[Federal Register: October 7, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 195)]
[Notices]
[Page 58563-58566]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr07oc08-50]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
[Docket No. 0809181228-81232-01; I.D. GF001]
Cooperative Institute To Investigate the Use of Satellite
Applications for Regional and Global-Scale Forecast Systems
AGENCY: OAR Cooperative Institutes Program Office (CIPO), Oceanic and
Atmospheric Research (OAR), National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of funding availability.
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SUMMARY: NOAA Office of Oceans and Atmospheric Research (OAR) invites
applications for a Cooperative Institute (CI) that will collaborate
with NOAA scientists to improve weather forecast and warning accuracy;
contribute to improvements in water resource forecasting capabilities;
provide integrated weather information to meet future aviation and
surface transportation needs; advance satellite sensor technology;
develop high-performance computing, visualization, and scientific
workstation technologies; and enhance environmental literacy to improve
understanding. The CI would also conduct research needed to develop
multiscale (global to local) data assimilation techniques with a strong
satellite data emphasis, and provide the scientific expertise and the
necessary computing infrastructure to help NOAA move forward on these
issues. Through this competition, NOAA intends to establish
competitively a new CI according to the policy and procedures described
in NOAA Administrative Order 216-107 and the Cooperative Institute
Interim Handbook both available at http://www.nrc.noaa.gov/ ci/. The
proposed CI should be within daily commuting distance of NOAA
facilities in Boulder and Fort Collins, Colorado. NOAA has identified
five research themes that will address identified needs within the NOAA
Weather and Water Goal that would benefit from collaborations with the
CI.
I. Satellite algorithm development, training and education.
Research conducted under this theme is associated with development of
satellite-based algorithms for weather forecasting, with emphasis on
regional and mesoscale meteorological phenomenon. This work includes
applications of basic satellite products such as feature track winds,
thermodynamic retrievals, sea surface temperature, etc., in combination
with model analyses and forecasts, as well as in situ and other remote
sensing observations. Applications can be for current or future
satellites. Also under this theme, satellite and related training
material will be developed and delivered to a wide variety of users,
with emphasis on operational forecasters. A variety of techniques can
be used, including distance learning methods, Web-based demonstration
projects and instructor-led training.
II. Regional to Global Scale Modeling Systems. Research conducted
under this theme is associated with the improvement of weather/climate
models (minutes to months) that simulate and predict changes in the
Earth system. Topics include atmospheric and ocean dynamics, radiative
forcing, clouds and moist convection, land surface modeling, hydrology,
and coupled modeling of the earth system.
III. Data Assimilation. Research conducted under this theme will
develop and improve techniques to assimilate environmental
observations, including satellite, terrestrial, oceanic, and biological
observations, to produce the best estimate of the environmental state
at the time of the observations for use in analysis, modeling, and
prediction activities associated with weather/climate predications
(minutes to months) and analysis.
IV. Climate-Weather Processes. Research conducted under this theme
will focus on using numerical models and environmental data, including
satellite observations, to understand processes that are important to
creating environmental changes on weather and
[[Page 58564]]
short-term climate timescales (minutes to months) and the two-way
interactions between weather systems and regional climate.
V. Data Distribution. Research conducted under this theme will
focus on identifying effective and efficient methods of quickly
distributing and displaying very large sets of environmental and model
data using data networks, using web map services, data compression
algorithms, and other techniques.
This announcement provides requirements for the proposed CI and
includes details for the technical program, evaluation criteria, and
competitive selection procedures. Applicants should review CI Interim
Handbook (available at http://www.nrc.noaa.gov/ci) prior to preparing a
proposal for this announcement.
DATES: Proposals must be received by OAR no later than January 5, 2009
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. For non-Windows computer systems, please see http:/
/www.grants.gov/MacSupport for information on how to download and
submit an application through 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: Mr. Philip L.
Hoffman, 1315 East West Highway, Room 11308, Silver Spring, Maryland
20910; telephone (301) 734-1096. No e-mail or facsimile proposal
submissions will be accepted.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For a copy of the Federal Funding
Opportunity announcement and/or an application package, please access
Grants.gov, the NOAA Cooperative Institute Web site (www.nrc.noaa.gov/
ci) or contact Mr. Philip L. Hoffman, 1315 East West Highway, Room
11308, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910; telephone (301) 734-1096; e-mail:
Philip.Hoffman@noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The purpose of this announcement is to
invite the submission of proposals to establish a CI which will
collaborate with NOAA scientists to improve weather forecast and
warning accuracy; contribute to improvements in water resource
forecasting capabilities; provide integrated weather information to
meet future aviation and surface transportation needs; advance
satellite sensor technology; develop high-performance computing,
visualization, and scientific workstation technologies; and enhance
environmental literacy to improve understanding. This CI will give NOAA
the benefit of working with complementary capabilities at one or more
research institutions that contribute to meteorological research and
forecasting missions.
CI Concept/Program 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 ``to
understand and predict changes in the Earth's environment and conserve
and manage coastal and marine resources to meet our Nation's economic,
social, and environmental needs.'' 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 post-doctoral scientists
in NOAA-funded research. The CI provides mutual benefits with value
provided by all parties. NOAA establishes a new CI competitively when
it identifies a need to sponsor a long-term (5-10 years) collaborative
partnership with one or more outstanding non-Federal, non-profit
research institutions. For NOAA, the purpose of this long-term
collaborative partnership is to promote research, education, training,
and outreach aligned with NOAA's mission; to obtain research
capabilities that do not exist internally; and/or to expand research
capacity in NOAA-related sciences to:
Conduct collaborative, long-term research that involves
NOAA scientists and those at the research institution(s) from one or
more scientific disciplines of interest to NOAA;
Utilize the scientific, education, and outreach expertise
at the research institution(s) that, depending on NOAA's research
needs, may or may not be located near a NOAA facility;
Support student participation in NOAA-related research
studies; and
Strengthen or expand NOAA-related research capabilities
and capacity at the research institution(s) that complements and
contributes to NOAA's ability to reach its mission goals.
A CI will consist of one or more research institutions that
demonstrate outstanding performance within one or more established
research programs in NOAA-related sciences. These institutions may
include Minority Serving Institutions and universities with strong
departments that can contribute to the proposed activities of the CI.
CIs conduct research under approved scientific research themes (see
Section I.B of the full funding opportunity announcement) and Tasks
(additional tasks can be proposed by the CI):
i. Task 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. 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. Task III activities require minimal collaboration
with NOAA scientists and may include research funded by other NOAA
competitive grant programs.
Electronic Access: The full text of the full funding opportunity
announcement for this program can be accessed via the Grants.gov Web
site at http://www.grants.gov. The announcement will also be available
by contacting the program officials identified under FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT. Applicants must comply with all requirements
contained in the full funding opportunity announcement.
Statutory Authority:
15 U.S.C. 1540
33 U.S.C. 883 (d)
15 U.S.C. 313
49 U.S.C. 44720 (b)
15 U.S.C. 5501 et seq.
15 U.S.C. 2901 et seq.
118 Stat. 71 (Jan. 23, 2004)
CFDA: 11.432, OAR Joint and Cooperative Institutes
Funding Availability: The award period will be 5 years, and may be
renewed for an additional 5 years based
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on the outcome of a CI review in the fourth year. All funding is
contingent upon the availability of Federal appropriations. NOAA
expects that approximately $9M will be available for the CI in the
first year of the award. The Task I budget should not exceed $230,000.
The final amount of funding available for Task I will be determined
during the negotiation phase of the award based on availability of
funding. Funding for subsequent years is expected to increase by 6% per
year throughout the period and will depend 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.
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.
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
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.
Evaluation and Selection Procedures: The general evaluation
criteria and selection factors that apply to full applications to this
funding opportunity are summarized below. The evaluation criteria for
full applications will have different weights and details. Further
information about the evaluation criteria and selection factors can be
found in the full funding opportunity announcement.
Evaluation Criteria for Projects: Proposals will be evaluated using
the standard NOAA evaluation criteria. Various questions under each
criterion are provided 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.
i. Importance and/or relevance and applicability of proposed
project to the program goals (25 percent): This criterion ascertains
whether there is intrinsic value in the proposed work and/or relevance
to NOAA, Federal, regional, state, or local activities.
Does the proposal include 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 program
priorities (see Section I.B. of the full funding opportunity
announcement)?
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?
Does the proposal meet the geographical constraints
described in the announcement?
ii. Technical/scientific merit (30 percent): This criterion
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 project description include innovative approaches
to meeting the undersea technology development, exploration and
research goals of the proposal?
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?
iii. Overall qualifications of applicants (30 percent): This
criterion 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 and/or NOAA scientists on
research projects?
Is there nationally and/or 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?
Does the CI possess the necessary undersea technical
expertise and resources, and/or provide access to the technical
resources outlined in the proposal?
Has the applicant shown a substantial investment to the
NOAA partnership, as demonstrated by the amount of the cost sharing
contribution?
iv. Project costs (5 percent): The budget is evaluated to determine
if it is realistic and commensurate with the project needs and time-
frame.
v. 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.
Is there a strong education program with established
graduate degree programs in NOAA-related sciences that also encourages
student participation in NOAA-related research studies?
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-listed evaluation
criteria by an independent peer review panel. 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, each expert will
submit an individual review and there will be no consensus opinion. The
merit reviewers' ratings are used to produce a rank order of the
proposals. The Selecting Official selects proposals after considering
the peer 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.
Selection Factors for Projects: The merit review ratings shall
provide a rank order to the Selecting Official for final funding
recommendations. 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:
i. Availability of funding.
ii. Balance/distribution of funds:
a. Geographically.
b. By type of institutions.
c. By type of partners.
d. By research areas.
[[Page 58566]]
e. By project types.
iii. Whether this project duplicates other projects funded or
considered for funding by NOAA or other Federal agencies.
iv. Program priorities and policy factors.
v. Applicant's prior award performance.
vi. Partnerships and/or participation of targeted groups.
vii. Adequacy of information necessary for NOAA staff to make a
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) determination and draft
necessary documentation before recommendations for funding are made to
the Grants Officer.
Intergovernmental Review: Applications under this program are not
subject to Executive Order 12372, ``Intergovernmental Review of Federal
Programs.''
Limitation of Liability: In no event will NOAA or the Department of
Commerce be responsible for proposal 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.
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 the following
NOAA NEPA Web site: http://www.nepa.noaa.gov/, including our NOAA
Administrative Order 216-6 for NEPA, http://www.nepa.noaa.gov/NAO216_
6_TOC.pdf, 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.
The Department of Commerce 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 February 11, 2008 (73 FR
7696), are applicable to this solicitation.
Paperwork Reduction Act: This document contains collection-of-
information requirements subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA).
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) under the
respective control numbers 0348-0043, 0348-0044, 0348-0040, 0348-0046,
and 0605-0001. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person is
required to, nor shall a 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: This notice has been determined to be 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, loans, grants, benefits, and contracts (5 U.S.C.
553(a)(2)). Because notice and opportunity for comment are not required
pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553 or any other law, the analytical requirements
for the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) are
inapplicable. Therefore, a regulatory flexibility analysis has not been
prepared.
Dated: October 1, 2008.
Mark E. Brown,
Chief Financial Officer/Chief Administrative Officer, Oceanic and
Atmospheric Research, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
[FR Doc. E8-23661 Filed 10-6-08; 8:45 am]
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