Important Dates:
January 3, 2024, 5:00PM PT: CASG Partnership form due
January 17, 2024, 8:59PM PT: Letters of Intent due to sg.grants@noaa.gov
April 3, 2024, 8:59PM PT: Full Proposals submitted to grants.gov
FUNDING OPPORTUNITY summary
National Sea Grant anticipates having between $5,000,000 to $6,000,000 for research projects and programs that will develop and refine methods, protocols, techniques, and/or strategies to enhance the production (e.g. performance, growth, survival, yield) of one or more life stages of aquaculture species with the overall goal of improving the efficiency, output, and profitability of commercial coastal, marine, or Great Lakes region aquaculture businesses. Proposals are sought that will support broad, non-proprietary research to address issues and/or barriers to aquaculture production; make that information available to aquaculture businesses; and preferably include participation and involvement of Sea Grant extension personnel and industry stakeholders.
Funds will support approximately 4-12 projects nationwide for up to three years in the following categories:
- Up to $250,000 in federal funds can be requested by individual entities (e.g. a single individual, group, or institution) for research projects addressing the program priorities.
- Up to $1,200,000 in federal funds can be requested for projects proposing collaborative, multi-partner efforts addressing the program priorities.
The anticipated start date is September 1, 2024, with projects to be completed by August 31, 2027.
For complete information please review the Notice of Federal Funding Opportunity: NOAA-OAR-SG-2024-24677
This funding opportunity states that strong applications will preferably include participation and involvement of Sea Grant extension personnel. All applicants interested in partnering with California Sea Grant must complete a partnership form by January 3rd, 5:00 PM PT to help coordinate proposals with California Sea Grant Extension personnel. Find more details and the link below.
FUNDING OPPORTUNITY OVERVIEW
The National Sea Grant College Program was enacted by the U.S. Congress in 1966 (amended in 2020, Public Law 116-221) to support leveraged federal and state partnerships that harness the intellectual capacity of the nation’s universities and research institutions to solve problems and generate opportunities in coastal communities.
Subject to the availability of funding, Sea Grant anticipates $5,000,000 to $6,000,000 will be available for research projects and programs that will develop and refine methods, protocols, techniques, and/or strategies to enhance the production (e.g. performance, growth, survival, yield) of one or more life stages of aquaculture species (described below) with the overall goal of improving the efficiency, output, and profitability of commercial coastal, marine, or Great Lakes region aquaculture businesses. Successful proposals will address topical needs (described below) and integrate research and extension. Proposals are sought that will support broad, non-proprietary research to address issues and/or barriers to aquaculture production; make that information available to aquaculture businesses; and preferably include participation and involvement of Sea Grant extension personnel and industry stakeholders.
These investments are consistent with Sea Grant’s focus area of Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture (SFA) and the Sea Grant Network’s 10-year Aquaculture Vision, both which support NOAA and Department of Commerce aquaculture goals.This opportunity is open to: any individual; any public or private corporation, partnership, or other association or entity (including any Sea Grant College, Sea Grant Institute or other institution); or any State, political subdivision of a State, Tribal government or agency or officer thereof. Federal agencies and their personnel are not permitted to receive federal funding under this competition; however, federal scientists and other employees can serve as uncompensated partners or co-Principal Investigators on applications. Federal labs and offices can also make available specialized expertise, facilities or equipment to applicants but cannot be compensated under this competition for their use, nor can the value of such assets be used as match.
PROGRAM OBJECTIVE
This opportunity is open to: any individual; any public or private corporation, partnership, or other association or entity (including any Sea Grant College, Sea Grant Institute or other institution); or any State, political subdivision of a State, Tribal government or agency or officer thereof.
The U.S. has a goal to sustainably increase aquaculture production in marine systems (ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes) while increasing the economic resilience and nutritional security of communities across the country. Farming of finfish, shellfish, sea vegetables/algae, and other aquaculture provides great potential in the U.S. for increasing the supply of ocean and Great Lakes-sourced products while supporting and growing rural and coastal communities and economies.
This competition ("National Aquaculture Initiative: Enhancing Production of Coastal, Marine, and Great Lakes Aquaculture Species," NOFO number: NOAA-OAR-SG-2024-24677) focuses on enhancing research and programs that will develop and refine methods, protocols, techniques, and/or strategies to enhance the production of one or more life stages of aquaculture species (described below). The overall goal of this competition is to enhance the production of aquaculture species to improve the efficiency, output, and profitability of commercial coastal, marine, and the Great Lakes region aquaculture businesses.
Strong applications will address program priorities described below and will integrate research and extension. Proposals are sought that will support broad, non-proprietary research to address critical issues and/or barriers with respect to the production of aquaculture species; make that information available to U.S. aquaculture businesses; and preferably include participation and involvement of Sea Grant extension personnel and industry stakeholders (contact information for Sea Grant Programs can be found at: https://seagrant.noaa.gov/About). If further assistance is needed in identifying Sea Grant extension personnel to partner with, please contact one of the Sea Grant Aquaculture Managers listed below.
Principal investigators and/or project team members of proposals selected for funding will be required to participate in an annual National Sea Grant Aquaculture Symposium to be held at a future aquaculture meeting venue to share results of work conducted.
PROGRAM PRIORITIES
An essential means of improving and optimizing the efficiency, output, and profitability of coastal, marine, and Great Lakes aquaculture businesses is through enhancing the production (e.g. growth, yield, survival) of the aquatic species being cultured. This competition is focused on funding research projects and programs that will develop and refine methods, protocols, techniques, and/or strategies to enhance the production of one or more life stages (e.g. reproduction, hatchery, nursery, ongrowing to market) of aquaculture species.
Projects that focus on the following aquaculture categories and organisms in both marine and freshwater are eligible for this competition and include:
- Microalgae and macroalgae (seaweed)
- Molluscs
- Crustaceans
- Ornamentals
- Baitfish
- Finfish species for food production
- Misc. invertebrates
Proposals that focus on addressing production challenges of species that are currently being produced or have good potential for commercialization in coastal, marine, or the Great Lakes region environments are preferred.
Proposals may address one or more topical areas of research including:
- Reproduction and/or selective breeding
- Genetics
- Larviculture/early development
- Nursery production
- Ongrowing
- Disease/health management
- Nutrition
- Physiology
- Production systems/engineering/automation
- Production methods/ strategies/ technologies
Successful proposals will:
- Demonstrate a clear understanding of current limitations and research needs regarding the production of eligible aquaculture species.
- Increase the knowledge base of various aspects of enhancing the production of aquaculture species with the overall goal of improving the efficiency, output, and profitability of commercial coastal, marine, and Great Lakes region aquaculture businesses.
- Involve Sea Grant extension personnel and relevant activities (e.g., education, outreach, transfer of technology and results) to build on past research and inform industry stakeholders and others involved in U.S. aquaculture, including funding (federal or match), as appropriate. Contact information for Sea Grant Programs can be found at: https://seagrant.noaa.gov/About. If further assistance is needed in identifying Sea Grant extension personnel to partner with please contact one of the Sea Grant Aquaculture Managers listed below in NOFO Section VII. Agency Contacts.
- Involve industry stakeholder participation.
- Engagement with and support of investigators and/or students through partnerships with Minority Serving Institutions is encouraged.
- Engagement of underserved audiences and communities is encouraged.
The above criteria should lead to the selection of proposals that: 1) enhance the production (e.g. performance, growth, survival, yield) of the aquaculture species being studied; 2) demonstrate that the work proposed will meaningfully improve the efficiency, output, and profitability of commercial coastal, marine, or Great Lakes region aquaculture businesses; and 3) demonstrate a plan to extend the results of work to industry stakeholders and others involved in U.S. aquaculture.
AWARD INFORMATION
Subject to the availability of funding, this announcement describes how eligible applicants should apply for this funding opportunity entitled “National Aquaculture Initiative: Enhancing Production of Coastal, Marine, and Great Lakes Aquaculture Species.” The National Sea Grant Office (NSGO) anticipates approximately $5,000,000-$6,000,000 in FY2024 federal funds will be available in order to support approximately 4-12 projects nationwide for up to three years in the following categories:
- Up to $250,000 in federal funds can be requested by individual entities (e.g. a single individual, group, or institution) for research projects addressing the program priorities.
- Up to $1,200,000 in federal funds can be requested for projects proposing collaborative, multi-partner efforts addressing the program priorities.
Applications require the standard 50% non-federal match for Sea Grant projects.
There is no guarantee that funds will be available to make awards, or that any application will be selected for funding. If an applicant incurs any costs prior to receiving an award agreement signed by an authorized NOAA official, it does so at its own risk of not being selected or of these costs not being included in a subsequent award. NOAA and DOC will not be responsible for any incurred project costs if a project fails to receive full funding.
The anticipated start date is September 1, 2024, with projects to be completed by August 31, 2027.
The funding instrument is a cooperative agreement to an eligible institution. A cooperative agreement is used when substantial involvement of the federal government during performance of the proposed work is anticipated. The nature of the substantial involvement includes strategic engagement with the National Sea Grant Aquaculture Team, support from National Sea Grant communication efforts and requires that award recipients follow reporting requirements and participate in a future Sea Grant Aquaculture Research Symposium.
ELIGIBILITY
ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS
The following entities are eligible and encouraged to participate in this funding opportunity: any individual; any public or private corporation, partnership, or other association or entity (including any Sea Grant College, Sea Grant Institute or other institution); or any State, political subdivision of a State, Tribal government or agency or officer thereof. Federal agencies and their personnel are not permitted to receive federal funding under this competition; however, federal scientists and other employees can serve as uncompensated partners or co-Principal Investigators on applications. Federal labs and offices can also make available specialized expertise, facilities or equipment to applicants but cannot be compensated under this competition for their use, nor can the value of such assets be used as match.
The National Sea Grant College Program champions diversity, equity, inclusion, justice, and accessibility (DEIJA) by recruiting, retaining, and preparing a diverse workforce, and proactively engaging and serving the diverse populations of coastal communities. Sea Grant is committed to building inclusive research, extension, communication, and education programs that serve people with unique backgrounds, circumstances, needs, perspectives, and ways of thinking. We encourage applicants of all ages, races, ethnicities, national origins, gender identities, sexual orientations, disabilities, cultures, religions, citizenship types, marital statuses, education levels, job classifications, veteran status types, income, and socioeconomic status types to apply for this opportunity.
COST SHARING OR MATCHING REQUIREMENT
Non-federal matching funds equal to at least 50 percent of the federal funding request must be provided unless a waiver justified by statute is granted, such as the waiver for insular areas granted by the Department of Commerce pursuant to 48 U.S.C. 1469a. If you believe your application may qualify for a waiver, please contact the National Sea Grant Office before submission to discuss it. The cumulative match at the end of each year of the grant must not fall below 50 percent of the cumulative federal request up to that point. In-kind contributions directly supporting this application may count towards this matching requirement.
SUBMISSION INFORMATION
Full details on requirements for submitting to this funding opportunity are detailed in the full announcement (NOAA-OAR-SG-2024-24677). Additional guidance and tips on how best to prepare an application are provided in the Sea Grant General Application Guide available at (https://seagrant.noaa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/SeaGrantGeneralApplicationGuide.pdf).
IMPORTANT NOTE: This proposal package will be using a different set of forms than Sea Grant programs have completed in the past. Instead of the “SF424 NOAA Standard Non-Construction Application Package” of forms, this application will include the “SF424 NOAA Research & Related (R&R) Forms Package.” While many of the forms may be familiar, please pay special attention to the headings and instructions in this section.
PARTNERSHIP FORM
Per the NOFO, strong applications will preferably include participation and involvement of Sea Grant extension personnel. All applicants interested in partnering with California Sea Grant must complete a partnership form to help coordinate proposals with California Sea Grant Extension personnel. Applicants will be asked to provide an overview of their idea(s) for proposals to help our staff understand your interests. You can submit this form multiple times for separate proposal ideas. Our evaluation criteria for reviewing submissions is detailed in the partnership form.
Once we have received and reviewed your form response, California Sea Grant will reach out to you directly with any follow up and notify you of our intent to move forward in the application process or not. If we choose to partner with you, a team meeting will be scheduled (likely the week of 1/8/24) to walk through the project idea, proposal requirements, and begin LOI and full proposal drafting. Please note if California Sea Grant chooses not to partner with you, this does not disqualify you from submitting a LOI.
Those interested in partnering with California Sea Grant need to complete this partnership form as soon as possible, and no later than 5:00 PM PT on January 3rd, 2024. Due to the timeline and high interest, CASG cannot consider requests for partnership outside of submissions via the partnership form by the specified deadline.
LETTER OF INTENT
Letters of Intent (LOI) will allow the National Sea Grant Office to gauge interest and topics that may be submitted. While LOIs are required, they will not be used to decide whether or not a full proposal should be encouraged. All applicants submitting a Letter of Intent will be eligible to submit a full proposal.
If California Sea Grant staff would like to pursue a letter of intent (LOI), they will work directly with the applicant(s) to write and submit the LOI. Full LOI requirements are outlined in the Notice of Federal Funding Opportunity: NOAA-OAR-SG-2024-24677.
To be eligible for full proposal submission, LOIs must be received via email by the Program Managers (oar.hq.sg.aquaculture@noaa.gov) by 5:00 pm (local time of lead submitting entity) January 17, 2024. Contact information for Sea Grant Programs can be found at https://seagrant.noaa.gov/About. If you need further assistance in identifying Sea Grant extension personnel to partner with please contact the National Sea Grant Office at the e-mail address above.
FULL PROPOSAL
Full Proposal requirements are outlined in the Notice of Federal Funding Opportunity: NOAA-OAR-SG-2024-24677.
Complete applications must be received and validated by grants.gov by the deadline of 8:59PM PT on Wednesday, April 3, 2024.
OTHER SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS
Applicant organizations must complete and maintain three registrations to be eligible to apply for or receive an award. These registrations include SAM.gov, Grants.gov, and eRA Commons. All registrations must be completed prior to the application being submitted. The complete registration process for all three systems can take 4 to 6 weeks, so applicants should begin this activity as soon as possible. If an eligible applicant does not have access to the internet, please contact the National Sea Grant Contacts listed in the section below.
CONTACTS
Questions about the Partnership Form or California Sea Grant: sgproposal@ucsd.edu
Questions about Budgets: sgbudget@ucsd.edu
Questions about the Funding Opportunity: Chuck Weirich or Mark Rath, National Sea Grant Office’s aquaculture managers (oar.hq.sg.aquaculture@noaa.gov).