Economic, Social, and Political Development of the Territories

The Office of Insular Affairs carries out the Secretary of the Interior's responsibilities for U.S.-affiliated insular areas. These include the territories of American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), Guam, and the U.S.

The Office of Insular Affairs (OIA) carries out the Secretary's responsibilities for U.S.-affiliated insular areas. These include the territories of American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI). Residents of these U.S. territories are U.S. citizens or U.S. nationals. Additionally, OIA administers and oversees Federal assistance to three freely associated states (FAS): the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), and the Republic of Palau (Palau). The territories are an integral part of the fabric of America, and the freely associated states, while independent countries, are uniquely interwoven with the United States in terms of a shared history, ongoing partnership, and a shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific. Each of the territories and freely associated states are unique, yet their economies are all small, isolated, and dependent on one or two main sources of income. The Office of Insular Affairs has an important role to play in understanding the nuances of the Federal government's interrelationship with each of the insular areas. OIA facilitates coordination of Federal policies and programs to best serve the insular areas and utilizes its own assistance programs to fill gaps not fulfilled by other Federal programs to meet the needs of the insular areas. OIA programs are purposely designed to offer the flexibility needed to respond to urgent, immediate needs in the insular areas.

U.S. Territories and possessions (includes institutions of higher education and hospitals) Eligible applicants are the U.S. territories of American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands; the state of Hawaii; the Freely Associated States of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau; and any non-profit institutions/organizations whose missions directly benefit the seven insular areas.

Beneficiaries are the U.S. territories of American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands; the state of Hawaii; and the Freely Associated States of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau.

Financial assistance is limited to the U.S. territories of the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Freely Associated States which are Palau, Micronesia and the Marshall Islands, and to non-profit organizations whose missions directly benefit these seven insular areas. Financial assistance is used for a variety of activities including Technical Assistance, Maintenance Assistance, Coral Reef and Natural Resources(CRNR) (including invasive species mitigation efforts), Energizing Insular Communities (EIC) and the Brown Treesnake Program (BTS). Technical Assistance priorities include disaster planning and response, energy production, natural resources, health initiatives, and health IT systems, public safety / emergencies, data improvements, invasive species management, accountability, financial management, economic development, education, management control initiative, capacity building, and information technology. Maintenance Assistance funding is used to support, develop, improve, and institutionalize infrastructure maintenance practices in the seven areas. Funding may also be used for minor renovations and critical repairs to infrastructure. CRNR provides funding to improve the health of coral reef ecosystems, to improve coastal resilience, to protect other natural resources, and to eradicate, mitigate invasive aquatic and terrestrial species. EICccessible in every state and territory of the Nation. The EIC program provides grant funding for energy strategies that reduce reliance on imported foreign fuels, reduce the cost of electricity, and improve the performance of energy infrastructure and overall energy efficiency and reliability in the territories. BTS program provides funding to to prevent the migration of the BTS from Guam to other United States jurisdictions; to suppress and control the BTS on Guam to support the restoration of the island's native ecosystems; to avoid electrical outages to civilian or military facilities caused by the snakes; and to ultimately develop the capability to eradicate the BTS from Guam.

Please see annual funding announcements for program specific restrictions.

The period of performance for OIA grants is dependent on the activity to be funded and is specified in the grant terms and conditions.

An environmental impact statement or an environmental impact assessment may be required depending on the project grant. All proposed projects shall be reviewed for applicability.

The following consideration will be used in determining projects to be funded: (1) Directed appropriations, (2) Relevance to program priorities, and (3) Availability of funds. Competitive criteria are detailed in the funding opportunity announcements on Grants.gov under CFDA 15.875.

A grant award is made to an eligible entity in the specific amounts and for the specific purposes set forth in the annual Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriation Act signed by the President. Grants are awarded and distributed through GrantSolutions.gov.

Competitive discretionary grant awards are made generally between April and September 15 of each fiscal year. The award process begins once full year appropriations are received.

Grantees may apply for period of performance extensions at any point in the active grant lifecycle.

Final award decisions are not subject to appeal; however, the Office of Insular Affairs will provide all applicants with information on why their proposal was not selected for award.