FY2023 National Sea Grant College Program Special Projects

The National Sea Grant College Program was enacted by 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. The purpose of this notice is to request proposals for special projects consistent with the focus areas outlined in the National Sea Grant College Program’s (Sea Grant) strategic plan, and to provide the general public with information and guidelines on how Sea Grant will select proposals and administer Federal assistance under this announcement. This announcement is a mechanism to encourage research or other projects that are not normally funded through Sea Grant national competitions. This opportunity is open only to: Sea Grant programs (Sea Grant Colleges, Institutions, or Coherent Area Programs). Section III of this announcement describes eligibility requirements in more detail. Funding has not yet been made available to support applications submitted to this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), but such funding may become available during the year. Section II.A. below describes individual competition announcements that will be used to announce when funding is available, any restrictions or requirements such as cost share, and other funding details. Awards will be made under this NOFO only to applications that are responsive to individual competition announcements. Unsolicited applications will not be reviewed. This document sets out requirements for submitting to NOAA-OAR-SG-2023-2007550.

Eligible applicants are: Sea Grant Programs (Sea Grant Colleges, Institutions, or Coherent Area Programs). Individual competition announcements may restrict eligibility to a subset of these applicants. 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.