Pre-Award Process Find and Apply - Recipients Competitive / Non-Competitive

1. Pre-Award Process Find and Apply - Recipients Competitive / Non-Competitive Sam Contorno Federal Program Officer National Weather Service Susan Olsen Federal Program Officer National Marine Fisheries Service

2. Outline • Types of Funding • Accessing NOAA grant opportunities via www.Grants.gov • NOAA Grant Opportunities • Components of a Federal Funding Opportunity • Application basics • Overview of DOC/NOAA forms • Proposal Format - Generic • Program Administrative Review • Evaluation, Review & Selection Process

3. NOAA Financial Assistance Discretionary funds - awarded on the basis of merit or program need and to which an applicant is not entitled as a matter of law. Non-Discretionary funds – awarded to specific programs or recipients which are named by statute.

4. Discretionary Funds Competitive Awards DOC policy is that all discretionary funding decisions be made on a competitive basis Non-competitive Awards Exceptions to the competition are permitted on a case-by-case basis subject to Grants Officer approval Institutional Awards Initially competed under a program establishing long term planning goals and objectives common to the research and programmatic needs of NOAA and the recipient

5. Discretionary Funds Competitive (Omnibus FRN) • June 30 – 39 programs • December 23 – 9 programs • Individual listings Non-Competitive • Agency Initiatives • Recipient Initiatives Institutional Awards • Sea Grant • NURP • Cooperative Institutes

6. Non-Discretionary Funds Types of Non-Discretionary awards Mandated by statute: Recipient specifically named and for which funds may be set aside in an appropriations act Limited by Statute: Eligibility limited by law to a particular class of recipients

7. Non-Discretionary Funds Awards Mandated by Statute • Individual Awards referenced in Appropriations Act Awards limited by Statute • Interjurisdictional • SEAMAP • Coastal Zone Management

8. www.grants.gov Accessing NOAA Grant Opportunities

9. Why Grants.Gov? • Single source to find federal competitive grant opportunities. • Provide one stop shopping to electronically find grant opportunities and to apply for grants. • Levels the playing field for accessing and applying for Federal grants. • Streamline and simplify grant application requirements.

10. Get Registered!! • Complete all the steps in “Get Started” at www.Grants.Gov prior to submitting your initial application. • Several one-time actions must be completed prior to submission via Grants.Gov. • Registration for organizations and individuals representing them. • Registration for individuals wishing to submit applications on their own.

11. NOAA Grant Opportunities Competitive Funds • Federal Register - Omnibus Publications (June and December) • Grant Program Snapshot • Full Funding Opportunity (FFO) announcements via Grants.Gov (http://www.grants.gov) • Applicants must comply with all the requirements contained in the referenced FFO for the project competition. • Additional grant programs unanticipated at the time of the Omnibus publications will be posted throughout the year.

12. NOAA Grant Opportunities Non-Competitive/Non-Discretionary Funds • Not announced in the Federal Register. • Recipient is notified by the NOAA FPO of the pertinent Grants.Gov FFO #. • FFO # is not searchable by the CDFA number via the Grants.Gov website. • NOAA minimizing these opportunities

13. Components of the Federal Funding Opportunity • Description: Program Objective, Priorities & Authority • Award Information: Funding Availability, Project/Award Period & Funding Instrument • Eligibility Information: EligibleApplicants, Cost Sharing/Matching Requirement, and Other Criteria that Affect Eligibility

14. Federal Funding OpportunityContinued • Application and Submission Information: Addresses, Content & Form of Submission, Required Elements, Submission Dates & Times, and Restrictions. • Application Review Information: Evaluation Criteria, Review & Selection Process, and Anticipated Announcement & Award Dates

15. Federal Funding OpportunityContinued • Award Administrative Information: Administrative & National Policy Requirements and Reporting. • Agency Contacts: Identifies who at the funding agency is available to respond to inquiries about the noted FFO program.

16. Application BasicsDOC/NOAA Forms • SF-424, Application for Federal Assistance. • SF-424A, Budget Information for Non-Construction Programs. • SF-424B, Assurances, Non-Construction Programs. • CD-511, Certifications Regarding Debarment, Suspension, and other Responsibility Matters, Drug Free Workplace Requirements and Lobbying.

17. Application BasicsDOC/NOAA Forms • SF-LLL, Disclosure of Lobbying Activities—form should only be submitted to the government if the applicant is actually reporting lobbying activities. • CD-512, Certifications Regarding Debarment, Suspension, Ineligibility and Voluntary Exclusion-Lower Tier Transactions, is a form that remains in the applicant’s file. • Conflict of Interest.

18. Application Basics Populating the application forms • No standardized naming of forms …yet. • Recommend identifying funding Agency and CDFA number along with form number or document name. For example: NMFS 11454 SF424 OAR 11454 SOW NWS 11454 SF424A NOS 11454 Budget Narrative NIST 11454 SF424B NESDIS 11454 Vitae

19. Application Basics Proposal Format - Generic • Proposal Heading • A project summary of work to be performed. • A narrative project description to include project goals and objectives. • A description of all funding sources and funding needs. • Evaluation of Project Outcomes. • A budget that includes a breakdown of expenditures by cost category to accomplish project objectives. • Personnel.

20. Proposal Heading Include the following information: • Project Name/Title • Project Dates • Recipient Institution • Primary Contact (name, address, phone, fax, e-mail) • Project Web site (if any)

21. Project Description The program description portion of the application should include the following information: • Background - Provide sufficient background information for NOAA and non-NOAA readers to understand the significance of the proposed project.

22. Project DescriptionContinued • Approach. Provide a general work plan that identifies specific tasks to be accomplished. • Benefits. Identify the benefits that will be achieved as a result of this effort, both to the recipient and the general public as a whole. • Milestone Schedule. If applicable, display time lines for major tasks, target milestones for important intermediate and final products, and key project outcomes.

23. Proposal Format -- GenericContinued • Evaluation of Project Outcomes – For each objective provide a performance measure. • Personnel – List the name and title of the Principal Investigator(s) including the vitae and list all the other individuals scheduled to work on the project by name, title, or position.

24. Budget Detail • Sub-totals by cost category must match the figures on the SF-424A and include a narrative justification of the budget. • Categories should include the following: • Personnel • Fringe Benefits • Equipment • Travel • Contractual • Other costs, as appropriate • Indirect Cost Rate Agreement

25. Grants.Gov Submission Review • Register Early • Submit Early • Verify Submission is OK • Received • Validated • Rejected with errors

26. Submission ProblemsWhat should you do? Grants.Gov Customer support: 1-800-518-4726 http://www.grants.gov/CustomerSupport If use of Grants.Gov is optional and you have problems that you are unable to resolve before the deadline date, follow transmittal instructions for hard copy applications as stated in the FR/FFO.

27. Program Administrative Review • Upon receipt of an application the receiving program office determines whether the document responds to the FFO. • Application is then reviewed further to determine if application contains sufficient technical/scientific information to conduct an evaluation; meets program policies and priorities; and responds to all required elements noted in the FFO.

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