NOAA-OAR-CPO-2024-2008188 NOFO Report.pdf

Climate Program Office FY24 NIDIS Tribal Drought Resilience with Inflation Reduction Act Support

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Funding Opportunity Description 4

A. Program Objective 4 B. Program Priorities 4 C. Program Authority 9

II. Award Information 9 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) 17 D. Submission Dates and Times 18 E. Intergovernmental Review 18 F. Funding Restrictions 18 G. Other Submission Requirements 18

V. Application Review Information 19 A. Evaluation Criteria 19 B. Review and Selection Process 20 C. Selection Factors 21 D. Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates 21

VI. Award Administration Information 22 A. Award Notices 22 B. Administrative and National Policy Requirements 22 C. Reporting 30

VII. Agency Contacts 30 VIII. Other Information 30

Notice of Federal Funding Page 1 of 30

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 FY24 NIDIS Tribal Drought Resilience with Inflation Reduction Act Support

Announcement Type: Initial

Funding Opportunity Number: NOAA-OAR-CPO-2024-2008188

Federal Assistance Listings Number: 11.431, Climate and Atmospheric Research

Dates: Letters of intent (LOIs) for the competition should be received by email by 11:59 p.m.

Eastern Time on Thursday November 2, 2023.

Full Applications: Full applications for the competition must be received by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time, on Thursday February 15, 2024.

Funding Opportunity Description: This funding opportunity was made available through funds appropriated to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) by the Inflation Reduction Act. Awards made under this opportunity will enable tribal nations to address current and future drought and climate risk on tribal lands across the West by improving decision support and building drought resilience in a changing climate as authorized by the Inflation Reduction Act, P.L. 117-169, Section 40001. This Notice of Funding Opportunity will support the implementation of activities that address current and future drought risk on tribal lands across the West in the context of a changing climate. These activities could include, but are not limited to: conducting drought vulnerability assessments, developing drought plans and communication plans, identifying primary drought impacts, optimal drought indicators and/or triggers and improving drought monitoring; developing drought dashboards with relevant drought tools and information and demonstrating the application of drought data and information to enhance decision-making.

Climate variability and change present society with significant economic, health, safety, and security challenges. As part of the 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

Notice of Federal Funding Page 2 of 30 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 one competition in FY24 with this NOFO.

This announcement is also supportive of NOAA’s FY22-26 Strategic Plan. The NOAA Strategic Plan can be found at:

https://www.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/2022-06/NOAA_FY2226_Strategic_Plan.pdf

NOAA, OAR, and CPO require applicants and awardees to support the principles of diversity and inclusion when writing their proposals and performing their work; 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.

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 authorized 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 programs manage a competitive process through a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) announcement to make awards supporting high-quality research and technical assistance 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’s Integrated Information Systems work collaboratively with decision makers to build societal understanding of climate risks, develop science-based solutions, and improve capacity, communication, and decision-making to reduce impacts to human health, critical infrastructure, security, and the economy.

B. Program Priorities

This FY24 NOFO is being executed through the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS), which is led by NOAA and managed out of NOAA’s Climate

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Program Office. Through this announcement, CPO is seeking applications for one competition in FY24. Prior to submitting applications, investigators are highly encouraged to learn more about NIDIS.

Additional information on NIDIS can be found at www.drought.gov, and the detailed competition information sheet for this competition can be found at the following website:

https://cpo.noaa.gov/grants.

The NIDIS commitment to engage and support tribal nations in preparing for and responding to the impacts of drought on their land and communities is grounded in a whole-of-government commitment to respect tribal sovereignty and self-governance, fulfill Federal trust and treaty responsibilities to tribal nations, and to conduct regular, meaningful, and robust consultation (Executive Order 13175). These efforts are further grounded in a commitment to address the disproportionately high and adverse human health, environmental, climate-related and other cumulative impacts on underserved communities, as well as the accompanying economic challenges of such impacts (Executive Order 14008).

On November 30, 2022, the Office of Science and Technology Policy and the Council on Environmental Quality released the Guidance for Federal Departments and Agencies on Indigenous Knowledge to improve the Federal Government’s recognition and inclusion of Indigenous Knowledge in Federal decision making. NIDIS welcomes and encourages the application of Indigenous Knowledge to increase drought resilience and is committed to working to implement guidance in this document through its tribal engagement program and activities.

The National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS)

NIDIS was authorized in 2006 to coordinate and integrate interagency drought research, building upon existing federal, tribal, state, and local partnerships in support of creating a national drought early warning information system. The mission of NIDIS is to help the nation move to a more proactive approach to understanding and managing drought risks and impacts, and to improve long-term drought resilience.

NIDIS is committed to increasing support to tribal nations, organizations, and partners to build drought resilience on tribal lands. The overarching goals of NIDIS, as defined by the public laws authorizing the program (P.L. 109-430, P.L. 113-86, and P.L. 115-423), related to this competition are to provide an effective and comprehensive drought early warning system that collects and integrates information on the key indicators of drought in order to make usable, reliable, and timely drought forecasts and assessments of drought that can support proactive response. This includes assessments of the severity of drought conditions

Notice of Federal Funding Page 5 of 30 and impacts, and the communication of drought forecasts, drought conditions, and drought impacts on an ongoing basis to decision-makers at the federal, tribal, regional, state, and local levels of government, the private sector, and the public. The 2006 Public Law also states that the Under Secretary shall consult with relevant federal, tribal, regional, state, and local government agencies, research institutions, and the private sector in the development of the National Integrated Drought Information System.

NIDIS recognizes that tribal communities face unique drought challenges and opportunities, requiring customized approaches, tools, and data that may integrate Indigenous Knowledge and cultural, medicinal, and spiritual values. It is also recognized that Indigenous experiences and perspectives of drought vary greatly across the United States. To effectively address tribal needs as mandated by the NIDIS Public Law, NIDIS and partners jointly developed the NIDIS Tribal Drought Engagement Strategy: 2021-2025 (https://droughtd8.ewaps.usda.gov/about/tribal-engagement) in consultation with tribal partners. In FY22, NIDIS held its first grants competition solely focused on building tribal drought resilience. Five projects were funded (https://cpo.noaa.gov/Funding- Opportunities/FY2022-Recipients/NIDIS-CWD-Building-Tribal-Drought-Resilience) that aim to implement drought resilience activities in existing drought, water, or related plans - a topic that came directly from tribal partners who helped develop the strategy. NIDIS has also worked to enhance the U.S. Drought Portal at www.drought.gov, to make it more useful for tribal partners. All downloadable climate maps on drought.gov can now be customized to add tribal nation boundaries.

The competition covered by this announcement is:

NIDIS Coping with Drought: Building Tribal Drought Resilience with Support from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)

Drought has plagued the Western U.S. almost continuously for the past 20+ years, which has prompted questions as to whether these drought conditions should still be considered drought or if this is evidence that the climate is changing in this region. This problem has complicated water planning and drought management, requiring decision makers to pivot toward assessing future drought risk differently than before. While tribal nations have historically shown that they are resilient and can adapt to change, it is now more important than ever for tribal nations to be prepared for future droughts. This opportunity is intended to provide support for tribal nations to implement activities that will increase their resilience to drought and account for the impacts of climate change on water availability.

Applications should be developed by or in full partnership with tribal nations to fund the

Notice of Federal Funding Page 6 of 30 implementation of activities that address current and future drought risk on tribal lands across the West in the context of a changing climate. If the primary applicant is not a tribal government, full partnership with a tribal nation can be demonstrated by: 1) including at least one full investigator on the project representing a federally recognized tribe and 2) indicating through the budget and budget justification that funds are being disseminated to the tribe.

For the purposes of this competition, the “West” is considered to be the areas within the following five NIDIS Drought Early Warning System (DEWS) regions (https://www.drought.gov/dews): California-Nevada, Intermountain West, Missouri River Basin, Pacific Northwest, and Southern Plains.

Projects could include, but are not limited to the following types of activities:

-Identifying primary drought impacts -Identifying optimal drought indicators and/or triggers -Developing a drought communication/information dissemination plan -Improving/enhancing drought monitoring -Developing an online dashboard with relevant drought tools and information -Conducting a drought vulnerability assessment -Developing a drought plan -Convening workshops with key partners, within the tribe and/or external to the tribe, to increase communication and sharing of drought information -Demonstrating the application of drought data and information to enhance decision-making

The outcomes of the projects funded will not only provide an opportunity for building community resilience, but also the integration of traditional ecological knowledge and western knowledge systems which is key to understanding and adapting to drought in a changing climate.

Proposals will:

-Demonstrate full partnership of tribal nations. If the primary applicant is not a tribal nation, full partnership with a tribal nation can be demonstrated by: 1) including at least one full investigator on the project representing a federally recognized tribe and 2) indicating through the budget and budget justification that funds are being disseminated to the tribe.

-Demonstrate an integrated project team that also considers partners from the public and private sectors; academia, including Tribal Colleges and Universities; local, regional, tribal, and federal governmental entities; non-governmental organizations (NGOs); environmental

Notice of Federal Funding Page 7 of 30 groups; intertribal councils and consortia, tribal allottee organizations, citizen groups, etc.

-Demonstrate adherence to the Guiding Principles of Tribal Engagement as defined in the NIDIS Tribal Drought Engagement Strategy: 2021-2025 (pgs 9-11) which include: 1) respecting tribal sovereignty, 2) ensuring trust and reciprocity, and 3) ensuring drought related work is culturally appropriate and useful for tribal nations.

-As part of the description of project activities, provide detailed information on the activities to be conducted, locations, sites, timeline (seasons), species and habitat to be affected, possible construction activities, and any environmental concerns that may exist, as NOAA must analyze the potential environmental impacts, as required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

Proposals may:

-Demonstrate external contributions (e.g., in-kind contributions and/or funding) to be leveraged with these federal research funds, though there are no match or cost-share requirements.

-Leverage previous or ongoing work related to drought risk assessment and the implementation of actions to build drought resilience such as those funded under the BIA Branch of Tribal Climate Resilience, the Department of the Interior Climate Adaptation Science Centers, etc.

-Demonstrate a partnership with a Tribal College or University (TCU) to enhance collaboration and utilize the valuable resources that TCUs have to offer in terms of their faculty/staff, students, and facilities.

-Project teams will be encouraged to work with the NIDIS Tribal Engagement Coordinator to share outcomes and lessons learned with other tribal nations and tribal organizations, where appropriate, to strengthen national tribal drought preparedness and response.

Please view the Information Sheet for this competition on the competition webpage which can serve as a quick reference guide to the competition and guidelines for applicants.

Please view the Information Sheet for this competition for additional details and information

Notice of Federal Funding Page 8 of 30 pertaining to the competition and guidelines for applicants. The information sheet for this competition can be found at the following website: https://cpo.noaa.gov/grants.

There should be no conflicting information between the Notice of Funding Opportunity and the information sheet, but in the event of a discrepancy, the information in the Notice of Funding Opportunity prevails.

Please visit the CPO website above for further information or contact the CPO Grants Manager, Diane Brown, by mail (see address below) or at <diane.brown@noaa.gov> for general NOFO questions only.

C. Program Authority

49 U.S.C. 44720(b), 15 U.S.C. 2904, 15 U.S.C. 2931-2934, 15 USC 3724

II. Award Information

A. Funding Availability

Pending the availability of funds in FY2024, NIDIS anticipates a funding allocation of approximately $2 million.

Proposals may request funding of up to $700,000 total to be disseminated in year 1 and expended over three years in the form of Cooperative Agreements. A total of 3-5 projects may be funded depending on project budget requested.

B. Project/Award Period

Funding for the NIDIS Coping with Drought: Building Tribal Drought Resilience with Support from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is expected to last for 3 years.

C. Type of Funding Instrument

The funding instrument for awards is expected to be Cooperative Agreements, as it is anticipated NOAA will be substantially involved in the implementation of the project.

Examples of substantial involvement may include, but are not limited to, collaboration between NOAA scientists and a recipient, quarterly to semi-annual informal meetings with NIDIS and the investigators, assistance identifying technical experts as appropriate, Notice of Federal Funding Page 9 of 30 networking opportunities with other tribal investigators, identifying opportunities to support investigators to share outcomes of their work, etc.

III. Eligibility Information

A. Eligible Applicants

Eligible applicants are federally recognized tribal governments, institutions of higher education, other nonprofits, commercial organizations, international organizations, and state and local governments. If the primary applicant is not a tribal government, full partnership with a tribal nation can be demonstrated by: 1) including at least one full investigator on the project representing a federally recognized tribe and 2) indicating through the budget and budget justification that funds are being disseminated to the tribe.

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 to obtain an Application Package:

Diane Brown by mail at NOAA Climate Program Office (R/CP1), SSMC3, 12th Floor, Room 12734, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910

B. Content and Form of Application

1. Letter of Intent (LOI)

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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.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit a Letter of Intent (LOI) prior to developing and submitting a full proposal using the FY24 CWD Tribal submission form https://forms.gle/TCeepX2VPGgmUJg47. Investigators unable to submit via the form should email their LOI to britt.parker@noaa.gov. If you email your LOI, you will receive confirmation of receipt; if you do not, please follow-up before the deadline.

LOIs, whether submitted via the form or via email, should be in the format of a Word Document or a PDF and should be submitted by the deadline specified in Section IV.D below. 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 reviewed:

-A tentative project title.

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

-Approximate cost of the project.

-Brief statement of the research question and/or societal need to be addressed.

-Summary of work to be completed, methodology to be used, data sets needed or to be collected, and outcomes to be achieved.

-Relevance to the Competition that is being targeted.

A response to the LOI from the Competition Manager (e-mail) 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 The following forms and elements are required in each full application.

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

Full applications are limited to:

-35 pages (for full applications with less than 3 Principal Investigators), single spaced, using 12-point font type with one-inch margins on standard 8.5 by 11-inch paper.

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-40 pages (for full applications with three or more Principal Investigators), single spaced, using 12-point font type with one-inch margins on standard 8.5 by 11-inch paper.

The page limit includes:

1. Title page

2. Abstract

3. Project Narrative including associated figures and references

4. Results from prior research

5. Curriculum Vitae(s)/Resumes

6. Current and pending support

7. Data/Information Sharing Plan

8. Statement of Diversity and Inclusion

9. Budget table and Budget Narrative

Additional Required Materials for all applications (but excluded from the page limit):

10. Negotiated indirect cost rate agreement (NICRA)

11. Federal Forms: SF424, SF424A, SF424B, CD511 and other mandated forms

Additional Optional Materials:

12. Letters of support (not included in the page limit)

a. Letters of Support are not required but 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.

b. 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.

c. In another example, if the proposal includes key partners or end 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 which can serve as a quick reference guide for competition information.

The full proposal, Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA), and Letters of Support (optional) 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.

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Description of required elements and forms:

(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. 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. Please note that the institutional representative will be responsible for signing the grant if the award is successful; ensure that this individual identified will be able to do so in a timely manner.

The total amount of Federal funds being requested should be listed for each budget period (per year). If there are several institutions submitting separate applications (i.e., co-applicants) 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. It is recommended that all co-applications utilize the same title but list after the title “1 of 2,” “2 of 2” etc. so each application can be paired with the correct project.

(2) Abstract: A one-page abstract must be included and should contain:

(a) the project title,

(b) the name of the competition that is being targeted,

(c) an introduction to the problem,

(d) rationale,

(e) a brief summary of the work to be completed, and

(f) a paragraph describing the work’s broader impacts and relevance to the competition that is being targeted as well as NOAA’s long-term climate research goals stated in section I.A.

For multiple applications (Co-applicants) associated with the same project, the abstract must be identical in all applications. Failure to include the abstract can result in the application being denied without additional review.

(3) Project Narrative: The proposed project must be completely described and include the following elements in narrative form, including:

(a) Identification of the problem, scientific objectives, proposed methodology

(b) Relevance to the Competition (reducing drought risk on tribal lands) and to NOAA’s long-term climate research goals

(c) A clear statement of the roles and responsibilities of each applicant

(d) References. Proposals should provide a list of references that were cited in the project

Notice of Federal Funding Page 13 of 30 narrative.

(e) Optional but encouraged: Include any figures or images that help to explain the proposed works e.g., graphs, tables, maps, pictures.

The Project Narrative containing these elements (a)-(f) must not exceed 20 pages of text.

Applications from three or more investigators may include a Project Narrative statement of work containing up to 25 pages of overall project description. For multiple applications associated with the same project, all applications (co-applicants) must have an identical Project Narrative, including a clear statement of the roles and responsibilities of each applicant.

(4) 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 if applicable. This section should not exceed two pages.

For multiple applications associated with the same project (co-applicants), this section must be identical in all applications.

(5) Curriculum Vitae(s): Abbreviated curriculum vitae(s)/resume(s) 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 (co-applicants) associated with the same project, each application should include identical vitae for all applications.

(6) Current and pending support: For each Principal Investigator and Co-Principal Investigator(s), submit a list of all current and pending Federal (NOAA and other agencies) 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 (co-applicants) multiple applications associated with the same project, each application should include identical current and pending support information for all applications.

(7) 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.

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(8) 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, applicants should 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 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.

(9) 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. At this time, CPO will not pay for courses as a budget item. At this time, CPO will not pay for federal salary as a budget expenditure as part of an application. 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, should include (in their individual application) 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

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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 reflects the total activity for which the employee is compensated by the non- Federal entity, not exceeding 100% of compensated activities."

The budget table and budget narrative should be submitted in a separate file labeled “Budget Narrative”.

(10) Indirect Cost Rate Agreement: Each applicant and co-applicant must include a copy of their institution’s current IDCRA. The full proposal and Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (IDCRA) should be put into one electronic file. 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). Reminder: This document is not a part of the page limit.

(11) Federal Budget Forms: The Federal Budget Forms (SF424, SF424A, SF424B, CD511) and other mandated forms are required for all non-federal applicants, including all non-federal co-applicants and sub-awardees.

Budget numbers corresponding with the descriptions contained in the budget 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). All budget items need to be rounded up to the nearest dollar to avoid discrepancies.

For ALL non-federal applicants including for multiple applications associated with the same project, each application requesting funding from NOAA needs to complete the Federal Budget Forms (SF424, SF424A, SF424B, CD511) for their specific institution.

SF-424B: Assurances – Non-Construction Programs - The SF-424B is required for all applicants that have not updated their System for Award Management (SAM.gov) entity registration since February 2, 2019 to include the Federal financial assistance certifications and representations (certs and reps). If an applicant has updated their SAM.gov entity

Notice of Federal Funding Page 16 of 30 registration since February 2, 2019 to include the certifications and representations, then the SF-424B is not required.

Reminder: These Federal Forms should be submitted as separate files and are not included in the page count.

National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Questionnaire: This program does not require any NEPA questions to be answered as part of the application.

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.

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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

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 11:59 p.m.

Eastern Time on Thursday November 2, 2023.

Full Applications: Full applications for all competitions must be received by 11:59 p.m.

Eastern Time, on Thursday February 15, 2024.

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

If an applicant does not have Internet access, CPO Grants Manager Diane Brown should be contacted by mail for hard copy submission instructions at:

Diane Brown NOAA Climate Program Office (R/CP1), SSMC3, Room 12734, Notice of Federal Funding Page 18 of 30

1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910

Faxed or emailed copies of applications will not be accepted.

V. Application Review Information

A. Evaluation Criteria

A. Evaluation Criteria

1. Importance/Relevance and Applicability of Application to the Program Goals (Stage 1 Weight=0%) (Stage 2 Weight=100%) (Final Weight=40%) This criterion ascertains whether there is intrinsic value in the proposed work and/or relevance to NOAA and tribal activities, which includes making certain there is engagement with project beneficiaries from the outset of the project to ensure outcomes will be useful and useable to tribal nations. For the CPO grant program competitions in this NOFO, 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 when applicable, 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.

2.Technical/Scientific Merit (Stage 1 Weight=83.34%) (Stage 2 Weight=0%) (Final Weight=50%) 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.

3.Overall Qualifications of Applicants (Stage 1 Weight=8.33%) (Stage 2 Weight=0%) (Final Weight=5%) This criterion assesses whether the applicant team possesses the necessary education, experience, training, facilities, and/or administrative resources to accomplish the project.

4.Project Costs (Stage 1 Weight = 8.33%) (Stage 2 Weight = 0%) (Final Weight =5%) This criterion evaluates the budget to determine if it is realistic and commensurate with the project needs and time frame.

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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 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 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.

In Stage 2, scores for Importance/Relevance and Applicability of Application to the Program Goals will be determined by a second panel composed of either Federal or a combination of Federal and non-Federal partners. The applications and their associated scores from Stage 1 will be provided to the Stage 2 panel. 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 Stage 1 and Stage 2 weighting of scores for the individual criteria are shown in the following table:

Criterion Stage 1 Weight Stage 2 Weight Final Weight

Importance and Relevance/Applicability 0% 100% 40% Technical/Scientific Merit 83.34% 0% 50% Overall Qualifications of Applicants 8.33% 0% 5% Project Costs 8.33% 0% 5% Final Score Stage Total 100% 100% 100%

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To determine the final score, the scores from Stage 1 and Stage 2 will be combined, with a weighting of 60% for the Stage 1 score and 40% for the Stage 2 score, leading to the overall weightings for each criterion shown in the table 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 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

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Subject to the availability of funds, review of applications will occur during the 4-5 months following the full applications due date. CPO anticipates that funding decisions on applications will be made during Spring 2024. Such decisions are contingent upon the final FY24 appropriation of IRA funds for NOAA by Congress and the final allocation of funds to CPO by NOAA. Funding for successful applicants is expected to begin during late summer 2024 for most approved projects. Applications should use September 1, 2024, as the start date unless 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.

GRANTS OFFICER SIGNATURE. 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.

Notice of Federal Funding Page 22 of 30

RESEARCH TERMS AND CONDITIONS. For awards designated on the CD-450 as Research, the Commerce Terms, and the Federal-wide Research Terms and Conditions (Research Terms) as implemented by the Department of Commerce, currently, at https://www.nsf.gov/awards/managing/rtc.jsp, both apply to the award. The Commerce Terms and the Research Terms are generally intended to harmonize with each other;

however, where the Commerce Terms and the Research Terms differ in a Research award, the Research Terms prevail, unless otherwise indicated in a specific award condition.

BUREAU TERMS AND CONDITIONS. Successful applicants who accept an award under this solicitation will be bound by bureau-specific standard terms and conditions. These terms and conditions will be provided in the award package in NOAA’s Grants Online system. For NOAA awards only, the Administrative Standard Award Conditions for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Financial Assistance Awards U.S. Department of Commerce are applicable to this solicitation and may be accessed online at https://www.noaa.gov/organization/acquisition-grants/financial-assistance.

HUMAN SUBJECTS RESEARCH. For research projects involving Human Subjects, an Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval or an exemption determination will be required in accordance with DOC Financial Assistance Standard…