Directions:
This form should be used to submit proposals for internal funding from NOAA's Office of Aquaculture. Please provide as complete of information as possible. We recommend you write the text portions of the form in a word processor (such as Microsoft Word), then copy and paste the text into the form. The boxes will capture the full text you enter even though they will only display a limited portion at a time. There are no word or character limits, even in the smaller text boxes. For the larger text areas (Project Summary, Professional Development, Follow-up Work), you can view more of your entered text by pulling down the bottom right corner of the box.
You may edit your form after submisson. Upon submission you will receive a confirmation e-mail with a link to view a PDF of your submission, and a link to Edit your submission.
You may submit an incomplete form to finish filling out at a later time. If you cannot complete the form all at once, you may submit an unfinished form and return to it using the Edit Submission link in the confirmation e-mail. However, you must check the "Unfinished" box at the end of your form, or your incomplete submission will be deleted.
NOAA Strategic Goals: The Office of Aquaculture has four (4) main goals (see the Office of Aquaculture Strategic Plan):
- Regulatory Efficiency - Develop coordinated, consistent, and efficient regulatory processes for the marine aquaculture sector
- Tools for Management - Encourage environmentally responsible marine aquaculture using best available science
- Technology Development and Transfer - Develop technologies and provide extension services for the marine aquaculture sector
- Informed Public - Improve public understanding of marine aquaculture
In 2014, The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy released a National Strategic Plan for Federal Aquaculture Research (Federal Plan). The Federal Plan directs partner agencies, including NOAA, to improve coordination and implement nine strategic research priorities (listed on the proposal submittal form). In addition to the Office of Aquaculture goals, your proposal should fit under one of the Federal Plan strategic goals.
General Questions to Address:
- How will this project lead to increased sustainable aquaculture production?
- How will it help regulators and/or the aquaculture industry?
- Does it address a key issue of concern of aquaculture?
Proposals should focus on how to achieve results from past or current promising areas of research and development or other activities (conducted by NOAA or others), and/or clearly show how they lay the foundation for enabling further development of cost-effective and environmentally beneficial aquaculture in the U.S. Deliverables should be clearly identified.
These internal grants are to support: 1) NOAA aquaculture research, 2) enabling equipment purchases, and/or 3) other projects that support the Office of Aquaculture’s domestic and international goals. Funding requests may be for any amount, but large proposals (over $75K per year) will have to show very high potential for success and directly address a major bottleneck issue.
Project Timeframe:
Proposals can be multi-year (maximum of three years), but they must clearly demonstrate why a one-year format is not appropriate and must address a critical need. In the case of multi-year projects, a complete budget and timeline is needed for the full project. Interim annual reports will be required before the following year’s funding is released and include a subset of information needed for a final report (see Reports section below). As with all federal funding, the amounts and timing across all years is not guaranteed and is subject to Congressional and NOAA budget allocation amounts and timing.
Personnel Profile:
PI’s may come from NOAA Science Centers or labs, Regional Offices, or the Office of Aquaculture. Proposals that have participation from both a NOAA science asset and another NOAA office (S&T, PR, Habitat, - NOS, OAR, etc.), industry, or federal agency (USDA, DOE, etc.) are desirable. Participation, contribution of funding, or in kind services provided by private sector, foundation, state, federal, or academic partners is strongly encouraged. Please note any CRADAs or other agreements. Projects that support one of NOAA's international agreements are also encouraged.
Competitive internal funds are intended to build capacity and provide support for internal NOAA science assets focused on marine aquaculture. Projects that contract out the majority of work to non-NOAA organizations or persons will not score well. Projects with strong external leadership are better targeted at SK, Sea Grant, SBIR or other external competitions with or without NOAA co-PIs in a supporting role. Because funds are limited, projects requiring new hires (no new FTEs; however, contractors, post-docs, or students are fine) will not be considered unless there is very strong evidence that it is necessary to maintain capacity and addresses one of the key foci. Projects that leverage or provide “match” for larger projects are encouraged (note: ICAF funding would not satisfy requirements for “non-federal” match, which may be a limitation).
Proposal Submission:
Proposals should only be submitted using this online form. We highly recommend that they be first written in a word processing program and then the information pasted into the forms. When printed the proposals should be about 3-6 pages long (no more than 10 pages in single-spaced, 12 pt., Times New Roman font).
Reports:
A final or interim report (link) will be due one year from funding award or prior to next year’s competition due date, if additional funds are being requested next year, whichever comes sooner.
Timeline:
October 1, 2017: Call for proposals open
December 1, 2017: Proposals due (submitted online) by 5:00 pm local time
January 11, 2018: Reviews complete and proposals ranked for funding
ASAP after January 11, 2018: Funding sent to Centers and projects start (subject to budget allocations)
Contact:
For questions, please contact Mark Rath at the Office of Aquaculture (mark.a.rath@noaa.gov; 301-427-8336).