NOAA-OAR-CPO-2023-2007440 NOFO Report.pdf

Climate Program Office FY 2023

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Funding Opportunity Description 4

A. Program Objective 4 B. Program Priorities 4 C. Program Authority 8

II. Award Information 8 A. Funding Availability 8 B. Project/Award Period 9 C. Type of Funding Instrument 10

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) 16 D. Submission Dates and Times 17 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 21 A. Award Notices 21 B. Administrative and National Policy Requirements 21 C. Reporting 25

VII. Agency Contacts 26 VIII. Other Information 26

Notice of Federal Funding Page 1 of 26

NOTICE OF 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 Program Office FY 2023

Announcement Type: Initial

Funding Opportunity Number: NOAA-OAR-CPO-2023-2007440

Federal Assistance Listings Number: 11.431, Climate and Atmospheric Research

Dates: Letters of intent (LOIs) for all competitions should be received by email by 5:00 p.m.

Eastern Time on September 1, 2022.

Full Applications: Full applications for all competitions must be received by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time, on November 21, 2022.

Funding Opportunity Description: Climate variability and change present society with significant economic, health, safety, and security challenges. As part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) climate portfolio within the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR), the Climate Program Office (CPO) addresses these climate challenges by managing competitive research programs through which high-priority climate science, assessments, decision-support research, outreach, education, and capacity-building activities are funded to advance our understanding of the Earth’s climate system, and to foster the application and use of this knowledge to improve the resilience of our Nation and its partners. Through this announcement, CPO is seeking applications for eight individual competitions in FY23. Several of these competitions are relevant to four high-priority climate risk areas CPO is focusing on to improve science understanding and/or capabilities that result in user-driven outcomes: Coastal Inundation, Marine Ecosystems, Water Resources, and Extreme Heat. More information about CPO’s Climate Risk Areas Initiative can be found at https://cpo.noaa.gov/News/ArtMID/7875/ArticleID/1945/NOAA%E2%80%99s-Climate- Program-Office-launches-Climate-Risk-Areas-Initiative.

NOAA, OAR, and CPO require applicants and awardees to support the principles of diversity and inclusion when writing their proposals and performing their work; indeed, applicants will be evaluated, in part, on how well principles of diversity and inclusion are addressed. Diversity is defined as a collection of individual attributes that together help organizations achieve objectives. Inclusion is defined as a culture that connects each employee to the organization.

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Promoting diversity and inclusion improves creativity, productivity, and the vitality of the climate research community in which CPO engages.

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FULL ANNOUNCEMENT TEXT

I. Funding Opportunity Description

A. Program Objective

Climate variability and change present society with significant economic, health, safety, and security challenges. As part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) climate portfolio within the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR), the Climate Program Office (CPO) addresses these climate challenges by supporting climate research, observations, monitoring, modeling, assessments, interdisciplinary decision-support research, outreach, education, and partnership development. These investments support NOAA’s mission of "Science, Service, and Stewardship" and are designed to advance our understanding of the Earth’s climate system and to foster the application and use of this knowledge to improve the resilience of our Nation and its partners. The position of CPO at the intersection among NOAA’s science and service missions, the climate research community, and the broader climate enterprise enables it to provide strategic vision, lead a research agenda and forge partnerships that enhance society's ability to make effective decisions. CPO also fulfills NOAA’s mandated responsibilities under the National Climate Program Act, the Global Change Research Act and its National Climate Assessment, the National Integrated Drought Information System Act, and similar international endeavors such as the World Climate Research Program.

CPO’s grant programs manage a competitive process through a Notice of Federal Funding Opportunity (NOFO) announcement to make awards supporting high-quality research conducted across the United States and internationally on the most urgent climate science questions. While each program area has its own focus, together they advance understanding of Earth’s climate system through interdisciplinary, integrated scientific research, and leverage the resulting knowledge, data, and systems to enhance society’s ability to plan and respond to climate variability and climate change. Toward this end, CPO also supports partnerships that build end-to-end pipelines of information (e.g., integrated information systems) flowing from scientists to decision-makers.

B. Program Priorities

This FY23 NOFO is being executed through three of CPO’s divisions and program:

Earth System Science and Modeling (ESSM); Climate and Societal Interactions (CSI); and the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS). Through this announcement, CPO is seeking applications for six individual competitions in FY23. Several of these competitions are relevant to high-priority climate risk areas. CPO is organizing some of its

Notice of Federal Funding Page 4 of 26 activities around these areas to improve science understanding and/or capabilities that result in user-driven outcomes. Four climate risk areas of particular interest to CPO are: Coastal Inundation, Marine Ecosystems, Water Resources, and Extreme Heat. More information about CPO’s Climate Risk Areas Initiative can be found at:

https://cpo.noaa.gov/News/ArtMID/7875/ArticleID/1945/NOAA%E2%80%99s-Climate- Program-Office-launches-Climate-Risk-Areas-Initiative. Prior to submitting applications, investigators are highly encouraged to learn more about CPO and its programs, as well as specific program priorities for FY23. In addition, interactions, partnerships, or collaborations with NOAA Laboratories and Cooperative Institutes are encouraged.

This information, along with the names and contact information for each Competition Manager, is provided in information sheets that can be found at the following website:

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

The six competitions covered by this announcement are as follows:

*Atmospheric Chemistry, Carbon Cycle, and Climate (AC4): Methane across scales *Climate Observations and Monitoring (COM): Precipitation-related Dataset Development and Analysis *Modeling, Analysis, Predictions, and Projections-National Integrated Drought Information System (MAPP-NIDIS): Science for the 21st Century Western U.S. Hydroclimate *Modeling, Analysis, Predictions, and Projections (MAPP): Climate Futures: Projections for Societally-Relevant Problems *Earth’s Radiation Budget, AC4, and Climate Variability and Predictability (ERB, AC4 and CVP): Applications of satellite data to aerosol research *Climate and Fisheries Adaptation (CAFA): Promoting resilience and adaptation of U.S.

marine fisheries and fishing communities

1. CPO’s Earth System Science and Modeling (ESSM) Division

The mission of CPO’s Earth System Science and Modeling (ESSM) Division is to advance scientific understanding of Earth’s atmosphere, ocean, land, and cryosphere as an integrated system and to improve NOAA’s Earth system climate models and predictions. To accomplish this mission, ESSM funds a unique and highly flexible research enterprise, including process-level studies, predictability studies of climate phenomena, testing for research-to-operation and application transitions, improving model representations of key processes and prediction technologies, and developing methodologies, tools and products for applications.

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A. Atmospheric Chemistry, Carbon Cycle, and Climate (AC4) Program

AC4 is a competitive research program that incorporates research on atmospheric chemistry and the carbon cycle. In collaboration with the NOAA Laboratories and the academic community, the AC4 program supports research to determine the processes governing atmospheric concentrations of trace gases and aerosols in the context of the Earth System.

The program aims to contribute a process-level understanding of the Earth System through observation, modeling, analysis, and field studies to support the development and improvement of models, and to inform carbon and air pollution management efforts.

In FY23, the AC4 Program is soliciting research proposals focused on methane measurements and modeling across spatial and temporal scales, building on NOAA’s decades-long expertise in measuring methane and other greenhouse gases, as well as other AC4 specific investments. Research priorities of this solicitation include urban, regional and global methane concentrations and fluxes, with a particular focus on how the research can advance monitoring, reporting and verification of emissions.

B. Climate Observations and Monitoring (COM) Program

The Climate Observation and Monitoring (COM) Program focuses on supporting work that leverages existing in-situ and remote sensing-based observations to develop value-added datasets, products, and analyses. Primary objectives are to support work that 1) provides usable and useful datasets that further enable monitoring and modeling efforts by research and operational communities; and 2) provides authoritative, long-term datasets and analyses for assessment activities.

In FY23, COM is soliciting proposals for the following competition:

Precipitation-related Dataset Development and Analysis: Advancing understanding of precipitation processes for NOAA monitoring and modeling applications.

C. Modeling, Analysis, Predictions, and Projections (MAPP) Program

The Modeling, Analysis, Predictions, and Projections (MAPP) program supports advances in the development and application of Earth system models and analyses across NOAA for the purpose of building resilience to climate impacts, predicting and projecting change from years to decades in the future, and improving our understanding of and ability to simulate the Earth system.

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In FY23, MAPP will be soliciting proposals for two competitions:

MAPP-NIDIS: Science for the 21st Century Western U.S. Hydroclimate MAPP: Climate Futures: Projections for Societally-Relevant Problems

D. Earth’s Radiation Budget (ERB) Program

At the direction of Congress, the Earth’s Radiation Budget (ERB) Program supports research to:

•Improve the understanding of aerosol impacts on the Earth’s energy balance;

•Establish a capability to observe and monitor stratospheric conditions;

•Detect and accurately simulate the impacts of natural and human-caused aerosol injections on radiative forcing, weather, climate, and the Earth system; and •Apply this improved foundational understanding to Earth system prediction.

In FY23, the ERB program in collaboration with the AC4 and CVP (Climate Variability and Predictability) programs, as well as NOAA's National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS), invite proposals focused on applications of aerosol satellite data such as human health, impacts of wildfire smoke, air quality forecasting, Earth’s radiative budget, cloud-aerosol interactions, and cloud processes. Development and validation of innovative aerosol satellite datasets and model applications are welcome as well.

2. CSI

The mission Climate and Societal Interactions (CSI) Division has traditionally been a home for high-impact science, catalyzing some of the earliest U.S. government investments in regionally scaled, societally relevant, interdisciplinary climate research and engagement focused on reducing vulnerability and risk through the use of climate knowledge and information. Today, CSI continues to work with partners to enhance community and national resilience in the face of climatic changes, through research and engagement activities designed to connect innovative science directly to complex and dynamic preparedness, adaptation and resilience challenges. Programs managed by CSI are a key component of NOAA’s cutting edge research enterprise, contributing to its efforts to engage a modern climate research landscape, which has evolved over time to include the private sector, NGOs, interdisciplinary teams and the social sciences at large.

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A. CAFA The Climate and Fisheries Adaptation Program is a partnership between the NOAA Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (NOAA Research) Climate Program Office (CPO) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) Office of Science and Technology (OST) that supports targeted research to promote the adaptation and resilience of the nation’s valuable fisheries and fishing communities in a changing climate.

In FY23, CAFA will be soliciting proposals for one competition with two types of proposals:

Type A Proposals For FY23, the CAFA Program is soliciting proposals for multidisciplinary projects to better understand the impacts of climate variability and change on marine ecosystems and evaluate strategies and tools to promote resilience and adaptation of fish stocks, fisheries and the communities and economies that depend on them.

Type B Proposals For FY23, the CAFA Program is soliciting proposals to support participatory research that advances understanding of climate adaptation and resilience for communities dependent upon fishing (economically, socially, and culturally).

Research proposals should prioritize methods for assessing and enhancing the effectiveness of locally-determined adaptation planning in frontline fishing communities.

C. Program Authority

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

II. Award Information

A. Funding Availability

In FY23, approximately $11.1 million will be available for approximately 90 new awards pending budget appropriations (see section I.B above). It is anticipated that most awards will be at a funding level between $50,000 and $300,000 per year with exceptions for larger awards, unless otherwise noted below. Federal funding for FY 2024 may be used to fund awards submitted under this Notice of Funding Opportunity. Current or previous grantees are eligible to apply for a new award that builds on, but does not replicate, activities covered in existing or previous awards. Current grantees should not apply for supplementary funding through this announcement.

Funding availability per FY23 competition is provided below.

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*AC4 -. Methane across scales. Proposals should budget for no more than $250,000 (on average) per year over 3 years. A total of 6 to 8 awards is anticipated.

*MAPP - It is anticipated that there will be $1.865M/year available for the MAPP-NIDIS drought competition with awards up to $200K/year anticipated. We expect to fund 8-10 awards. It is anticipated that there will be $3M/year available for the MAPP projections competition with type 1 awards up to $200K/year and one type 2 award up to $2M/year. We expect to fund 5-8 type 1 awards and 1 type 2 award.

*COM: It is anticipated that there will be $1.5M available to fund the first year of new projects. It is anticipated that most awards will be at a funding level of $175K per year for two or three years. Funding of 5 to 8 projects is anticipated.

*ERB, AC4 and CVP - Proposals should budget for no more than $250,000 per year over 3 years. A total of 3 to 5 awards is anticipated.

*CAFA: It is anticipated that there will be ~$1.8M/year available for the CAFA competition with ~3 Type A proposals funded and ~3-4 Type B proposals funded.

-Type A proposals should be for projects up to 3 years duration with a budget of up to $400,000 per year.

-Type B proposals should be for projects up to 3 years duration with a budget of up to $200,000 per year Funding for projects is expected to come from NOAA Research Climate Program Office and NOAA Fisheries Office of Science and Technology.

B. Project/Award Period

1. AC4 Projects are expected to last 2-3 years.

2/3. MAPP -- MAPP projects for the MAPP-NIDIS drought competition and the MAPP multi-decadal projections competition type 1 projects are expected to last up to 3 years. Type 2 projects for the multi-decadal competition may last 4 years with the possibility of a 5th year extension.

4. COM - It is anticipated that most awards will be between 2 and 3 years in duration.

5. ERB, AC4 and CVP Projects are expected to last 2-3 years.

6. CAFA - It is anticipated that CAFA projects will be for 3 years.

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C. Type of Funding Instrument

The funding instrument for awards will be a grant. If, however, it is anticipated that NOAA will be substantially involved in the implementation of the project, a cooperative agreement may be awarded. Examples of substantial involvement may include, but are not limited to, applications for collaboration between NOAA scientists and a recipient scientist or contemplation by NOAA of detailing Federal personnel to work on proposed projects.

NOAA will make decisions regarding the use of a cooperative agreement on a case-by-case basis. Funding for contractual arrangements for services and products for delivery to NOAA is not available under this announcement.

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 or institutions are not eligible to receive Federal assistance under this notice.

B. Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement

All CPO programs have no cost sharing or matching criteria.

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

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

Notice of Federal Funding Page 10 of 26 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 a LOI.

LOIs should be submitted by email with the exception of MAPP. Check the information sheet for requested means of LOI submission to the identified NOAA Competition Manager by the deadline specified in Section IV.D below (check competitions information sheet for contact information). 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.

*Competition Name.

*A tentative project title.

*Name(s) and institution(s) of the Lead Principal Investigator(s) and other Principal *Investigator(s).

*Statement of the problem.

*Brief summary of work to be completed, methodology to be used, data sets needed or to be collected.

*Approximate cost of the project.

*Relevance to the Competition that is being targeted.

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. It is then entirely up to the investigator whether to submit a full application.

2. Full Application Failure to comply with these provisions will result in applications being returned without review. Full applications are limited to 35 pages, single spaced, using 12-point font type with one-inch margins on standard 8.5 by 11 inch paper. For full applications with three or more Principal Investigators, the page limit is 40 pages. The page limit includes:

*Title page *Abstract *Results from prior research *Project Narrative *Budget narrative

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*Budget table *Vitae *Current and pending support *Associated figures *References *Data/Information Sharing Plan *Statement of Diversity and Inclusion.

For applications to the MAPP Competition, the form to request the use of NOAA’s high-performance computing platforms is considered part of the full proposal, but it will not be included in the page count. Furthermore, transition plans will not be counted toward the page count, but should not exceed one page in length.

The full proposal and Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA) 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, 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 all 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 broader impacts and relevance to the Competition

Notice of Federal Funding Page 12 of 26 that is being targeted as well as NOAA’s long-term climate research 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.

(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 (not limited to NOAA funding only) 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 usable 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 project 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 research goals. Benefits of the proposed project to the general public and the scientific community should be discussed. The statement of work, including references, figures, and other visual materials, must not exceed 20 pages of text. Applications from three or more investigators may include a statement of work containing up to 25 pages of overall project description. For multiple applications associated with the same project, all applications must have an identical statement of work, including a clear statement of the roles and responsibilities of each applicant.

(5) Data/Information Sharing Plan:

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

(6) Statement of Diversity and Inclusion (D&I): CPO recognizes that it has a particular and unique opportunity to support NOAA’s commitment to diversity and inclusion by taking an intentional step that encourages program applicants to consider diversity and inclusion as part of their scientific projects. This action has the potential to make an impact on not only the diversity and inclusion in science at NOAA, but also beyond the agency. In this section, describe how well the proposed activity broadens the participation of underrepresented groups (e.g., gender, ethnicity, disability, geographic, etc.) including, but not limited to, how the project advances the organization or institution’s commitment to diversity and advances

Notice of Federal Funding Page 13 of 26 full participation of women, persons with disabilities, and underrepresented minorities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). If funded activities aligned with diversity and inclusion are being proposed, please include the description of those within the project narrative and budget justification. Examples could include ways in which the project will specifically: recruit or retain under-represented groups, collaborate with minority-serving institutions, foster an inclusive and safe environment, share data and/or information in ways that it is accessible to minority-serving institutions. Applicants are also encouraged to highlight past work in D&I and the value those experiences will add to the proposal.

(7) Budget Table and Narrative:

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

For multiple applications associated with the same project, the Lead Principal Investigator should include a table 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 must be included. Item justifications must include salaries, equipment, publications, supplies, tuition, travel, etc. 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.

Duplicate work with different federally-funded projects, commonly referred to as "double dipping," is not permitted. As stated in the Code of Federal Regulations, specifically Subpart E- Cost Principles, 2 CFR 200.430 (i)(1)(i-vii), Standards for Documentation of Personnel Expenses, "Charges to Federal awards for salaries and wages must be based on records that accurately reflect the work performed." The regulations additionally state that the work, "Reasonably reflect the total activity for which the employee is compensated by the non- Federal entity, not exceeding 100% of compensated activities."

(8) Federal Budget Forms: Budget numbers corresponding with the descriptions contained in the statement of work 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

Notice of Federal Funding Page 14 of 26 the SF 424A). Note that these forms are not part of the required page limit. All budget items need to be rounded up to the nearest dollar to avoid discrepancies.

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. To obtain an indirect cost rate if your institution does not already have one, a grantee must submit an indirect cost proposal to its cognizant agency and negotiate an indirect cost agreement. If an applicant has not previously (ever) established an indirect cost rate with a Federal agency they may choose to negotiate a rate with the Department of Commerce or use the de minimis indirect cost rate of 10% of MTDC (as allowable under 2C.F.R. 200.414). This document is not a part of the page limit.

(10) Vitae: Abbreviated curriculum vitae are requested with each application for PIs and Co- PIs. Reference lists should be limited to all relevant 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 proposals.

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

Letters of Support are not required. However they may be used to supplement information included in the Full Proposal if submitted as part of the application, they will be taken into consideration when evaluating the proposal. For example, unfunded collaborations should be documented in the body of the Full Proposal (the sections included in page count), and a Letter of Support from the unfunded collaborator could be included as a supplement. In another example, if the proposal includes key stakeholders or users, this should be documented in the Full Proposal, and a supplementary letter of support could be included to convey the value of the project to the stakeholder or user. Please see the competition information sheet for further competition-specific instructions.

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

Excerpt 2 CFR 200 Appendix I.D.3: Each applicant (unless the applicant is an individual or Federal awarding agency that is excepted from those requirements under 2 CFR 25.110(b) or (c), or has an exception approved by the Federal awarding agency under 2 CFR 25.110(d)) is required to: (i) Be registered in SAM before submitting its application; (ii) Provide a valid unique entity identifier (UEI) in its application; and (iii) Continue to maintain an active SAM registration with current information at all times during which it has an active Federal award or an application or plan under consideration by a Federal awarding agency. NOAA may not make a Federal award to an applicant until the applicant has complied with all applicable UEI and SAM requirements and, if an applicant has not fully complied with the requirements by the time NOAA is ready to make a Federal award, NOAA may determine that the applicant is not qualified to receive a Federal award and use that determination as a basis for making a Federal award to another applicant.

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 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:

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

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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:

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

D. Submission Dates and Times

Letters of intent (LOIs) for all competitions should be received by email by 5:00 p.m.

Eastern Time on September 1, 2022.

Full Applications: Full applications for all competitions must be received by 5:00 p.m.

Eastern Time, on November 21, 2022.

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 not permitted.

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.

Faxed or emailed copies of applications will not be accepted.

V. Application Review Information

A. Evaluation Criteria

Importance/Relevance and Applicability of Application to the Program Goals (Stage 1 Weight=0%) (Stage 2 Weight=100%) (Final Weight=25%)

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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 importance and relevance to the program objective in Section I.A, scientific program priorities of the selected Competition(s) in Section I.B, the Statement of Diversity and Inclusion described in Section IV.B(6), the PI’s record of making his/her data accessible and usable by the scientific community in the past and the present Data/Information Sharing Plan described in Section IV.B(5) will also be considered when evaluating the importance and relevance of the application.

Technical/Scientific Merit (Stage 1 Weight=70%) (Stage 2 Weight=0%) (Final Weight=52.5%) 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.

Overall Qualifications of Applicants (Stage 1 Weight=20%) (Stage 2 Weight=0%) (Final Weight=15%) This criterion assesses whether the applicant team possesses the necessary education, experience, training, facilities, and/or administrative resources to accomplish the project.

Project Costs (Stage 1 Weight = 10%) (Stage 2 Weight = 0%) (Final Weight =7.5%) 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 first be conducted to determine compliance with requirements and completeness of the application.

The selection reviews will then take place in two stages. In Stage 1, independent peer mail reviewers and/or independent peer panel reviewers consisting of both Federal and/or non- Federal experts will evaluate applications using the three criteria described above:

technical/scientific merit, overall qualifications of applicants, and project costs. Relevance will be assessed separately in Stage 2. The panel will not give consensus advice. We protect the identities of reviewers to the extent permitted by law.

During Stage 1, each 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 reviewers for each application will be combined using the weighting averages to produce a single numerical score for Stage 1. Occasionally a reviewer

Notice of Federal Funding Page 18 of 26 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 Stage 1 will proceed to Stage 2.

If only a mail peer review is conducted for stage 1, proposals that score a 3.0 or higher (out of a possible high score of 5) in Stage 1 will proceed to Stage 2.

If a mail review and a panel review are both conducted for Stage 1, the mail reviews will be provided to the Stage 1 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 Stage 1 will proceed to Stage 2.

In Stage 2, 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 Stage 1. The Stage 2 panel will not give consensus advice. The applications and their associated scores from Stage 1 will be provided to the Stage 2 panel.

The Stage 1 and Stage 2 weighting of scores for the individual criteria is shown in the following table:

Criterion Stage 1 Weight Stage 2 Weight Final Weight

Importance and Relevance/Applicability 0% 100% 25% Technical/Scientific Merit 70% 0% 52.5% Overall Qualifications of Applications 20% 0% 15% Project Costs 10% 0% 7.5% Final Score Stage Total 100% 100% 100%

To determine the final score, the scores from Stage 1 and Stage 2 will be combined, with a weighting of 75% for the Stage 1 score and 25% for the Stage 2 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.

The Competition Manager will recommend applications to the Selecting Official in

Notice of Federal Funding Page 19 of 26 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.

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 or other 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.

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 2022. Such decisions are contingent upon the final FY22 appropriation for NOAA by Congress and the final allocation of funds to CPO by NOAA. Funding for successful applicants is expected to begin during summer 2022 for most approved projects. Applications should use September 1, 2023, as the start date unless

Notice of Federal Funding Page 20 of 26 otherwise directed by the Competition Manager.

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. This notification is not an authorization to begin performance of the project. The official notification of funding, signed by a NOAA Grants Officer, is the authorizing document that allows the project to begin. Notifications will be issued to the Authorizing Official and the Principal Investigator of the project. Unsuccessful applicants will be notified that their application was not selected for recommendation.

Proposals submitted in response to this solicitation are not considered awards until the Grants Officer has signed the grant or cooperative agreement. Only Grants Officers can bind the Government to the expenditure of funds. The Grants Officer’s digital signature constitutes an obligation of funds by the federal government and formal approval of the award.

B. Administrative and National Policy Requirements

UNIFORM ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS, COST PRINCIPLES, AND

AUDIT REQUIREMENTS. Through 2 C.F.R. § 1327.101, the Department of Commerce adopted Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards at 2 C.F.R. Part 200, which apply to awards in this program. Refer to http://go.usa.gov/SBYh and http://go.usa.gov/SBg4.

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE (DOC) TERMS AND CONDITIONS. Successful applicants who accept a NOAA award under this solicitation will be bound by Department of Commerce Financial Assistance Standard Terms and Conditions. This document will be provided in the award package in NOAA’s Grants Online system at http://www.ago.noaa.gov and at http://go.usa.gov/hKbj.

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE PRE-AWARD NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

FOR GRANTS AND COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS - The Department of Commerce Pre-Award Notification Requirements for Grants and Cooperative Agreements contained in the Federal Register notice of December 30, 2014 (79 FR 78390) are applicable to this solicitation and may be accessed online at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2014-12-

Notice of Federal Funding Page 21 of 26

30/pdf/2014-30297.pdf.

LIMITATION OF LIABILITY - Funding for programs listed in this notice is contingent upon the availability of continuing Congressional appropriations. Applicants are hereby given notice that funds have not yet been appropriated for the programs listed in this notice.

In no event will NOAA or the Department of Commerce be responsible for proposal preparation costs. Publication of this announcement does not oblige NOAA to award any specific project or to obligate any available funds.

UNPAID OR DELINQUENT TAX LIABILITY. In accordance with Federal appropriations law, an authorized representative of the selected applicant(s) may be required to provide certain pre-award certifications regarding federal felony and federal criminal tax convictions, unpaid federal tax assessments, and delinquent federal tax returns.

NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT (NEPA). NOAA must analyze the potential environmental impacts, as required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), for applicant projects or proposals which are seeking NOAA federal funding opportunities. Detailed information on NOAA compliance with NEPA can be found at the following NOAA NEPA website: http://www.nepa.noaa.gov/, including our NOAA Administrative Order 216-6 for NEPA, http://www.nepa.noaa.gov/NAO216_6.pdf, and the Council on Environmental Quality implementation regulations, ttp://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/NEPA-40CFR1500_1508.pdf. Consequently, as part of an applicant's package, and under their description of their program activities, applicants are required 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., the use and disposal of hazardous or toxic chemicals, introduction of non- indigenous species, impacts to endangered and threatened species, aquaculture projects, and impacts to coral reef systems). In addition to providing specific information that will serve as the basis for any required impact analyses, applicants may also be requested to assist NOAA in drafting an environmental assessment, if NOAA determines an assessment is required. Applicants will also be required to cooperate with NOAA in identifying feasible measures to reduce or avoid any identified adverse environmental impacts of their proposal. Failure to do so shall be grounds for not selecting 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.

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REVIEW OF RISK - After applications are proposed for funding by the selecting official, the Grants Office will perform administration reviews. These may include assessments of the financial stability of an applicant and the quality of the applicant’s management systems, history of performance, and the applicant’s ability to effectively implement statutory, regulatory, or other requirements imposed on non-Federal entities. Special conditions that address any risks determined to exist may be applied. Applicants may submit comments to the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS) about any information included in the system about their organization for consideration by the awarding agency.

DATA SHARING PLAN - 1. Environmental data and information collected or created under NOAA grants or cooperative agreements must be made discoverable by and accessible to the general public, in a timely fashion (typically within two…