected: Identify and document the results or benefits to be derived from the proposed activities this project period and over the entire prospective project. Include the number of students and/or teachers directly affected by this grant this project year. Also, include a per-teacher and/or per-student calculation for this project year.

- if you have not previously received a B-WET grant please describe your organization's background and accomplishments to date. Include any evaluation data and results that your organization may have conducted.

- If you have received a B-WET grant please include as much detail as possible on your accomplishments to date and lessons learned. List your objectives from previous years and provide accomplishments to date for each of the objectives. Provide as much detail as possible to demonstrate to reviewers that the project goals and objectives of your grant have been/are being met. Please include your evaluation results from your evaluation report, including the tools and methods that you used. Specifically include your evaluation summary.

(7) Outreach and Education: Projects should include significant external sharing and communication. Projects should include a mechanism that encourages students and/or teachers to share their experiences with peers and with the environmental education community, e.g., through mentoring opportunities, presentations at conferences, in-school service days, or other public forums, and media.

(8) Budget Narrative: The budget narrative should be composed of two parts, a budget table and a budget description. (Good examples of these can be found at the California B-

WET website at http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/bwet/welcome.html. The budget narrative should include the total project costs that are required to accomplish what is proposed in the

Project Description and includes contributions and donations. The budget narrative should provide the information needed to determine how the numbers outlined in the Budget

Information form (SF-424A) were derived. The narrative should explain the specific budget categories that are outlined in the SF-424A form, such as personnel/salaries, fringe benefits, travel, equipment, supplies, contract costs, and indirect costs (for an example of a completed

SF-424A, a budget narrative and descriptions of the budget categories, please visit the

National Marine Sanctuaries California B-WET website at:

http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/bwet/welcome.html). The budget narrative submitted with the application should match the dollar amounts on all required Federal forms (SF-424, SF-

424A). Additional cost detail may be required prior to a final analysis of overall cost allowability, allocability, and reasonableness.

Please Note the following:

- Need for government financial assistance: Demonstrate the need for assistance. Explain why other funding sources cannot fund all the proposed work.

- Sustainability: The Great Lakes B-WET Program should not be considered a long-term source of funds; therefore it is crucial that you explain how you will ensure that ongoing programs, once initiated, will be sustained. If you have received B-WET funding, you must include how your project will be sustainable beyond B-WET funding and how you plan to continue meeting your goals and objectives.

- The budget may include an amount for indirect costs only if the applicant has an established indirect cost rate with the Federal government, see Funding Restrictions, Section

IV.E.1. in the Full Funding Opportunity. If the applicant has an established indirect cost rate, a copy of the negotiated rate must be included with the application.

-Funds for salaries and fringe benefits may be requested only for those personnel who are directly involved in implementing the proposed project and whose salaries and fringe benefits are directly related to specific products or outcomes of the proposed project. NOAA strongly encourages applicants to request reasonable amounts of funding for salaries and fringe benefits to ensure that your proposal is competitive.

-It is anticipated that grant recipients for this round of funding will be asked to attend a two- day regional B-WET conference to be held in the Great Lakes area (location TBD, but in an easily accessible gateway city) at some point during the grant. All B-WET Great Lakes grant recipients will be asked to present their B-WET projects. Your budget should include, in the travel category, funds for transportation (mileage or airfare and ground transport), and lodging. Although this is considered an outreach and education opportunity, it should not be the sole justification to meet the outreach and education criteria; local communication is required as well.

(9) Appendices (Supporting documentation): may be included as follows and are not included in the 10-page limit:

- Letters of support from partners: If the applicant organization has partners, such as schools, state agencies, or other organizations, letters of commitment should be included from partners explaining their role in and/or funding of the proposed project. If no letters are included, it will be assumed partners have not committed support to the project;

- Letters of recommendation (from non-partner organizations);

- Resumes;

- Evaluation tools;

- Logic model: Provide a graphic to display the outputs and outcomes developed through the project. An example of a basic logic model can be found on the NOAA education website at http://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/education/evaluation/welcome.html.

C. Submission Dates and Times

Full proposals must be received and validated by www.Grants.gov, postmarked, provided to a delivery service, or hand delivered on or before 5 p.m. EDT, November 2, 2012. Please note: Validation or rejection of your application by www.Grants.gov may take up to two business days after submission. Please consider this process in developing your submission timeline. Use of U.S. mail or another delivery service must be documented with a receipt. No email and/or facsimile pre-proposals and/or full applications will be accepted.

D. Intergovernmental Review

Applications under this program are not subject to Executive Order 12372, "Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs."

E. Funding Restrictions

1. Indirect Cost Rates

Regardless of any approved indirect cost rate applicable to the award, the maximum dollar amount of allocable indirect costs for which the Department of Commerce will reimburse the recipient shall be the lesser of the line item amount for the Federal share of indirect costs contained in the approved budget of the award, or the Federal share of the total allocable indirect costs of the award based on the indirect cost rate approved by an oversight or cognizant Federal agency and current at the time the cost was incurred, provided the rate is approved on or before the award end date. However, the Federal share of the indirect costs may not exceed 25 percent of the total proposed direct costs for this Program. Applicants with indirect costs above 25 percent may use the amount above the 25 percent level as cost sharing. If the applicant does not have a current negotiated rate and plans to seek reimbursement for indirect costs, documentation necessary to establish a rate must be submitted within 90 days of receiving an award.

F. Other Submission Requirements

1. Electronic submission

Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit applications electronically through http://www.grants.gov. Users of www.Grants.gov will be able to download a copy of the application package, complete it off line, and then upload and submit the application via the www.Grants.gov website. When you enter the www.Grants.gov site, you will find information about submitting an application electronically through the site as well as the hours of operation. We strongly recommend that you do not wait until the application deadline date to begin the application process through www.Grants.gov. To use www.Grants.gov, applicants must have a DUNS number and register in the Central

Contractor Registry (CCR). You should allow a minimum of two weeks to complete the

CCR registration. After electronic submission of the application, applicants will receive an automatic acknowledgment from www.Grants.gov that contains a www.Grants.gov tracking number. NOAA may request that you provide original signatures on forms at a later date.

2. Hard copy submission

If an applicant does not have Internet access of if Grants.gov has technical issues that prohibit submission, hard copy applications will be accepted. Hard copy applications must be submitted with completed forms containing the original signature of the submitting institution's authorized representative and an electronic copy of the entire application on CD, including scanned signed forms. If the applicant has completed the entire application in

Grants.gov but is unable to submit it via Grants.gov, then this application package should be provided via CD along with printed and signed versions of forms SF-424, SF424B, and CD-

511. The authorized representative should sign and date these forms over the printed signature that will appear in the signature box.

If the applicant has difficulty downloading the required forms, he or she should contact

Cathy Green, Great Lakes B-WET Program, Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary; 500

W. Fletcher Street, Alpena, MI 49707, or by phone at 989-356-8805 ext.10, or via internet at cathy.green@noaa.gov.

Hard copies may be submitted by postal mail, commercial delivery service, or hand-delivery, but must be postmarked by 5p.m. on November 2, 2012. The address for submitting hard copy application packages is: Great Lakes B-WET Program, Thunder Bay

National Marine Sanctuary, Attn. Cathy Green, 500 W. Fletcher Street, Alpena, MI 49707.

Proposals being submitted in hard copy must be received no later than 5:00 p.m. Eastern

Time, Friday, November 2, 2012. They should be addressed to: Cathy Green, B-WET Great

Lakes Manager, Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, 500 West Fletcher Street, Alpena, MI 49707; telephone 989/356-8805 extension 10. Applicants are advised to send hard copies via expedited shipping methods (e.g., Airborne Express, DHL, FedEx, UPS, etc.).

V. Application Review Information

A. Evaluation Criteria

1. Importance and/or relevance and applicability of proposal to the program goals (30 points total) This criterion ascertains whether there is intrinsic value in the proposed work and/or relevance to NOAA, federal, regional, state, or local activities. Great Lakes B-WET

Program this includes the following categories and questions:

a. Connection to the greater marine or estuarine environment (5 points): For Program

Priority 1, 2, 3, and 4: Does the project make a direct connection to the greater marine or coastal environment? Does the proposal make an intentional connection to the watershed system and how actions within that system can affect the Great Lakes environment?

Specifically, does the project address the elements and activities as defined in Section I.B.1.a in the Full Funding Opportunity?

b. Meaningful Watershed Educational Experience (15 points): For Program Priority 1, 2, 3, and 4: Does the proposal clearly meet the definition of a Meaningful Watershed

Experience? Does the experience focus around questions, problems, or issues pertaining to the Great Lakes watershed and/or coastal area? Is the project design project oriented, hands-on, investigative, and part of a sustained activity? Does the project include pre and post activities? Does the project address multiple disciplines? Specifically, does the project address the elements and activities as defined in Section I.B.1.c-e in the Full Funding

Opportunity?

For Program Priority 2, does the project proposal provide sufficient materials, resources, and information for the teacher to conduct a Meaningful Watershed Experience on his/her own? Is the project designed so that the teacher is encouraged to implement and conduct a

Meaningful Watershed Experience in his/her classroom?

c. Partnerships (5 points): For Program Priority 1, 2, 3, and 4: Does the proposal include partnerships? Is the partnership a working relationship with all entities contributing to the project? Are there letters of support from each partner? Does the proposal outline the specific activity and function of each partner? Do the partners enhance the project? Does the applicant partner with a school division or school system? Specifically, does the project address the elements and activities as defined in Section I.B.1.g and Section I.B.2.c in the

Full Funding Opportunity?

d. Target audience (5 points): For Program Priority 1, 2, 3, and 4: Does the applicant work with an underserved or low-income population? Specifically, does the applicant address project elements and activities under Section I.B.1.h. and Section I.B.2.d in the Full

Funding Opportunity?

2. Technical merit (40 points total) This criterion assesses whether the approach is technically sound and/or innovative, if the methods are appropriate, and whether there are clear project goals and objectives. For the Great Lakes B-WET Program this includes the following categories and questions:

a. Proposal requirements and format (5 points): For this criterion, points will be awarded based on the observance to the proposal technical and format requirements outlined in

Section IV.B.1and 3.This includes proposal length, font size and compliance with all of the information that should be provided in the Content and Form of Application section.

b. Integration with school program (5 points): For Program Priority 1, 2, 3, and 4: Does the proposal clearly outline how the project is an integral part of the instructional program?

Does the proposal demonstrate how the project is aligned with the Content Standards for its specific state(s)'s public schools? Does the proposal just list the standards or demonstrate how their project supports them? Specifically, does the proposal address project elements and activities under Section I.B.1.b in the Full Funding Opportunity?

c. NOAA programs or personnel (5 points): For Program Priority 1, 2, 3, and 4: Does the applicant utilize NOAA programs, lesson plans, or curriculum focused on Great Lakes issues? Does the applicant use NOAA personnel to enhance their project? Specifically, does the applicant address the elements and activities as defined in Section I.B.1.i. and

SectionI.B.2.e in the Full Funding Opportunity?

d. NOAA Education Plan, Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and Great Lakes Literacy

(10 points): For Program Priority 1, 2, 3, and 4: Does the applicant demonstrate how their project is aligned with, and supports the goals and strategies of the NOAA Education Plan?

Does the applicant demonstrate how their project is aligned with the Great Lakes Restoration

Initiative Action Plan and the essential principles and fundamental concepts of Great Lakes

Literacy? Does the applicant show a knowledge and understanding of the NOAA Education

Plan, GLRI Action Plan and Great Lakes Literacy essential principles and fundamental concepts? Does the proposal just list the goals, strategies, and principles or concepts, or does it demonstrate how specific objectives of the proposal support specific elements of the

NOAA Education Plan, GLRI Action Plan and Great Lakes Literacy principles and concepts as outlined in Sections I.B.1.j and I.B.2.f in the Full Funding Opportunity?

e. Objectives (5 points): For Program Priority 1, 2, 3, and 4: Are the objectives in the proposal clearly defined and focused? Does the applicant demonstrate that the objectives are realistic and can be reached within the proposed project period? Does the proposal suggest a new approach to environmental education or just an application of previously accepted approaches? Are the project outcomes measurable and have significant and lasting benefits for teachers and students?

f. Evaluation (10 points): For Program Priority 1, 2, 3, and 4: Does the project evaluation description meet the guidelines offered in Section IV.B.3.(5) in the Full Funding

Opportunity? Specifically, does the evaluation component of the project focus on measuring changes in participants (changes can be in knowledge, attitudes, skills or conservation actions)? Are the methods for gathering evaluation data systematic and if replicated, would they gather reliable qualitative and/or quantitative data? Can the results be used to inform programming decisions (either planning the program, making changes to improve the program or judging the program's impact and value)? Will the evaluation measure outcomes that correlate to the project's goals and objectives and/or to the Great Lakes B-WET

Program's definition of a Meaningful Watershed Experience? Specifically, do the changes measured in participants (outcomes) match the project goals and objectives, which include engaging participants in outdoor experiences in the watershed and attempting to make positive progress in participants' development of environmental stewardship. Are the indicators of outcomes chosen appropriate for this project? Are the indicators clearly defined for each outcome to be measured and are the indicators appropriate (good at indicating) for each outcome? Are the proposed data-gathering instruments (surveys, tests, interviews, etc.)

clearly identified and appropriate for the target audience/participants, and appropriate for the outcomes to be measured (i.e., tests for knowledge, demonstration of skills for skills, interview or attitude scales for attitudes, etc.)? Will the documentation of evaluation results as described help guide assessments of the project's effectiveness, impact and/or value?

3. Overall qualifications of applicants (10 points) This criterion ascertains whether the applicant possesses the necessary education, experience, training, facilities, and administrative resources to accomplish the project. For the Great Lakes B-WET Program this includes the following questions: Does the applicant show the capability and experience in successfully completing similar projects? Does the proposal include resumes of the

Principle Investigators and other staff members? Does the applicant demonstrate knowledge of the target audience?