NOAA-NOS-OCM-2020-2006143 NOFO Report.pdf

FY20-21 CRCP International Coral Reef Conservation Grants and Cooperative Agreements

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Funding Opportunity Description 4

A. Program Objective 4 B. Program Priorities 5 C. Program Authority 10

II. Award Information 10 A. Funding Availability 10 B. Project/Award Period 11 C. Type of Funding Instrument 12

III. Eligibility Information 12 A. Eligible Applicants 12 B. Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement 13 C. Other Criteria that Affect Eligibility 14

IV. Application and Submission Information 14 A. Address to Request Application Package 15 B. Content and Form of Application 15 C. Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management (SAM) 26 D. Submission Dates and Times 27 E. Intergovernmental Review 28 F. Funding Restrictions 28 G. Other Submission Requirements 29

V. Application Review Information 31 A. Evaluation Criteria 31 B. Review and Selection Process 32 C. Selection Factors 33 D. Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates 34

VI. Award Administration Information 35 A. Award Notices 35 B. Administrative and National Policy Requirements 35 C. Reporting 38

VII. Agency Contacts 40 VIII. Other Information 40

Notice of Federal Funding Page 1 of 41

ANNOUNCEMENT OF NOTICE OF FUNDING OPPORTUNITY

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

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

Funding Opportunity Title: FY20-21 CRCP International Coral Reef Conservation Grants and Cooperative Agreements

Announcement Type: Initial

Funding Opportunity Number: NOAA-NOS-OCM-2020-2006143

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 11.482, Coral Reef Conservation Program

Dates: Pre-applications in electronic form must be received via email at coral.grants@noaa.gov by 11:59 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time on Tuesday October 1, 2019. Pre-applications in paper form must be postmarked or submitted to a delivery service that provides a tracking number and receipt on or before 11:59 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time on Tuesday, October 1, 2019. Selected pre-applicants will be notified by Wednesday, December 4, 2019 of an invitation to submit a final application. Final applications by invitation only in electronic form must be received and validated through www.grants.gov by 11:59 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time, on Tuesday, January 7, 2020. Final applications in paper form must be postmarked or submitted to a delivery service that provides a tracking number and receipt by 11:59 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time, on Tuesday, January 7, 2020. Paper applications submitted via U.S. Postal Service must have an official postmark, private metered postmarks are not acceptable, and they must be received within 10 business days following the closing date.

Please keep in mind the following information necessary to submit a final application to Grants.gov: (1) The 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 (see Section IV.F. of this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), 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 NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) provides matching grants and cooperative agreements for international coral reef conservation projects. CRCP solicits proposals that will support the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program Strategic Plan (Strategic Plan-2018) which uses a resilience-based management approach, focused on conservation that supports the ability of corals to withstand and recover from stress.

Notice of Federal Funding Page 2 of 41

All international tropical coral reef locations are eligible under this Federal Funding Opportunity with emphasis on the Wider Caribbean, South East Asia and South Pacific, and Micronesia.

Funding for the Fiscal Year 2020 competition is subject to the availability of Congressional appropriations and is expected to be approximately $800,000 to $950,000. NOAA expects each applicant will request between $75,000 and $300,000 annually for an award with a project period up to two years. Funding after the first year generally depends on future Congressional appropriations, NOAA/CRCP priorities, and recipient performance in the first year(s) of the award.

Notice of Federal Funding Page 3 of 41

FULL ANNOUNCEMENT TEXT

I. Funding Opportunity Description

A. Program Objective

Coral reefs and associated seagrass and mangrove communities are among the most complex and diverse ecosystems on earth. They support important fishing and tourism industries, protect coasts from wave and storm damage, build tropical islands, contain an array of potential pharmaceuticals, and provide essential services like food security, livelihood, and culture, among other benefits.

As shallow-water, near shore communities, coral reef ecosystems are ecologically closely linked to adjacent watersheds and are highly vulnerable to human activity. Stresses in the coral reef environment include poor water quality from runoff and inadequate sewage treatment, destructive fishing practices, sedimentation, recreational overuse and misuse, and impacts from climate change and ocean acidification.

To address these threats, Congress passed the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000 (Act), codified at 16 U.S.C. §§ 6401-6409, which established the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) and provided guidance for allocation of Federal funding toward efforts to conserve coral reef ecosystems in the U.S. and internationally. As required in the Act, one of the primary functions of the CRCP is to provide matching grants and cooperative agreements of financial assistance to external partners for coral reef conservation projects consistent with the Act and CRCP priorities. CRCP implements several financial assistance programs under the Act’s authority, including the CRCP International Coral Reef Conservation Cooperative Agreements solicited in this announcement. More information about CRCP is available at https://coralreef.noaa.gov/.

In 2018, the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program established the new NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program Strategic Plan (Strategic Plan-2018) which uses a resilience-based management approach, focused on conservation that supports the ability of corals to withstand and recover from stress. The Strategic Plan-2018 includes international priorities within the selected pillars and is available at https://www.coris.noaa.gov/activities/strategic_plan2018/. Please refer to the Program Priorities in Section I.B. for details on the components of the Strategic Plan-2018 that are relevant to this funding announcement. This announcement will not award funding for construction projects. A construction project is defined as an award in which the major purpose of the project or program is construction.

Notice of Federal Funding Page 4 of 41

As directed by the Act, NOAA also issued Coral Reef Conservation Grant Program Implementation Guidelines, most recently published at 75 Fed. Reg. 48934 (Aug. 12, 2010) and available at http://go.usa.gov/3FT7z. The most recent Guidelines cover 2010-2015 but their approach generally remains in effect until further notice unless otherwise stated in a NOAA CRCP funding announcement posted on Grants.gov. Please note that CRCP funding announcements will be issued only on Grants.gov, not in the Federal Register as stated in the Guidelines, and the Department of Commerce Pre-Award Notice referenced in the Guidelines is updated as described in Section VI.B. of this NOFO.

B. Program Priorities

CRCP’s international efforts focus on strategic goals, objectives, regions, and specific coral reef conservation activities where the CRCP can have the greatest impact while building on NOAA strengths, partnerships, resources, and expertise. In FY 2020, the CRCP will accept applications for cooperative agreements and grants up to a two-year project period focused on building international capacity for the effective ecosystem-based management of coral reef ecosystems. Priority will be given to proposals that support the following selected international priority objectives from the Strategic Plan-2018:

1. Fisheries Pillar: Improve Fisheries Sustainability Strategy F1 Objectives – Provide data essential for coral reef fisheries management:

a. Support baseline and performance biological or socioeconomic assessments of priority marine protected areas (MPAs) to better understand human perceptions and behaviors and realize ecological benefits.

b. Encourage engagement of community and fishing partners in Coral Program-supported fisheries research and monitoring to incorporate more local and traditional knowledge into data collection and analysis and increase common understanding of the goals for and uses of fisheries related data.

Strategy F2 Objectives – Build capacity for coral reef fisheries management:

a. Assist domestic and foreign partner agencies in prioritizing needs for fisheries and Marine Protected Area managers, such as ecosystem-based fisheries management, planning, valuation, and sustainable financing, and leverage tools and strategies to help meet those prioritized needs.

b. Assist domestic and foreign partner agencies to identify successful enforcement models and solutions and share information across the jurisdictions.

c. Additionally, the program seeks to leverage expertise in fisheries management and enforcement capacity building, and social marketing and outreach to provide technical support to the jurisdictions and partnering foreign governments.

Notice of Federal Funding Page 5 of 41

2. Climate Pillar: Increase Resilience to Climate Change.

Strategy C1 Objectives:

a. Support the implementation of resilience-based management approaches.

b. Support the necessary training and capacity on the resilience-based management approaches, principles and tools.

c. Support activities to address potential climate change impacts in resilience-based management planning efforts.

d. Support the collection, sharing and integration of multiple types of monitoring and modeling to provide a dynamic understanding of the system to inform decisions and allow for adaptive management

To be competitive, a proposal should effectively address at least one (1) of the Strategic Plan-2018 Objectives described above (except Priority 6 below which requires at least two

(2) Objectives), and should identify and address at least one of the six (6) Priorities listed below. Applicants that wish to address more than one (1) Priority in a single proposal should clearly identify each in the pre-application and final application narratives, and all summaries; and may increase the proposal funding cap accordingly (See section II.A Funding Availability). Any applicant that intends to sub-award Priorities 4-6 should clearly demonstrate their administrative capacity to do so.

All proposals should include evidence of engagement in the implementation of the award through a letter of support from each affected country's government agency responsible for planning and/or management of coastal and marine resources. If the letter cannot be obtained by the pre-application deadline, describe the reason and name the government official who has certified that they will sign one for the final application stage. The letters should be attached with the final application in grants.gov.

PRIORITIES 1-3

Proposals identifying and addressing priorities 1-3 are expected to be awarded as COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS where the recipient CAN EXPECT substantial NOAA involvement through collaboration, participation, or intervention in project performance.

1. PRIORITY 1 - Wider Caribbean Marine Protected Area Management Capacity: To be competitive, applicants with projects involving Wider Caribbean Marine Protected Area Management Capacity should address findings from the "Management Capacity Assessment of Selected Coral Reef Marine Protected Areas in the Caribbean” (MC Assessment) and include coordination of capacity-building and information exchanges across the MPAConnect Network. This report can be found at the MPA Connect website:

Notice of Federal Funding Page 6 of 41 https://www.gcfi.org/pdf/MPAConnect/MPAManagementCapacity%20Assessment_2011_e n.pdf.

Accordingly, competitive applications should address the following region-specific approaches:

For competitive proposals that address the MC Assessment, projects should be conducted in at least two (2) of the following Non-US countries and territories of the Wider Caribbean:

Bahamas, Belize, British Virgin Islands, Grenada, Honduras, Mexico, Saba and St.

Eustatius, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Turks and Caicos Islands.

Activities proposed for each MPA should directly address at least two Management Capacity Priority Needs identified for that MPA in the MC Assessment.

To be competitive, proposed activities should take place in a minimum of three (3) of the following 30 MPA sites, which are addressed by the MC Assessment:

The Bahamas: Andros North and South Marine Park; Pelican Cay Land and Sea Park;

South Berry Islands Marine Reserve; Moriah Harbour Cay National Park

Belize: Half Moon Caye and Blue Hole Natural Monuments; Port Honduras Marine Reserve; South Water Caye Marine Reserve; Turneffe Atoll Marine Reserve

The British Virgin Islands: Hans Creek Fisheries Protected Area; Horseshoe Reef Fisheries Protected Area; Wreck of the Rhone Marine Park

Grenada: Molinière/Beauséjour Marine Protected Area; Sandy Island - Oyster Bed Marine Protected Area

Honduras: Monumento Natural Marino Archipiélago Cayos Cochinos; Zona de Protección Especial Marina Sandy Bay/West End; Zona de Protección Especial Marina Turtle Harbour/Rock Harbour

Mexico: Parque Nacional Arrecife Alacranes; Parque Nacional Arrecifes de Xcalak; Parque Nacional Costa Occidental de Isla Mujeres Punta Cancún y Punta Nizuc; Reserva de la Biosfera Banco Chinchorro

Saba and St. Eustatius: Saba Marine Park; Saba Bank National Park; St. Eustatius National Marine Park

Notice of Federal Funding Page 7 of 41

St. Lucia: Soufriere Marine Managed Area / Pitons Management Area; Point Sable Environmental Protection Area

St. Vincent and the Grenadines: South Coast Marine Conservation Area; Tobago Cays Marine Park

The Turks and Caicos Islands: Columbus Landfall National Park; Princess Alexandra Land and Sea National Park; West Caicos Marine National Park.

2. PRIORITY 2 - Micronesia Marine Management and Capacity Building: To be competitive, applications for Cooperative Agreements in Micronesia should conduct work in all of the following independent countries under compacts of free association with the United States: the Republic of the Marshall Islands; the Republic of Palau; and the Federated States of Micronesia. The proposed project/s may include:

a. Capacity building

b. MPA and fisheries management;

c. Ecosystem-based community climate change adaptations;

d. Compliance and enforcement

e. Integrated biophysical and socioeconomic monitoring that will inform decision makers;

and/or

f. Communication to the public, stakeholders and policy makers about project impacts and lessons learned on coral reef conservation. Applicants should describe how they intend to work closely with policy/decision makers and other relevant stakeholders to ensure that, to the greatest extent possible, the information is considered when making decisions about coral reef conservation.

3. PRIORITY 3 - Southeast Asia and South Pacific community-based marine management:

To be competitive, applicants should propose projects that involve learning networks for community-based or locally managed marine managed areas and include:

a. Building capacity for local communities to plan and implement coral reef conservation project activities and resilience based management, and/or

b. Developing or strengthening national or trans-national networks of locally- and/or community-based marine managed areas in at least two (2) locally managed marine area in one or more of the following countries in the South East Asia and South Pacific regions:

Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Indonesia, Kiribati, Malaysia, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu. Proposals that contribute to only one locally managed marine area will not be considered for this category but will be considered for PRIORITY 4, below, at a reduced funding amount.

Notice of Federal Funding Page 8 of 41

PRIORITIES 4-6:

Proposals identifying and addressing priorities 4-6 are expected to be awarded as GRANTS where the recipient can expect to perform the project WITHOUT any substantial NOAA involvement through collaboration, participation, or intervention in project performance.

Proposed projects should increase management capacity, as well as address key strategies and objectives in the NOAA CRCP strategic plan. Priority will be given to activities and geographies listed in the section below; however, all international tropical coral reef locations are eligible. Applicants seeking funding under this category should address specific capacity gaps as identified through planning processes and that have been prioritized for action identified as follows:

4. PRIORITY 4 - Implement Coral Reef Management Priorities in Southeast Asia and the South Pacific: To be competitive, applicants seeking funding under this category should address either:

a. Coral reef conservation and resilience-based management capacity needs and/or priority actions identified through management planning and capacity building initiatives, including but not limited to activities supported by United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and NOAA. Project examples include the implementation of the following: resilience-based management, assessments for vulnerability and/or resilience to a changing climate, ecosystem approach to fisheries management, marine protected area (MPA) management effectiveness, MPA management plans, marine spatial planning and zoning plans, sustainable tourism plans, MPA network plans, MPA community-based enforcement plans, and sustainable financing for MPAs; or

b. learning network or community of practice peer to peer exchange to build coral reef management capacity, sharing of best practices, and building a platform for knowledge management.

5. PRIORITY 5 - Implement Caribbean MPA Management activities: To be competitive, projects submitted for funding under this category should address specific and discrete management capacity needs identified by MPA managers at one or more of the 30 MPA sites that are part of the MPAConnect network in the Wider Caribbean (see the listing of eligible MPA locations here). To be competitive, applicants under this proposal category should address specific needs identified in either of two assessments of management capacity conducted in 2011 and 2017 within these 30 sites, coordinate directly with the managing authority for each MPA included in the proposal and indicate the extent to which capacity gaps would be filled if the proposal was funded. Information on the specific MPA management needs is available in the 2011 “Management Capacity Assessment of Selected

Notice of Federal Funding Page 9 of 41

Coral Reef Marine Protected Areas in the Caribbean” found at https://www.gcfi.org/pdf/MPAConnect/MPAManagementCapacity%20Assessment_2011_e n.pdf A summary of priority results of the 2011 and 2017 assessments can be found at https://gcfi.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=dcf9e3dec85b49588ce018d5 fec425d6.

6. PRIORITY 6 - Implement Micronesia Challenge initiative: To be competitive, applicants seeking funding under this category should address coral reef conservation and management capacity needs and/or priority actions identified through Micronesia Challenge planning and capacity building initiatives, and should effectively address at least two (2) of the CRCP Strategic Plan pillars and at least two (2) of their corresponding objectives, listed in section B. Program Priorities.

NOAA CRCP does not allow NOAA employees or associates to assist in writing an application or otherwise provide an unfair advantage to applicants in this competitive program. If a letter of support from NOAA staff or associates is included, it will not be considered. If an applicant proposes to collaborate with specific NOAA programs or staff, however, the applicant may include a statement from NOAA staff verifying that they would collaborate with the project applicant if the project receives an award, confirming the degree and nature of the collaboration, and acknowledging the utility of the proposed work. Such specific collaboration does not confer any competitive advantage on the application;

applicants may propose general collaboration with NOAA or not mention collaboration in a project, or NOAA may propose collaborating on a project in funding negotiations or an award offer. Federal agencies are not eligible to receive Federal assistance under this announcement, including travel or salary costs, without specific statutory authority. Refer any questions about application procedures, proper completion of forms, the selection process, and potential collaboration or support by NOAA or non-NOAA Federal employees or contractors to the official listed in Agency Contacts, Section VII. of this NOFO.

C. Program Authority

Authority for NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program is provided by Section 6403 of the Coral Reef Conservation Act, 16 U.S.C. 6401-6409.

II. Award Information

A. Funding Availability

Anticipated funding for International Coral Reef Conservation Grants and Cooperative

Notice of Federal Funding Page 10 of 41

Agreements is approximately $800,000 to $950,000 in FY 2020 and approximately $800,000 to $950,000 in FY 2021 and is subject to funding availability for both years.

PRIORITIES 1-3, Cooperative Agreements with a project period of up to two years, NOAA expects proposals between the range of $75,000 and $300,000 for Year 1 and between the range of $75,000 and $300,000 for Year 2. NOAA anticipates awarding two (2) to four (4) awards in FY 2020, subject to the policies described below in Section II.B., Project/Award Period and Multi-Year Funding. Depending on the availability of funds, CRCP intends to support projects in each of three priority regions: the Wider Caribbean, Micronesia, and Southeast Asia and South Pacific.

PRIORITIES 4-6, Grants with a project period of up to two years, NOAA expects proposals between the range of $25,000 and $80,000 for Year 1 and between the range of $25,000 and $80,000 for Year 2. NOAA anticipates awarding three (3) to seven (6) awards in FY 2020, subject to the policies described below in Section II.B., Project/Award Period and Multi- Year Funding.

The lead applicant on any proposal will be responsible for ensuring that allocated funds are used for the purposes of, and in a manner consistent with, this program, including any funds awarded to an eligible sub-awardee.

There is no guarantee that funds will be available for this federal funding opportunity or that any proposal will be selected for funding. If an applicant incurs any costs prior to receiving an award agreement signed by an authorized NOAA official, the applicant does so at their own risk of not being selected and these costs not being included in a subsequent award.

Proposal preparation costs shall not be included as direct costs within the project application budget although these may be included in indirect costs (See IV.B.4. Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement). In addition, NOAA and DOC will not be responsible for project costs if this program fails to receive funding. Recipients and sub-recipients are subject to all federal laws and agency policies, regulations, and procedures applicable to federal financial assistance awards. Applicants must comply with all existing NOAA grants or cooperative agreements terms and conditions and otherwise eligible to receive federal awards in order to be considered for or receive funding under this competition.

B. Project/Award Period

Pre- and final applications should use an anticipated start date of October 1, 2020. The period of performance for projects in this program should be up to 24 months. NOAA anticipates multi-year or incremental funding, that is, funding for approved projects will usually only be provided for the amount budgeted for the first year of the program, and

Notice of Federal Funding Page 11 of 41

NOAA has no obligation to provide any additional funding in connection with that award.

Continuation of an award to increase funding or extend the period of performance is at the sole discretion of NOAA. Continued funding is contingent upon satisfactory performance, continued relevance to the CRCP mission and priorities, and funding availability.

C. Type of Funding Instrument

Successful applicants will enter into a grant or a cooperative agreement with NOAA's Coral Reef Conservation Program as described under the terms of this announcement.

Federal cooperative agreements are different from traditional grants in that they allow for substantial federal involvement in the planning and implementation of funded projects.

Substantial involvement on the part of NOAA may include the collaboration and participation of NOAA Federal Program Officers and/or NOAA staff in project development, planning and implementation; technical monitoring of award activities beyond ordinary stewardship; and coordination of funded projects with other CRCP-funded efforts as needed. As the Federal government will be substantially involved in the project for cooperative agreements, applicants may suggest anticipated Federal roles and responsibilities in their proposals. Applicants tentatively selected for potential funding are expected to discuss how the CRCP might be involved in the project during project negotiations.

Additional information about substantial involvement is described in Section 5.C. of the Department of Commerce Grants and Cooperative Agreements Manual, currently available at http://www.osec.doc.gov/oam/grants_management/policy/.

III. Eligibility Information

A. Eligible Applicants

Eligible applicants are institutions of higher education, non-profit organizations, non- U.S. government natural resource management agencies (including state, local, territorial, and tribal government entities), foreign public entities and foreign organizations, and for-profit organizations. An eligible organization may include proposed sub-recipients, contractors, or other collaborators, which may include governmental authorities, effectively forming a team.

NOAA employees are not permitted to assist in the preparation of applications. NOAA CRCP staff are available to provide general information on programmatic goals and objectives, ongoing coral reef conservation programs/activities, and regional funding priorities. For proposals that involve collaboration with current NOAA projects or staff, NOAA employees may provide a limited statement verifying the nature and extent of the collaboration and confirming prior coordination activities. Letters of support from NOAA

Notice of Federal Funding Page 12 of 41 employees are not allowable and will not be included among the application materials considered by merit reviewers.

Federal agencies and employees are not allowed to receive funds under this announcement, but may serve as collaborative project partners. In-kind services from federal agencies and employees cannot be considered as part of an applicant’s match on shared costs. If federal agencies are collaborators, applicants are expected to provide detail on the planned level of federal engagement in the application. Examples may include, but are not limited to, partnership services, serving in a review capacity, or participating in priority task teams, working groups, or leadership teams.

DOC/NOAA supports cultural and gender diversity and encourages women and minority individuals and groups to submit applications to this program. 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.

B. Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement

NOAA CRCP financial assistance awards are subject to statutory and regulatory matching fund policies. Federal funds for any coral conservation project under 16 U.S.C. § 6403(b) may not exceed 50 percent of the total cost of the award. Therefore, any coral conservation project under this Grant Program requires a 1:1 contribution of non-Federal matching funds.

Cost sharing or matching is defined by 2 C.F.R. § 200.29 as “the portion of project costs not paid by Federal funds (unless otherwise authorized by Federal statute).” Any shared costs or matching funds and all contributions, including cash and third party in-kind contributions of property and services, will be accepted as part of an applicant’s cost sharing or matching when the contributions meet the criteria listed in 2 C.F.R. § 200.306(b). That is, the contributions: (1) Are verifiable from the non-Federal entity's records; (2) Are not included as contributions for any other Federal award; (3) Are necessary and reasonable for accomplishment of project or program objectives; (4) Are allowable under Subpart E—Cost Principles of this part; (5) Are not paid by the Federal Government under another Federal award, except where the Federal statute authorizing a program specifically provides that Federal funds made available for such program can be applied to matching or cost sharing requirements of other Federal programs; (6) Are provided for in the approved budget when required by the Federal awarding agency; and (7) Conform to other provisions of this part, as applicable. Contributions can come from a variety of public and private sources and can

Notice of Federal Funding Page 13 of 41 include third party in-kind goods and services such as private boat use and volunteer labor.

In addition, applicants are permitted to combine contributions for allowable costs from multiple non-Federal partners in order to meet the 1:1 match requirement, consistent with the standards described in 2 C.F.R. § 200.306.

Applicants should specify the source(s) of match in the budget narrative and may provide or be asked to provide letters of commitment to confirm stated match contributions. Applicants whose proposals are selected for funding will be bound by the percentage of cost sharing reflected in the award document signed by the NOAA Grants Officer. Applicants should be prepared to carefully document matching contributions for each project selected for funding.

Valuation of proposed cost sharing is described in 2 C.F.R. § 200.306(d)-(k).

Applicants may choose to designate part or all of their Federally-negotiated indirect costs as match. This may be convenient because the valuation of such costs has already been Federally-approved and documentation is readily available. Refer to the “Indirect Costs” policies in Section IV.B.3. of this NOFO.

The NOAA Administrator or designee may waive all or part of the matching requirement if the Administrator determines that the project meets the following two requirements identified in 16 U.S.C. § 6403(b)(2):

1. No reasonable means are available through which an applicant can meet the matching requirement, and

2. The probable benefit of such project outweighs the public interest in such matching requirement.

In the case of a waiver request, the applicant should provide a detailed justification explaining the need for the waiver including attempts to obtain sources of matching funds, how the benefit of the project outweighs the public interest in providing match, and any other extenuating circumstances preventing the availability of match. Match waiver requests including the appropriate justification should be submitted as part of the final application package. Please address all waiver requests to Jennifer Koss, CRCP Manager, NOAA National Ocean Service, 1305 East West Highway, 10th Floor, SSMC4, N/ORM, Silver Spring, MD 20910.

C. Other Criteria that Affect Eligibility

This section is left blank intentionally.

IV. Application and Submission Information

Notice of Federal Funding Page 14 of 41

A. Address to Request Application Package

The standard SF-424 application package is available at http://www.grants.gov. For a preview and to submit a paper application, these forms can be accessed at http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/forms/sf-424-family.html#sortby=1. The pre-application does not require the federal forms. Final applications with the federal forms will be received by invitation only and, to be competitive, should include the Federal financial assistance forms SF 424, SF4 24A, SF 424B, and CD 511. For such invited final applicants unable to access the application package, it may be requested by contacting Scot Frew, NOAA/OCM Coral Reef Program, 1305 East West Highway, 10th Floor, N/OCM6, Silver Spring, MD 20910, Phone: 240-533-0774 or e-mail: Scot.Frew@noaa.gov.

B. Content and Form of Application

Applicants should submit a complete standard NOAA financial assistance application package in accordance with the guidelines in this document.

The application process of this NOFO requires a pre-application, and some applicants will be invited to submit a final application. Each pre-application and final application must be written in English and they both should include the following information to increase competitiveness:

1. A one-page coversheet that includes:

a. Short title of the proposed Cooperative Agreement project and requested start date;

b. Applicant organization name, address, phone number and classification (nonprofit, university, government, etc.);

c. Principal investigator responsible for conducting the project and their contact information;

d. The applicant organization Authorized Representative and their contact information including address, phone and fax numbers, and e-mail address;

e. Grant Program: CRCP International Coral Reef Conservation Grants and Cooperative Agreements;

f. Geographic locations of the project and the site names;

g. Amount of grant funds requested per year (FY2020 and FY2021);

h. Amount of matching funds provided per year (FY2020 and FY2021); and

i. One paragraph project summary emphasizing the project objectives and activities.

2. Project Description (Proposal Narrative)

Each pre- and final application narrative should clearly describe the proposed work including the budget narrative in 30 pages or less excluding attachments/appendices (letters of support, resumes, maps, appendices, and support documents), which should not exceed 30 pages in

Notice of Federal Funding Page 15 of 41 total. All application materials should use a legible 11- or 12-point font with 1-inch margins on all sides. To be competitive, electronic applications should be submitted as Adobe Acrobat (.PDF) or Microsoft Word files. Applicants should not submit images like JPG files.

The title page and table of content will not count towards the project description 30-page limit. Project descriptions that exceed the 30-page limit will be shortened by removing pages at the end of the proposal narrative (see element 3 of the component section below) before it is forwarded to merit reviewers for evaluation. Pages excised from lengthy applications will not be reviewed or considered. Applications that are incomplete, unclear, or contain numerous typographical errors may not be understood effectively by reviewers, resulting in lower evaluation scores; therefore, applicants are advised to review their application materials closely before they are submitted to the agency for consideration.

Appendices should be limited to materials that directly support the main body of the proposal (e.g., resumes, references, lists of relevant work products or reports, detailed methodologies, data sources, detailed budget information, letters of collaboration, letters of support, lists of data sources, and maps). Applicants should paginate their proposal and any appendices. Appendices should not total more than 30 total pages. Federal Financial forms (for the final application) and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) information, and other information provided (e.g., Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement) to complete the federal forms can be submitted separately or combined and submitted in one PDF document without counting towards the appendix page limit or the proposal page limit. Paper pre- and final applications should not be bound or stapled, but can be bundled, for example, by rubber bands or binder clips. All pre- and final applications and attachments must be written in English. Letters of support in other languages should be accompanied by English language translations.

Please keep in mind that Grants Online has a 5-minute time limit for downloading and uploading files, and so we recommend applicants do not exceed five megabytes for the total electronic file size of the proposal narrative and appendices combined. Files that cannot be opened or downloaded will not be reviewed.

In addition to the cover sheet, each pre- and final application should INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING ELEMENTS in order to be competitive:

a. Strategic Plan-2018: The specific Strategic Plan-2018 objective addressed by the Cooperative Agreement proposal and the specific priority of Priorities 1-6 list in above section B. Program Priorities.

b. Justification for proposed activities: The proposal narrative should describe each of the discrete projects or tasks proposed in the application. Sufficient detail should be provided to

Notice of Federal Funding Page 16 of 41 enable reviewers to evaluate the relevance and applicability of proposed work to program priorities described in Section I.B of this announcement; to determine the technical/scientific merit of the proposed work; to adequately review the qualifications of the applicants; and to assess whether the proposed scope of work raises any concerns with regard to federal policy considerations, such as those related to the National Environmental Policy Act, Endangered Species Act, Historic Preservation Act, and Marine Mammal Protection Act.

Applicants should clearly describe how each activity or project will directly benefit the coral reef management efforts of the countries’ agencies and identify how the proposal fits into applicant and government strategy for site management. All projects funded through this competition are expected to measurably decrease threats or restore coral reef health and to increase benefits to stakeholders who depend on them for income, safety and security. To achieve this outcome, applicants should specify the activities they will undertake as well as the specific outputs and products that are expected to result from funded proposals. Specific outputs may include: Support to management authorities in the form of management plans, legislation, regulations or policies, best management practices, communication and outreach tools, and/or applied research aimed at enhancing local capacity to conserve coral reef resources.

Applicants should describe their past experience in the selected sites or countries and whether there are any environmental conservation agreements in place with the local partners and government authorities. It is strongly recommended that applicants collaborate with local government authorities in the project design and preparation of the application.

c. Proposal Goals and Objectives: what the application seeks to accomplish;

d. Implementation strategy (methods and activities in relation to Proposal Goals and Objectives): if any bio-physical and/or socio-economic monitoring activities are proposed, the description should include details of proposed methodologies.

For Cooperative Agreements, the pre- and final applications may describe proposed substantial involvement with NOAA. The grantee should expect substantial agency collaboration, participation, and/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 grantee; or the assisting agency has the right to intervene (including interruption or modification) in the conduct or performance of project activities.

e. Timetable: A task timetable with interim benchmarks linked to clearly defined work

Notice of Federal Funding Page 17 of 41 products or objectives;

f. Local needs: A paragraph that describes how the proposal will address relevant local management needs in the project area. It should include a clear means to incorporate the results into management needs of the agencies with authority over coral reef ecosystems in the project location;

g. Outcomes: A table with a column for project outcomes and another column for their corresponding concrete outputs/products; NOAA will track these to ensure that they comply with Section 508 standards and are appropriate for public dissemination (See Section VI.C of this announcement);

h. Partner justification and roles: To be competitive, evidence of support for the project from the local management authority where the work is conducted at specific sites should indicate that the project supports local management objectives. In those cases where training is proposed, indication that participants will apply these techniques at their local sites is requested. To be competitive, an application should include evidence of coordination with relevant national and regional project partners, including a list of agencies consulted in developing the proposal and assurances that any necessary permits will be secured prior to the use of U.S. Federal funds. If the applicant is not a regional organization (involving two or more countries), please include evidence of support from a regional organization that has a working relationship and demonstrated experience working with the local government authorities that manage the marine areas addressed;

i. Evaluation method: A methodology to evaluate the success of the grant or cooperative agreement activities;

j. Qualifications: Summary description of the qualifications of the individuals and principal investigators who will conduct the grant or cooperative agreement;

k. Permits and Approvals: It is the responsibility of the applicant to obtain all necessary federal, state, and local government permits and approvals for the proposed work. To be competitive, applicants should provide a list of all known permits that will be required to perform the proposed work and an indication of the status of any permits needed (e.g., not yet applied, permit application submitted/pending, permit granted, etc.) or a statement indicating that no permits are necessary. Applicants should include this required element even if permits are not required.

Failure to apply for and/or obtain federal, state, and local permits, approvals, letters of agreement, or failure to provide environmental analyses where necessary (i.e., NEPA and

Notice of Federal Funding Page 18 of 41 environmental assessment) will delay or prevent the award of funds for projects that have been preliminarily selected for funding.

For work proposed within National Marine Sanctuaries, National Parks, National Seashores, and other federally designated managed areas, it is the responsibility of the applicant to request and obtain any necessary permits or letters of agreement from the appropriate government agencies prior to commencement of an award. For applicants who propose to conduct research or monitoring activities that may affect any coral species that are listed under the Endangered Species Act, you will likely need an Endangered Species Act Section 10(a)(1)(A) permit.: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/permit/permits-incidental-taking-endangered-and-threatened-species.

l. Other submissions: The pre- and final applications should also state in the Project Narrative or supporting material whether the project has been submitted for funding consideration elsewhere.

m. Revisions: In final applications only, invited applicants are expected to respond to any recommendations and comments NOAA may provide.

3. Budget Narrative and Justification

In order to allow reviewers to evaluate the appropriateness of all costs, applications should include a detailed budget narrative and a budget justification broken out by individual task.

The budget narrative submitted with the final application should match the dollar amounts included on all required forms and clearly link to the project narrative. Please explain each calculation and provide a narrative justification to explain expenditures for each budget category. The budget narrative should describe, by category of expenditure, the total funding needed to accomplish the objectives described in the project narrative for the entire award period. Please explain how categorical costs are derived in sufficient detail to enable reviewers to determine if costs are 'allowable and reasonable' according to the cost principles referenced in 2 CFR 200, Subpart E. Budget narrative categories should correspond to the standard object class categories listed in Section B of the SF-424A. For additional details, please review the budget guidance provided at:

https://coast.noaa.gov/funding/_pdf/forms/budget-narrative-guidance-for-NOAA-grants.pdf and the GMD Budget Narrative Guidance at http://www.ago.noaa.gov/grants/training.html.

Applicants should include detailed budget information regarding all known cost-based contracts and sub awards, and indicate the basis for the cost and price estimates for contracts in the narrative. Applicants should describe activities to occur or products or services to be obtained and indicate the applicability or necessity of each to the project. Each sub award

Notice of Federal Funding Page 19 of 41 should include form SF-424A. Detailed budget information includes:

i. Name of identified qualified sub recipient or contractor, affiliation, contact information, and method of selection. For “to be determined,” describe plans for selection.

ii. Period of Performance. Include the dates for the performance period. If it involves a number of tasks, include the performance period for each task.

iii. Scope of Work. List and describe the specific activities or tasks to be performed.

iv. Criteria for Measuring Accountability: Include an itemized line item breakdown as well as total contract/award amount. If applicable, include any indirect costs paid under the cost-based contract/award and the indirect cost rate used.

v. Itemized Budget. Include categories used in program budget for subrecipients or cost-based contractors. If applicable, include any direct cost paid under the subaward or contract and the indirect cost rate used.

All sub awards and contracts must be made consistent with the requirements of 2 CFR 200.330-200.332 for sub awards, and 200.317-200.326 for procurements.

For any equipment, a description of the item and associated costs or price is required, including a description of how it will be used in the project. Note that equipment is defined as tangible personal property (including information technology systems) having a useful life of more than one year and a per-unit acquisition cost which equals or exceeds the lesser of the capitalization level established by the non-federal entity for financial statement purposes, or $5,000. See 2 CFR 200.33 Equipment, 2 CFR 200.313, and 2 CFR 200.317-326.

Non-federal applicants should identify, if this information is known when submitting the grant application, who they plan to request that NOAA transfer equipment or property ownership titles to after the project ends. The decision on grant ownership requests will be made by the Grants Officer during the grant closeout process.

The cost or price, purpose, and method of selection for identified and planned acquisition contracts should be thoroughly justified in the Budget Narrative. Describe products or services to be obtained and indicate the applicability or necessity of each to the project.

Procurements are subject to policies described in 2 CFR 200.317 - .326. For “to be determined,” describe plans for selection.

The budget narrative should also provide, to the extent possible, detailed information on travel, including costs, a description of anticipated travel, destinations, the number of travelers, and a justification of how the requested travel is directly relevant to the successful completion of the project. If actual trip details are unknown, applicants should state the basis for the proposed travel charges. Applicants should allocate travel funds for any coordination meetings at regional or national levels.

Notice of Federal Funding Page 20 of 41

If a foreign air carrier is anticipated to be used for any portion of travel, prior approval is required under the DOC Financial Assistance Standard Terms and Conditions, Section G, at http://www.osec.doc.gov/oam/grants_management/policy/documents/Department%20of%20 Commerce%20Standard%20Terms%20Conditions%2030%20April%202019.pdf and therefore, such travel should be included in the proposal to avoid having to request prior approval after the project starts. Applicants may factor in travel costs for participation in an annual NOAA Grants Management Division (GMD) workshop for recipients.

FOR a FINAL Competitive application, Federal forms from the SF-424 Form family (http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/forms/sf-424-family.html#sortby=1) should include the following forms as applicable:

1. Standard Form 424 (SF-424): Application for Federal Assistance (7/2003 version or newer).