Announcement of Research Funding Opportunity for 2014–2016

Pre-proposals due by 5:00 p.m. Friday, February 8, 2013

Alaska Sea Grant is a partnership between the NOAA National Sea Grant College Program and the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Alaska Sea Grant supports research, education, and extension activities that enhance the ability of Alaskans to understand, conserve, and sustainably use our rich and diverse marine and coastal resources.

Alaska Sea Grant invites pre-proposals for research projects for the 2014–2016 biennium. We seek creative and innovative research proposals in the natural and social sciences that focus on the environmental and economic viability of Alaska's coastal communities. In this solicitation we are interested in proposals that address either of the following themes:

We anticipate that approximately $500,000 per year will be available for this solicitation, funding approximately 5–7 projects during this period. Pre-proposals must be submitted by February 8, 2013. Based on review of the pre-proposals, approximately 15 invitations to submit full proposals will be issued by 1 March 2013, with final funding recommendations in late September 2013.

Because Sea Grant funds are subject to annual federal appropriations, all awards are subject to the availability of funds.

Pre-proposals will be ranked on the basis of

In addition, favorable consideration will be given to proposals that

Pre-proposals that do not address the new NOAA Data Sharing Requirement as described in Appendix I may be returned without further consideration.

For Additional Information

Potential investigators are encouraged to contact Sea Grant staff at any time:

Project scope, relevance to themes or research issues, questions about impacts:

Outreach issues:

Program information, budget issues, or forms:

Developing and reporting impacts:

1Impacts are tangible direct or indirect benefits to Alaska communities, policy makers, or stakeholders. For further guidance on possible impacts, see Considerations for Impact Reporting.

2Proposals must include outreach activities that engage relevant stakeholders or communities. Alaska Sea Grant encourages investigators to consider themselves partners with Sea Grant in serving the needs of Alaska's communities. For this reason, staff members are available to discuss all aspects of pre-proposals prior to submission.

Pre-Proposal Guidelines

Applications will be accepted from qualified investigators at universities, federal, state, local, and tribal government entities or approved nonprofit organizations. Alaska Sea Grant encourages participation from the broad research community and welcomes proposals from investigators new to the Alaska Sea Grant research program.

Required Elements for Pre-Proposals

The pre-proposal should be written for a nonspecialist, scientifically literate audience. It should concisely summarize the essential elements of the proposed research, anticipated timelines and outcomes and potential impacts. An appropriate outreach component is required.

Pre-proposals must include all of the following sections indicated by numbered headings. Page-length guidelines must be followed without reductions in font size, line spacing, or margins (no smaller than single-spaced Times-Roman 12 point font, 3/4 inch margins). Figures and captions must be clearly legible at 100% on-screen size.

  1. Project Summary (up to half page): A concise summary of the proposed research, written for a nonspecialist, scientifically literate audience.
  2. Project Description (up to three pages,  plus one additional page for figures): A concise statement of project activities. It should outline and/or discuss objectives, hypotheses, methods, expected outcomes and a project timeline.
  3. Statement of Need: Submit a concise summary of the need for the project, how this was established, and whether regional or other stakeholders were consulted.
  4. Relevance and Impacts (up to one page): A brief explanation of how the project will address the RFP theme(s) and further the goals and objectives of Alaska Sea Grant, followed by a brief discussion of anticipated short- or long-term impacts. Impacts are tangible, direct or indirect benefits to Alaska communities, policy makers, or stakeholders. For further guidance, see Considerations for Impact Reporting. Development and reporting of impacts is a relatively new and evolving process. ASG staff are available to work with PIs who are not yet familiar with the process.
  5. Outreach (up to one page): Each proposal should include an outreach plan, and outreach activities may be included in the project budget. At a minimum, the plan should discuss how results will be disseminated and/or translated to a tangible community benefit. Alaska Sea Grant encourages investigators to engage and/or inform local residents, users, or other stakeholders as appropriate for the project. When appropriate, coordination with Alaska Sea Grant extension (Marine Advisory Program) or education services staff is strongly encouraged and should be initiated well ahead of the deadline. Alaska Sea Grant has limited resources for print, video, Web production, media relations, and meeting coordination.

    Contacts:
  6. Other Project Partners (half page or less per partner): Provide an annotated list of project partners. For each partner, provide contact information for the responsible individual and the name of their organization. Briefly indicate the nature of their contribution, how they will enhance and/or benefit from the anticipated outcomes, and plans for preserving and sharing data. Highlight if the work proposed is in conjunction with other projects or proposals, or will coordinate with other known efforts.
  7. People and Resources: In a brief introductory statement, list the project team and describe the division of the workload. Include identified graduate students who will play a significant role in the project. Summarize relevant institutional capabilities.
  8. Data Sharing Plan (one page or less): Pre-proposals should include a brief statement of the types of data sharing envisioned. This is a new requirement for all NOAA funded grants. All grant proposals must include a plan to make environmental data readily available. See Appendix I for details. Proposals that do not meet this requirement may be rejected without consideration.
  9. Budget Spreadsheet and Budget Narrative: The spreadsheet (see example in "Forms" below) should provide sufficient detail for reviewers to understand the budget amount requested. The budget narrative should briefly describe the basis for each significant cost item.

Budget guidelines:

Salary and tuition support may be requested for graduate students who are participating in the project as part of their training. Minimal funds may be requested for essential faculty or technician salary. Additional support for postdoctoral researchers or early-career faculty may be considered on a case-by-case basis. Federal agencies may not request salaries, travel, or indirect costs.

  1. Project Schedule and Budget Projection (NOAA form 90-6): Project start date may be no earlier than February 1, 2014.
  2. Results of Previous Sea Grant Support (up to one page per project): Include all projects receiving funding from any Sea Grant program during the previous five years.

Tentative Proposal Review Schedule

February 8, 2013 Deadline: Pre-proposals due via online submission by 5 pm, Alaska time
March 1, 2013 Invitations issued to submit full proposals
April 26, 2013 Deadline: Full proposals with all institutional signatures due in Alaska Sea Grant office at 5 pm, Alaska time
Spring/summer 2013 Proposals sent out for peer review
August 2013 Reviews offered to PIs for rebuttal
Late August 2013 Scientific panel meets to advise on the final selection of projects
Late September 2013 PIs notified
November 1, 2013 Omnibus implementation plan due in National Sea Grant Office.
February 1, 2014 Funding available (anticipated). Earliest available start date.

Forms

Facilities and administration (F&A) costs rate for organized research
UAF 49.5%
UAA 45.3%
UAS 45.0%
If you are outside the UA system or have other questions, please contact Michele Frandsen at 907-474-7088 or michele.frandsen@alaska.edu.

Appendix 1. NOAA Data Sharing Requirement
(effective for all new NOAA–funded research projects)

Data and information collected and/or created under NOAA grants and cooperative agreements must be made visible, accessible, and independently understandable to general users, free of charge or at minimal cost, in a timely manner (typically no later than two years after the data are collected or created), except where limited by law, regulation, policy or by security requirements.

The new requirement has two basic parts: (1) environmental data generated by a grant project must be made available after a reasonable period of exclusive use, and (2) the grant application must describe the plan to make the data available.

To comply with this new requirement, pre-proposals should include a brief statement of the types of data sharing envisioned.

Full proposals are required to include a data sharing plan that clearly outlines the means by which qualifying data will be made available.  The written plan should be succinct, and must not exceed 2 pages in length, and is not counted in the page limits for the rest of the proposal.

The selection of method(s) for data sharing is the responsibility of the lead PI, and will depend on the nature of the project and the type(s) of data. Acceptable archive types include, but are not limited to, the following:

For more information, please see the Data Management Plan FAQs [PDF; 116 KB] or contact David Christie, Director, (907) 474-7949, david.christie@alaska.edu, or Michele Frandsen, Program Manager, (907) 474-7088, michele.frandsen@alaska.edu.