NOAA-SEC-OED-2020-2006190 Full Announcement.pdf

Environmental Literacy Grants: Supporting the education of K-12 students and the public for community resilience

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Funding Opportunity Description 6

A. Program Objective 6 B. Program Priorities 13 C. Program Authority 14

II. Award Information 14 A. Funding Availability 14 B. Project/Award Period 15 C. Type of Funding Instrument 15

III. Eligibility Information 15 A. Eligible Applicants 15 B. Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement 16 C. Other Criteria that Affect Eligibility 16

IV. Application and Submission Information 17 A. Address to Request Application Package 17 B. Content and Form of Application 17 C. Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management (SAM) 27 D. Submission Dates and Times 27 E. Intergovernmental Review 28 F. Funding Restrictions 28 G. Other Submission Requirements 28

V. Application Review Information 29 A. Evaluation Criteria 29 B. Review and Selection Process 35 C. Selection Factors 37 D. Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates 38

VI. Award Administration Information 38 A. Award Notices 38 B. Administrative and National Policy Requirements 38 C. Reporting 42

VII. Agency Contacts 43 VIII. Other Information 43

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ANNOUNCEMENT OF NOTICE OF FUNDING OPPORTUNITY

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Federal Agency Name(s): Office of the Under Secretary (USEC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce

Funding Opportunity Title: Environmental Literacy Grants: Supporting the education of K-12 students and the public for community resilience

Announcement Type: Initial

Funding Opportunity Number: NOAA-SEC-OED-2020-2006190

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 11.008, NOAA Mission-Related Education Awards

Dates: For Priority 1, pre-applications are required and will be used to determine which institutions are invited to submit full applications to this priority. The deadline for pre-applications is 11:59 pm EST on November 25, 2019 and the deadline for Priority 1 full applications is 11:59 pm EDT on March 26, 2020. For Priority 2, only full applications are requested and the deadline for Priority 2 applications is 11:59 pm EST on February 11, 2020.

Note that NOAA’s Office of Education staff will be available to answer questions, weekly, Monday through Friday until 5:00 PM Eastern Time. All pre-applications and full applications must be submitted online through Grants.gov; no hard copy or emailed pre- or full applications will be accepted. Grants.gov requires applicants to register with the system and with https://www.sam.gov/SAM/ prior to submitting any application. These registration processes can take several weeks and involve multiple steps. In order to allow sufficient time for this process, applicants should register as soon as they decide they intend to apply, even if they are not yet ready to submit their pre-applications. Pre-applications and full applications submitted through Grants.gov are automatically date/time stamped when they are validated and submitted to the agency. PLEASE NOTE: When submitting through Grants.gov, you will receive 3 emails. An initial email will be sent to confirm your attempt to submit an application. This is NOT a confirmation of acceptance of your submission. It may take Grants.gov up to two business days to validate or reject the application. Please keep this in mind in developing your submission timeline.

PLEASE ALSO NOTE: For a list of software applications that allow you to successfully navigate the Grants.gov pages and complete your submission visit http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/applicant-faqs.html.

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For Priority 1, two informational teleconferences with the program officers will occur on Thursday, October 17, 2019 from 3:00 to 5:00 pm EDT and Monday, October 21, 2019 from 3:00 to 5:00 pm EDT. An informational teleconference for Priority 2 with the program officers will occur on Wednesday, October 30, 2019 from 1:00 to 3:00 pm EDT. Interested applicants may obtain the phone number and related teleconference information by visiting http://www.noaa.gov/office-education/elp/grants/apply. Whenever possible, individuals from the same institution should try to join the teleconference from the same phone line to maximize our ability to host as many interested institutions as possible.

Funding Opportunity Description: The goal of this funding opportunity is to build environmental literacy of K-12 students and the public so they are knowledgeable of the ways in which their community can become more resilient to extreme weather and/or other environmental hazards, and become involved in achieving that resilience.

Projects should build the collective environmental literacy necessary for communities to become more resilient to the extreme weather and other environmental hazards they face in the short- and long-term. Building sufficient environmental literacy in a community means that these communities are composed of individuals who are supported by formal and informal education that develop their knowledge, skills, and confidence to: (1) reason about the ways that human and natural systems interact globally and where they live, including the acknowledgement of disproportionately distributed vulnerabilities; (2) participate in scientific and/or civic processes;

and (3) consider scientific uncertainty, cultural knowledge, and diverse community values in decision making.

Projects should demonstrate how they will engage community members to build these capabilities, particularly through active learning, during the award period. Projects should leverage and incorporate relevant state and local hazard mitigation and/or adaptation plans and collaborate with individuals and institutions that are involved in efforts to develop or implement those plans. Projects may focus on a single location or multiple locations and a single type of environmental hazard or a range of hazards that impact a community or communities. Projects will be based on the established scientific evidence about current and future extreme weather and other environmental hazards facing communities and should consider relevant socioeconomic and ecological factors in the targeted location(s). Particular attention should be paid to populations within communities that have greater exposure and have fewer resources to deal with the impacts of extreme weather and/or environmental hazards that are the focus of the project. Projects must relate to NOAA’s mission in at least one of the following areas: ocean, coastal, Great Lakes, weather, and climate sciences and stewardship. They must also utilize NOAA’s scientific data, data access tools, data visualizations, and/or other physical and intellectual assets available on these topics. In order to facilitate the use of NOAA’s assets, Notice of Federal Funding Page 3 of 49 projects are strongly encouraged to partner with relevant NOAA entities (offices, programs, etc.)

and/or NOAA employees and affiliates. Also, projects should consider integrating citizen science tools when appropriate.

This funding opportunity has two priorities, numbered without regard to importance for funding.

Priority 1 awards will support new projects located in Southern and Western Regions of the United States. The Southern Region includes the following states and territories: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, Tennessee, Texas, and the United States Virgin Islands. The Western Region includes the following states and territories: Alaska, American Samoa, Arizona, California, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Northern Mariana Islands, Oregon, Utah, and Washington.

Priority 2 awards will support the evolution of projects funded under the 2015-2016 funding opportunities from this program (NOAA-SEC-OED-2015-2004408 and NOAA-SEC-OED- 2016-2004737). The full list of awards that support or supported eligible projects can be found here: https://go.usa.gov/xVGzr. Projects for this priority must be implemented within the United States and its territories.

For both priorities of this funding opportunity, eligible applicants are limited to institutions of higher education; K-12 public and independent schools and school systems; other nonprofits, including community-based organizations and informal education institutions, such as museums, zoos, and aquariums; state and local government agencies; and Indian tribal governments in the United States. For-profit organizations, foreign institutions, and individuals are not eligible to apply; however, for- profit organizations, foreign institutions, and individuals may participate as project partners. Likewise, federal agencies are not eligible to receive federal assistance under this announcement, but may be project partners.

For Priority 1, projects must be between 2 and 5 years in duration and the total federal amount requested from NOAA for each project must be no less than $250,000 and no more than $500,000 for all years of the project, including direct and indirect costs. For Priority 2, projects must be between 2 and 5 years in duration and the total federal amount requested from NOAA for each project must be no less than $100,000 and no more than $500,000 for all years of the project, including direct and indirect costs.

It is anticipated that awards funded under this announcement and selected this fiscal year will be made by September 30, 2020 and that the projects funded under this announcement in fiscal year 2020 will have a start date no earlier than October 1, 2020. Note: Links to helpful information for applying to this announcement are available at http://www.noaa.gov/office-

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FULL ANNOUNCEMENT TEXT

I. Funding Opportunity Description

A. Program Objective

1. Overview

The NOAA Office of Education’s Environmental Literacy Program (ELP) supports projects that educate and inspire people to use Earth system science toward improving ecosystem stewardship and increasing resilience to environmental hazards (NOAA's Education Strategic Plan 2015-2035). Since the program’s inception in 2005, ELP’s grants have supported formal and informal education activities at local, regional, and national levels to address NOAA’s mission of science, service, and stewardship. This mission is directed toward a vision of the future where communities and their ecosystems are healthy and resilient in the face of sudden or prolonged change. A vision of resilient communities guides NOAA and its partners in a collective effort to reduce the vulnerability of communities and ecological systems in the short-term, while helping society avoid or adapt to potential long-term environmental, social, and economic changes. To achieve this vision, NOAA strives to understand current Earth system conditions, project future changes, and help people make informed decisions that reduce their vulnerability to environmental hazards and stresses that emerge over time, while at the same time increase their ability to cope with them (NOAA’s Next Generation Strategic Plan 2010). To make the best social, economic, and environmental decisions, individuals should have the ability to understand scientific processes, consider uncertainty, and reason about the ways that human and natural systems interact (NOAA's Education Strategic Plan 2015-2035). Therefore, education plays a critical role in achieving NOAA’s mission and vision.

Communities are facing challenges of not only recovering from extreme weather events and other environmental hazards, but also transforming to prepare for a future of more frequent and damaging events (Lempert 2018; Weather-ready Nation: NOAA’s National Weather Service Strategic Plan 2019-2022). Events and hazards include but are not limited to severe storms, tornadoes, hurricanes, flooding, heavy precipitation events, persistent drought, heat waves, increased global temperatures, acidification of the ocean, and sea level rise (Jay et al.

2018; NCEI 2019). The United States is experiencing a rising number of these costly and damaging events. NOAA tracks weather and climate events across the United States that result in losses exceeding $1 billion per event. From 1980 to 2018, the annual average number of such events is 6.26. For the most recent 5 years (2014–2018), the annual average is 12.6 events. In 2018, there were 14 such events – including 8 severe storms, 2 tropical cyclones, 2 winter storms, drought, and wildfire (NCEI 2019). These extreme weather and

Notice of Federal Funding Page 6 of 49 climate events put stress on infrastructure, the economy, ecological systems, and the humans that live in the impacted places (DOC 2018; Jay et al. 2018). Certain groups within communities, such as underserved and highly vulnerable populations, have fewer resources to prepare for and adapt to environmental hazards and their associated risks (Ebi et al. 2018).

Minimizing the disruption, damage, and loss of life and property that occur from these hazards is essential to maintaining a healthy economy and the overall well-being of our society.

Resilience is defined as “a capability to anticipate, prepare for, respond to, and recover from significant multi-hazard threats with minimum damage to social well-being, the economy, and the environment” (USGCRP 2018). A report from the National Academies states that, “[to] create a culture of resilience, public education and communication are important to help shift the way that Americans perceive themselves in relation to disasters and ensure that the lessons learned from our history with disasters stay active in the public’s consciousness” (National Research Council 2012, p. 136). Resilience is a process, not a fixed end state.

Studies highlight that educated communities are less vulnerable to environmental hazards, as they are more likely to be prepared for and recover from disasters (Frankenberg et al. 2013;

Muttarak and Lutz 2014; Sharpe et al. 2018). U.S. communities can become more resilient by exploring the hazards they face, assessing their specific vulnerabilities and risks, considering options, prioritizing and planning, and finally taking action (U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit).

The goal of this funding opportunity is to build environmental literacy of K-12 students and the public so they are knowledgeable of the ways in which their community can become more resilient to extreme weather and/or other environmental hazards, and become involved in achieving that resilience. Communities can develop and apply environmental literacy to help accomplish their resilience goals. This literacy will be built within individuals, but not all individuals need to attain the same level of knowledge, skills, and confidence, as long as the community collectively attains sufficient environmental literacy to work together to contribute to the overall well-being of the whole (National Academies 2016). In this way, environmental literacy-along with community health, civic engagement, social cohesion, and equity-enhance resilience (NAAEE 2017, 11). Efforts to build environmental literacy ultimately aim to contribute to the reduction of risks from current and future environmental hazards through climate-smart and inclusive decision making and long-term stewardship of healthy ecosystems, all the while promoting a low-carbon economy (see Environmental Literacy Program Resilience Education Theory of Change at https://www.noaa.gov/office-education/elp/grants/resilience).

2. Description of Project Activities

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Projects should build the collective environmental literacy necessary for communities to become more resilient to the extreme weather and other environmental hazards they face in the short- and long-term. Building sufficient environmental literacy in a community means that these communities are composed of individuals who are supported by formal and informal education that develop their knowledge, skills, and confidence to: (1) reason about the ways that human and natural systems interact globally and where they live, including the acknowledgement of disproportionately distributed vulnerabilities; (2) participate in scientific and/or civic processes; and (3) consider scientific uncertainty, cultural knowledge, and diverse community values in decision making. Each individual in a community does not need to develop their knowledge, skills, and confidence to the same extent, but the community should collectively and sufficiently have these capabilities for use in resilience-building initiatives (National Academies 2016).

Projects should demonstrate how they will engage community members to build these capabilities, particularly through active learning, during the award period. Examples of active learning include interactive discussions, deliberations, or investigations about an issue or participation in simulations where different scenarios and solutions are explored.

Projects should leverage and incorporate relevant state and local hazard mitigation and/or adaptation plans and collaborate with individuals and institutions that are involved in efforts to develop or implement those plans (see https://www.noaa.gov/office-education/elp/resilience-assets for a list of state hazard mitigation officers).

Projects may focus on a single location or multiple locations and a single type of environmental hazard or a range of hazards that impact a community or communities.

Projects will be based on the established scientific evidence about current and future extreme weather and other environmental hazards facing communities and should consider relevant socioeconomic and ecological factors in the targeted location(s). Particular attention should be paid to populations within communities that have greater exposure and have fewer resources to deal with the impacts of extreme weather and/or environmental hazards that are the focus of the project.

In addition, projects must relate to NOAA’s mission in at least one of the following areas:

ocean, coastal, Great Lakes, weather, and climate sciences and stewardship. They must also utilize NOAA’s scientific data, data access tools, data visualizations, and/or other physical and intellectual assets available on these topics. In order to facilitate the use of NOAA’s assets, projects are strongly encouraged to partner with relevant NOAA entities (offices, programs, etc.) and/or NOAA employees and affiliates. NOAA's education website

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(http://www.noaa.gov/education) and an additional list of relevant assets (https://www.noaa.gov/office-education/elp/resilience-assets) provide links to NOAA datasets, potential NOAA partners, and other resilience-related assets from federal and non-federal organizations.

If the project location includes areas that are served by NOAA’s Sea Grant College programs, National Estuarine Research Reserves, the National Coastal Zone Management Program, and/or NOAA’s Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments (RISA), applicants are encouraged to consider involving representatives from these programs as project advisors or partners, as these programs have a broad focus on resilience. RISA teams provide interdisciplinary expertise on climate-related risks and impacts and options for adaptive responses to them. Applicants can locate their local/regional NOAA resilience expertise as well as other non-NOAA experts at https://toolkit.climate.gov/help/partners.

Projects should consider integrating citizen science tools when appropriate. When applied with intentional design, citizen science tools can result in learning outcomes by participants, help meet scientific project goals, and benefit communities by serving as conduits to data.

These outcomes can be compatible and may also be mutually reinforcing. While it has been demonstrated that individual learning can occur through participation in citizen science, there is growing evidence that community learning may also occur through projects that involve participants in distinct roles (National Academies 2018). Additionally, citizen science projects can help instill a sense of environmental stewardship in their participants and bring new people into decision making processes (McKinley et al. 2015).

Applicants are strongly encouraged to review resilience education projects funded by this program since 2015 and proposed projects should be informed by the lessons learned by these grantees. Information on existing projects can be found on the NOAA Office of Education’s Resilience Hub: https://www.noaa.gov/office-education/elp/grants/resilience.

Every year and a half, NOAA convenes the resilience grantees to share ideas, best practices, and lessons learned from their NOAA-funded resilience education projects. To learn about what was shared at the latest convening, please see the 2019 NOAA Environmental Literacy Program Resilience Education Grantee Workshop Report (https://go.usa.gov/xVQtN).

This funding opportunity has two priorities, numbered without regard to importance for funding. Priority 1 awards will support new projects located in Southern and Western Regions of the United States. The Southern Region includes the following states and territories: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, Tennessee, Texas, and the United States Virgin Islands. The Western Region includes the following states and territories: Alaska, American Samoa, Notice of Federal Funding Page 9 of 49

Arizona, California, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Northern Mariana Islands, Oregon, Utah, and Washington.

Priority 2 awards will support the evolution of projects funded under the 2015-2016 funding opportunities from this program (NOAA-SEC-OED-2015-2004408 and NOAA-SEC-OED- 2016-2004737). The full list of awards that support or supported eligible projects can be found here: https://go.usa.gov/xVGzr. Projects for this priority must be implemented within the United States and its territories.

See Section III.A, Eligible Applicants, for additional details.

NOAA offers other funding opportunities for resilience projects. NOAA’s Coastal Resilience Grants Program (see https://coast.noaa.gov/resilience-grant/) funded 35 projects in 2018 and the grantees may be partners for projects to this funding opportunity. The NOAA Bay Watershed Education and Training (B-WET) program funds locally relevant, authentic experiential learning for K-12 audiences through Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences (MWEEs). MWEEs are multi-stage activities that include learning both outdoors and in the classroom and aim to increase understanding and stewardship of watersheds and related ecosystems. Healthy watersheds are key components of resilient communities (Source: https://www.epa.gov/hwp/benefits-healthy-watersheds). The B-WET program serves seven geographic areas of the country: California, Chesapeake, Great Lakes, Gulf of Mexico, Hawaii, New England, and the Pacific Northwest. Several competitions will be open this year; please visit http://www.noaa.gov/office-education/bwet/apply.

3. Target Audiences

The target audiences for this funding opportunity are: the public, K-12 students, and may also include informal educators (including interpreters and docents) and formal educators (pre- or in-service, and including school administrators). Higher education students and professionals working in the area of community resilience are not target audiences for this funding opportunity.

There is an interest in projects that specifically engage highly vulnerable members of the community. Underserved members of a community, such as minority, low income, homeless, persons with disabilities, and rural, tribal, and indigenous populations, are disproportionately vulnerable to extreme weather and other environmental hazards. These communities face greater exposure to environmental hazards, and they have fewer resources to prepare for and adapt to the associated risks (Ebi et al. 2018). Projects should employ approaches and partnerships that are appropriate for the targeted underserved population(s).

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Projects are strongly encouraged to develop meaningful partnerships with community-based organizations, particularly those from underserved communities. In successful partnerships, organizations have shared goals and work together to share resources, communicate effectively, collaborate on decision-making, and competently engage members of diverse cultures and expertise (Israel et al. 2005). Adequate compensation should be provided for community-based organization partners and community members for the effort they are contributing to the project. Applicants are also encouraged to apply the NAAEE’s Community Engagement Guidelines for Excellence (NAAEE 2017) in developing their project plans for engagement of target audiences.

There is also an interest in projects that engage children and youth, as their involvement benefits not only them but also their communities. Engaging youth in community conversations about resilience can also benefit the planning process. Children strengthen efforts that involve them since they are positive influencers, can become leaders, and are more confident during an actual emergency when they feel prepared for it (FEMA 2013).

Youth.gov, the U.S. government website designed to strengthen effective youth programs, states: “Programs that are developed in partnership with youth are more likely to be effective at engaging the population and, therefore, to have a greater impact” (see Involving Youth at https://go.usa.gov/xVjrP). Also, partnerships that involve both youth and adults have been shown to empower young people to make better decisions and positively impact society (Ramey et al. 2017; Zeldin et al. 2015). However, in order for children and youth to participate fully, they need improved scientific skills and opportunities to engage in the process of building community resilience.

Applicants are encouraged to describe the demographics and vulnerabilities of their target audience(s) and use data to support these assertions.

4. Project Evaluation

All projects should include an evaluation component. Project descriptions for full applications should include robust evaluation plans. (There is no requirement to describe evaluation plans in the pre-application). Evaluation plans should include key evaluation questions, measurement of the project’s progress towards meeting the stated project goals and objectives, as well as the goal of this funding program, as articulated in the Environmental Literacy Program Resilience Education Theory of Change at https://www.noaa.gov/office-education/elp/grants/resilience. Plans for formative and summative project evaluations should be well constructed and should use best practices for evaluating the type of work proposed. Discussion of both formative and summative

Notice of Federal Funding Page 11 of 49 evaluations should be included in the project description and in the budget section.

Project evaluation should include assessment of changes in the target audiences' attitudes, knowledge, skills, and/or behaviors as a result of the activities undertaken. The impact of the proposed project on the target audiences must be measurable during the award period.

Particularly when dealing with underserved populations, the evaluation should reflect practices of cultural competence (AEA 2011). Potential impacts of the project beyond the award period should be described. During the award period, reports of both outputs and outcomes for a project will be expected. Projects should be based on an existing front-end evaluation/needs assessment and there should be a description of that needs assessment in the project description (note: front-end evaluation/needs assessment does not necessarily have to be performed by the applicant). Applicants shall also provide a logic model for their proposed project.

Some aspects of project evaluation may require institutional review board (IRB) approval. It is the applicant’s responsibility to determine if this is necessary and report back to NOAA.

As part of the evaluation plan, applicants must provide, in writing, a description of whether or not IRB review will be sought and a justification if not (if applicable). Also, if IRB review is needed the applicant must include a timeline for IRB review and no expenditures related to data collection may occur until IRB approval has been obtained.

Project evaluation should be handled by external professional evaluators or by internal staff who have significant experience with each type of evaluation and are not otherwise substantively involved with the project. Applicants should include funding for project evaluation in their budgets. While the costs for project evaluation may vary considerably, 10 to 20 percent of the total budget is a reasonable estimate of costs associated with a comprehensive project evaluation. Selected applicants will be asked to update their evaluation plans 4 months after the start date of their award.

To further inform the broad fields of K-12 and informal science education about what was learned from the project, applicants are encouraged to develop appropriate project dissemination strategies. Project teams are encouraged to engage their peers in active discussion of relevant best practices. This may or may not be best accomplished by attending and presenting at annual meetings of professional societies. Principal Investigators (PIs) must provide summative project evaluation reports to NOAA. If applicable, PIs may also post evaluation reports to www.informalscience.org and include any resulting instructional products and materials in the National Science Digital Library (NSDL) Science and Math Informal Learning Educators (SMILE) Pathway (www.howtosmile.org).

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5. Awards Dates and Mission Goal

NOAA anticipates that awards funded under this announcement during this fiscal year (FY 2020) will be made by September 30, 2020 and that the projects funded under this announcement will have a start date no earlier than October 1, 2020.

This funding opportunity meets NOAA's four Mission Goals: Climate Adaptation and Mitigation, Weather-Ready Nation, Healthy Oceans, and Resilient Coastal Communities and Economies (http://www.performance.noaa.gov/goals/).

B. Program Priorities

This funding opportunity has two priorities, of equal importance for funding.

Priority 1 awards will support new projects. For this priority, project implementation must occur in Southern and Western Regions of the United States. The Southern Region includes the following states and territories: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, Tennessee, Texas, and the United States Virgin Islands. The Western Region includes the following states and territories: Alaska, American Samoa, Arizona, California, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Northern Mariana Islands, Oregon, Utah, and Washington.

An organization applying to this priority must be based in one of these two regions (this will be determined based on the associated physical address of the applying institution’s DUNS number). Further, the impact of the project must also occur in the same region as the applicant. We anticipate that Priority 1 of the next funding opportunity of this program (planned for fall of 2021) will support projects from the Central and Eastern regions, which encompass the remainder of the United States.

Priority 2 awards will support the evolution of projects funded under the 2015-2016 funding opportunities from this program (NOAA-SEC-OED-2015-2004408 and NOAA-SEC-OED- 2016-2004737). The full list of awards that support or supported eligible projects can be found here: https://go.usa.gov/xVGzr. The organizations that received these awards and their formally recognized partners (i.e. identified by a sub-award, letter of commitment or both) on these projects are eligible to apply to this priority.

Priority 2 projects should explicitly demonstrate the accomplishments of the previous award and how the project will significantly improve, and/or build on the previous award. These projects should also build on best practices and reflect the rationale articulated in the ELP Resilience Education Theory of Change. Best practices are discussed by thematic area within

Notice of Federal Funding Page 13 of 49 the ELP Resilience Education Community of Practice 2019 Workshop Report (https://go.usa.gov/xVQtN). The completed version of the ELP Resilience Education Theory of Change will be published in December 2019 at: https://www.noaa.gov/office-education/elp/grants/resilience.

An applicant may only submit a given project idea to one priority or the other. In the event a project is submitted to both priorities, Office of Education staff will contact the applying institution(s) to ask them which application should be withdrawn.

C. Program Authority

Authority for this program is provided by the following: 33 USC 893a, the America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science Reauthorization Act of 2010 ("America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010").

II. Award Information

A. Funding Availability

NOAA anticipates that approximately $3,000,000 may be available in fiscal year (FY) 2020 for this announcement. Approximately 6 to 10 awards among both priorities, in the form of cooperative agreements, will be made in FY 2020. Top ranked proposals not funded in the current fiscal year may be considered for funding in FY 2021 without NOAA repeating the competitive process outlined in this announcement. NOAA’s Office of Education plans to continue to focus on building the environmental literacy necessary for community resilience during the next few years of the Environmental Literacy Program.

For Priority 1, projects must be between 2 and 5 years in duration and the total federal amount requested from NOAA for each project must be no less than $250,000 and no more than $500,000 for all years of the project, including direct and indirect costs. Any project requesting total federal support from NOAA less than $250,000 or more than $500,000 total for all years will not be considered for funding. We anticipate that Priority 1 of the next funding opportunity for this program will support projects from the Central and Eastern regions, which encompass the remainder of the United States.

For Priority 2, projects must be between 2 and 5 years in duration and the total federal amount requested from NOAA for each project must be no less than $100,000 and no more than $500,000 for all years of the project, including direct and indirect costs. Any project requesting total federal support from NOAA less than $100,000 or more than $500,000 total

Notice of Federal Funding Page 14 of 49 for all years will not be considered for funding.

The amount of funding available through this announcement will be dependent upon final fiscal year 2020 and fiscal year 2021 budgetary decisions. Publication of this notice does not obligate DOC/NOAA to award any specific project or to obligate any available funds. If an applicant incurs any costs prior to receiving an award agreement from an authorized NOAA Grants Officer, the applicant does so solely at his/her own risk of such costs not being included under the award. Pre-award costs are not allowed under the award unless approved by the NOAA Grants Officer in accordance with 2 C.F.R. §§ 200.308(d) and 200.458. The exact amount of funds that may be awarded will be determined in pre-award negotiations between the applicant and NOAA.

Multi-year funding may be considered for programs or long-term awards where funding for the subsequent year(s) is anticipated but not provided at the time the initial award is approved and where the estimated budget for future funding periods can be forecasted with some degree of reliability.

B. Project/Award Period

Pre-applications and full applications for both priorities must cover a project period of two to five years to be eligible for merit review. Start dates can be October 1, 2020 or later.

Applicants selected to receive funding may be asked to modify the project start date.

C. Type of Funding Instrument

Full applications selected for funding will be funded through cooperative agreements, as described in 2 C.F.R. 200.24, meaning that NOAA expects to be substantially involved in many aspects of the award. Substantial involvement may include, but is not limited to, liaison activities between the grantee and NOAA personnel who are contributing data or expertise to the project.

III. Eligibility Information

A. Eligible Applicants

For both priorities of this funding opportunity, eligible applicants are limited to institutions of higher education; K-12 public and independent schools and school systems;

other nonprofits, including community-based organizations and informal education institutions, such as museums, zoos, and aquariums; state and local government agencies;

and Indian tribal governments in the United States. For-profit organizations, foreign institutions, and individuals are not eligible to apply; however, for-profit organizations, Notice of Federal Funding Page 15 of 49 foreign institutions, and individuals may participate as project partners. Likewise, federal agencies are not eligible to receive federal assistance under this announcement, but may be project partners.

For Priority 1, eligible organizations must be based in the Southern or Western Region of the United States (determined based on the associated physical address of the applying institution’s DUNS number). The Southern Region includes the following states and territories: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, Tennessee, Texas, and the United States Virgin Islands. The Western Region includes the following states and territories: Alaska, American Samoa, Arizona, California, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Northern Mariana Islands, Oregon, Utah, and Washington.

For Priority 2, eligible applicants must be organizations that received awards or were formally recognized partners (i.e. identified by either a sub-award or letter of commitment or both) for projects funded under the 2015-2016 funding opportunities from this program (NOAA-SEC-OED-2015-2004408 and NOAA-SEC-OED-2016-2004737). The full list of awards that support or supported eligible projects can be found here:

https://go.usa.gov/xVGzr. Applicants to this priority do not need to be from a specific region or regions of the United States, nor do project impacts need to occur in a specific region or regions of the United States.

It is strongly encouraged that an individual serve as a PI on only one application submitted to this funding opportunity. Institutions may submit more than one application and individuals may serve as co-PIs or key personnel on more than one application. Federal employees may not serve as PIs or co-PIs on any application, although they may be included as key personnel.

B. Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement

There is no cost share requirement.

C. Other Criteria that Affect Eligibility

Pre-applications and full applications that are lacking any of the required elements or do not follow the form prescribed in IV. B. will not be reviewed.

Pre-applications and full applications must be submitted by the due date and time provided in Section IV.D. Late pre-applications and full applications will not be considered for funding. Submission time will be documented by electronic submission to Grants.gov.

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IV. Application and Submission Information

A. Address to Request Application Package

Pre-application and full application packages, including required federal forms and instructions, are available through Grants.gov (http://www.grants.gov). Grants.gov requires applicants to register with the system prior to submitting any application. This registration process can take several weeks and involves multiple steps. In order to allow sufficient time for this process, applicants should register as soon as they decide they intend to apply, even if they are not yet ready to submit their pre-applications. Also, even if an applicant has registered with Grants.gov previously, the applicant's password may have expired or their System for Award Management (SAM) registration (formerly Central Contractor Registration [CCR]) may need to be renewed or updated prior to submitting to 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.) Grants.gov will not accept submissions if the applicant has not been authorized or if credentials are incorrect. Authorizations and credential corrections can take several days to establish. Please plan accordingly to avoid problems with the submission process. For further information please visit the SAM web portal (https://www.sam.gov/portal/public/SAM/).

Each applicant must be registered in Grants.gov. If any applicant has problems downloading the pre-application or full application forms from Grants.gov, uploading the pre-application or full application into the Grants.gov system, or using the Grants.gov Workspace feature, contact Grants.gov Customer Support at 1-800-518-4726 or support@grants.gov.

PLEASE NOTE: For a list of software applications that allow you to successfully navigate the Grants.gov pages and complete your submission visit

B. Content and Form of Application

For Priority 1, each applicant must submit a pre-application through Grants.gov for review. Pre-applications are required to prevent the expenditure of effort on full applications that are not likely to be successful. All applicants will receive a response to their pre-application via email from NOAA indicating whether or not they are authorized to submit a full application for the project. Only those institutions that receive authorization from NOAA are eligible to submit a full application. Failure of an applicant to submit a pre-application or full application before the deadline will result in the project not being merit reviewed or receiving any additional consideration. See the Office of Education's frequently asked

Notice of Federal Funding Page 17 of 49 questions websites: https://www.noaa.gov/office-education/elp/grants/faq_priority1 and https://www.noaa.gov/office-education/elp/grants/faq_priority2 for additional guidance during the preparation of applications.

For Priority 2, only full applications are solicited and must be submitted through Grants.gov.

Collaborative applications will not be funded through this announcement; rather projects will be supported through a single award to an institution that may include sub-awards to project partners.

Note: Links to helpful information for applying to this announcement is available at http://www.noaa.gov/office-education/elp/grants/apply.

1) Required Elements for Priority 1 Pre-Applications

A) Format Requirements

The page margin on standard letter-size paper should be one inch (2.5 cm) at the top, bottom, left, and right. All pages should be numbered. The typeface should be standard 11- point size or larger and must be clear and easily legible. All narrative sections of the pre-application should be single spaced and consist of the elements described in Section IV.B.1. Do not submit scanned documents or forms.

B) Content Requirements

Each pre-application must contain the following three elements:

(a) SF-424, Application for Federal Assistance

(b) Title Page. Please use the title page template available at https://www.noaa.gov/office-education/elp/grants/environmental-literacy-grant-templates-and-models. Whether or not the title page template is used, a title page must be submitted and contain ALL of the following elements:

(i) Project’s title;

(ii) Proposed start and end dates;

(iii) Funding amount requested from NOAA;

(iv) Principal Investigator (PI) and co-PI names, affiliations, complete mailing addresses, email addresses, telephone numbers, and fax numbers. The PI listed on the title page should be affiliated with the institution submitting the pre-application;

Notice of Federal Funding Page 18 of 49

(v) Executive Summary (150 words maximum). The executive summary should be a concise overview of the objectives of the project, the project activities, the location of the project, the expected outcome(s), and the rationale for the work proposed;

(vi) List of project partners (including NOAA partners); and

(vii) List of NOAA assets that will be used in a project (http://www.noaa.gov/office-education/elp/resilience-assets).

(c) Project Description (4 page limit). This section should summarize the project, present the rationale for the project, and describe the specific project objectives to be achieved during the project period, describe the expected activities and related outputs and outcomes (see definitions in Section VIII.A), and explain how the project addresses the goal of this funding opportunity as described in section I.A. Provide details about how project activities will increase the target audiences’ knowledge, skills, and confidence to: (1) reason about the ways that human and natural systems interact globally and where they live; (2) participate in scientific and/or civic processes; and (3) consider scientific uncertainty, cultural knowledge, and diverse community values in decision making. The project description should also include a brief description of the rationale for the project, citing any relevant front-end evaluations or other needs assessments. Also, clearly identify and describe the geographic location(s), the environmental hazard(s) that will be the focus of the project, the target audiences (especially children/youth and underserved populations), and how groups living in those location(s) may be disproportionately impacted by the identified hazards. Describe how NOAA assets will be integrated into the project activities and how the project will advance NOAA’s mission. Describe the resilience plans that are relevant in this location and how they will be integrated into the project. Finally, briefly describe the institutional capabilities of the project team and partners (and individuals - if known) that will be involved in the project and the capabilities they will bring to the project. If the applying entity does not possess resilience and/or community engagement expertise, describe how a partner fulfills that role.

NOTE: Project descriptions that exceed the 4-page limit will be truncated beyond the fourth page in the information sent forward to reviewers.

2) Required Elements for Priority 1 Full Applications and Priority 2 Full Applications

A) Format Requirements

The page margin on standard letter-size paper should be one inch (2.5 cm) at the top, bottom, left, and right. All pages should be numbered. The typeface should be standard 11-point size or larger and must be clear and easily legible. Color or high-resolution graphics, Notice of Federal Funding Page 19 of 49 unusually sized materials, or otherwise unusual materials submitted as part of the application are allowed, but should be employed only when necessary for adequate description of the project. All narrative sections of the application should be single spaced and consist of the elements described in Section IV.B.2. Do not submit scanned documents or forms, other than letters of commitment.

B) Content Requirements

A full application must include all elements (a) through (j) below; elements (k) and (l) are optional. Failure to provide this information in the required form and within prescribed page limits will result in the application being excluded from further review. Any non-requested elements submitted as part of an application package will be removed from the application prior to merit review.

As there are many required elements of an application, it is recommended that you develop and use an application checklist of your own or the one we provide on our templates page (https://www.noaa.gov/office-education/elp/grants/environmental-literacy-grant-templates-and-models).

Applications should include a maximum of four files (PDF files only) in addition to the federal application forms: 1) Title page; 2) Project narrative (not to exceed 15 pages total);

3) Budget table, budget narrative (including sub-award details), and the negotiated IDC rate agreement (if applicable); and 4) Supplemental information – all other attachments combined into one indexed file, including resumes, current and pending support, data sharing plan (if applicable), logic model, and letters of commitment.

(a) Required Forms.

At the time of application submission, applicants must complete and submit the following forms with signatures of the Authorized Representative of the submitting institution. (Note: submission through Grants.gov results in automatic electronic signatures on these forms. Only the versions of these forms that are available in Grants.gov are acceptable):

(i) SF-424, Application for Federal Assistance

(ii) SF-424-A, Budget Information, Non-Construction Programs

(iii) SF-424-B, Assurances, Non-Construction Programs

(iv) CD-511, Certifications Regarding Lobbying

(v) SF-LLL, Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (only if applicable; see instructions on form).

Notice of Federal Funding Page 20 of 49

(b) Title Page. Please use the title page template available at https://www.noaa.gov/office-education/elp/grants/environmental-literacy-grant-templates-and-models. Whether or not the title page template is used, a title page must be submitted and contain ALL of the following elements:

(i) Project’s title;

(ii) Proposed start and end dates;

(iii) Funding amount requested from NOAA;

(iv) Principal Investigator (PI) and co-PI names, affiliations, complete mailing addresses, email…