FY 2025 Sea Grant Programs Only - Workshops and Professional Meetings is sponsored by NOAA National Sea Grant Office. FY 2025 Sea Grant Programs Only - Workshops and Professional Meetings is a funding opportunity from the NOAA National Sea Grant Office that funds Sea Grant programs to organize workshops and professional meetings that advance coastal and ocean-related research, education, and ou…

NOTICE OF FUNDING OPPORTUNITY NOAA NOFO Page 1 of 16 NOTICE OF FUNDING OPPORTUNITY ......................................................................................... 1 Executive Summary ................................................................................................................. 1 Full Text of Announcement ......................................................................................................

2 I. Funding Opportunity Description ....................................................................................... 2 II.

Award Information ............................................................................................................ 3 III. Eligibility Information .......................................................................................................

4 IV. Application and Submission Information ......................................................................... 4 Required Elements: .......................................................................................................

5 1. Research & Related Senior/Key Person Profile Form (Grants. gov, OMB Control No. 4040-0001) ....................................................................................................................

5 2. Research and Related Budget (Total Fed + Non-Fed) Form (OMB Control No. 4040- 0001) ............................................................................................................................. 5 3.

Research & Related Other Project Information Form (Grants. gov, OMB Control No. 4040-0001) .................................................................................................................... 6 4.

Additional Application Package Forms ..................................................................... 8 V. Application Review Information ......................................................................................

10 VI. Award Administration Information ................................................................................. 11 VII.

Agency Contacts ........................................................................................................... 15 VIII. Other Information ........................................................................................................

15 OAR National Sea Grant College Program (SG) # Funding Opportunity Title FY2025 Sea Grant Programs Only - Workshops and Professional Meetings # Funding Opportunity Number # Assistance Listing Number(s) Closing Dates and Deadlines: This funding opportunity contains two deadlines.

The phased deadline approach for this funding opportunity is being used to accommodate emerging needs and opportunities associated with workshops or professional meetings support throughout the year. Round one deadline: January 8, 2025 NOAA NOFO Page 2 of 16 Consult the NOFO NOAA-OAR-SG-2025-29472, available at Grants.

gov , for eligible applicants, required elements of the application, how to submit, general programmatic priorities and selection factors, and other necessary information. Projects should have a start date of April 1, 2025 and an end date of no longer than one year after the proposed start date. Round two deadline: April 16, 2025 Consult the NOFO NOAA-OAR-SG-2025-29472, available at Grants.

gov , for eligible applicants, required elements of the application, how to submit, general programmatic priorities and selection factors, and other necessary information. Projects should have a start date of September 1, 2025 and an end date of no longer than one year after the proposed start date.

*Note the total funds for this collection of opportunities is anticipated to be $120,000, and the NSGO is leaving flexibility in the amount to be funded in each round in order to accommodate well-qualified proposals on a timely basis. # Funding Opportunity Description This opportunity is only available to existing institutional Sea Grant Programs.

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.

Applications to this opportunity should propose projects that do one or more of the following: • Support the costs of workshops led by Sea Grant programs or individuals representing Sea Grant; • Provide travel for Sea Grant professionals to workshops, conferences or professional meetings; • Support participation in workshops, conferences and professional meetings by Sea Grant professionals relevant to achieving Sea Grant’s mission; • Support workshop logistics and administration, and/or related expenses.

All projects must take place within the United States or territories or their respective waterways. 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 Agency Contacts listed in Section VII for submission instructions. NOAA has created a guide to aid applicants format application packages to eRA: Tips and Tricks for Successful eRA Submissions, linked here .

Prior to registering with eRA Commons, applicant organizations must first obtain a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) from SAM. gov, if needed (refer to Section IV. Applications and Submission Information, Section C).

Organizations can register with eRA Commons in tandem with completing their full SAM and Grants. gov registrations; however, all registrations must be in place by time of application submission. eRA Commons requires organizations to identify at least one Signing Official (SO) and at least one Program Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) account in order to submit an application.

This document sets out requirements for submitting to [NOAA-OAR-SG-2025-29472] # Full Text of Announcement # I. Funding Opportunity Description # A.

Program Objective NOAA NOFO Page 3 of 16 NOAA provides funding to Sea Grant institutions to increase the understanding, assessment, development, management, utilization, and conservation of the Nation’s ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes resources by providing assistance to promote a strong educational base, responsive research and training activities, broad and prompt dissemination of knowledge and techniques, and multidisciplinary approaches to environmental problems, in accordance with 33 USC 1121(b).

The goals of the funding are to: 1. Support Sea Grant’s ability to advance priority topics and reach priority groups at workshops or professional meetings (including aquaculture and Covid-related topics). 3.

Provide a single and consistent means for Sea Grant programs to request NSGO sponsorship of conferences or other events that the NSGO does not otherwise plan to participate in as a sponsor.

Funds may be used to support the costs of workshops led by Sea Grant programs or individuals representing Sea Grant; for travel of Sea Grant professionals to workshops, conferences or professional meetings; participation in workshops, conferences and professional meetings by Sea Grant professionals relevant to achieving Sea Grant’s mission; workshop logistics and administration, and/or related expenses.

While not disallowed, inclusion of Sea Grant staff salary and fringe in requested direct costs for the Federal share is discouraged, and applications that do not include Sea Grant staff salary and fringe in requested direct costs for the Federal share will be more competitive. Proposals must be developed in coordination with the appropriate Sea Grant director.

Statutory authority for this program is provided under the National Sea Grant College Program Act of 1966, as amended (33 USC 1121 et seq.) # A. Funding Availability Each award will be no greater than $15,000.

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. # B. Project/Award Period For Round 1: The anticipated start date is April 1, 2025, with projects to be completed by March 31, 2026.

For Round 2: The anticipated start date is September 1, 2025, with projects to be completed by August 31, 2026. # C. Type of Funding Instrument NOAA NOFO Page 4 of 16 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. Successful applications will be amended to existing cooperative agreement awards to Sea Grant programs where the implementation of successful projects will fall under the inherently cooperative relationship that exists between existing Sea Grant programs and the National Sea Grant Office. # III.

Eligibility Information 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”. To be eligible to apply or receive an award, applicant organizations must complete and maintain three registrations: SAM.

gov , Grants. gov , and eRA Commons . For each, the complete registration process can take 4 to 6 weeks, so applicants must begin this activity as soon as possible and well before the proposal due date.

For more information on how to meet these registration and application submission requirements without errors, we advise all to carefully review relevant Applicant and Grantee Training modules: https://www. commerce. gov/ocio/programs/gems/applicant-and-grantee-training .

Additionally, we advise that all carefully read ‘Additional Application Package Forms’ within the ‘Full Proposal Required Elements’ section below. 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 Sea Grant 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. # B.

Cost Share 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. # IV.

Application and Submission Information # A. Address to Request Application Package Application packages are available online and can be downloaded from www. grants.

gov under opportunity NOAA-OAR-SG-2024-29472. If an eligible applicant does not have access to the internet, please contact the Agency Contacts listed in Section VII for submission instructions. # B.

Content and Form of Application This section provides an overview of these required proposal elements (and where to locate them). Applications must adhere to the provisions under "Required Elements" below. Failure to adhere to these provisions may result in a delay in award processing or rejection of the application, based on the extent of the noncompliance.

NOAA NOFO Page 5 of 16 The submitting Sea Grant program or applicant must redact all Personally Identifiable Information (PII) in the application materials prior to final submission to grants.

gov. PII that must be redacted from the application includes, but is not limited to, social security number, date of birth, student identification number (from transcripts) or other information which if lost, compromised, or disclosed without authorization, could result in harm, embarrassment, inconvenience, or unfairness to an individual.

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.

NOAA has created a guide to aid applicants format application packages to eRA: Tips and Tricks for Successful eRA Submissions, linked here . Recent applicants have encountered rejected applications for formatting issues, especially: • All attachments must be in PDF form. • Do not use “bundling” or “portfolio” features to combine PDFs into a single document.

Everything must be visible in the PDF. • Descriptive filenames may only be 50 characters or less (including spaces). • Keep attachment file size to 100 MB or less.

• eRA won’t accept any pages larger than the U.S. standard letter paper size (8. 5” x 11”). We strongly recommend that applicants attempt to submit their full proposals at least a few days prior to the due date in case these or other issues impact your submission, as they are not reasons we can extend the deadline.

If you have issues during the submission process, please contact the eRA Service Desk . Applications must include the following elements. Failure to adhere to these provisions may result in a delay in award processing or rejection of the application, based on the extent of the noncompliance.

# 1. Research & Related Senior/Key Person Profile Form (Grants. gov, OMB Control No. 4040-0001) This form must be completed and include a profile for the Principal Investigator and any co-PI(s).

CVs and Current and Pending Support for each person’s profile will also be attached to this form. The first listed PD/PI on the application must include their eRA Commons ID in the “Credential, e.g., agency login” field of the SF424 form. Failure to register in eRA Commons and to include a valid PD/PI Commons ID in the Applicant Identifier field will prevent the successful submission of an electronic application.

Additional personnel included on the form do not need to include this information, however eRA will create a warning recommending those personnel also have valid eRA Commons IDs. Again - it is not required that those additional personnel include valid eRA Commons IDs regardless of the warnings created by the eRA system. # 2.

Research and Related Budget (Total Fed + Non-Fed) Form (OMB Control No. 4040-0001) NOAA NOFO Page 6 of 16 The Research and Related Budget is a single form that will need to be filled out covering the entire award by budget period following the instructions from Grants. gov. At the end of the Research and Related Budget form, “Section L” provides space for one attachment titled, “Budget Justification.

” The budget narrative for the project must be attached there. The budget narrative should explain the budget items by object class category (both federal and non-federal/match) in sufficient detail to enable review of the appropriateness of the funding requested. Additional budget narrative guidance can be found at: NOAA Grants Management Division's Budget Narrative Guidance # 3.

Research & Related Other Project Information Form (Grants. gov, OMB Control No. 4040-0001) This form must be completed for the application, and should also be used to attach the Project Abstract Summary Form, the Project Narrative, Bibliography & References Cited (if applicable), and any other relevant forms or information as applicable. See form-specific instructions available on Grants.

gov for additional instructions as needed. a. Project Summary/Abstract Attachment This attachment should be the completed Project Abstract Summary Form (Grants.

gov, OMB Control No. 4040-0019) that is available as part of the application package. Using 4,000 characters or less, the Project Abstract should provide an overview of the application. Ensure the Project Abstract succinctly describes the project in plain language that the public can understand and use without the full proposal.

It should be a self-contained description of the application and should contain a general statement of objectives and methods to be employed. It should be informative to other persons working in the same or related fields and understandable to a technically literate lay reader. Do not include personally identifiable, sensitive or proprietary/confidential information.

This project abstract information (as submitted) will be made available on public websites and/or databases including USAspending. gov. Project Abstract Elements: Use the following format: • Activities to be performed: • Intended Beneficiaries: • Subrecipient Activities: • Keep it short. In most cases, each element above should be a couple of sentences to a paragraph in length.

• DO NOT repeat the Proposal Title. The Proposal Title is always presented with the Project Description, so including it in the abstract is not necessary. • Include a high quality description that includes specificity regarding the purpose of the project.

Characteristics of strong abstracts include a plain language description of the purpose for the project (which may include specific performance goals, indicators, milestones, or expected outcomes of the project), activities to be performed, deliverables and expected outcomes, intended beneficiary or recipient. • Keep it simple. Do not use abbreviations, acronyms, technical terminology, or agency-specific terms.

The intended audience is Congress and the general public, not specific interested parties and/or federal employees. b. Project Narrative Attachment NOAA NOFO Page 7 of 16 The total number of pages in the project description should not exceed eight (8) pages (excluding the cover page, any letters of support, or any current and pending support).

Excess pages will not be included in the review. Applicants do not need to use the entire 8-page maximum. Depending on the proposed activities, a shorter description may suffice.

Any works cited, CVs, letters of support, and current and pending support sections included do not contribute to the suggested page limit. Project Narrative Elements: • Cover page (does not count towards page limit) o Project title and names, titles, affiliations, and contact information (email and phone) of co-PIs. o Budget overview - Total cost of requested funding by partner.

• Project introduction/justification o Provide a list of clearly defined objectives. For each objective, provide a concise statement explaining how it is aligned with the goals and priorities of this funding opportunity. o Provide an explanation of the methods you will use to address your project objectives.

Explicitly explain how this project leverages the expertise of both researchers and stakeholders. • Anticipated outcomes and deliverables o Please provide a timeline for accomplishing the proposed work, which covers the entire duration of the project. Include approximate dates for key milestones related to the proposed work, including the accomplishment of anticipated outcomes and release of deliverables.

• Applicants submitting proposals that involve the use of human test subjects should state so clearly in their application. These proposed research activities require approval of the applicant’s Institutional Review Board (IRB) before such research can proceed.

Applicants are responsible for obtaining IRB approval from their institution and providing that documentation to NOAA once the approval is obtained and prior to any NOAA-funded human subject testing. Proposals intending to use human test subjects should specify clearly in the timeline approximately when IRB approval will be obtained and when the testing is expected to occur.

o NSGO recognizes it has a particular and unique opportunity to support NOAA’s commitment to diversity and inclusion by taking an intentional step that encourages applicants to consider diversity and inclusion as part of their scientific projects. This action has the potential to make an impact on not only the diversity and inclusion in science at NOAA, but also in the equity of services provided by NOAA.

In this section, describe how the proposed activity broadens the participation of underrepresented groups (e.g., race/ethnicity, gender identities, sexual orientation, disability, geography, etc.) and how they benefit from its outcomes.

Applicants are encouraged to review the resources and best practices compiled by NSGO related to diversity, equity, and inclusion: Sea Grant DEIJ Community of Practice • Letters of support (if included, does not count towards page limit) o All letters of support should be included here.

Required in the instance that a Sea Grant program is applying on behalf of a partnership of multiple Sea Grant programs; otherwise, recommended but optional. • Current and pending support (if included, does not count towards page limit) o Describe any relevant current or pending sources of support if applicable.

NOAA NOFO Page 8 of 16 Bibliography & References Cited Attachment (if applicable) If applicable, provide a bibliography of any references cited in the Project Narrative. Each reference must include the names of all authors (in the same sequence in which they appear in the publication), the article and journal title, book title, volume number, page numbers, and year of publication. Include only bibliographic citations.

Applicants should be especially careful to follow scholarly practices in providing citations for source materials relied upon when preparing any section of the application. This announcement is not seeking proposals that will have an environmental impact. Therefore, a NEPA Questionnaire is not required as part of the proposal.

# 4. Additional Application Package Forms In addition to the forms required above, standard federal forms and assurances are required and can be found with the application package on Grants. gov. These include: a.

SF-424 R&R Form (Grants. gov, OMB Control No. 4040-0001) This form, titled “Application for Federal Assistance,” must identify the entire funding period, as well as the federal funding amount being requested by the applicant and any non-federal matching fund amount. The form must be completed with the institution’s accurate EIN and DUNS and point of contact, and signed by the institution’s authorized representative or designee.

Total federal and non-federal amounts listed in the SF-424 R&R, the Cumulative Budget of the Research and Related Budget form, and budget narrative must The proposed start date must be the first day of a month and the proposed end date must be on the last day of a month. Applicants will be required to enter their organization’s Congressional District in the SF424 R&R form.

For tips on finding and entering your Congressional District correctly, please review the information found here: https://grantsgovprod. wordpress. com/2017/06/21/how-to-find-your- congressional-district-for-the-sf-424-form/ b.

SF-424B Assurances (Grants. gov, OMB Control No. 4040-0007) The form, titled “Assurances – Non-Construction Programs,” must be completed and signed by the institution's authorized representative or designee. c.

CD-511 (Grants. gov, US DOC) The form, titled “Certification Regarding Lobbying,” must be completed and signed by the institution’s authorized representative or designee. d.

SF-LLL (Grants. gov, OMB Control No. 0348-0046) - optional form, include if appropriate This form, titled “Disclosure of Lobbying Activities,” is an optional form and should be included if appropriate. If included, it must be completed and signed by the institution’s authorized representative or designee.

This announcement is not seeking proposals that generate environmental data. Therefore, a Data Management Plan is not required as part of the Proposal. # C.

Unique entity identifier and System for Award Management (SAM) NOAA NOFO Page 9 of 16 Each applicant (unless the applicant is an individual or Federal awarding agency that is excepted from those requirements under 2 CFR 25.

110 is required to: (i) Be registered in SAM before submitting its application; (ii) Provide a valid unique entity identifier (UEI) in its application; and (iii) Continue to maintain an active SAM registration with current information at all times during which it has an active Federal award or an application or plan under consideration by a Federal awarding agency.

NOAA may not make a Federal award to an applicant until the applicant has complied with all applicable unique entity identifier and SAM requirements and, if an applicant has not fully complied with the requirements by the time NOAA is ready to make a Federal award, NOAA may determine that the applicant is not qualified to receive a Federal award and use that determination as a basis for making a Federal award to another applicant. # D.

Submission Dates and Times Applications must be submitted to Grants. gov and accepted by eRA by 11:59 p. m.

Eastern time on one of the following dates: Round one deadline: January 8, 2025 Round two deadline: April 16, 2025 Please note: validation or rejection of an application by Grants. gov and eRA may take up to two business days after submission. Eligible Sea Grant programs should consider this process in developing their submission timeline.

For eligible applications submitted through Grants. gov and eRA, a date and time receipt indication is included and will be the basis of determining timeliness. NOAA has created a guide to aid applicants format application packages to eRA: Tips and Tricks for Successful eRA Submissions, linked here .

# E. Intergovernmental Review Applications under the National Sea Grant College Program are not subject to Executive Order 12372, “Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs. ” # F.

Funding Restrictions The Sea Grant Act at 33 USC 1124(d)(2) states: “No payment under any grant or contract under this section may be applied to: (A) the purchase or rental of any land; or (B) the purchase, rental, construction, preservation, or repair of any building, dock, or vessel; except that payment under any such grant or contract may be applied to the short-term rental of buildings or facilities for meetings which are in direct support of any Sea Grant Program or project and may, if approved by the Secretary, be applied to the purchase, rental, construction, preservation, or repair of non-self-propelled habitats, buoys, platforms, and other similar devices or structures, or to the rental of any research vessel which is used in direct support of activities under any Sea Grant Program or project.

” # G. 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 Agency Contacts listed in Section VII for submission instructions. Prior to registering with eRA Commons, applicant organizations must first obtain a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) from SAM.

gov, if needed (refer to Section IV. Applications and Submission Information, Section C). Organizations can register with eRA Commons in tandem with completing their full SAM and Grants.

gov registrations; however, all registrations must be in place by time of application submission. eRA Commons requires organizations to identify at least one Signing Official (SO) and at least one Program Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) account in order to submit an application.

NOAA NOFO Page 10 of 16 The first listed PD/PI listed on the application must include their eRA Commons ID in the "Credential, e.g. agency login" field of the Research & Related Senior/Key Person Profile Form. Failure to register in the Commons and to include a valid PD/PI Commons ID in that field will prevent the successful submission of an electronic application. After submission to Grants.

gov, the PI listed on the application will receive an email notification from the eRA email address era-notify@mail. nih. gov .

This email will either confirm a successful submission to eRA or list errors and warnings associated with the application. Errors must be addressed, the application resubmitted via Grants. gov, and an email received by the listed PI indicating a successful submission to eRA for an application to be successfully received by NOAA.

# V. Application Review Information 1. Importance/relevance and applicability of proposed projects to the program goals 2.

Articulation of need and priority Maximum Points: 20 For this competition, this criterion includes demonstrating support by partners and others in Sea Grant. This may be demonstrated in a variety of ways as appropriate to the project including, but not limited to, identification of co-PIs, inclusion of optional letters of support, demonstration of financial support from partners, etc. 3.

Technical/scientific merit Maximum Points: 20 This criterion assesses whether the approach is technically sound and/or innovative, if the methods are appropriate, and whether there are clear project goals, objectives, and data management considerations.

For this opportunity, this criterion includes: • whether the proposal clearly identifies goals and objectives, and whether the timeline for the project is reasonable and in line with the award period guidelines; • and whether the proposed methods and approaches to be used in the project are valid to achieve the project goals. 4.

Project costs Maximum Points: 20 This criterion evaluates the budget to determine if it is realistic and commensurate with the project needs and time frame. Projects that do not include or that minimize Sea Grant staff salary and fringe in requested direct costs for the Federal share should be prioritized over those with a sizable portion of the Federal funds request allocated to Sea Grant staff salary and fringe. 5.

Outreach and education Maximum Points: 20 This criterion assesses whether the project provides a focused and effective education and outreach strategy regarding NOAA's mission to protect the Nation's natural resources. For this competition, this criterion includes efforts to ensure inclusive and equitable engagement.

# Review and Selection Process NOAA NOFO Page 11 of 16 Once a full proposal application has been received by NOAA, an initial administrative review is conducted to determine compliance with requirements and completeness of the application. Applications that are missing required elements listed in Section IV. B.

above, or applications coming from ineligible applicants may be rejected without further review. NOAA in its sole discretion may continue review of those applications with minor deficiencies that may be easily cured. Applications that pass the administrative review will be reviewed by at least three independent reviewers drawn from experts in a range of disciplines that are relevant to the applications.

These reviews will be averaged to produce a rank order. The selecting official shall award in the rank order unless the application is justified to be selected out of rank order based upon any of the selection factors provided below. The selecting official will make final recommendations for awards to the Grants Officer who is authorized to obligate the funds and execute the award.

Applicants should be aware that, based on past competitions, not all highly rated projects may be able to be funded.

The program manager, NEPA staff lead, or grants specialist may contact the applicants to discuss questions about the merit or administrative correctness of the application and may delay approval of the application, or impose conditions on the award preventing funding or execution of certain activities, until all questions are satisfactorily answered.

The Selecting Official shall recommend awarding in the rank order unless the proposal is justified to be selected out of rank order based on one or more of the following factors: 1. Availability of funding. 2.

Balance/distribution of funds: b. by type of institution 3. Duplication of other projects funded or considered for funding by NOAA/Federal agencies.

4. Program priorities and policy factors. 5.

Applicant’s prior award performance. 6. Partnerships with/Participation of targeted groups.

7. Adequacy of information necessary for NOAA staff to make a NEPA determination and draft necessary documentation before recommendations for funding are made to the Grants Officer. Consequently, awards may not necessarily be made to the highest-scored applications.

Investigators may be asked to answer questions; and/or modify objectives, work plans, and/or budgets (including overall funding level) to address the issues raised by the reviewers, the competition manager, the Selecting Official, or the Grants Officer before an award is made. Subsequent administrative processing will be in accordance with current NOAA