U.S. Coastal Research Program (USCRP) and NOAA Sea Grant: 2022 Notice of Funding Opportunity- Translating Coastal Research into Application
OPEN TO SEA GRANT PROGRAMS. $4,000,000 TOTAL TO FUND APPROXIMATELY 10-20 PROJECTS TOTAL.
**All applicants must complete a partnership form before 12:00 PM PST on Wednesday, June 1st, 2022 to help coordinate proposals with California Sea Grant extension personnel. Details are below.**
Important Dates:
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June 1, 2022: Partnership form due
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June 15, 2022: Letters of intent due
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August 30, 2022: Full proposals due (Note: An LOI must be submitted on time to be eligible to submit a full proposal.)
There are two tiers of projects:
- Tier 1: $150,000 over two years
- Tier 2: $500,000 for over four year for multi-partner efforts
Projects should commence on January 1, 2023 with a period of performance of two to four years.
For complete information please review the Notice of Federal Funding Opportunity: NOAA-OAR-SG-2022-2007298
Background
The National Sea Grant College Program (NOAA Sea Grant) 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.
The U.S. Coastal Research Program (USCRP) is a multi-agency led effort to coordinate Federal activities, strengthen academic programs, and address coastal community needs. Past USCRP opportunities have funded university researchers across the U.S. to tackle coastal science and engineering questions in a variety of environments along all of the nation’s coastlines. The goal of the USCRP is to build a community of practice to address societal needs along the coast. USCRP is a collaboration of Federal agencies, academics, and stakeholders that aims to identify research priorities, enhance funding for coastal academic programs, foster collaboration, and promote science translation.
It is anticipated that approximately $4,000,000 will be available to move research project findings detailed in The Nearshore Report (https://uscoastalresearch.org/publications) toward application through service delivery that integrates research, its application, and community engagement in three thematic program areas of (1) long-term coastal evolution, (2) extreme storms, and (3) human and ecosystem health. Developing and delivering actionable scientific information to users on the related themes requires integration of a broad range of stakeholder needs and coastal science.
The USCRP Story Map highlights research that has been funded by the program:
Proposals should address the needs or gaps that have been identified by or are evident from USCRP-funded projects, to move research project findings toward application through service delivery and decision support for coastal community decision-makers, planners, and other coastal stakeholders (i.e., the translation of societally-relevant coastal and estuarine physical processes science to science-based solutions that address coastal community needs related to resilience). Deriving societal benefit from this research requires engaging end-users to ensure it is delivered to them in an accessible and equitable manner to support their resilience, decision making and planning.
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/Portals/1/Guidance/SeaGrantGeneralApplicationGuide.pdf
NOAA Sea Grant and US. Coastal Research Program Webinar Recording & Slides
Learn more about the US Coastal Research Program
USCRP Funded Research Projects (2016-2020)
Eligibility
The following entities are eligible to submit to this opportunity: Sea Grant College Programs, Sea Grant Institutional Programs, and Sea Grant Coherent Area Programs. For the remainder of this document, these entities are collectively referred to as “Sea Grant Programs.” A Sea Grant program may submit or participate in more than one proposal.
All applicants must complete a partnership form before 12:00 PM PST on Wednesday, June 1st, 2022 to help coordinate proposals with California Sea Grant extension personnel.
The following entities are encouraged to participate in this funding opportunity, in conjunction with a Sea Grant program: any individual; any public or private corporation, partnership, or other association or entity (including any Sea Grant Program 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.
After reviewing partnership form submissions, the California Sea Grant (CASG) Coastal Resilience Team will determine which proposed projects are most appropriate to pursue and follow up with prospective collaborators within a reasonable time before the LOI due date. Priority will be given to proposal ideas which 1) fit with California Sea Grant extension personnel goals and expertise, 2) have a high likelihood of success and contribute to the translation of coastal research into application, 3) have demonstrated expertise, infrastructure, and capacity for the proposed project, and 4) are aligned with the NOFO and California Sea Grant Strategic Plan.
In order to develop meaningful collaboration and proposals, the CASG Coastal Resilience Team anticipates only a small number of proposed ideas will move forward to the LOI and full proposal stage. If you are interested in responding to this funding opportunity with California Sea Grant, please complete the partnership form as soon as possible and at the latest by 12:00 PM PST on Wednesday, June 1st, 2022.
Click to access the form:
The National Sea Grant College Program champions diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) 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 program applications to reflect diverse participation with regards to age, race, 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.
Program Objectives and Priorities
Please see the information for this funding opportunity on grants.gov for a full description of the program and evaluation criteria.
Over the past three decades, the understanding of physical coastal processes has improved. However, societal needs are growing with increased coastal urbanization and threats of future climate change, and significant scientific challenges remain. Communicating multi-layered technical information including biological, geological, chemical, physical, and economic data and model results to the stakeholders is challenging. Engaging with end-users and coastal stakeholders in the application of research and the development of tools, products, and services for decision support is essential to ensure significant societal benefit and impact.
The USCRP has invested in coastal processes research over the past five years. These research efforts have established a foundation of knowledge, and identified gaps and significant barriers to increased coastal resilience. USCRP is strongly supported by the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center, the U.S. Geological Survey’s Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, and the American Shore and Beach Preservation Association. Through collaboration between academia, government, and industry there is an opportunity to engage with coastal decision-makers, managers, and other stakeholders to develop research, service delivery and decision support tools, products, and services that will improve diverse aspects of coastal management and build greater coastal resilience.
The collaborative projects funded through this competition will serve to integrate research, outreach, and education to engage with coastal stakeholders. Successful applicants will propose collaborative programs in which multiple disciplines and sources of knowledge are integrated holistically to lead to new and novel understanding and solutions to coastal resilience issues.
Note: Applicants and their partners do not need to have been previously funded by USCRP; rather, proposals should address the needs or gaps that have been identified by or are evident from previously-funded USCRP projects.
It is a program priority that successful proposals will:
- Include at least one Sea Grant Program as a collaborator
- Address the needs or gaps that have been identified by or are evident from USCRP-funded projects, to move research project findings toward application through service delivery and decision support for coastal community decision-makers, planners, and other coastal stakeholders (i.e., the translation of societally-relevant coastal and estuarine physical processes science to science-based solutions that address coastal community needs related to resilience). USCRP research that has been funded by the program can be found in the USCRP Story Map here: https://bit.ly/uscrp-projects
- Include multiple partners with a clear connection to coastal stakeholders and needs. Academic collaborations are encouraged.
- Support students who are developing research and leadership skills by placing at least one graduate student in a leadership role and potentially by bringing STEM undergraduates into the coastal field. This is a higher priority than, for example, a post-doctoral researcher who already has expertise in these areas. One of the USCRP's goals is to train the next generation of coastal scientists and engineers. Applicants are encouraged to include a diversity of disciplines in student support, as appropriate.
Submission Dates and Times
*NOTE* All Letters of Intent and Full Proposals must be submitted by California Sea Grant.
Letters of Intent must be received via email by the Competition Manager (oar.hq.sg.competitions@noaa.gov) by 5:00 p.m. Local Time of the submitting Sea Grant Program on Wednesday, June 15, 2022. Please specify that your submission is for the Translating Coastal Research into Application funding opportunity in the subject line.
Applications to be received and validated by grants.gov by the deadline of 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on August 30, 2022. Applicants should be aware that the National Sea Grant Office will only be available to answer questions until 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Please note: validation or rejection of an application by Grants.gov may take up to two business days after submission.