NOAA-NOS-OCM-2020-2006329 NOFO Report.pdf

FY 2020-2021 Coral Reef Conservation Program Non-Governmental Organization Partnership Cooperative Agreements

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Funding Opportunity Description 4

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

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

III. Eligibility Information 8 A. Eligible Applicants 8 B. Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement 9 C. Other Criteria that Affect Eligibility 10

IV. Application and Submission Information 11 A. Address to Request Application Package 11 B. Content and Form of Application 11 C. Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management (SAM) 21 D. Submission Dates and Times 22 E. Intergovernmental Review 23 F. Funding Restrictions 23 G. Other Submission Requirements 25

V. Application Review Information 26 A. Evaluation Criteria 26 B. Review and Selection Process 29 C. Selection Factors 30 D. Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates 31

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

VII. Agency Contacts 35 VIII. Other Information 36

Notice of Federal Funding Page 1 of 36

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: FY 2020-2021 Coral Reef Conservation Program Non- Governmental Organization Partnership Cooperative Agreements

Announcement Type: Initial

Funding Opportunity Number: NOAA-NOS-OCM-2020-2006329

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

Dates: LETTERS OF INTENT (LOIs) ARE REQUIRED AND MUST BE RECEIVED by 11:59 PM Eastern Time on Friday, January 3, 2020 by email <coral.grants@noaa.gov>. Full applications must be submitted electronically via www.grants.gov by 11:59 PM Eastern Time by Friday, February 21, 2020 to be considered for funding.

Funding Opportunity Description: LETTERS OF INTENT (LOIs) ARE REQUIRED AND MUST BE RECEIVED by 11:59 PM Eastern Time by Friday, January 3, 2020 by email <coral.grants@noaa.gov>.

The purpose of this notice is to invite Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) with demonstrated expertise and experience in supporting coral reef management in the United States to submit proposals to establish partnerships with the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) to further the conservation of U.S. coral reefs. This funding announcement describes the coral reef conservation partnership(s) that the NOAA CRCP envisions, identifies the qualities that NOAA desires in a partner, and describes criteria against which applications will be evaluated for funding consideration. Partnerships selected through this notice will be implemented through a cooperative agreement of up to 24-months (2 years) in duration.

Pursuant to Section 6403 of the Coral Reef Conservation Act (CRCA), 16 U.S.C. 6401-6409, and pending Congressional appropriations, CRCP funding of approximately $900,000 is expected to be available for initiating partnership(s) with up to ten non-governmental organizations in Fiscal Year (FY) 2020. CRCP will consider funding a single proposal that includes support for all seven coral reef states and territories and/or several proposals in the Pacific Islands (benefitting Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, and/or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands) and in the Atlantic/Caribbean region (benefitting Florida, Puerto

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Rico, and/or the U.S. Virgin Islands). Some international work may be proposed using non-federal matching funds provided the scope is similar to domestic activities, but will not be prioritized. It is expected that a minimum of one project, but not more than two projects, will be selected to benefit each jurisdiction in any combination of proposals. Applications may propose work plans of up to 24 months, in conformance with the requirements of Section IV of this announcement, and may at most request between $100,000 and $700,000 per year (approximately $100,000 per state or territory), depending on how many of the seven coral states and territories will benefit from the proposed project(s). As required by the CRCA, recipients are required to match NOAA's Federal contributions with non-federal matching contributions at a minimum ratio of 1:1, unless the applicant requests and is granted a waiver to the matching requirement by the agency. 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.

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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, contain an array of potential pharmaceuticals, and provide local communities with a source of food, materials and traditional activities.

As shallow-water, near shore communities, coral reef ecosystems are ecologically 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, sedimentation, destructive fishing practices, recreational overuse and misuse, and impacts from climate change, including changes in ocean chemistry.

To address these and other threats, Congress passed the Coral Reef Conservation Act (CRCA or the 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 described in the Act, one of the primary functions of the CRCP is to provide 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 partnership projects announced in this notice. More information about CRCP is available at http://coralreef.noaa.gov/.

In 2018, the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program established the new NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program Strategic Plan (Strategic Plan-2018; available at https://www.coris.noaa.gov/activities/strategic_plan2018/) which uses a resilience-based management approach focused on conservation that supports the ability of corals to withstand and recover from stress. 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.

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 remains generally in effect until further notice unless otherwise stated in a NOAA CRCP

Notice of Federal Funding Page 4 of 36 funding announcement posted on Grants.gov. Please note that CRCP funding announcements are 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 announcement.

All of the following information in this funding opportunity pertains only to the FY 2020- 2021 Coral Reef Conservation Program Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) Partnership Cooperative Agreements funding category.

B. Program Priorities

CRCP’s 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 domestic capacity to assist state and territorial agencies with coral reef conservation and management responsibilities. Priority will be given to proposals that support the objectives from the Strategic Plan-2018 (https://www.coris.noaa.gov/activities/strategic_plan2018) and the following specific jurisdictional priorities (use URLs below or see attachment in the grants.gov grant opportunity's Related Documents section):

American Samoa: https://ocmcoralreef.blob.core.windows.net/coralreef-prod/media/docs/FY20-21NGOPriorities_AS.pdf

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands:

https://ocmcoralreef.blob.core.windows.net/coralreef-prod/media/docs/FY20- 21NGOPriorities_CNMI.pdf

Florida: https://ocmcoralreef.blob.core.windows.net/coralreef-prod/media/docs/FY20- 21NGOPriorities_FL.pdf

Guam: https://ocmcoralreef.blob.core.windows.net/coralreef-prod/media/docs/FY20- 21NGOPriorities_GU.pdf

Hawaii: https://ocmcoralreef.blob.core.windows.net/coralreef-prod/media/docs/FY20- 21NGOPriorities_HI.pdf

Puerto Rico: https://ocmcoralreef.blob.core.windows.net/coralreef-prod/media/docs/FY20- 21NGOPriorities_PR.pdf

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U.S. Virgin Islands: https://ocmcoralreef.blob.core.windows.net/coralreef-prod/media/docs/FY20-21NGOPriorities_USVI.pdf

These jurisdictional priorities will be used to direct support toward the specific priority conservation needs identified by the CRCP and jurisdictional partners where the priorities of both overlap. As such, CRCP expects the majority of projects proposed under this competition will involve the development and implementation of projects that address both the CRCP Strategic Plan and jurisdictional priorities, and will focus effort primarily in domestic jurisdictions identified for coral reef management. Projects that do not specifically address these priorities or jurisdictions may be proposed, but are not likely to be competitive.

Through this funding announcement, the CRCP seeks to better support the needs of U.S.

coral reef managers working within State and Territorial agencies by funding a single proposal that includes support for all seven coral reef states and territories and/or several proposals in the Pacific Islands (benefitting Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, and/or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands) and in the Atlantic/Caribbean region (benefitting Florida, Puerto Rico, and/or the U.S. Virgin Islands) with Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) that have demonstrated expertise and experience in implementing local coral reef conservation projects. It is expected that a minimum of one project, but not more than two projects, will be selected to benefit each jurisdiction in any combination of proposals. Some international work may be proposed using non-federal matching funds provided the scope is similar to domestic activities, but will not be prioritized.

Cooperative agreements between the CRCP and NGO partner(s) are expected to augment the technical support provided to the governor-appointed natural resource management agencies in the seven U.S. States, Territories, and Commonwealths that have primary management authority and responsibility for conserving U.S. coral reef ecosystems in Florida, the U.S.

Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Guam.

Applicants should document their previous involvement in coral conservation efforts in each jurisdiction in which they are proposing to work. If the applicant does not have previous experience or existing staff in a particular jurisdiction, they should provide specific information about how the applicant intends to fill such gaps through reassignment of existing staff or through the establishment of agreements and/or subawards with other partner organizations that have successfully worked in that location.

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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 (CRCA).

II. Award Information

A. Funding Availability

Under 16 U.S.C. 6401-6409 and pending Congressional appropriations in FY 2020 and 2021, CRCP funding of approximately $900,000 per year is expected to be available for initiating partnership(s) with up to ten non-governmental organizations in FY 2020.

CRCP will consider funding a single proposal that includes support for all seven coral reef states and territories and/or several proposals in the Pacific Islands (benefitting Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, and/or the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands) and in the Atlantic/Caribbean region (benefitting Florida, Puerto Rico, and/or the U.S. Virgin Islands). It is expected that a minimum of one project, but not more than two projects, will be selected to benefit each jurisdiction in any combination of proposals. Applications may propose work plans of up to 24 months, in conformance with the requirements of Section IV of this announcement, and may at most request between $100,000 and $700,000 per year (approximately $100,000 per state or territory), depending on how many of the seven coral states and territories will benefit from the proposed project(s). As required by the CRCA, recipients are required to match NOAA's Federal contributions with non-federal matching contributions at a minimum ratio of 1:1 unless the applicant requests and is granted a waiver to the matching requirement by the agency. 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.

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 within the project application budget. 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 be eligible to receive federal

Notice of Federal Funding Page 7 of 36 awards in order to be considered for or receive funding under this competition.

Proposals not funded in the current fiscal period, or if no proposal is selected for funding under this announcement in the current fiscal period, may be considered for funding in another fiscal period without NOAA repeating the competitive process outlined in this announcement. Funding in subsequent fiscal years encompassing the proposed period of performance is subject to the availability of appropriations.

B. Project/Award Period

CRCP expects to initiate between one and ten cooperative agreement award(s) with successful applicant(s) beginning on October 1, 2020, and extending for a period of up to 24-months.

C. Type of Funding Instrument

Successful applicants will enter into a cooperative agreement with NOAA's Coral Reef Conservation Program as described under the terms of this document. 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, local Coral Reef Management Liaisons, Coral Reef Fisheries Liaisons, and other CRCP 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. See Section 5.C. of the Department of Commerce Grants Manual at https://go.usa.gov/xpjk8 for more information about substantial involvement. Applications should be written with the understanding the project will be a cooperative agreement. As the federal government will be substantially involved in the project, 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. NOAA will include an award condition describing its substantial involvement if a project is selected for funding.

III. Eligibility Information

A. Eligible Applicants

Eligible applicants are limited to non-profit non-governmental organizations that have demonstrated expertise and experience in supporting coral reef management in U.S. States and Territories.

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NOAA employees are not permitted to assist in the preparation of applications or write letters of support for any application. NOAA CRCP staff is 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 employees are not allowable and will not be included among the application materials considered by merit reviewers.

Federal agencies and employees cannot receive funds under this announcement but may serve as collaborative project partners. If Federal agencies are collaborators, applicants are expected to provide detail on the planned level of Federal engagement in the application.

Examples might include, but are not limited to partnership services; serving in a review capacity; or participating in priority task teams, working groups, or leadership teams.

B. Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement

NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Grant Program awards are subject to statutory and regulatory matching fund policies. Federal funds for any coral conservation award funded 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 CFR 200.29 as “the portion of project costs not paid by federal funds (unless otherwise authorized by federal statute).”

NOAA will accept any shared costs or matching funds and all contributions, including cash and third party in-kind contributions of goods and services, will be accepted as part of an applications cost sharing or matching when they meet all of the following criteria listed in 2 CFR 200.306(b): 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.

Matching funds may come from a variety of public and private sources and may include

Notice of Federal Funding Page 9 of 36 third party in-kind goods and services such as private boat use and volunteer labor. Goods and services provided by the recipient have the valuation described in 2 CFR 200.306.

Federal agencies and employees’ in-kind services cannot be considered as part of an applicant’s matching funds, but can be described in the budget narrative to demonstrate additional leverage. Applicants are permitted to combine contributions from multiple non-federal partners in order to meet the 1:1 match requirement, consistent with the standards described in 2 CFR 200.306, and if funds are available within the project period stated in the application. Applicants should specify the source(s) of match in their proposal and detailed 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. Successful applicants should be prepared to carefully document matching contributions, including the number of volunteer or community participation hours devoted to specific projects, and all other cash or third party in-kind contributions. If the applicant plans to use any federal funds as match, the applicant should identify the federal statute authorizing the program to use federal funds to meet the match or cost sharing requirements (note that this would be unusual). 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.5.h. and Section IV.E of this announcement. In addition, any Program Income that may arise in the project may be applied toward cost sharing or added to the project, consistent with 2 CFR 200.307.

The NOAA Administrator 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 must 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, must be submitted as part of the final application. Please address the waiver request as described in Section IV.B.5.g. of this announcement.

C. Other Criteria that Affect Eligibility

None

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IV. Application and Submission Information

A. Address to Request Application Package

The standard SF-424 application package is available online at http://www.grants.gov.

B. Content and Form of Application

Applicants should submit a full standard NOAA financial assistance application package in accordance with the guidelines in this document. Applications that do not follow the Letter of Intent (LOI) and proposal application requirements stated in this announcement will not be considered for review. All application materials should use a legible 11- or 12-point font with 1-inch margins on all sides. Electronic applications must be submitted as Adobe Acrobat (.PDF) or Microsoft Word files.

For this funding competition, a LOI is REQUIRED before submitting a proposal. The LOI should provide a concise description of the proposed work and its relevance to program objectives and jurisdiction priorities. LOIs will not be scored and all applicants who submit on time are allowed to submit a full application. LOIs will be shared with relevant local state and territorial agencies, who may contact applicants to clarify priority intent or suggest revisions. As a relevant agency might not contact the applicant, and NOAA is not evaluating the LOIs, applicants should not wait to be contacted by NOAA (other than confirmation that an LOI was received) or by another agency before proceeding with full applications.

The LOI should include the following information on a cover page:

(a) Identification of the NOAA Office for Coastal Management as the target of the LOI

(b) Project title

(c) Names and affiliation of the lead principal investigators (PI) with contact information.

NOAA will communicate with the lead PI on the status of their LOI.

(d) Names and affiliation for the principal investigator and all co-PIs

(e) Identify the following aspects of the project, including 1) the region and specific communities where the project will take place, 2) the professional or technical network that will be leveraged or created, and 3) identification of the programmatic priority(ies) applicable to the project

(f) Proposed project start and end dates

(h) Estimated funding request by year (as appropriate)

The body of the LOI should be no more than 2 pages, single-spaced, 11 or 12-point font, and must include the following components:

(a) Statement of Purpose: state the intent, goal, and outcome of proposed work

(b) Briefly describe the proposed project and activities, ensuring to highlight and describe

Notice of Federal Funding Page 11 of 36 the (1) professional or technical network that will be leveraged or created, (2) partnerships and existing federal, state, territorial and/or local activities or programs that will be leveraged or integrated (3) public engagement and outreach activities and project outcomes and (4) the intended benefits to the region and local community

(c) Budget summary. Provide an overview of funding requested and brief details on how funds will be used.

The complete full application package should include the following forms and documents:

(a) A project description (proposal), as described in the application component section below (components 2-4), should be limited to no more than 40 pages for applicants proposing work in one (1) to four (4) domestic jurisdictions and no more than 60 pages for applicants proposing work in five (5) to seven (7) domestic jurisdictions. The project description should also include a title page and table of contents, but these pages (title and table of contents) will not count towards the page limit.

Project descriptions that exceed the 40-page or 60-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 removed 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, so applicants are advised to review their application materials closely before they are submitted to the agency for consideration.

(b) The following Federal forms from the SF-424 Form Family should be included in the application package, as applicable (no page limit with forms and related mandatory federal form information):

i. Application for Federal Assistance: Form SF-424

ii. Budget Information for Non-construction Programs: Form SF-424A (prior to award, a Form SF-424A for each year of funding will be required)

iii. Assurances for Non-construction Programs: Form SF-424B

iv. Certification Regarding Lobbying: Form CD-511

v. Disclosure of Lobbying Activities: Form SF-LLL (if applicable) Federal forms and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) information, as well as information provided to complete the federal forms (e.g. Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement), can be submitted separately or combined and submitted as one PDF document.

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

Notice of Federal Funding Page 12 of 36 opened or downloaded will not be reviewed.

All applications should contain the following five (5) components:

1. Title Page (Proposal Cover Sheet). Include proposal title; complete contact information for the Principal Investigator and the organization’s Authorized Representative; the DUNS number of the applicant, which must match the applicant’s registered organization name to receive funds; requested start date (October 1, 2020); duration of proposed project (up to 24-months); the Federal funding amount requested broken out by jurisdiction and task; and the amount and source of non-Federal matching contributions to the project.

2. Proposal Summary. Provide a 2 page summary of the proposed cooperative agreement.

The summary should provide a description of the applicant's capabilities, overall project goals and objectives, brief summaries of the projects that the applicant intends to complete over the award period in each geographic area, and a brief summary of the anticipated products and desired outcomes from the proposed activities. Please note that this information may be utilized during Congressional notification and shared with the public.

3. Proposal Narrative. The proposal narrative description (25-40 pages) should describe each of the discrete projects or tasks proposed in the application. Each task should be titled and assigned a separate project or task number. Sufficient detail should be provided to 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, the Endangered Species Act, the Historic Preservation Act, etc. Applicants should clearly describe how each activity or project will directly benefit the coral reef management priorities of State and Territorial Coral Reef Management agencies. Each task description in the proposal narrative should include:

(a) Introduction - Provide a brief summary of relevant background information that justifies the need for the proposed project or task. Clearly describe or explain: the relationship of the proposed project to previous efforts; how the project fits into the jurisdictions' strategies for addressing the issue; how the project would complement coral reef conservation activities of local governmental agencies, and, if applicable, other relevant CRCP-sponsored coral conservation activities.

(b) Task Description and Methodology - Provide a project description that describes the scope and detail of the project and the work to be accomplished. Clearly describe or explain:

project goals and objectives, proposed activities, methods, procedures, any special

Notice of Federal Funding Page 13 of 36 equipment that will be used in support of the project goals, and how project outcomes will directly result in improved management of coral reef resources.

(c) Task Outcomes or Products - Identify and describe the anticipated project products or outcomes, explain how they will benefit local management of coral reef resources, and describe performance measures that will be used to evaluate project success. The narrative should include information on dissemination of the findings/results to resource managers, local communities, and other stakeholders as appropriate. The project narrative also needs to include information on how the project will be evaluated for success. If the goal of the project is to build capacity for improved conservation, describe proposed plans to ensure the activities continue into the future.

(d) Schedule - Indicate when each task or project is expected to begin (month and year) and include a timeline for completing tasks in narrative or table format.

(e) Project Management/Personnel - Identify the project manager or Principal Investigator.

Identify other individual(s) responsible for completing the projects and tasks proposed in the application. Describe how the project will be organized and managed, and include the qualifications of the principal investigator(s) by providing curricula vitae or resumes. The Principal Investigator may or may not be the applicant organization. However, if the applicant is not the principal investigator, there should be an explanation of the relationship between the applicant and principal investigator (e.g., the applicant may be responsible for managing the grant funds and the Principal Investigator will be responsible for completing the work). Please also include information about the specific responsibilities of other personnel funded through the proposal, including the technical and administrative points of contact as appropriate.

4. Budget Narrative and Justification (10-20 pages) 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.

Applicants should include detailed budget information regarding all known contracts and

Notice of Federal Funding Page 14 of 36 subawards, and indicate the basis for the cost and price estimates 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 subaward should include form SF- 424A. Detailed budget information includes:

(a) Name of identified qualified sub recipient or contractor, affiliation, contact information, and method of selection. For “to be determined,” describe plans for selection. Information must include the name and location (city, state, and Congressional district) of the entity receiving the funds and the location of the primary place of performance under the contract or subaward.).

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

(c) Scope of Work. List and describe the specific activities or tasks to be performed.

(d) 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 contract/award and the indirect cost rate used.

(e) 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 subawards and contracts must be made consistent with the requirements of 2 CFR 200.330-200.332 for subawards, 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. If a foreign air carrier is anticipated to be used for

Notice of Federal Funding Page 15 of 36 any portion of travel, prior approval is required under the DOC Financial Assistance Standard Terms and Conditions, Section G.05.d., 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. Refer to item 8 below in this Section regarding treatment of Indirect Costs in the Budget Narrative.

5. Appendices 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 narrative, letters of collaboration, letters of support, lists of data sources, and maps). Applicants should number the pages in their proposal and any appendices as a standard practice, NOAA requires that resumes for Principal Investigators (PIs) of competitive awards be on file and maintained in the grants processing system used by the Department of Commerce, Grants Online. Recipients of any award (competitive or non-competitive) are required to designate PIs in Grants Online within 30 days of receiving award offers.

The following appendix documents should be included in the application package:

(a) Mandatory detailed budget information.

i. Standard Form 424 (SF-424): Application for Federal Assistance (7/2003 version or newer). Applicants requesting Federal funding under this program must submit a copy of SF- 424, 'Application for Federal Assistance'. If the applicant submits a hard copy of the final application, the SF-424 must be signed and dated by the organization's authorized representative and used as the cover page for the final application. An electronic signature and date stamp will automatically be included on SF-424 forms submitted via Grants.gov.

ii. Standard Form 424A (SF-424A): Budget Information for Non-construction Programs (includes a separate form for each year of funding and for each proposed sub-award.

Applicants are required to submit a SF-424A Budget Form to summarize the budget for the proposed scope of work. The first column of Sections A and B shows the federal funds requested, while the second column of Sections A and B shows the non-federal matching funds provided for the project. Total award funding is shown in the final column of Section B. Non-federal funding is broken out by source in Section C. Forecasted cash needs in Section D should be inclusive of all funding for multiyear projects. Federal and non-federal funds should be expended at a similar rate throughout the course of the project. Section E may be left blank. Section F summarizes the direct charges in line 21 and lists the indirect

Notice of Federal Funding Page 16 of 36 charges requested; please show the rate used in line 22. Multi-year awards will have out year funds shown in Section E. Please note that completion of the SF-424A form as described above represents NOAA's preference and may not be consistent with the instructions that accompany the SF-424A form. All budget figures should match the funding requested on the application cover sheet and correspond with the descriptions contained in the project and budget narratives. Each proposed sub-award of $25,000 or more should be accompanied by a separate SF-424A form to fully document the proposed subaward budget.

iii. Standard Form 424B (SF-424B): Assurances for Non-Construction Programs Applicants are required to submit a signed SF-424B, 'Assurances for Non-Construction Programs'.

iv. Form CD-511: Certification Regarding Lobbying Applicants are required to submit a Form CD-511, 'Certifications Regarding Lobbying.

v. Standard Form LLL (SF-LLL): Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (if applicable).

(b) Letters of Collaboration. All supporting letters from partner organizations that are instrumental to the project should be included in the application package. Letters must clearly indicate the level of commitment and/or collaboration. Letters of collaboration do not need original signatures.

(c) Resumes. Provide resumes of the Principal Investigator for the project and other key personnel critical to the success of the project. Ensure that resumes address qualifications relevant to conducting the proposed work. Please limit resumes to a maximum of two pages for each key investigator.

Standard Form 424: Application for Federal Assistance (7/2003 version or newer) Applicants requesting Federal funding in this program must submit a copy of Standard Form SF-424, 'Application for Federal Assistance'. If a hard copy final application is submitted, it must be signed and dated by the organization's authorized representative, and used as the cover page for the final application. An electronic signature and date stamp will automatically be included on SF-424 forms submitted via Grants.gov.

(d) Data Sharing Plan. If the proposal is expected to generate environmental data, a Data Management Plan is required. The Data Management Plan should address the requirements in this section of the Announcement.

i. Environmental data and information collected or created under NOAA grants or cooperative agreements must be made discoverable by and accessible to the public, in a timely fashion (typically within two years), free of charge or at no more than the cost of reproduction, unless an exemption is granted by the NOAA Program. Data should be available in at least one machine-readable format, preferably a widely used or open-standard format, and should be accompanied by machine-readable documentation (metadata), preferably based on widely used or international standards.

Notice of Federal Funding Page 17 of 36

ii. Proposals submitted in response to this Announcement must include a Data Management Plan of up to two pages describing how these requirements will be satisfied. The Data Management Plan should be aligned with the Data Management Guidance provided by NOAA in the Announcement (component viii. of this section). The contents of the Data Management Plan (or absence thereof), and past performance regarding such plans, will be considered as part of proposal review. A typical plan should include descriptions of the types of environmental data and information expected to be created during the course of the project; the tentative date by which data will be shared; the standards to be used for data/metadata format and content; methods for providing data access; approximate total volume of data to be collected; and prior experience in making such data accessible. The costs of data preparation, accessibility, or archiving may be included in the proposal budget.

Accepted submission of data to the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) is one way to satisfy data sharing requirements; however, NCEI is not obligated to accept all submissions and may charge a fee, particularly for large or unusual datasets. The NOAA Program is not offering specific data management technical guidance. Proposals are to describe their proposed approach. Use of open standard formats and methods is encouraged. For more information about data sharing in this program, contact the agency official listed in Section VII. of this funding announcement.

iii. NOAA may, at its own discretion, make publicly visible the Data Management Plan from funded proposals, or use information from the Data Management Plan to produce a formal metadata record and include that metadata in a Catalog to indicate the pending availability of new data.

iv. Proposal submitters are hereby advised that the final pre-publication manuscripts of scholarly articles produced entirely or primarily with NOAA funding will be required to be submitted to NOAA Institutional Repository after acceptance, and no later than upon publication. Such manuscripts shall be made publicly available by NOAA one year after publication by the journal.

v. NOAA's Administrative Order on the Management of Environmental Data Management and Information is available under:

http://www.corporateservices.noaa.gov/ames/administrative_orders/chapter_212/212- 15.html

vi. Principal Investigators should indicate how and when they have made their data accessible and usable by the community in the past.

vii. More information about the NOAA Data Sharing Policy is available on NOAA’s Environmental Data Management Committee website at:

www.nosc.noaa.gov/EDMC/PD.DSP.php. If no environmental data is expected and the applicant is not providing a data management plan, please state this in the proposal and describe the reason.

Notice of Federal Funding Page 18 of 36

viii. Data Management Guidance to Proposal Writers. Responsible NOAA Official for questions regarding this guidance and for verifying accessibility of data produced by funding recipients: Craig Reid, Federal Program Officer, NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program, craig.a.reid@noaa.gov, 240-533-0783.

Data Accessibility: The NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program requires that public access to grant/contract-produced data be enabled. Funding recipients are expected to submit data to NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), which will provide public access and permanent archiving. The NOAA Program has held preliminary consultation with NCEI regarding these pending data. Technical Recommendations: The NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program is not offering specific technical guidance. Proposals are to describe their proposed approach. Use of open-standard formats and methods is encouraged.

Resources: NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program resources for data sharing or archiving have already been identified; proposals should not include such costs (unless data volume is expected to exceed 20GB). NOAA may, at its own discretion, make publicly visible the Data Management Plan from funded proposals, or use information from the Data Management Plan to produce a formal metadata record and include that metadata in a Catalog to indicate the pending availability of new data.

(e) National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and Environmental Compliance -- Under (NEPA), NOAA must analyze the potential environmental impacts of projects or proposals seeking funding from NOAA.

After the application is submitted, NOAA may require additional information to fulfill NEPA and other compliance requirements. If NOAA determines that an environmental assessment is required, applicants may also be requested to assist in drafting the assessment.

Applicants may also be required to cooperate with NOAA in identifying and implementing feasible measures to reduce or avoid any identified adverse environmental impacts of their proposal. The failure to do so shall be grounds for the denial of an application. In some cases if additional information is required after an application is selected, funds can be withheld by the Grants Officer under a special award condition requiring the recipient to submit additional environmental compliance information sufficient to enable NOAA to make an assessment on any impacts that a project may have on the environment.

The applicants selected for funding must complete questions 1-13 of the Environmental Compliance Questionnaire for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Federal Financial Assistance Applicants accessible at https://www.nepa.noaa.gov/docs/NOAA- Grants-Questionnaire-final.pdf to provide detailed information on the activities to be conducted, locations, sites, species and habitat to be affected, possible construction activities, and any environmental concerns that may exist (e.g.