NOAA-SEC-OED-2020-2006357 Full Announcement.pdf

National Ocean Sciences Competition for High School Students

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Funding Opportunity Description 4

A. Program Objective 4 B. Program Priorities 8 C. Program Authority 9

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

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

IV. Application and Submission Information 11 A. Address to Request Application Package 11 B. Content and Form of Application 11 C. Unique Entity Identifier and System for Award Management (SAM) 18 D. Submission Dates and Times 18 E. Intergovernmental Review 19 F. Funding Restrictions 19 G. Other Submission Requirements 19

V. Application Review Information 19 A. Evaluation Criteria 19 B. Review and Selection Process 21 C. Selection Factors 22 D. Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates 22

VI. Award Administration Information 23 A. Award Notices 23 B. Administrative and National Policy Requirements 23 C. Reporting 26

VII. Agency Contacts 27 VIII. Other Information 27

Notice of Federal Funding Page 1 of 28

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: National Ocean Sciences Competition for High School Students

Announcement Type: Initial

Funding Opportunity Number: NOAA-SEC-OED-2020-2006357

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

Dates: The deadline for full applications is 11:59:59 pm Eastern Time on April 17, 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.

Funding Opportunity Description: The goal of this funding opportunity is to expose high school students in the United States and its territories to the excitement of ocean sciences and related fields as well as careers in those fields through an academic competition and related activities.

Proposed projects must address at least one of the goals of NOAA’s Education Strategic Plan listed in section I.A.1 and incorporate relevant NOAA assets. To achieve project goals, applicants should partner with NOAA offices and programs; academic institutions; other nonprofit organizations (including free-choice learning venues and nongovernmental

Notice of Federal Funding Page 2 of 28 organizations); state, local and Indian tribal governments in the United States; and other US federal agencies. Although it is expected that the project's focal point will be a tiered academic competition with regional and national-level events involving approximately 2000 students annually, it should also provide additional learning experiences for student participants, their peers, and their teachers, such as internships and field and/or laboratory research experiences.

The project should also provide opportunities to connect students with scientists who can serve as mentors and introduce them to STEM careers, particularly in the ocean sciences. Projects must have an evaluation that monitors the quality of the experience for the participants (be they students, teachers, or volunteers) and measures the impact of the program on the participants during the award period. Proposed projects must be between three and five years in duration and have federal requests of $900,000 to $1,900,000 for all years of the project with annual federal requests of no more than $300,000 for Year 1 and $400,000 for all subsequent years. We intend to make one award under this funding announcement and anticipate it will be made by August 1, 2020. Under this scenario, the project funded under this announcement will have a start date no earlier than August 1, 2020.

Notice of Federal Funding Page 3 of 28

FULL ANNOUNCEMENT TEXT

I. Funding Opportunity Description

A. Program Objective

1. Overview

NOAA provides support to improve ocean literacy among our Nation's residents and to promote a diverse future workforce in ocean, coastal, Great Lakes, weather, and climate sciences, with the goal of increasing stewardship and informed decision making by and for the Nation. This funding opportunity supports Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education with a focus on ocean sciences and related fields. Improving the public's ocean literacy, its awareness of the impact global change has on our Nation's coastal and marine resources, and its understanding of how those resources are managed is critical to meeting the Agency's mission of science, stewardship and service. To address this mission and to create a pipeline to meet future workforce needs, NOAA engages in and supports formal and informal education activities at local, state, regional, and national levels.

This solicitation supports Goals 1 and 4 of NOAA's Education Strategic Plan (https://www.noaa.gov/education/explainers/noaa-education-strategic-plan), with a specific focus on:

* Objective 1.1: Youth and adults from all backgrounds improve their understanding of NOAA-related sciences by participating in education and outreach opportunities.

* Objective 1.3: Formal and informal education organizations integrate NOAA-related science content and collaborate with NOAA scientists on the development of exhibits, media, materials, and programs that support NOAA’s mission.

* Objective 4.1: Students, particularly from underrepresented groups, consider education and career pathways in disciplines that support NOAA’s mission.

* Objective 4.2: NOAA and partner institutions leverage federally funded assets to provide students, particularly those from underrepresented groups, with experiential learning, research, and scholarship opportunities.

The goal of this funding opportunity is to expose high school students in the United States and its territories to the excitement of ocean sciences and related fields through an academic competition and related career-exposure activities.

2. Description of Project Activities

The proposed project should expose high school students in the United States and its

Notice of Federal Funding Page 4 of 28 territories to the excitement of ocean sciences and related fields through a tiered academic competition with regional and national events. Although it is expected that a project’s focal point will be a tiered academic competition, it should also provide additional learning experiences for student participants, their peers, and their teachers, such as internships and field and/or laboratory research experiences. The project should also provide opportunities to connect students with scientists and others with STEM-related careers who can serve as mentors and introduce them to the range of possible careers in the ocean sciences, engineering and policy. Proposed projects should have an impact area involving a minimum of 20 U.S. states or territories and involve approximately 2000 or more students annually.

Proposed projects must address at least one of the goals of NOAA’s Education Strategic Plan listed in section I.A.1 and incorporate appropriate NOAA assets related to ocean, coastal, Great Lakes, weather, and climate sciences (see Definitions I.A.6). To assist in the integration of NOAA assets and build awareness about NOAA and NOAA resources among target audiences, applicants are strongly encouraged to involve NOAA programs, offices, and their scientists or other personnel in project activities. To achieve project goals, applicants should partner with two or more of the following: academic institutions; other nonprofit organizations (including free-choice learning venues and nongovernmental organizations); state, local and Indian tribal governments in the United States; and other US federal agencies.

The content of proposed projects must be aligned to the appropriate principles and concepts in “Ocean Literacy: The Essential Principles and Fundamental Concepts of Ocean Sciences for Learners of All Ages” (see https://www.marine-ed.org/ocean-literacy/overview).

Proposed projects are also encouraged to align its content with the principles and concepts of Great Lakes Literacy, Climate Literacy and the Estuary Principles and Concepts. (See References in I.A.7 for source documents) as appropriate.

Finally, proposed projects must include plans for a robust project evaluation that both monitors the quality of the experience for the participants (be they students, teachers, or volunteers) and also the impact of the project on its participants (see I.A.4 for additional guidance).

3. Target Audiences

The target audiences for this funding opportunity are high school students and their teachers in the United States, as recent evidence suggests that teens are a critical audience for engaging in global environmental change issues (The Ocean Project, 2009, 2010 and 2011;

Cone Communications, 2006). To engage these audiences, projects should incorporate what is known about best practices for working with teenage audiences and for broadening

Notice of Federal Funding Page 5 of 28 participation in STEM fields (e.g., BEST 2004; Levine, et al. 2009, The Ocean Project, 2009, 2010 and 2011; Cone Communications, 2006).

4. Project Evaluation

Project activities should be evaluated for their effectiveness in meeting the proposed project goals and objectives as well as the goal of this funding program. Plans for formative and summative project evaluations should be well constructed and should use best practices for evaluating these types of projects. Discussion of formative and summative evaluations should be included in the project description and should also be reflected in the budget section. Lastly, potential impacts of the project beyond the award period should be described.

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 substantially involved with the project. 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.

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. These strategies should utilize a variety of mechanisms to engage community members in discussion of relevant best practices and how to integrate them into future efforts. This may or may not be best accomplished by attending and presenting at annual meetings of professional societies or publishing in professional journals. Project teams must provide summative evaluation reports to NOAA. If applicable, applicants may also post evaluation reports to www.informalscience.org and include any resulting instructional products and materials in the National Science Digital Library (nsdl.org) Science and Math Informal Learning Educators (SMILE) Pathway (www.howtosmile.org).

5. Award Dates and Mission Goal

NOAA anticipates making one award under this announcement by August 1 2020. The project funded under this announcement will have a start date no earlier than August 1, 2020.

This FFO meets two of NOAA's Mission Goals: Healthy Oceans and Resilient Coastal Communities and Economies (https://www.performance.noaa.gov/goals/).

Notice of Federal Funding Page 6 of 28

6. Definitions

Global change: Changes in the global environment (including alterations in climate, land productivity, oceans or other water resources, atmospheric chemistry, and ecological systems) that may alter the capacity of the Earth to sustain life. (Source: Global Change Research Act of 1990, accessed at http://www.gcrio.org/gcact1990.html) NOAA assets: Resources, services, or sites that are used to support NOAA's mission and to communicate NOAA research, data, information, and knowledge to the public. These include education materials and programs, datasets and visualizations, subject matter experts, facilities, and managed natural resource areas. A partial listing of NOAA assets can be found at https://www.noaa.gov/office-education/grants/noaa-assets. A summary of NOAA programs and activities sorted by the state or territory in which they are based or focused is available at: www.legislative.noaa.gov/NIYS/. A summary of NOAA resources in various regions of the country is available at: http://www.noaa.gov/education/noaa-in-your-backyard. NOAA assets incorporated into educational materials can be found at http://www.noaa.gov/education.

Outcomes: the changes that show movement toward achieving ultimate goals and objectives

- e.g., the number of persons who, as a result of their participation in a project, demonstrate changes in: awareness and knowledge of specific concepts and/or issues; interest in and/or attitudes toward certain issues, careers, or courses of action; and behavior or skills.

Outcomes may be changes that occur in the short term (e.g., knowledge, attitudes, skills and aspirations); medium term (e.g., practices and behaviors); or long term (e.g., social, economic, and environmental conditions). (Source: adapted from the Framework for Evaluating Impacts of Informal Science Education Projects, p.35 (accessed at https://www.informalscience.org/framework-evaluating-impacts-informal-science-education-projects).

Outputs: the immediate results of an action (e.g., services, events, and products) that document the extent of implementation of a particular activity. They are typically expressed numerically - e.g., the number of educators involved in a capacity-building project or the number of professional development workshops held. (Source: adapted from the Framework for Evaluating Impacts of Informal Science Education Projects, p.35 (accessed at https://www.informalscience.org/framework-evaluating-impacts-informal-science-education-projects).

7. References Cited

BEST (Building Engineering and Science Talent). 2004. The Talent Imperative:

Notice of Federal Funding Page 7 of 28

Diversifying America's Science and Engineering Workforce. San Diego, CA: BEST.

Accessed at:

https://www.bestworkforce.org/sites/default/files/research/downloads/Talent%20Imperitive %20Workforce%20report_0.pdf

Center for Great Lakes Literacy. 2018. Great Lakes Literacy: Essential Principles and Fundamental Concepts for Great Lakes Learning. Accessed at https://www.cgll.org/for-educators/great-lakes-literacy-principles/

Cone Communications. 2006. Millennial Cause Study, The Millennial Generation: Pro- Social and Empowered to Change the World. Accessed at:

http://www.conecomm.com/2006-millennial-cause-study

Levine, R., Gonzalez, R., and Martinez-Sussmann, S. 2009. Learner Diversity in Earth System Science. Paper prepared for the National Research Council 2010 report. Accessed at:

https://sites.nationalacademies.org/DBASSE/BOSE/DBASSE_071087.

NOAA Office for Coastal Management. No date. Principles and Concepts for Estuaries 101:

the Big Ideas and Essential Details Students Should Learn about Estuaries" Accessed at https://coast.noaa.gov/data/estuaries/pdf/estuary-principles-and-concepts.pdf

The Ocean Project. 2009. America, the Ocean, and Climate Change: A summary of data June 2009. Accessed at: https://theoceanproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/AOCC_SummaryOfData_Jun09_2MB_version.pdf

The Ocean Project. 2010. America, the Ocean, and Climate Change: Market Research Findings FAQ: Youth. Accessed at: https://theoceanproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/final_youth.pdf

The Ocean Project. 2011. America and the Ocean: Annual Update 2011. Accessed at:

https://theoceanproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/TOP_AmericaOceansUpdate2011_online.pdf

US Global Change Research Program. 2009. Climate Literacy: The Essential Principles of Climate Science, A Guide for Individuals and Communities. Accessed at https://www.climate.gov/teaching/essential-principles-climate-literacy/essential-principles-climate-literacy

B. Program Priorities

Notice of Federal Funding Page 8 of 28

Refer to I.A., Program Objective. There are no other program priorities for this announcement.

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 the availability of approximately $300,000 of Federal financial assistance in FY 2020 for this solicitation. One award in the form of a cooperative agreement will be made. NOAA will only consider projects that have a duration of 3 to 5 years. The total Federal amount for all years that may be requested from NOAA for the direct and indirect costs of the proposed project shall not exceed $1,900,000 for 5 years. The minimum Federal amount that must be requested from NOAA for all years for the direct and indirect costs is $900,000. Applications requesting Federal support from NOAA of less than $900,000 total or more than $1,900,000 total will not be considered for funding through this announcement. Additionally, annual federal requests cannot exceed $300,000 for Year 1 and $400,000 for all subsequent years.

The amount of funding available through this announcement will be dependent upon final FY 2020 through FY 2024 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. The exact amount of funds that may be awarded to cover pre-award costs will be determined in pre-award negotiations between the applicant and NOAA representatives.

Applications to renew an existing award will be accepted. Applications to supplement an existing award will not be accepted. 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 forecast with some degree of reliability.

B. Project/Award Period

Applications must cover a project period of three to five years to be eligible for merit

Notice of Federal Funding Page 9 of 28 review. Start dates must be August 1, 2020 or later. The Applicant 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

Eligible applicants are institutions of higher education, other nonprofits, and state, local and Indian tribal governments in the United States. For profit organizations, foreign institutions, and foreign organizations are not eligible to apply, but may be project partners.

Federal and foreign government agencies are not eligible to receive Federal assistance under this announcement, but may be project partners, where the cost for proposed partner activities will be taken out of the partners own operating budget.

An institution may apply only once through this funding opportunity.

An individual may serve only once as a Principal Investigator (PI) through this funding opportunity.

B. Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement

There is no cost sharing requirement. However, if appropriate, include in the budget narrative a description of any in-kind resources or equipment that will be provided as well as a description of any other funding sought or obtained that will be used as cost sharing to complement the funding sought from NOAA for this project. Reviewers will consider whether or not the project leverages additional funds or in-kind resources (see evaluation criterion (4), "Project Costs").

C. Other Criteria that Affect Eligibility

Applications that lack any of the required elements or do not follow the form prescribed in IV.B will not be reviewed. Applications must be submitted by the due date and time provided in Section IV.D. Late applications will not be considered for funding. Submission time will be documented by electronic submission to Grants.gov.

Notice of Federal Funding Page 10 of 28

IV. Application and Submission Information

A. Address to Request Application Package

The application package, including required federal forms and instructions, is 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/SAM/).

Each applicant must be registered in Grants.gov. If any applicant has problems downloading the application forms from Grants.gov, uploading the 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 http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/applicant-faqs.html.

B. Content and Form of Application

Each institution must submit their application through Grants.gov. Applications received after the published deadline (refer to IV.C, Submission Dates and Times) or applications that deviate from the prescribed format (refer to IV.B, Required Elements of Applications) will not be reviewed.

See the Office of Education's frequently asked questions site: https://www.noaa.gov/office-education/elp/grants/student-comp-faqs and templates and models page at https://www.noaa.gov/office-education/elp/grants/student-comp-templates-and-models for additional guidance during the preparation of an application.

Required Elements for Applications

Notice of Federal Funding Page 11 of 28

FORM: 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, 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 proposed project. All narrative sections of the full application should be single spaced and consist of the elements described in Section IV.B, under the “Content” paragraph.

CONTENT: Applications 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/student-comp-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 management plan (if applicable), and letters of commitment.

(a) Required Forms. At the time of full application submission, all applicants must 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.):

(i) SF-424, Application for Federal Assistance

(ii) SF-424-A, Budget Information, Non-Construction Programs. Be sure to breakout the 1st year and all subsequent years in Section B of the SF424A

(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) Only the versions of these forms available in Grants.gov are acceptable.

(b) Title Page. We provide a recommended title page template available at

Notice of Federal Funding Page 12 of 28 https://www.noaa.gov/office-education/elp/grants/student-comp-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; (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.

(c) 15-page Project Description. The project description section must not exceed 15 pages and must follow the requirements in IV.B, Required Elements for Applications. Page limits are inclusive of figures and other visual materials, but exclusive of title pages, budget information, references, work plan/milestone chart, data sharing plan, resumes, description of NOAA involvement, current and pending support, and letters of commitment. A template for the project description can be found online at https://www.noaa.gov/office-education/elp/grants/student-comp-templates-and-models. The proposed project must be described completely. The project description should clearly describe the project's goals, implementation, and management. It should provide a full justification for the project. This section should also include:

(i) The objective(s), expected outcomes (see definition in Section I.A.6), and an explanation for how the activities and expected outcomes support the goal of this funding program and the goals and objectives of the NOAA Education Strategic Plan, as described in section I.A;

(ii) Description of the proposed activities, including: all activities that will be undertaken and/or products that will be created; the need for those products or activities; and the process that will be used to develop, implement, and evaluate all activities and products.

Applications should clearly demonstrate how the proposed project is informed by best practices and should cite appropriate literature references that support the proposed approach.

(iii) A discussion of the project's geographic scale and target audience(s). The application should also describe any efforts that will be undertaken to engage teenage student populations and introduce them to STEM subject areas and associated careers, particularly in the ocean sciences;

(iv) A discussion of how the proposed project incorporates ocean, coastal, Great Lakes, and/or climate sciences and reflects or addresses the Ocean Literacy, Great Lakes Literacy, Climate Literacy, and/or Estuary Principles & Concepts as applicable;

Notice of Federal Funding Page 13 of 28

(v) A discussion of the institutional profiles and capabilities of applicants and partnering institutions;

(vi) A description of how the project will incorporate NOAA assets into the project activities (see definition in Section I.A.6; for a partial listing of NOAA assets, see https://www.noaa.gov/office-education/grants/noaa-assets);

(vii) A description of how the project activities will be evaluated for their effectiveness in meeting stated project goals and objectives as well as the goal of this funding opportunity.

Also discuss who will carry out the evaluation, and, if the evaluator is part of the applicant institution, verify that he/she is not otherwise substantially involved in the project. See Section I.A.4 for further guidance on project evaluation;

(viii) A description of the qualifications and capabilities of the personnel that will be involved in the project; and

(ix) A description of how project results will be disseminated beyond the audience immediately involved in the activities of the project and how awareness and use of NOAA resources will increase.

(d) Description of NOAA Involvement in Project. Describe the involvement of any NOAA partners in the project, including the personnel involved and the activities and tasks that they will undertake. If there is no NOAA partner, this must be clearly indicated on a separate page under a heading, "Description of NOAA Involvement in Project". There is no page limit for this element.

(e) Proposed Work Plan/Milestone Chart. In a chronological fashion, indicate the tasks to be completed by the applicant and other project partners, including specific project deliverables.

Provide a timeline of major tasks and potential outcomes covering the duration of the proposed project, including project evaluation. The tasks should relate both to the budget and to the intended deliverables or activities. There is no page limit for this element. Make sure milestones are broken out per year.

(f) Brief Resumes. For all Principal Investigators (PIs) and Co-Principal Investigators (co- PIs) listed on the title pages, provide resumes of no more than 3 pages per person that include a list of professional and academic credentials. Resumes of additional key personnel from applicant institutions and project partners are optional but recommended, as this will help reviewers to assess the applicants' qualifications.

(g) Current and Pending Support. Describe all current and pending Federal and non-Federal funding, including application(s) to this funding opportunity, for all PIs and co-PIs listed on the title pages of the application. The capability of the designated PIs and co-PIs to complete the proposed work in light of present commitments to other projects must be assessable.

Notice of Federal Funding Page 14 of 28

Therefore, please list the percentage of time the individuals have committed to other Federal or non-Federal grant-funded projects, and grant applications currently in review. If any PI or Co-PI has no current or pending funding, this must be clearly indicated on a separate page under a heading "Current and Pending Support". There is no page limit for this element. A template for summarizing Current and Pending Support can be found online at https://www.noaa.gov/office-education/elp/grants/student-comp-templates-and-models.

(h) Budget. Provide a detailed budget table and budget narrative that clearly identifies and justifies the cost of separable elements of the proposed work. The detailed budget table should include a detailed year-by-year breakdown by category of cost (object class) separated into federal and non-federal shares (if applicable). The budget narrative should be sufficiently detailed to enable a clear understanding of the cost breakdown and calculations used to derive the line item subtotals in each object class of the SF-424A budget. The budget table and narrative should reference the GMD Budget Narrative Guidance found on https://www.noaa.gov/organization/acquisition-grants/how-to-apply.

The budget section of the application should provide enough detail to allow NOAA staff and the review panel to evaluate the level of effort proposed by investigators and staff on the project. The budget must include all anticipated expenses in order to realistically describe for reviewers what resources will be necessary to carry out the project. NOAA staff will review budget information in recommended applications to determine if costs are allowable, allocable, reasonable, and realistic. As appropriate, the narrative and table must provide details on:

- Personnel salaries and fringe benefits (specifying the salary plus the percent of time and/or number of months devoted to the project for every individual to be paid by the project).

- Travel, including costs (i.e., transportation, lodging, meals), a description of anticipated travel, destinations, the number of travelers, and a justification of how the requested travel is directly relevant to the successful completion of the project. If the actual trip details are unknown, applicants should state the basis for the proposed travel costs. Travel costs may be charged on an actual cost basis, on a per diem, or mileage basis in lieu of actual costs incurred, or on a combination of the two, provided the method used is applied to an entire trip and not to selected days of the trip, and results in charges consistent with those normally allowed in like circumstances in the non-federal entity's non-federally-funded activities and in accordance with non-federal entity's written travel reimbursement policies. In the absence of an acceptable, written non-federal entity policy regarding travel costs, the rates and amounts established under 5 U.S.C. 5701-11, (“Travel and Subsistence Expenses; Mileage Allowances”), or by the Administrator of General Services, or by the President (or his or her

Notice of Federal Funding Page 15 of 28 designee) pursuant to any provisions of such subchapter must apply to travel under federal awards (48 C.F.R. 31.205-46(a)) Federal travel per diem rates:

http://www.gsa.gov/portal/content/104877.

- Equipment and supplies, if applicable. See 2 C.F.R. §200.313 and See 2 C.F.R. §200.314 for additional guidance on equipment and supplies costs.

-Contractual costs. It is encouraged that applicants provide separate budgets for each contract, but necessary for each contract over $10,000, to determine whether proposed costs are reasonable, necessary, allowable, and allocable. Describe products or services to be obtained and indicate the applicability or necessity of each to the project. Provide both the annual (for multi-year awards) and total for contractual. Do not incorporate contractual indirect costs under the indirect costs line item for the applicant/grantee on the SF-424A or budget narrative. A contract means a legal instrument by which a non-Federal entity purchases goods or services needed to carry out the project or program under a Federal award, per §200.22. Procurement standards are identified in §200.317-200.326. Procurement transactions must be conducted in a manner providing full and open competition consistent with the standards identified in §200.319.

- Other direct costs, including printing, publications, evaluations, and communication expenses as well as sub-awards to project partners. Applicants should provide the same amount of budget detail for any sub-awards as they did for the applicant institution (broken down by the categories shown on the SF-424A form). Applicants should indicate the basis for the cost and price estimates in budget description for each sub-award. The budget description should describe activities to occur and/or products to be developed, and indicate the applicability or necessity of each to the project. All sub-awards must be consistent with the requirements of 2 C.F.R. §§ 200.330-200.332.

- Indirect costs, if applicable. As defined at 2 C.F.R. § 200.56, indirect costs, which are sometimes referred to as facilities and administrative (F&A) costs, are those costs incurred for a common or joint purpose benefiting more than one cost objective, and not readily assignable to the cost objectives specifically being benefited without an effort that is disproportionate to the results achieved. Indirect costs may include costs for basic operational functions, including lights, water, and insurance. If indirect costs are included, the negotiated rate must be requested, and the application must include a copy of the current, approved negotiated indirect cost agreement with the federal government. Indirect-cost-rate-agreement documentation is required for sub-awardees and indirect cost rates at the negotiated levels should be paid by the primary awardee. If an applicant has not previously established an indirect cost rate with a federal agency, they may choose to negotiate a rate

Notice of Federal Funding Page 16 of 28 with the Department of Commerce or use the de minimis indirect cost rate of 10% of modified total direct costs (as allowable under 2 C.F.R. § 200.414). The negotiation and approval of a rate is subject to the procedures required by NOAA and the Department of Commerce Standard Terms and Conditions. The NOAA contact for indirect or facilities and administrative costs is: Lamar Revis, Grants Officer NOAA Grants Management Division 1325 East West Highway, 9th Floor Silver Spring, Maryland 20910 lamar.revis@noaa.gov

Applicants should include funding for project evaluation in their project 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.

If appropriate, include in the budget narrative a description of any resources or equipment that will be provided from other sources to support this project and complement the financial support NOAA may provide through this award. See http://www.ago.noaa.gov/grants/training.html for guidance on your budget narrative from NOAA’s Grants Management Division. See https://www.noaa.gov/office-education/elp/grants/environmental-literacy-grant-templates-and-models for a budget narrative template and model and a budget table model.

There is no page limit for this element.

(i) Data Management Plan. We anticipate that most proposed projects under this funding announcement will not involve the collection of environmental data. If no environmental data will be collected/created as part of the project, then this element of the application should consist of a single statement (on a separate page, under the heading "Data Management Plan") indicating that no data will be collected/created as part of this project.

However, if an applicant's project does involve the collection of environmental data, the applicant should consult Section VI.B.8 (Data Sharing) for further instructions.

Environmental data are defined as recorded and derived observations and measurements of the physical, chemical, biological, geological, and geophysical properties and conditions of the oceans, atmosphere, space environment, sun, and solid earth, as well as correlative data, such as socio-economic data, related documentation, and metadata. Data and information collected for the project evaluation are not considered environmental data and information.

Furthermore, environmental data that are not collected as part of a research project or ongoing environmental monitoring program do not require a management plan.

(j) References Cited. If literature references are cited in the project narrative, then a References Cited section should be included. Each reference should include the names of all authors in the same sequence in which they appear in the publication, the article title, publication or publication title, volume number, page numbers, and year of publication.

While there is no established page limit, this section must include bibliographic citations

Notice of Federal Funding Page 17 of 28 only and must not be used to provide parenthetical information outside the 15-page project description. If no references are cited in the application, this element of the application should consist of a single statement indicating that there are no references cited.

(k) Letters of Commitment. If substantive partnerships are described in the project description, letters of commitment should be provided. Letters of commitment are important for demonstrating the concrete involvement of project partners and are reviewed as part of the application. Partner institutions that will be participating in project activities are strongly encouraged to submit letters of commitment indicating their interest in the topic and format of the proposed activities, their willingness to participate, and how the project complements their strategic priorities.

(l) NEPA Questionnaire. The Office of Education has determined that applicants do not need to provide answers to the NOAA NEPA Questionnaire at this time.

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

To enable the use of a universal identifier and to enhance the quality of information available to the public as required by the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (31 USC 6101 note) to the extent applicable, any application awarded in response to this announcement will be required to use the System for Award Management (SAM), which may be accessed online at https://www.sam.gov/SAM/. Applicants are also required to use the Dun and Bradstreet Universal Numbering System (DUNS), as identified in OMB guidance, 2 CFR Part 25, which may be accessed at https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=a5df2131dc2fa8f3be7f54d2bab65086&mc=true&node=pt2.1.25&rgn=div5

D. Submission Dates and Times

The deadline for applications is 11:59:59 pm Eastern Daylight Time on April 17, 2020 (note that Office of Education staff will only be available to answer questions until 5 PM EDT). Applications must be submitted online through Grants.gov; no hard copy or email applications will be accepted. Late applications are neither reviewed nor considered for funding. Full applications submitted through Grants.gov will be accompanied by an automated receipt of the date and time of submission. For applications submitted through Grants.gov, there will be two automated email receipts sent to the application submitter with the date and time of submission (the first email confirms receipt, the second email confirms that there are no errors with your application submission and that it has been forwarded to NOAA for further processing). If both email confirmation receipts are not provided within two (2) days of application submission, contact the Grants.gov Help Desk and oed.grants@noaa.gov. PLEASE NOTE: 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

Notice of Federal Funding Page 18 of 28 timeline. Applicants are responsible for ensuring that all required elements have been appropriately submitted before the deadline.

E. Intergovernmental Review

Applications submitted to this funding opportunity are not subject to Executive Order 12372, Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs.

F. Funding Restrictions

There are no funding restrictions.

G. Other Submission Requirements

Please refer to important information in Submission Dates and Times above to help ensure your application is received on time.

Applications must be submitted through Grants.gov APPLY (http://www.grants.gov). Hard copy and/or email application submissions will not be accepted.

V. Application Review Information

A. Evaluation Criteria

(1) Importance and/or relevance and applicability of proposed project to the program goals (25 points): This criterion ascertains whether there is intrinsic value in the proposed work and/or relevance to NOAA’s Federal, regional, or local activities. The proposal should address how well the proposed project addresses NOAA’s stated objectives and priorities.

Reviewers will evaluate:

- How well the proposed project meets the program objective described in I.A.

- How well the project is aligned with NOAA's Education Strategic Plan (https://www.noaa.gov/education/explainers/noaa-education-strategic-plan);

- Whether the project will introduce high school students to STEM topic areas and associated careers related to the ocean sciences through an academic competition and related activities;

- The extent to which the project incorporates additional learning experiences for student participants, their peers and their teachers, such as internships and field or laboratory research experiences.

- The extent to which ocean, coastal, Great Lakes, weather and/or climate science topics are incorporated into the project activities and content;

- The extent to which the project will infuse the Ocean Literacy, Great Lakes Literacy, Climate Literacy, Atmospheric Science Literacy Essential Principles and Fundamental

Notice of Federal Funding Page 19 of 28

Concepts, and/or Estuary Principles & Concepts, if applicable; and

- The extent to which NOAA assets are utilized and NOAA entities and scientists and/or other personnel are involved in the project.

(2) Technical/scientific merit (35 points): This assesses whether the approach is technically sound and/or innovative, if the methods are appropriate, and whether there are clear project goals and objectives. Reviewers will evaluate:

- The completeness and adequacy of detail in the project description including clearly stated goals and measurable objectives;

- The overall technical feasibility of the project, including whether the proposed project uses appropriate methods to achieve project outcomes and is likely to be implemented on the scale described;

- The likelihood the project will be implemented on a regional and national scale impacting 2000 or more high school students annually in at least 20 states;

- The likelihood of meeting milestones and achieving anticipated results in the time proposed; and

- Whether there are appropriate mechanisms to evaluate the project in meeting the anticipated outcomes, covering both the quality of the experience for the participants as well as the impact of the project on them.

(3) Overall Qualifications of Applicants (25 points): This ascertains whether the applicant possesses the necessary education, experience, training, facilities, and administrative resources to accomplish the project. Reviewers will evaluate:

- The relevancy of the qualifications and demonstrated ability within their areas of expertise of the applicants, of key personnel who would receive funds from this program, and of key personnel of project’s partners;

- The applicant’s previous experience in managing educational programs that involve extensive partnerships in order to accomplish program goals;

- Whether there is a clear delineation of responsibilities of the project’s key personnel and whether there are adequate communication mechanisms in place for coordinating among project partners;

- The likelihood that the participating institution(s) have the appropriate resources to carry out the proposed activities and that applicant(s) have the ability to complete the proposed project successfully; and

- The extent to which the project partners are contributing meaningfully to the project, including articulation of activities in letters of commitment.

(4) Project Costs (10 points): The budget is evaluated to determine if it is realistic and commensurate with the project needs and time-frame. Reviewers will evaluate:

Notice of Federal Funding Page 20 of 28

- The adequacy of the proposed resources to accomplish the proposed work within the indicated time-frame;

- Whether the budget is sufficient for the scope of the…