NOAA-OAR-CPO-2018-2005445 FFO.pdf

Federal Funding Opportunity Page 1 of 25

Climate and Societal Interactions

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Funding Opportunity Description 4 A. Program Objective 4 B. Program Priorities 5 C. Program Authority 8

II. Award Information 8 A. Funding Availability 9 B. Project/Award Period 9 C. Type of Funding Instrument 9

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

IV. Application and Submission Information 10 A. Address to Request Application Package 10 B. Content and Form of Application 10 C. Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management (SAM) 15 D. Submission Dates and Times 16 E. Intergovernmental Review 17 F. Funding Restrictions 17 G. Other Submission Requirements 17

V. Application Review Information 17 A. Evaluation Criteria 17 B. Review and Selection Process 18 C. Selection Factors 20 D. Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates 20

VI. Award Administration Information 20 A. Award Notices 20 B. Administrative and National Policy Requirements 21 C. Reporting 24

VII. Agency Contacts 25 VIII. Other Information 25

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ANNOUNCEMENT OF FEDERAL FUNDING OPPORTUNITY

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Federal Agency Name(s): Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce

Funding Opportunity Title: Climate and Societal Interactions

Announcement Type: Initial

Funding Opportunity Number: NOAA-OAR-CPO-2018-2005445

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 11.431, Climate and Atmospheric Research

Dates: 1. Letter of Intent Letters of intent (LOIs) for all three competitions should be received electronically by 5:00 p.m.

ET on January 5, 2018.

2. Full Applications Full applications for COCA/RISA and IRAP competitions must be received by 5:00 p.m. ET on March 16, 2018. Full applications for the RISA competition must be received by 5:00pm on March 5, 2018. Applications received after this time will not be considered for funding.

Applications must be submitted via http://www.grants.gov. For applications submitted through grants.gov, the basis for determining timeliness is the receipt notice issued by http://www.grants.gov, which includes the date and time received. Emailed or faxed copies of applications will not be accepted.

3. Funding Opportunity Description: The mission of the NOAA Climate and Societal Interactions (CSI) research portfolio is to inform improvements in planning and preparedness in diverse socio-economic regions and sectors throughout the U.S. and abroad via the integration of knowledge and information about extreme weather and climate. Our research advances the nation’s understanding of climate-related risks and vulnerabilities across sectors and regions - within and beyond our borders - and the development of tools to foster more informed decision making. These efforts support NOAA's vision to create and sustain enhanced resilience in ecosystems, communities, and economies. The overall objectives of the CSI portfolio are the following:

1. Support innovative, applicable, and transferable approaches for decision making, especially for risk characterization in the context of a variable and changing climate;

2. Establishment of a network of regionally scoped, long-term efforts to inform climate risk management and decision making; and http://www.grants.gov/ http://www.grants.gov/

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3. Promotion of the transfer of climate knowledge, tools, products, and services within NOAA, across the federal government, nationally, and internationally.

These objectives are pursued through four complementary, interdisciplinary research programs:

the Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessment (RISA) Program; the International Research and Applications Project (IRAP); the Sectoral Applications Research Program (SARP); and the Coastal and Ocean Climate Applications program (COCA). RISA supports research teams that conduct innovative, interdisciplinary, user-inspired, and regionally relevant research that informs resource management, planning, and public policy. IRAP supports activities to link science and assessments to practical risk management challenges in regions where weather and climate affect U.S. interests at home and abroad. COCA supports interdisciplinary applications research on the impacts of climate variability and change on coastal communities and coastal and marine ecosystems to inform decision making. SARP addresses the needs of a specific stakeholder or set of stakeholders within key socioeconomic sectors (e.g., water resources, agriculture, health, etc.)

grappling with pressing climate-related issues. The FY18 SARP competition was published in the CPO FFO in May 2017.

CSI is an active partner in NOAA’s efforts to enhance and support services. This partnership brings together NOAA Regional Climate Services Directors (RCSDs), other NOAA service line offices, and close external partners such as RISA teams, Regional Climate Centers, State Climatologists, Sea Grant and other U.S. Government agencies to help make weather and climate information and products relevant, accessible and actionable to people across the U.S.

CSI activities address the societal challenges identified in NOAA’s Next-Generation Strategic Plan (NGSP): i) climate impacts on water resources; ii) coasts and climate resilience; iii) sustainability of marine ecosystems; and iv) changes in the extremes of weather and climate. CSI programs support NOAA’s vision to create and sustain enhanced resilience in ecosystems, communities, and economies, as outlined in the NGSP.

Three (3) CSI programs are holding a competition under this Federal Funding Opportunity:

RISA, COCA, and IRAP.

RISA - South Central Region COCA & RISA Pilot on Coastal Climate Extension Competition IRAP: Decision Support Research on Climate-Sensitive Health Risks

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FULL ANNOUNCEMENT TEXT

I. Funding Opportunity Description

A. Program Objective

The mission of the NOAA Climate and Societal Interactions (CSI) research portfolio is to inform improvements in planning and preparedness in diverse socio-economic regions and sectors throughout the U.S. and abroad via the integration of knowledge and information about extreme weather and climate. Our research advances the nation’s understanding of climate-related risks and vulnerabilities across sectors and regions - within and beyond our borders - and the development of tools to foster more informed decision making. These efforts support NOAA's vision to create and sustain enhanced resilience in ecosystems, communities, and economies.

The overall objectives of the CSI portfolio are the following:

1. Support innovative, applicable, and transferable approaches for decision making, especially for risk characterization in the context of a variable and changing climate;

2. Establishment of a network of regionally scoped, long-term efforts to inform climate risk management and decision making; and

3. Promotion of the transfer of climate knowledge, tools, products, and services within NOAA, across the federal government, nationally, and internationally.

These objectives are pursued through four complementary, interdisciplinary research programs: the Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessment (RISA) Program; the International Research and Applications Project (IRAP); the Sectoral Applications Research Program (SARP); and the Coastal and Ocean Climate Applications program (COCA). RISA supports research teams that conduct innovative, interdisciplinary, user-inspired, and regionally relevant research that informs resource management, planning, and public policy.

IRAP supports activities to link science and assessments to practical risk management challenges in regions where weather and climate affect U.S. interests at home and abroad.

COCA supports interdisciplinary applications research on the impacts of climate variability and change on coastal communities and coastal and marine ecosystems to inform decision making. SARP addresses the needs of a specific stakeholder or set of stakeholders within key socioeconomic sectors (e.g., water resources, agriculture, health, etc.) grappling with pressing climate-related issues. The FY18 SARP competition was published in the CPO FFO in May 2017.

CSI is an active partner in NOAA’s efforts to enhance and support services. This partnership brings together NOAA Regional Climate Services Directors (RCSDs), other NOAA service

Federal Funding Opportunity Page 5 of 25 line offices, and close external partners such as RISA teams, Regional Climate Centers, State Climatologists, Sea Grant and other U.S. Government agencies to help make weather and climate information and products relevant, accessible and actionable to people across the U.S.

CSI activities address the societal challenges identified in NOAA’s Next-Generation Strategic Plan (NGSP): i) climate impacts on water resources; ii) coasts and climate resilience; iii) sustainability of marine ecosystems; and iv) changes in the extremes of weather and climate. CSI programs support NOAA’s vision to create and sustain enhanced resilience in ecosystems, communities, and economies, as outlined in the NGSP.

Three (3) CSI programs are holding a competition under this Federal Funding Opportunity:

RISA, COCA, and IRAP.

B. Program Priorities

Through this Announcement, CSI’s activities are seeking applications for three individual competitions in FY 2018. Prior to submitting applications, investigators are highly encouraged to learn more about CPO/CSI and its Programs, as well as specific Program priorities for FY 2018.

This information, along with the names and contact information of relevant Competition Managers, is provided in information sheets that can be found at the following website:

http://cpo.noaa.gov/Grants.

The 3 competitions covered by this Announcement are as follows:

COCA/RISA Pilot on Coastal Climate Extension Competition

In FY 2018, RISA is holding one competition for research funding. We are accepting applications for an award up to four years for a RISA team focused on the South Central region of the U.S. (Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, and coastal Mississippi).

Investigators are highly encouraged to learn more about CPO, RISA and the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) “sustained assessment” vision prior to submitting applications. The RISA information sheet (http://www.cpo.noaa.gov/risa/) provides further information and should be downloaded and read in detail in conjunction with this FFO. To learn more about Sustained Assessment visit http://www.globalchange.gov/engage/process-products/sustained-assessment.

http://cpo.noaa.gov/Grants http://cpo.noaa.gov/Grants http://www.cpo.noaa.gov/risa/) http://www.cpo.noaa.gov/risa/) http://www.globalchange.gov/engage/process-

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When determining the geographic scope of your RISA, applicants should consider what is manageable to balance effectively working with stakeholders across an appropriate regional geography and being an effective RISA. Current RISA regions generally cover two or more states, large watershed boundaries, or issue-focused areas (e.g., the urbanized, heavily populated corridor between Boston, New York, and Philadelphia).

COCA & RISA Pilot on Coastal Climate Extension Competition The COCA and RISA programs are collaborating on a one time, two-year pilot project to support and expand coastal climate extension within the RISA network. For FY18, the COCA program is soliciting proposals for coastal climate extension specialists in up to two RISA coastal regions (Mid-Atlantic and South Central).

It is envisioned that the Coastal Climate Extension Specialist(s) will be integrated within a RISA team(s) and will be responsible for supporting efforts to strengthen the coastal research, adaptation, and extension capacity. The Specialist’s duties and responsibilities must include a minimum of 50% time devoted to regional outreach on coastal weather- and climate-related issues. The goal of the Coastal Climate Extension Specialist(s) position is to:

1. Build capacity to address the coastal risk management challenges of existing RISA partners and stakeholders

2. Expand RISA team(s) capacity to work with new stakeholders on key regionally relevant coastal issues (e.g. public health, critical infrastructure, urban development)

3. Synthesize and communicate research findings, tools, and resources to RISA coastal stakeholders and decision-makers

4. Foster stronger connections across COCA-sponsored research and RISA networks

5. Support the communication of lessons learned, tools, and methodologies, across the coastal RISA teams and COCA researchers.

COCA is seeking proposals for coastal climate extension specialist(s) in two RISA regions, Mid-Atlantic and South Central (http://cpo.noaa.gov/RISA/RISA-Teams). The Mid-Atlantic RISA region includes the following coastal states: Virginia, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York, and the District of Columbia. The South Central RISA region includes the following coastal states: Texas and Louisiana. Proposals that include transboundary work with Mississippi and Alabama will be considered. It is intended that the specialist will be integrated within the RISA team as a collaborator in the two regions identified. All proposals should include language on the plan to collaborate with the RISA team. Letters of support from the RISA team are encouraged.

Please download the information sheet for more information: http://cpo.noaa.gov/Grants http://cpo.noaa.gov/RISA/RISA-Teams) http://cpo.noaa.gov/RISA/RISA-Teams) http://cpo.noaa.gov/Grants

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In FY 2018, the International Research and Applications Project (IRAP) will consider proposals for interdisciplinary, applied science, stakeholder engagement, and capacity building activities that advances the integration of weather and climate research, assessments and services in practical risk management settings related to health risks that affect U.S. interests at home and abroad. Health risks of particular interest include:

temperature-related mortality and illness; infectious and vector-borne diseases; extreme event effects; air quality impacts; water and food-borne illnesses; nutrition, and food and water distribution. One CSI/IRAP competition will be held in FY 18, with two distinct foci, as noted below.

1. Decision Support Research and Application on Climate-Sensitive Health Risks in Transboundary Regions of the United States, in Partnership with the NOAA/CSI Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessment Program

Proposed research should focus on climate-sensitive health risks in the transboundary regions of the United States, and should explicitly connect to and expand the efforts of the NOAA/CSI Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessment (RISA) network. Proposals should apply the RISA approach to transboundary issues related to understanding, predicting and preventing climate-sensitive health risks at sub-seasonal to seasonal time scales and beyond.

Proposals should address how weather-climate-health linkages interact with and shape the socio-economic well-being and stability of communities and institutions that intersect with countries in one or more of the broadly defined regions that border the United States; a) Mexico and Central America; b) the Caribbean; c) the Pacific Islands; d) the Arctic; e) Canada.

All proposals should include at least one Co-PI from a RISA team (http://cpo.noaa.gov/RISA/RISA-Teams), and should feature practical partnerships among scientists from multiple disciplines, decision makers and other stakeholders, including state, local or Federal agencies and the private sector (including NGOs and companies). Proposals should connect to the network of NOAA research and services. Proposals are encouraged to build on and expand existing RISA investigations and networks, link to the National Integrated Heat Health Information System (NIHHIS) Pilots or partners (http://cpo.noaa.gov/NIHHIS), partner with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Building Resilience Against Climate Effects Framework (https://www.cdc.gov/climateandhealth/BRACE.htm) grantees, and include public health and related state and local decision makers.

http://cpo.noaa.gov/RISA/RISA-Teams) http://cpo.noaa.gov/RISA/RISA-Teams) http://cpo.noaa.gov/NIHHIS) http://www.cdc.gov/climateandhealth/BRACE.htm)

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2. Developing and Using Subseasonal and Seasonal Global Health Risk Maps, Prediction Tools and Information to Anticipate and Manage Climate-Sensitive Health Risk.

Proposals submitted under this focus area should advance the knowledge, networks, capacity and global health engagement needed to develop and demonstrate the use of tools and predictive information for climate-sensitive health risks in order to safeguard U.S. interests within and outside of our borders, and that affect U.S. response capacity—whether international, federal, state or local. The goal is to build on existing activities and develop both the technical and institutional capacity to produce and use a global health risk map that provides an indication of health risks with lead times of weeks or months. This includes identifying and contributing to the institutional capacity to use and act on this predictive information to reduce health risks (e.g. emergency response needs, long range mitigation planning). This element is envisioned as a collaborative project to identify information needs and institutional pathways needed to assess and predict, on subseasonal and seasonal time scales, climate sensitive health risks around the globe that are likely to affect U.S. interests at home and abroad. The proposals should build on existing global hazard risk and mapping efforts and include partners responsible for decision making that facilitates improved, and timely, planning and preparation to reduce these health risks before they affect U.S. interests, or foster a more efficient response. Proposals should demonstrate and advance concepts, techniques, and network capacities for developing and utilizing global hazard health risk maps and associated tools (e.g., decision support calendars for the management of climate-sensitive health risks, monthly or seasonal health outlooks, etc).

Proposals to this component of the IRAP FY 18 FFO are expected to demonstrate familiarity with, and include, key actors involved in climate-sensitive health risk activities on the global and/or regional scale, and the challenges and opportunities associated with developing maps and other usable tools.

This IRAP research foci has no requirement to include a Co-PI from a RISA network;

however, we encourage linkages among the two elements of this competition once the awards are made.

Please download the information sheet for more information: (http://cpo.noaa.gov/IRAP)

C. Program Authority

49 U.S.C. 44720(b), 15 U.S.C. 2904, 15 U.S.C. 2931-2934

II. Award Information http://cpo.noaa.gov/IRAP)

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A. Funding Availability

RISA: Proposals are being solicited for a RISA award in the South Central region of the

United States. We estimate that $1.8-$2.6 million will be available up to a maximum of four years for a RISA award, pending budget appropriations. Depending on program budget and funding availability, a RISA award may be made for a 3 year time period. It is anticipated that this award will be at a funding level of $450,000-$500,000 per year for core RISA work and up to $150,000 per year for accompanying sustained assessment specialist components.

COCA & RISA Pilot Partnership on Coastal Climate Extension Specialist: It is anticipated that $800,000 will be available in FY18, depending on budget appropriation.

Proposals are being solicited for 1 - 2 Specialist(s) in up to two of the identified RISA Regions (Mid- Atlantic and South Central). COCA is supporting projects up to $200,000 a year for up to 2- years, depending on the availability of funding.

IRAP: Decision Support Research on Climate-Sensitive Health Risks proposals are being solicited for two different foci. Focus area 1: We estimate that awards for transboundary work involving RISA teams will be up to $350,000 per year, for a period of 1-2 years, for a total amount of $1.2 million, pending budget appropriations. Focus area 2: We estimate that funding for the development of integrated global maps, tools and information will be on the order of $300,000 per year for a period of 1-2 years, pending the availability of funds. Only 1-2 awards are anticipated for this second foci.

B. Project/Award Period

A RISA award is intended to last up to 4 years from the start date.

COCA/RISA Pilot on Coastal Climate Extension will be 2 year awards.

IRAP Decision Support Research on Climate-Sensitive Health Risks will be 1 or 2 year awards, depending on the proposal.

C. Type of Funding Instrument

The funding instrument for CSI awards made under this FFO will be a cooperative agreement due to the substantial interactions needed between the recipients and NOAA CPO throughout the award period. Examples of substantial involvement may include, but are not limited to, participation in RISA network monthly conference calls, annual meetings, periodic topical conference calls and meetings, annual reporting on award progress and accomplishments, and communication with other parts of NOAA. Funding for contractual arrangements for services and products for delivery to NOAA is not available under this announcement.

If the applicant is at an institution that has a NOAA Cooperative Institute (CI), the applicant is encouraged to submit a proposal that references the CI by attaching a cover letter to the proposal stating the desire to have the grant associated with the CI. This letter should specify

Federal Funding Opportunity Page 10 of 25 the name of the cooperative institute, the CI cooperative agreement number, and the NOAA-approved research theme and task that applies to the proposal. The proposal will use the Facilities and Administrative (F&A) rate associated with the main CI agreement.

If the proposal is selected for funding, NOAA will notify the university that a separate award will be issued with its own award number. However, the award will include two Special Award Conditions (SACs): (1) the existing University/NOAA Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) would be incorporated by reference into the terms of the competitive award, and (2) any performance report(s) for the competitive project must follow the timetable of the CPO funding program and be submitted directly to the CPO funding program. Report(s) will be copied to the CI’s administrator when due, to be attached to the main cooperative agreement progress report as an appendix. This will allow the CI to coordinate all the projects submitted through the CI, since the terms of these awards will specify that this is a CI project via the

MOA.

III. Eligibility Information

A. Eligible Applicants

Eligible applicants are institutions of higher education, other nonprofits, commercial organizations, international organizations, and state, local and Indian tribal governments.

Federal agencies interested in receiving financial support for projects should contact the appropriate competition manager.

B. Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement

None.

C. Other Criteria that Affect Eligibility

None.

IV. Application and Submission Information

A. Address to Request Application Package

Application packages are at grants.gov. For applicants without Internet access, please contact the CPO Grants Manager Diane Brown by mail at NOAA Climate Program Office (R/CP1), SSMC3, Room 12734, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910 to obtain an Application Package.

B. Content and Form of Application

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1. Letter of Intent (LOI)

The purpose of the LOI process is to provide information to potential applicants on the relevance of their proposed project to the Competition in advance of preparing a full application. Full applications will be encouraged only for LOIs deemed relevant. Applicants who have not been encouraged may still submit a full application. While LOIs are strongly encouraged, applicants are not required to submit them and may submit a full application even if they have not submitted an LOI.

LOIs should be submitted by email to the identified NOAA Competition Manager by the deadline specified in section IV.C below. The LOI should provide a concise description of the proposed work and a statement regarding its relevance to the targeted Competition. The LOI should be no more than two pages in length and should include the items listed below. If these items are not included or the LOI is submitted late, the LOI may not be considered:

Identification of the Competition that is being targeted in the LOI.

A tentative project title.

Name(s) and institution(s), and disciplinary expertise of the Lead Principal Investigator(s) and other Principal Investigator(s).

Brief summary of the rationale for the proposed project or RISA team Describe the general approach for the proposed project or RISA team Brief summary of work to be completed, research and engagement methodology to be used, team structure, and plans for integration/program management.

Approximate cost of the project.

A response to the LOI from the Competition Manager (e-mail or letter) will be sent to the investigator within four weeks after the LOI’s due date encouraging or discouraging a full application based on its relevance to the targeted Competition. The final decision to submit a full application will be made by the investigator.

2. Full Application Failure to comply with these provisions will result in applications being returned without review.

Full applications for the RISA competition are limited to 60 pages, single spaced, using 12-point font type with one-inch margins on standard 8.5 by 11 inch paper. For the RISA competition, only one application per team will be accepted.

Full applications for the COCA and IRAP competitions are limited to 35 pages, single spaced, using 12-point font type with one-inch margins on standard 8.5 by 11 inch paper.

Overall page limits include:

• Title page (1 page)

• Abstract (1 page)

• Results from prior research (2 pages)

• Project Narrative (Statement of Work) (not including figures/references)

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Overall RISA Project Narrative (25 pages) RISA Sustained Assessment Project Narrative (3 pages) COCA Project Narrative (20 pages) IRAP Project Narrative (20 pages)

• Budget narrative and subcontracts (not included in RISA page limit)

• Budget table (not included in RISA page limit)

• Vitae (not included in RISA page limit)

• Current and pending support (not included in RISA page limit)

• Associated figures, tables, and other visual materials

• References

• Diversity and Inclusion section

Appendices (e.g Letters of Support, Data management and sharing plans) are not included in the official page count.

The full proposal and Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (IDCRA) should be put into one electronic file. The budget table/justification should be submitted in a file labeled budget narrative. The Federal Forms (SF424, SF424A, SF424B, SF424 C & D if applicable, SF- LLL, and CD511) and other mandated forms should be inserted in separate files when submitted and are not included in the page count.

The following forms and elements are required in each application.

(1) Title page: The title page shall identify the Principal Investigator(s) (PI) and institutional representative and clearly indicate which Competition is being addressed by name and Competition number. The title page should also include co-PIs from Federal Institutions. If more than one investigator is listed on the title page, please identify the lead investigator. The lead PI and institutional representative should be identified by: full name, title, organization, telephone number, email, and address. For paper submissions, the lead PI and the institutional representative must sign the title page. The total amount of Federal funds being requested should be listed for each budget period. If there are several institutions submitting separate applications associated with the same project, the names of all component institutions along with their lead PI name, e-mail, and amount requested per year must also appear on the title page of all applications that anticipate being funded under the same project.

(2) Abstract: A one-page abstract must be included and should contain the project title, an introduction to the problem, rationale, and a brief summary of the work to be completed.

Abstracts must identify the name of the Competition that is being targeted and must also include a paragraph describing the work’s relevance to the Competition that is being targeted as well as NOAA’s long-term climate goals stated in section I.A. For multiple applications associated with the same project, the abstract must be identical in all applications. Failure to include this paragraph can result in the application being denied without additional review.

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(3) Results from prior research: The results of each prior research project led by the Principal Investigator(s) during the last three years relevant to the proposed effort should be summarized in brief paragraphs. Because NOAA believes it is important that data sets developed with its support should be shared with the scientific community, PIs should also indicate how and when they have made their data accessible and useable by the community in the past. This section should not exceed two pages. For multiple applications associated with the same project, this section must be identical in all applications.

(4) Project Narrative: The proposed program must be completely described, including identification of the problem, scientific objectives, proposed methodology, and relevance to the Competition to which you are submitting the proposal and to NOAA’s long-term climate goal. Benefits of the proposed program to the general public and the scientific community should be discussed.

For the RISA competition, the overall Project Narrative should also describe the integration of research and engagement components across the proposed RISA program. The Project Narrative for the Sustained Assessment Specialist component should include proposed overall duties of the specialist and how the person will be integrated into the broader efforts of the RISA team. For RISA competitions, only one application per team will be accepted.

(5) Data/Information Sharing Plan:

Proposals submitted in response to this announcement must include a data management plan (up to 2 page). See section VI.B Administrative and National Policy requirements below for additional information of what the plan should contain.

(6) Statement of Diversity, Inclusion, and Broader Impacts: This section should provide a discussion of the broader impacts of the proposed activities including a statement on diversity and inclusion. Broader impacts may be accomplished through the research itself, through the activities that are directly related to specific research projects, or through activities that are supported by, but are complementary to the project. NOAA CPO values the advancement of scientific knowledge and activities that contribute to the achievement of societally relevant outcomes. Such outcomes include, but are not limited to: full participation of women, persons with disabilities, and underrepresented minorities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM); increased public scientific literacy and public engagement with science and technology; improved well-being of individuals in society;

development of a diverse, globally competitive STEM workforce; increased partnerships between academia, industry, and others; improved national security; increased economic competitiveness of the US; and enhanced infrastructure for research and education.

(7) Budget Table and Narrative:

Budget Table: An itemized budget for all years and a total itemized budget must be included as a separate spreadsheet that breaks down the budget per object class category. Travel must be itemized to include destination, airfare, per diem, lodging, and ground travel.

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For multiple applications associated with the same project, the Lead Principal Investigator should include a spreadsheet that displays the total budget for all partners. All partners, including the Lead Principal Investigator and any co-PIs from Federal Institutions, should include a separate budget for their portion of the project.

Budget Narrative: A brief description of the expenses listed on the budget table and how they address the proposed work. Item justifications must include salaries, equipment, publications, supplies, tuition, travel, and other miscellaneous expense items. Investigators who will not be requesting funds for salaries must also be listed, indicating their estimated time of commitment. Purchases of equipment greater than $5000 must include a purchase versus lease justification. Please see GMD Budget Narrative Guidance at http://www.ago.noaa.gov/grants/training.html.

(8) Federal Budget Forms: Budget numbers corresponding with the descriptions contained in the project narrative and budget table must be included. In addition to including the total budget on the SF424, the application must include the total budget and budgets for years 1, 2, and 3 in separate columns in Section B on page 1 on the SF424A. (Note that this revised 424A Section B format is a NOAA requirement that is not reflected in the Instructions for the SF 424A). Note that these forms are not part of the required page limit.

For multiple applications associated with the same project, each application requesting funding from NOAA needs to complete the federal budget forms for their specific institution.

(9) Indirect Costs: A copy of the institution’s current Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (IDCRA) must be included. The IDCRA does not, however, count as part of the required page limit. For more information about indirect costs rates, see Section VI.B below.

(10) Vitae: Abbreviated curriculum vitae are requested with each application. Reference lists should be limited to all publications in the last three years with up to five other relevant papers. For multiple applications associated with the same project, each application should include identical vitae for all applications.

(11) Current and pending support: For each Principal Investigator and Co-Principal Investigator(s), submit a list of all current and pending Federal support that includes project title, supporting agency with grant number, investigator months per year, dollar value, and duration. Requested values should be listed for pending support. The list of support will be included in the page limit for the COCA and IRAP proposals but not for the RISA proposals.

For multiple applications associated with the same project, each application should include identical current and pending support information for all applications.

http://www.ago.noaa.gov/grants/training.html

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(12) All letters of support must be submitted as part of the proposal. They are NOT included in the page limit for the proposals.

(13) DUNS Number: All applications must have a DUNS (Dun and Bradstreet Data Universal Numbering System) number when applying for federal grants. No application is deemed complete without the DUNS number, and only the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) may grant exceptions.

(14) National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA): NOAA must analyze the potential environmental impacts, as required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), of each applicant's project that is seeking NOAA federal funding opportunities. Detailed information on NOAA's compliance with NEPA can be found at the following NOAA NEPA website: http://www.nepa.noaa.gov/, including the NOAA Administrative Order 216- 6 for NEPA, http://www.nepa.noaa.gov/NAO216_6_TOC.pdf, and the Council of Environmental Quality implementation regulations, http://ceq.eh.doe.gov/nepa/regs/ceq/toc_ceq.htm.

No NEPA information is required with the initial application. However, after review of the application, NEPA information may be requested if NOAA determines such information is required. See VI.B., Administrative and National Policy Requirements, below for more information.

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

To enable the use of a universal identifier and to enhance the quality of information available to the public as required by the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006, to the extent applicable, any proposal awarded in response to this announcement will be required to use the System for Award Management (SAM), which may be accessed online at https://www.sam.gov/portal/public/SAM/. Applicants are also required to use the Dun and Bradstreet Universal Numbering System and will be subject to reporting requirements, as identified in OMB guidance published at 2 CFR Parts 25, 170 (2013), which may be accessed at http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idxSID=1ccffb4c1d4de03addd6a041113460f9&mc=true&node=se2.1.200_1300&rgn=div8

In order to submit an application through Grants.gov, an applicant must register for a Grants.gov user ID and password. Note that this process can take between three to five business days or as long as four weeks if all steps are not completed correctly. To avoid http://www.nepa.noaa.gov/ http://www.nepa.noaa.gov/ http://www.nepa.noaa.gov/NAO216_6_TOC.pdf http://ceq.eh.doe.gov/nepa/regs/ceq/toc_ceq.htm http://www.sam.gov/portal/public/SAM/ http://www.sam.gov/portal/public/SAM/ http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-

Federal Funding Opportunity Page 16 of 25 delays, applicants are strongly encouraged to start early and not wait until the approaching application deadline before registering, logging in, reviewing the application instructions, and applying. Information about the Grants.gov registration process for organizations can be found at http://grants.gov/applicants/organization_registration.jsp.

Please note that organizations already registered with Grants.gov do not need to re-register;

however, all registered organizations must keep their Grants.gov password and SAM database (which now incorporates CCR) registration up-to-date or their applications will not be accepted by Grants.gov. Note that your CCR username will not work in SAM. You must create a new SAM user account to renew or update your registration. Registration on SAM is a requirement. To obtain additional information and to verify that all required registrations are current, please visit www.sam.gov/portal/public/SAM.

If you experience a Grants.gov systems issue (technical problems or glitches with the Grants.gov website) that you believe threatens your ability to complete a submission before the application deadline, please do all of the following:

o Print any error message received o Call the Grants.gov Contact Center at 1-800-518-4726 for immediate assistance o Contact NOAA using the contact information in section VIII. of this FFO prior to the close of the competition o Ensure that you obtain a case number regarding your communications with Grants.gov

In the event of a confirmed systems issue, NOAA reserves the right to accept an application in an alternate format prior to the application deadline. Problems with an applicant organization’s computer system or equipment are not considered systems issues. Similarly, an applicant’s failure to do the following are not considered systems issues:

o Complete the required registration o Ensure that a registered Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) submits the application o Read an email message with guidance from Grants.gov

D. Submission Dates and Times

Letters of intent (LOIs) for all three competitions should be received electronically by 5:00 p.m. ET on January 5, 2018. Applicants who have not received a response to their Letter of Intent within four weeks following the due date should contact the Competition Manager.

Full applications for COCA/RISA and IRAP competitions must be received by 5:00 p.m. ET http://grants.gov/applicants/organization_registration.jsp http://grants.gov/applicants/organization_registration.jsp http://www.sam.gov/portal/public/SAM http://www.sam.gov/portal/public/SAM

Federal Funding Opportunity Page 17 of 25 on March 16, 2018. Full applications for the RISA competition must be received by 5:00pm on March 5, 2018. Applications received after this time will not be considered for funding.

Applications must be submitted via grants.gov. Faxed or emailed copies of applications will not be accepted.

E. Intergovernmental Review

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

F. Funding Restrictions

Fees and profits are disallowed.

G. Other Submission Requirements

All applications should be submitted through grants.gov. If an applicant does not have Internet access, CPO Grants Manager Diane Brown should be contacted by mail at NOAA Climate Program Office (R/CP1), SSMC3, Room 12734, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910 for hard copy submission instructions.

V. Application Review Information

A. Evaluation Criteria

Importance/Relevance and Applicability of Application to the Program Goals This criterion ascertains whether there is intrinsic value in the proposed work and/or relevance to NOAA, federal, regional, state, tribal, or local activities. For the CPO Grant Program Competition, this includes: 1) importance and relevance to the scientific priorities of the selected Competition(s); 2) the PI’s record of making his/her data accessible and useable by the scientific community in the past, the Statement of Diversity, Inclusion, and Broader Impacts described in Section IV.B(6), and the procedures described in Section IV.B(5) Data/Information Sharing Plan will also be considered when evaluating the importance and relevance of the application; and 3) the applicant’s approach for engaging decision makers and building networks of relationships to help support decision makers with scientific information.

Technical/Scientific Merit This criterion assesses whether the approach is technically sound and/or innovative, if the methods are appropriate, and whether the goals of the Competition will be realized through clear project goals and objectives. The above stated merit score will also include the applicant’s approach to capacity-building and proposed methods for engagement with stakeholders and decision-makers.

Overall Qualifications of Applicants This criterion assesses whether the applicant team possesses the necessary education, Federal Funding Opportunity Page 18 of 25 experience, training, facilities, and/or administrative resources to accomplish the project. The above stated qualifications score will also include the PIs’ record of collaborating with decision-making communities.

Project Costs This criterion evaluates the budget to determine if it is realistic and commensurate with the project needs and time frame.

B. Review and Selection Process

Once a full application has been received, an administrative review will be conducted to determine compliance with requirements and completeness of the application. Proposals will be reviewed by experts who will score them for technical merit and relevance. The Technical independent peer mail reviewers and/or independent peer panel reviewers consisting of both Federal and/or non- Federal experts will evaluate applications using the following three criteria described above:

technical/scientific merit, overall qualifications of applicants, and project costs. The Relevance criterion will be scored separately by a set of Relevance panelists. Panels will not give consensus advice. We protect the identities of reviewers to the extent permitted by law.

Each Technical reviewer will provide one score for each of three criteria: technical/scientific merit, overall qualifications of applicants, and project costs for each application. The scores from the Technical reviewers for each application will be combined using the weighting averages to produce a single numerical score. Occasionally a reviewer may, due to lack of familiarity in a particular area, choose not to score a particular application. Proposals that score a 3.0 or higher (out of a possible high score of 5) in the Technical Review will proceed to the Relevance Review.

If only a mail peer review is conducted for the Technical Review, proposals that score a 3.0 or higher (out of a possible high score of 5) in the Technical Review will proceed to the Relevance Review.

If a mail review and a panel review are both conducted for the Technical Review, the mail reviews will be provided to the Technical Review panel for use in its deliberations prior to providing its ratings, but the Competition Manager will use only the numerical rank order of the peer review panel to determine the average score for each proposal. Proposals that score a 3.0 or higher (out of a possible high score of 5) in the Technical Review will proceed to the Relevance Review. For the RISA competition, the technical and relevance scoring is done as part of the same panel review with final ranking based on a combined technical/relevance score for each proposal.

In the Relevance Review, scores for Importance/Relevance and Applicability of Application to the Program Goals will be determined by a second panel comprising either Federal or a combination of Federal and non-Federal partners. Each panel reviewer will provide a relevance score for each application that moved forward from the Technical Review. The Relevance Review panel will not give consensus advice. The applications and their associated scores from the Technical Review will be provided to the Relevance Review panel.

Federal Funding Opportunity Page 19 of 25

The Technical Review and Relevance Review weighting of scores for the individual criteria is shown in the following table:

Criterion Technical Review Relevance Review Final Weight

Importance and 0% 100% 40% Relevance/Applicability

Technical/Scientific Merit 70% 0% 42%

Overall Qualifications 20% 0% 12% of Applications

Projects Costs 10% 0% 6%

Outreach and Education 0% 0% 0%

Total 100% 100% 100%

To determine the final score, the scores from the Technical Review and the Relevance Review will be combined, with a weighting of 60% for the Technical Review score and 40% for the Relevance Review score, leading to the overall weightings for each criterion reported in section V.A above.

The final score for each application will be used to determine the numerical rank order of proposals within each Competition. Proposals with a final score below 3.0 will not be considered for funding.

The Competition Manager will recommend applications to the Selecting Official in numerical rank order unless a recommendation out of rank order is justified based upon any of the factors listed in the following section. Should applications receive a tie score, and funding is not available for every tied application, the Competition Manager may preferentially recommend applications for funding also according to any of the factors listed in the following section. The Competition Manager will review the amounts requested for each selected application (including costs for computing and networking services) and recommend the total duration and the amount of funding, which may be less than the application and budget requested.

Federal Funding Opportunity Page 20 of 25

C. Selection Factors

The Selecting Official shall select awards in rank order unless a selection out of rank order is justified based upon any of the following factors:

Availability of funding Balance/distribution of funds:

Geographically By type of institutions By type of partners By research area By project types Duplication of other projects funded or considered for funding by NOAA/Federal agencies Program priorities and policy factors Applicant’s prior award performance Partnerships with/participation of targeted group Adequacy of information necessary for NOAA staff to make a NEPA determination and draft necessary documentation before recommendations for funding are made to the Grants Officer.

The Selecting Official makes final recommendations for awards to the Grants Officer who is authorized to obligate the funds. Successful proposals that are not able to be recommended for federal funding under these competitions due to insufficient funds may be shared with other Federal and non-Federal partners who have the interest and potential to fund applications, or aspects of applications. Any applicant that does not wish for its application to be considered by other programs within or outside the Federal government should indicate on its application that it would like consideration of the project to be limited to the program in this announcement.

D. Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates

Subject to the availability of funds, review of applications will occur during the 6-7 months following the full applications due date. CPO anticipates that funding decisions on applications will be made during Spring/Summer 2018. Such decisions are contingent upon the final FY 2018 appropriation for NOAA by Congress and the final allocation of funds to CPO by NOAA. Funding for successful applicants is expected to begin during August- September 2018 for most approved projects. Applications should use September 1, 2018 as the start date.

VI. Award Administration Information

A. Award Notices

The Grants Officer will provide notice to the applicant that they have received the award. Successful applicants will receive notification that the application has been recommended for funding by an official of the NOAA Climate Program Office.