2016 Ecological Effects of Sea Level Rise Program - Advancing Predictive Capabilities to Evaluate Natural and Nature-based Features | NOAA NOS NCCOS 2016 2004616

Opportunity Information: Apply for NOAA NOS NCCOS 2016 2004616

The 2016 Ecological Effects of Sea Level Rise (EESLR) Program funding opportunity, offered by NOAA within the Department of Commerce through the National Ocean Service (NOS) and the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS), is seeking research proposals that improve understanding and prediction of how sea level rise and coastal flooding will affect ecosystems and coastal communities, and how certain natural solutions can reduce those impacts. The focus is on evaluating and quantifying the protective value of coastal natural and nature-based features, meaning habitats or approaches such as wetlands, dunes, reefs, living shorelines, and other “green” or hybrid shoreline features that can buffer storm surge, nuisance flooding, and wave run-up. The work NOAA is looking for combines real-world field research with advances in dynamic modeling, with the intent of producing practical tools that decision-makers can use for adaptation planning and coastal management.

At the center of this program is the goal of building integrated predictive capabilities that connect physical processes (like inundation depth, storm surge behavior, waves, sediment transport, shoreline change, and changing coastal elevations) with biological and ecological processes (like habitat persistence, vegetation response, ecosystem services, and overall resilience). NOAA emphasizes multidisciplinary projects that can evaluate vulnerability and resilience under multiple scenarios, including different sea level rise projections, different flooding or storm conditions, and different management choices. In other words, proposals are expected to help communities compare “what happens if we do nothing” against “what happens if we restore or build nature-based features,” and to do so using models and data robust enough to inform real planning decisions.

This particular announcement is geographically limited to two priority regions: (1) southern California, defined as San Luis Obispo County south to the U.S.-Mexico border, and (2) the Gulf of Mexico. Projects must be tied to coastal settings in those areas and should be designed to generate findings and tools that are relevant to those regional coastal dynamics, hazards, and ecosystems. While the broader EESLR program is about sea level rise impacts generally, this call is specifically oriented toward understanding how natural and nature-based coastal features perform as mitigation measures and how their performance changes as sea level rises and flooding regimes intensify.

Funding is provided through cooperative agreements, which typically means NOAA expects more involvement than a standard grant, such as coordination, collaboration, or federal participation in aspects of the work and deliverables. Awards depend on the availability of FY 2016 federal appropriations. NOAA anticipated up to $800,000 total being available for the first year of research, with an expectation of making about 2 to 4 awards. Projects were envisioned to run about 3 to 4 years. The budget limits are clearly defined: a proposal cannot request more than $300,000 per year, and proposals with a total budget over $1,200,000 across all years are not eligible for consideration. The award ceiling listed for individual awards is $300,000, aligning with the annual cap.

Eligibility is broad and includes many types of organizations that can carry out applied research and tool development. Eligible applicants include state, county, and local governments; special district governments; public and private institutions of higher education; federally recognized Native American tribal governments; nonprofits (including both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3) organizations); for-profit organizations (other than small businesses); small businesses; and other applicants as permitted in the announcement. This wide eligibility is consistent with NOAA’s interest in multidisciplinary, applied coastal research that may involve universities, resource agencies, NGOs, and technical partners working together.

From an administrative standpoint, proposals were required to be submitted electronically through Grants.gov, and NOAA provided a program information link through its coastal science website for background on EESLR priorities and context. The opportunity number is NOAA NOS NCCOS 2016 2004616, the CFDA number is 11.478, and the original closing date for submissions was January 8, 2016. Overall, the opportunity is aimed at producing credible field-based evidence and improved dynamic models that let coastal managers more confidently evaluate whether natural and nature-based features can reduce flood and sea level rise impacts, where they work best, how long they remain effective as conditions change, and what tradeoffs exist for ecosystems and communities under different future scenarios.

• The Department of Commerce in the environment, natural resources, science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "2016 Ecological Effects of Sea Level Rise Program - Advancing Predictive Capabilities to Evaluate Natural and Nature-based Features" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 11.478.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2015-09-25.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2016-01-08. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $300,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 4 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Nonprofits having a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501 (c) (3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, For-profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses, Others.

Apply for NOAA NOS NCCOS 2016 2004616

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