Important Dates:
October 3, 2023, 1:00PM PT: Optional Informational Webinar (recorded)
October 20, 2023, 5:00PM PT: CASG Partnership form due
January 31, 2024, 8:59PM PT: Letters of Intent due to sg.grants@noaa.gov
March 27, 2024, 8:59PM PT: Full Proposals submitted to grants.gov
National Sea Grant anticipates having approximately $16,000,000 to fund approximately 5-12 projects of up to three years' duration. We expect the average project size will be between $1,000,000 and $2,000,000; however, applications may request up to $3,000,000 in federal funds 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-2024-23706
This funding opportunity requires partnering with a relevant Sea Grant program. All applicants must complete a partnership form (linked below) by Oct 20th, 5:00PM PT to help coordinate proposals with California Sea Grant Extension personnel. See more details below.
Webinar
Here is the recorded presentation as well as the presentation slides and a Google form where you can send in questions for the National Sea Grant team to respond to. They will respond in the form of a Q&A document that will accompany all the above information on their website.
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 in fiscal years 2024 and 2025, Sea Grant anticipates approximately $16,000,000 will be available to support innovative, transformational research to application (R2A) projects that will address the prevention and/or removal of marine debris, with award periods of three years. “Research to application” or R2A refers to research and development projects that transition into tangible outcomes and outputs. Examples include (but are not limited to) new prototypes, products, processes, or tools.
Proposals may address (but are not limited to) innovative or non-proven interception and/or removal technologies, reusable systems, microplastics, and/or nanoplastics. Successful proposals will build upon and extend existing knowledge and efforts related to marine debris; support broad, innovative research to address critical gaps with respect to marine debris; make that information available to communities and stakeholders; include Sea Grant education and extension professionals, community representatives, government, academic, non- governmental, tribal, and industry partners, as appropriate; and proactively incorporate principles of diversity, equity, inclusion, justice, and accessibility at every level of the work.
Proposals must include funding for Sea Grant education and/or extension personnel as collaborators. Community, government, academic, non-government, and industry stakeholder participation/involvement in projects is strongly encouraged. Applications DO NOT require non-federal match. However, applicants are strongly encouraged to combine NOAA federal funding with formal matching contributions and informal leverage from a broad range of sources in the public and private sectors. To this end, applicants should note that cost sharing and leverage of other funds is an element considered in the evaluation criteria.
Fully integrated teams of collaborators noted above must submit proposals with a Sea Grant program (Sea Grant Colleges, Institutions, or Coherent Area Programs) as a partner. A Sea Grant program may participate in more than one proposal. Collaborations among Sea Grant programs are encouraged, as appropriate. Please note that it is not a requirement that investigators, including the PI, are part of a Sea Grant program. Contact information for each program can be found at https://seagrant.noaa.gov/About. All 34 Sea Grant programs are eligible to serve as partners and to submit applications. If you need further assistance in identifying a program to partner with please contact the National Sea Grant Office via email at oar.sg.marine-debris@noaa.gov.
This is one of two National Sea Grant federal funding opportunities in support of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) to address the prevention and removal of marine debris. This competition will support original, innovative, and transformational marine debris prevention and removal research that pushes the boundaries of existing technologies and approaches, changes the current landscape of marine debris mitigation, and ties that research to tangible outputs. This competition will also advance the goal of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Justice40 Initiative. Established by Executive Order 14008 on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad, the Justice40 Initiative aims to provide 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain federal investments, such as climate, clean energy, and other areas, flow to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized and overburdened by pollution and underinvestment.
A second opportunity NOAA-OAR-SG-2022-23704, the “National Sea Grant BIL Marine Debris Community Action Coalitions,” is available for creating coalitions among areas, groups, or communities, especially those that have been systemically underserved or disadvantaged, to address marine debris prevention and removal.
Full details on requirements for submitting to this funding opportunity are detailed in the full announcement (NOAA-OAR-SG-2024-23706). 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).
PROGRAM OBJECTIVE
To strengthen efforts in marine debris prevention and mitigation, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), has directed NOAA’s National Sea Grant College Program to execute $50.0 million over five years for the prevention and removal of marine debris. While plastics are a key focus, this work will also address other relevant types of marine debris, as appropriate. This work will complement broader NOAA efforts, particularly, the National Ocean Service’s Marine Debris Program, focused on active removal, cleanup, mitigation, and prevention of marine debris. Each Sea Grant program will determine and prioritize local needs and research-driven solutions that fully integrate the needs of historically underserved communities as defined by Executive Order 13985 (Section 2(b)).
This competition will support innovative research to application (R2A) projects that will address the prevention and/or removal of marine debris and provide the potential for transformational behavior change. “Research to application” or R2A refers to research that transitions into tangible outputs. Example outputs include (but are not limited to) inventive prototypes, commercial products, specialized services, or cutting-edge tools. Big ideas and risk taking are encouraged. Planning and capacity building activities are allowed but must accompany subsequent implementation activities; the end result of these projects cannot be solely academic or non-tangible outputs (e.g., scientific publications, awareness/training). A strong application will clearly outline how the project will produce new and effective deliverables that change the landscape for marine debris prevention and/or removal. Projects will communicate these outputs to the public (communities, stakeholders, industry, etc.) with the aim of addressing critical gaps with respect to marine debris. Proposals may address (but are not limited to) innovative on non-proven interception and/or removal technologies (i.e. prototype devices that require additional research and development prior to deployment, and/or need to be tested in new environments), reusable systems, microplastics, and/or nanoplastics. See Program Priorities (below or Section I.B. in NOFO) for more details.
Competitive projects will include funding for Sea Grant education and extension professionals and display a diverse coalition of partners including (but not limited to) community representatives, stakeholder groups, and industry collaborators. Projects will proactively incorporate principles of diversity, equity, inclusion, justice, and accessibility at every level of the work.
Principal investigators of proposals selected for funding will be required to participate in annual National Sea Grant Marine Debris meetings to share results of work conducted, discuss challenges, synthesize outputs, and to plan next steps. Cost sharing, leveraged funds, and in-kind support will make projects more competitive. Applicants are strongly encouraged to combine NOAA federal funding with formal matching contributions and informal leverage from a broad range of sources in the public and private sectors. To this end, applicants should note that cost sharing and leverage of other funds is an element considered in the evaluation criteria.
PROGRAM PRIORITIES
This competition will fund proposals that invest in transformative marine debris research to application (R2A) projects that will show clear and measurable outcomes and applications for marine debris prevention and removal. Projects should have a clear pathway for research or ideas to transition into application, operation, or commercialization by relevant stakeholders, and have the potential for long-term utilization. Proposal topics should support priorities laid out in relevant documents, such as the NAS 2021 report, Section 132 Draft Report on Microfiber Pollution, Draft National Strategy to Prevent Plastic Pollution, relevant regional marine debris action plans (https://marinedebris.noaa.gov/emergency-response-guides-and-regional-action-plans#pub-term-145), strategic plans, and/or other documents, such as:
- Development of innovative or non-proven removal and/or interception technologies (i.e., prototype devices that require additional research and development prior to deployment, and/or need to be tested in new environments) and reusable systems that prevent debris from entering the marine environment.
- Innovative solutions for mitigation and clean-up of abandoned, lost, or discarded fishing gear and including sustainable disposal methods and/or recycling of end of life gear.
- Microplastics, nanoplastics, and microfibers, including:
- Understanding the effects of microplastics, nanoplastics, and microfibers on human health and marine biota (including immune responses, effects on cell growth and tissue formation, and translocation once inside humans or biota
- Mitigation of the effects of microplastics, nanoplastics, and microfibers, such as:
- Mitigation of microfibers during laundering
- Mitigation of microplastics via green infrastructure (rain gardens, bioswales, other bioretention options)
- Potential mitigation options for stormwater and/or wastewater
- Potential mitigation options for biosolids
- Potential mitigation or best practices for reducing microplastics and microfibers from construction related debris, geotextiles, and agricultural debris.
- Detection methods for microplastics, nanoplastics, and microfibers in products, organisms, and/or the environment.
- Improvements to wastewater treatment that eliminate microplastics and nanoplastics from effluent and sludge.
- Mitigation of the impacts of plastics in food webs (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine 2021. Reckoning with the U.S. Role in Global Ocean Plastic Waste).
This competition may also fund current awardees from the FY22 National Sea Grant Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) Marine Debris Challenge Competition. These applicants should propose activities that build on their current award and focus on scaling, operationalizing, and/or commercializing their prototype, product, process, or tool.
Proposed projects should also:
- Be responsive to state, local, and regional needs within a national framework (see California priorities below).
- Leverage existing Sea Grant and partner investments and capacities.
- Embed diversity, equity, inclusion, justice, and accessibility (DEIJA) fully into the effort.
- Show how this work will be enhanced through partnerships, including collaboration among Sea Grant programs, with the NOAA Marine Debris Program, and with other appropriate partners.
Proposals should address any of the priorities in this section along with the four principles above to be acceptable for this opportunity.
STATE AND REGIONAL PRIORITIES
Previous work by California Sea Grant, the Ocean Protection Council, and NOAA Marine Debris Program outline state priorities regarding marine debris and microplastics:
2018 California Ocean Litter Prevention Strategy
Statewide Microplastics Strategy
AWARD INFORMATION
Subject to the availability of funding, this announcement describes how eligible applicants should apply for the National Sea Grant IIJA Marine Debris Challenge Competition. Sea Grant anticipates having approximately $16,000,000 to fund approximately 5-12 projects of up to three years' duration. We expect the average project size will be between $1,000,000 and $2,000,000; however, applications may request up to $3,000,000 in federal funds addressing the program priorities.
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 Marine Debris Team, support from National Sea Grant Communication efforts, and annual National Sea Grant Marine Debris meetings.
ELIGIBILITY
ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS
This opportunity is open to any person or group within the United States or its territories, as well as tribal nations within those geographies.
Applicants must submit proposals in partnership with a relevant Sea Grant program. Please note that it is not a requirement that investigators, including the Primary Investigator (PI), are part of a Sea Grant program. California Sea Grant requires prospective collaborators to complete a partnership form by 5PM PT on Oct 20th, 2023 to help coordinate proposals with California Sea Grant Extension personnel.
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.
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
No cost sharing is required for this competition. However, cost sharing, leveraged funds, and in-kind support will make projects more competitive. Applicants are strongly encouraged to combine NOAA federal funding with formal matching contributions and informal leverage from a broad range of sources in the public and private sectors. Community, government, academic, non-government, and industry stakeholder participation/involvement in projects is strongly encouraged through cost sharing, leveraged funds, and/or in-kind match.
SUBMISSION INFORMATION
Full details on requirements for submitting to this funding opportunity are detailed in the full announcement (NOAA-OAR-SG-2024-23706). 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).
PARTNERSHIP FORM
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. After you submit the form, our team will follow-up with you directly. In order to develop meaningful collaboration and proposals, our team anticipates that only a small number of proposed ideas will move forward to the LOI and full proposal stage.
Those interested in applying need to complete this partnership form as soon as possible, and no later than 5:00 PM PT on Oct 20th, 2023. 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
Applicants must submit a letter of intent (LOI) before a full proposal is submitted. Applicants that do not submit a LOI will not be eligible to submit a full proposal. Letters of Intent (LOIs) will allow the NSGO to gauge interest and topics that may be submitted.
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-2024-23706.
To be eligible for awards, LOIs must be received via email by the Program Managers (sg.grants@noaa.gov) by 8:59PM PT on Wednesday, January 31, 2024.
FULL PROPOSAL
Full Proposal requirements are outlined in the Notice of Federal Funding Opportunity: NOAA-OAR-SG-2024-23706.
Complete applications must be received and validated by grants.gov by the deadline of 8:59PM PT on Wednesday, March 27, 2024.
CONTACTS
Questions about the Partnership Form or California Sea Grant: sgproposal@ucsd.edu
Questions about Budgets: sgbudget@ucsd.edu
Questions about the Funding Opportunity: sg.grants@noaa.gov
ADDITIONAL MARINE DEBRIS FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
These two Sea Grant BIL NOFOs complement two NOAA Marine Debris Program funding opportunities (NOAA-NOS-ORR-20242007993 “FY24 NOAA Marine Debris Removal under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law”; and NOAA-NOS-ORR-2024-2007991 “FY24 NOAA Marine Debris Interception Technologies under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law”) that will fund large-scale marine debris removal and interception projects.