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New NOAA Cooperative Institute (CI): A CI To Support Satellite Meteorology
Nov 27, 2009 (Commerce Department Documents and Publications/ContentWorks via COMTEX) --
SUMMARY: The National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) publishes this notice to provide the general public with a consolidated source of program and application information related to a single competitive cooperative agreement award offering. NOAA is accepting applications for a CI to Support Satellite Meteorology. Applicants should review the CI Interim Handbook prior to preparing a proposal for this announcement (http://www.nrc.noaa.gov/ci).
DATES: Proposals must be received no later than February 25, 2010, 5 p.m., E.T. 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). Paper submissions are acceptable only if Internet access is not available. Grants.gov requires applicants to register with the system prior to submitting an application. This registration process can take several weeks, involving multiple steps. In order to allow sufficient time for this process, you should register as soon as you decide that you intend to apply, even if you are not yet ready to submit your proposal. If an applicant has problems downloading the application package from Grants.gov, contact Grants.gov Customer Support at (800) 518-4726 or support@grants.gov.
If a hard copy application is submitted, the original and two unbound copies of the proposal should be included. Paper submissions should be sent to: Ms. Ingrid Guch, NOAA/NESDIS, 5200 Auth Road, Room 701, Camp Springs, MD 20746; telephone (301) 763-8127 ext. 152. No e-mail or facsimile proposal submissions will be accepted.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information, please contact Ms. Ingrid Guch, NOAA/NESDIS, 5200 Auth Road, Room 701, Camp Springs, MD 20746; telephone: (301) 763-8127 ext. 152; e-mail: Ingrid.Guch@noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Applicants must comply with all requirements contained in the Federal Funding Opportunity (FFO) announcement for this CI.
CI Concept/Program Background: A CI is a NOAA-supported, nonfederal 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 with outstanding graduate degree programs in NOAA-related sciences. CIs provide significant coordination of resources among all non-government partners and promote the involvement of students and postdoctoral scientists in NOAA-funded research. The CI provides mutual benefits with value provided by all parties. For each CI, NOAA has identified the need to establish a CI to focus on scientific research associated in support of NOAA's Strategic Plan, NOAA's 5-year Research Plan, and NOAA's 20-year Research Vision. (All documents are available at http://www.nrc.noaa.gov/plans.html).
CI To Support Satellite Meteorology
The proposed Satellite Meteorology CI should possess outstanding capabilities to provide research under four themes: (1) Satellite Meteorology Research and Applications, (2) Satellite Sensors and Techniques, (3) Environmental Models and Data Assimilation, and (4) Outreach and Education. The CI's primary sponsor will be the NESDIS Center for Satellite Applications and Research (STAR), formerly known as the Office of Research and Applications. Research and development entities with which the proposed CI may work include NOAA programs, laboratories, science centers, other CI and NOAA-owned facilities, Sea Grant Colleges, other extramural NOAA partners, other Federal agencies, academia, and the private sector. The new CI will be expected to work closely with STAR's Advanced Satellite Products Branch currently located in Madison, WI, with seven federal employees. It is NOAA's intent to move these employees to the new CI as funding allows. The CI should have the capacity (computers and technical support, phones, office space) to host these individuals, as they will be a necessary component for successful CI collaborations with NOAA/NESDIS.
A CI may partner with one or more research institutions that demonstrate outstanding performance within one or more established research programs in NOAA-related sciences, including Minority Serving Institutions and universities that can contribute to the proposed activities of the CI. If a CI is awarded to a consortium of institutions, the consortium must propose a governance structure that includes a single director and one award.
CIs will conduct research under approved scientific research themes, listed in this notice and described in detail in Section I.B of the Federal Funding Opportunity announcement. Activities of the CI are usually organized into three Tasks (additional tasks can be proposed by the CI).
i. Task I activities are related to the management of the CI, as well as general education and outreach activities. This task also includes support of postdoctoral and visiting scientists conducting activities within the research themes of the CI that are approved by the CI Director, in consultation with NOAA, and are relevant to NOAA and the CI's mission goals.
ii. Task II activities usually involve on-going direct collaboration with NOAA scientists. This collaboration typically is fostered by the collocation of Federal and CI employees.
iii. Task III activities require minimal collaboration with NOAA scientists and may include research funded by other NOAA competitive grant programs.
Base funding for Task 1 is provided annually by NOAA to the CI, contingent upon the availability of Federal appropriations. Throughout the award period, funding for additional Task I activities, as well as Task II and III (or other tasks by a particular CI) activities, is added to the CI award as research project proposals are submitted by the CI and approved by NOAA.
Request for Applications
Generally, applications must include all relevant Federal Standard Forms, a project description that includes sufficient information to address all the evaluation criteria identified in the FFO announcement, a budget, and a budget justification. The project description must include a thorough explanation of all themes and Tasks. The application should also identify the capability and the capacity of the CI to conduct research in the themes described in the FFO, as well as a summary of clearly stated goals to be achieved, reflecting NOAA's strategic goals and vision. Additional elements may also be requested. Applicants are directed to the FFO for all application information and requirements.
Funding Availability: The award period will be 5 years, and may be renewed for up to an additional 5 years based on the outcome of a CI review in the fourth year. All funding is contingent upon the availability of Federal appropriations. NOAA anticipates that up to approximately $12M will be available annually for this CI. Of that amount, approximately $290,000 will be available per year for Task I. The final amount of funding available for Task I will be determined during the negotiation phase of the award based on availability of funding. The actual annual funding that the CI receives may be less than the anticipated amount and will depend on the actual projects that are proposed by the CI and approved by NOAA after the main CI award begins, the availability of funding, the quality of the research, the satisfactory progress in achieving the stated goals described in project proposals, and continued relevance to program objectives.
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.
Proposals must include elements requested in the FFO announcement on the grants.gov portal. If a hard copy application is submitted, NOAA requests that the original and two unbound copies of the proposal be included. Proposals, electronic or paper, should be no more than 75 pages (numbered) in length, excluding 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.
Authorities:
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. 1442, Stat. 71 (January 23, 2004).
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance: 11.440, National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) Joint and Cooperative Institutes)
Eligibility: Eligibility is limited to non-Federal public and private non-profit universities, colleges and research institutions that offer accredited graduate level degree-granting programs in NOAA-related sciences. The lead institution applying for the award is where the CI will be established.
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 the CI's commitment under NOAA's standard evaluation criteria for overall qualifications of applicants. 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 any indirect costs assessed by the awardee on subawards, 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.
--This is a summary of a Federal Register article originally published on the page number listed below--
Notice of funding availability.
Citation: "74 FR 62283"
Document Number: "Docket No. 0911161405-91405-01"
Federal Register Page Number: "62283"
"Notices"
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