[Federal Register: April 10, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 68)]
[Notices]
[Page 18082-18085]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr10ap06-36]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[Docket No. 060404095-6095-01]
Northern Gulf of Mexico Cooperative Institute
AGENCY: Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of availability of funds.
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SUMMARY: The Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) invites
[[Page 18083]]
applications to establish a Northern Gulf of Mexico (NGOM) Cooperative
Institute (CI). The creation of this CI is the cornerstone of NOAA's
commitment to the Gulf of Mexico Alliance, and NOAA's response the U.S.
Ocean Action Plan (Executive Office of the President, December, 2004).
This institute will facilitate a long-term collaborative environment
between NOAA and the recipients within which broad-based research,
development, education and outreach capabilities focusing on the
priorities in the northern Gulf of Mexico (NGOM) region can be
developed and sustained. The CI will be regional in scope and should
consist of a group of research institutions in the NGOM region (which
is defined by the states of Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Florida,
and Texas). Most of the workforce is expected to be located in Stennis
Space Center, MS.
DATES: Proposals must be received by the OAR no later than 5 p.m.,
E.T., May 25, 2006. Proposals submitted after that date will not be
considered.
ADDRESSES: Applicants are strongly encouraged to apply online through
the Grants.gov Web site (http://www.grants.gov) but paper submissions
are acceptable. If a hard copy application is submitted, the original
and two unbound copies of the proposal should be included. Applicants
are not required to submit more than three hard copies of the proposal
if the recommended electronic grants submission via grants.gov is not
made. Paper submissions should be sent to: NOAA, OAR, 1315 East West
Highway, Room 11554, Silver Spring, Md. 20910 Attn: Dr. John Cortinas.
No e-mail or facsimile proposal submissions will be accepted. The
complete Federal funding opportunity announcement associated with this
notice can be found at the Grants.gov Web site, http://www.grants.gov, and the NOAA Web site at http://www.nrc.noaa.gov/ci.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For a copy of the federal funding
opportunity announcement and/or application kit, access it at
Grants.gov, via NOAA's Web site, or by contacting Dr. John Cortinas,
1315 East West Highway, Room 11554, Silver Spring, Md. 20910 telephone
301-713-9397 x 206. Facsimile: (301) 713-0158; e-mail:
John.Cortinas@noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background: A CI is a NOAA-supported, non-federal organization that
has established an outstanding research program in one or more areas
that are relevant to the NOAA mission. CIs are established at research
institutions that also have a strong education program with established
graduate degree programs in NOAA-related sciences. The CI provides
significant coordination of resources among all non-government partners
and promotes the involvement of students and postdoctoral scientists in
NOAA-funded research. The CI provides mutual benefits with value
provided by all parties.
NOAA has identified the need for a new CI to focus upon a region of
particular significance to the federal government and NOAA, the NGOM.
The creation of this CI is the cornerstone of NOAA's commitment to the
Gulf of Mexico Alliance, and NOAA's response to the U.S. Ocean Action
Plan (Executive Office of the President, December, 2004), which
recommends a ``Regional Partnership in the Gulf of Mexico.'' The
objective of the Gulf of Mexico Alliance is to establish an integrated
management approach for the Gulf of Mexico led by surrounding states
(http://www. gulfofmexicoalliance.org). There is a particular emphasis
on public health, specifically on water quality for shellfish beds and
beaches in the Gulf of Mexico and the use of a regional ocean observing
system to provide a real-time alert system for beach and shellfish bed
closings. The NGOM CI is expected to contribute to the priority areas
initially identified by the Alliance:
Improving and protecting water quality.
Restoring and conserving coastal wetlands and estuarine
ecosystems.
Reducing pollution and nutrient loading.
Identifying and characterizing Gulf habitats to support
coastal management.
Expanding environmental education to improve stewardship.
Gulf States have also agreed upon cooperative efforts to collect
information that can be used to better understand, monitor, and manage
the Gulf of Mexico and to participate in the national Integrated Ocean
Observing System through the Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing
System (GCOOS) (http://ocean. tamu.edu/GCOOS/RA/ vision.htm). Thus, the
NGOM CI would also contribute to the GCOOS vision to ``establish a
sustained observing system for the Gulf of Mexico to provide
observations and products needed by users in this region'' to enable:
Detecting and predicting climate variability and
consequences.
Preserving and restoring healthy marine ecosystems.
Ensuring human health.
Managing resources.
Facilitating safe and efficient marine transportation.
Predicting and mitigating against coastal hazards.
The above priorities map directly to the NOAA Strategic Plan and
its primary scientific goals. They are also consistent with NOAA 5-yr
Research Plan and 20-yr Research Vision.
Electronic Access: Applicants can access, download, and submit
electronic grant applications, including the full funding opportunity
announcement, for NOAA programs at the Grants.gov Web site: http://www.grants.gov.
The closing date will be the same as for the paper
submissions noted in this announcement. For applicants filing through
Grants.gov, NOAA strongly recommends that you do not wait until the
application deadline date to begin the application process through
Grants.gov. Registration may take up to 10 business days. More details
on how to apply are provided in the NOAA June 30, 2005 Federal Register
Notice on ``Availability of Grant Funds for Fiscal Year 2006'', which
can be found at: http://www.Grants.gov or http://www. ago.noaa.gov/
grants/funding.shtml. Proposals submitted to the NOAA Cooperative
Institute Program must include elements requested in the full Federal
Funding Opportunity announcement on the grants.gov portal. Proposals,
electronic or paper, should be no more than 65 pages (numbered) in
length, including budget, investigators vitae, and all appendices.
Federally mandated forms are not included within the page count.
Facsimile transmissions and electronic mail submission of full
proposals will not be accepted.
Funding Availability: The award period will be five years and may
be renewed for an additional five years based on the outcome of a CI
peer review in the fourth year. All funding is contingent upon
availability of Federal appropriations. NOAA expects that approximately
$6.3 M will be available for the CI in the first year of the award. Of
this amount, $650,000 ($130K per year for 5 years) will be applied to
cover Task I base funding for the entire five-year award period.
Funding for subsequent years is expected to be constant throughout the
period, depending on the quality of the research, the satisfactory
progress in achieving the stated goals described in the proposal,
continued relevance to program objectives, and the availability of
funding.
Authority: 15 U.S.C. 313, 15 U.S.C. 1540; 15 U.S.C. 2901 et
seq., 16 U.S.C. 753a, 33 U.S.C. 883d, 33 U.S.C. 1442, 49 U.S.C.
44720 (b), 118 Stat. 71 (January 23, 2004).
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance: 11.432, Office of
Oceanic and Atmospheric
[[Page 18084]]
Research (OAR) Joint and Cooperative Institutes.
Eligibility: Eligibility is limited to non-Federal public and
private non-profit universities, colleges and research institutions in
the states of Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Florida, and Texas that
offer accredited graduate level degree-granting programs in NOAA-
related sciences, as described in the CI Interim Handbook, authorized
by NOAA Administrative Order 216-107. Because of NOAA's desire to
establish a CI that addresses regional issues in the NGOM, NOAA is
limiting eligibility to specific states that border the NGOM.
Cost Sharing Requirements: To stress the collaborative nature and
investment of a CI by both NOAA and the research institution, cost
sharing is required. There is no minimum cost sharing requirement,
however, the amount of cost sharing will be considered when determining
the level of CI commitment under NOAA's standard evaluation criteria of
project costs. Acceptable cost-sharing proposals include, but are not
limited to, offering a reduced indirect cost rate against activities in
one or more Tasks, waiver of indirect costs assessed against base funds
and/or Task I activities, waiver or reduction of any costs associated
with the use of facilities at the CI, and full or partial salary
funding for the CI director, administrative staff, graduate students,
visiting scientists, or postdoctoral scientists.
Intergovernmental Review: Applications under this program are not
subject to Executive Order 12372, ``Intergovernmental Review of Federal
Programs.''
Evaluation Criteria and Review and Selection Procedures: NOAA's
standard evaluation criteria and the review and selection procedures
contained in NOAA's June 30, 2005, omnibus notice are applicable to
this solicitation and are as follows:
A. Evaluation Criteria for Projects
Proposals will be evaluated using the standard NOAA evaluation
criteria. Various questions under each criterion are included to ensure
that the applicant includes information that NOAA will consider
important during the evaluation, in addition to any other information
provided by the applicant.
1. Importance and/or relevance and applicability of proposed
project to the program goals (25 percent): This ascertains whether
there is intrinsic value in the proposed work and/or relevance to NOAA,
Federal, regional, State, or local activities.
Does the proposal includes research goals and projects
that address the critical issues identified in NOAA's 5-year Research
Plan, NOAA's Strategic Plan, and the priorities described in the
supplementary information above?
Is there a demonstrated commitment (in terms of resources
and facilities) to enhance existing NOAA and CI resources to foster a
long-term collaborative research environment/culture?
Is there a strong education program with established
graduate degree programs in NOAA-related sciences that also encourage
student participation in NOAA-related research studies?
Will most of the staff at the CI be located near a NOAA
facility in order to enhance collaborations with NOAA?
2. Technical/scientific merit (30 percent): This assesses whether
the approach is technically sound and/or innovative, if the methods are
appropriate, and whether there are clear project goals and objectives.
Does the project description include a summary of clearly
stated goals to be achieved during the five-year period that reflect
NOAA's strategic plan and goals?
Does the CI involve partnerships with other universities
or research institutions, including Minority Serving Institutions and
universities with strong departments that can contribute to the
proposed activities of the CI?
3. Overall qualifications of applicants (30 percent): This
ascertains whether the applicant possesses the necessary education,
experience, training, facilities, and administrative resources to
accomplish the project.
If the institution(s) and/or principal investigators have
received current or recent NOAA funding, is there a demonstrated record
of outstanding performance working with NOAA scientists on research
projects?
Is there internationally recognized expertise within the
appropriate disciplines needed to conduct the collaborative/
interdisciplinary research described in the proposal?
Is there a well-developed business plan that includes
fiscal and human resource management as well as strategic planning and
accountability?
Are there any unique capabilities in a mission-critical
area of research for NOAA?
Has the applicant shown a substantial investment to the
NOAA partnership, as demonstrated by a cost sharing contribution?
4. Project costs (5 percent): The budget is evaluated to determine
if it is realistic and commensurate with the project needs and time-
frame.
5. Outreach and education (10 percent): NOAA assesses whether this
project provides a focused and effective education and outreach
strategy regarding NOAA's mission to protect the Nation's natural
resources.
B. Review and Selection Process
An initial administrative review/screening is conducted to
determine compliance with requirements/completeness. All proposals will
be evaluated and individually ranked in accordance with the assigned
weights of the above evaluation criteria by an independent peer panel
review. At least three experts, who may be Federal or non-Federal, will
be used in this process. If non-Federal experts participate in the
review process, they will be submitting individual reviews and will not
be reaching a consensus opinion. The merit reviewers' ratings are used
to produce a rank order of the proposals. The Selection Official
selects proposals after considering the peer panel reviews and
selection factors listed below. In making the final selections, the
Selecting Official will award in rank order unless the proposal is
justified to be selected out of rank order based upon one or more of
the selection factors.
C. Selection Factors
The merit review ratings shall provide a rank order to the
Selecting Official for final funding recommendations. A program officer
may first make recommendations to the Selecting Official applying the
selection factors below. The Selecting Official shall award in the rank
order unless the proposal is justified to be selected out of rank order
based upon one or more of the following factors:
1. Availability of funding.
2. Balance/distribution of funds:
a. Geographically.
b. By type of institutions.
c. By type of partners.
d. By research areas.
e. By project types.
3. Whether this project duplicates other projects funded or
considered for funding by NOAA or other Federal agencies.
4. Program priorities and policy factors.
5. Applicant's prior award performance.
6. Partnerships and/or 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.
Applicants must comply with all requirements contained in the full
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funding opportunity announcements for each project competition in this
announcement.
Universal Identifier: Applicants should be aware that, they are
required to provide a Dun and Bradstreet Data Universal Numbering
System (DUNS) number during the application process. See the October
30, 2002 Federal Register, Vol. 67, No. 210, pp. 66177-66178 for
additional information. Organizations can receive a DUNS number at no
cost by calling the dedicated toll-free DUNS Number request line at 1-
866-705-5711 or via the Internet (http://www.dunandbradstreet.com).
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA): NOAA must analyze the
potential environmental impacts, as required by the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), for applicant projects or proposals
which are seeking NOAA Federal funding opportunities. Detailed
information on NOAA compliance with NEPA can be found at NOAA's NEPA
Web site, http://www.nepa.noaa.gov/, and the Council on Environmental Quality implementation regulations, http://ceq. eh.doe.gov/ nepa/regs/
ceq/toc--ceq.htm.
Consequently, as part of an applicant's package, and under their
description of their program activities, applicants are required to
provide detailed information on the activities to be conducted,
locations, sites, species and habitat to be affected, possible
construction activities, and any environmental concerns that may exist
(e.g., the use and disposal of hazardous or toxic chemicals,
introduction of non-indigenous species, impacts to endangered and
threatened species, aquaculture projects, and impacts to coral reef
systems). In addition to providing specific information that will serve
as the basis for any required impact analyses, applicants may also be
requested to assist NOAA in drafting of an environmental assessment, if
NOAA determines an assessment is required. Applicants will also be
required to cooperate with NOAA in identifying feasible measures to
reduce or avoid any identified adverse environmental impacts of their
proposal. The failure to do so shall be grounds for not selecting an
application. In some cases if additional information is required after
an application is selected, funds can be withheld by the Grants Officer
under a special award condition requiring the recipient to submit
additional environmental compliance information sufficient to enable
NOAA to make an assessment on any impacts that a project may have on
the environment.
Pre-Award Notification Requirements for Grants and Cooperative
Agreements
The Department of Commerce Pre-Award Notification Requirements for
Grants and Cooperative Agreements contained in the Federal Register
notice of December 30, 2004 (69 FR 78389) are applicable to this
solicitation.
Limitation of Liability: Funding for years 2-5 of the Cooperative
Institute is contingent upon the availability of appropriated funds. In
no event will NOAA or the Department of Commerce be responsible for
application preparation costs if these programs fail to receive funding
or are cancelled because of other agency priorities. Publication of
this announcement does not oblige NOAA to award any specific project or
to obligate any available funds.
Paperwork Reduction Act: This notification involves collection of
information requirements subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act. The
use of Standard Forms 424, 424A, 424B, and SF-LLL and CD-346 has been
approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) respectively
under control numbers 0348-0043, 0348-0044, 0348-0040, and 0348-0046
and 0605-0001. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person is
required to respond to, nor shall any person be subject to a penalty
for failure to comply with, a collection of information subject to the
requirements of the PRA unless that collection of information displays
a currently valid OMB control number.
Executive Order 12866: It has been determined that this notice is
not significant for purposes of Executive Order 12866.
Executive Order 13132 (Federalism): It has been determined that
this notice does not contain policies with Federalism implications as
that term is defined in Executive Order 13132.
Administrative Procedure Act/Regulatory Flexibility Act: Prior
notice and an opportunity for public comment are not required by the
Administrative Procedure Act or any other law for rules concerning
public property, grants, benefits, and contracts (5 U.S.C. 553(a)(2)).
Because notice and opportunity for comments are not required
pursuant to U.S.C. 553 or any other law, the analytical requirements of
the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) are inapplicable.
Therefore, a regulatory flexibility analysis is not required and none
has been prepared.
Stephen B. Brandt,
Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator, OAR, National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration.
[FR Doc. E6-5184 Filed 4-7-06; 8:45 am]
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