[Code of Federal Regulations]

[Title 15, Volume 3]

[Revised as of January 1, 2006]

From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access

[CITE: 15CFR918.5]



[Page 89-91]

 

                  TITLE 15--COMMERCE AND FOREIGN TRADE

 

CHAPTER IX--NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT 

                               OF COMMERCE

 

PART 918_SEA GRANTS--Table of Contents

 

Sec. 918.5  Eligibility, qualifications, and responsibilities--Sea 

Grant Regional Consortia.



    (a) To be eligible for designation as a Sea Grant Regional 

Consortium, the candidate association or alliance of organizations must 

provide, in significant breadth and quality, one or more services in the 

areas of research, education, and training, or advisory service in 

fields related to ocean, Great Lakes, and coastal resources. Further, it 

is essential that the candidate Sea Grant Consortium be required to 

provide all three services as soon as possible after designation. 

Further, such association or alliance must demonstrate that:

    (1) It has been established for the purpose of sharing expertise, 

research, educational facilities, or training facilities, and other 

capabilities in order to facilitate research, education, training, and 

advisory services in any field related to ocean, Great Lakes, and 

coastal resources; and

    (2) It will encourage and follow a regional multi-State approach to 

solving problems or meeting needs relating to ocean, Great Lakes, and 

coastal resources, in cooperation with appropriate Sea Grant Colleges, 

Sea Grant Programs and other persons in the region.

    (b) Although it is recognized that the distribution of effort 

between research,



[[Page 90]]



education, training, and advisory services to achieve appropriate 

balance in a Sea Grant Regional Consortium may differ from a Sea Grant 

College, sustained effort in all of these areas is, nonetheless, an 

essential requirement for retention of such designation. To be eligible 

for designation as a Sea Grant Regional Consortium, the candidate 

association or alliance of organizations must meet the qualifications 

set forth above as evaluated by a site review team composed of members 

of the Sea Grant Review Panel, the Office of Sea Grant, and other 

experts. Further, the candidate must be rated highly in all of the 

following qualifying areas which are pertinent to the Consortium's 

program:

    (1) Leadership. The Sea Grant Regional Consortium candidate must 

have achieved recognition as an intellectual and practical leader in 

marine science, engineering, education, and advisory service in its 

region.

    (2) Organization. The Sea Grant Regional Consortium candidate must 

have created the management organization to carry on a viable and 

productive multidisciplinary Sea Grant Program and have the backing of 

the administrations of its component organizations at a sufficiently 

high level to fulfill its multidisciplinary and multifaceted mandate.

    (3) Relevance. The Sea Grant Regional Consortium candidate's Sea 

Grant Program must be relevant to regional opportunities and problems in 

the marine environment. Important factors in evaluating relevance are 

the extent and depth of the need of a region for a focused marine 

resource emphasis and the degree to which the candidate has developed 

its capability to be responsive to that need.

    (4) Education and training. Education and training must be clearly 

relevant to regional needs and must be of high quality in fields related 

to ocean, Great Lakes, and coastal resources. As appropriate, education 

may include precollege, college, post-graduate, public and adult levels.

    (5) Advisory services. The Sea Grant Regional Consortium candidate 

must have a strong program through which information techniques, and 

research results from any reliable source, domestic or international, 

may be communicated to and utilized by user communities. In addition to 

the educational and information dissemination role, the advisory service 

program must aid in the identification and communication of user 

communities' research and educational needs.

    (6) Relationships. The Sea Grant Regional Consortium candidate must 

have close ties with federal agencies, state agencies and 

administrations, regional authorities, regional business and industry, 

and other regional educational institutions. These regional ties are: 

(i) To ensure the relevance of programs, (ii) to generate requests for 

such assistance as the consortium may offer, and (iii) to assist others 

in developing research and management competence. The extent and quality 

of a candidate's relationships are critical factors in evaluating the 

proposed designation.

    (7) Productivity. The Sea Grant Regional Consortium candidate must 

have demonstrated a degree of productivity (of research results, 

reports, employed students, service to regional agencies, industry, 

etc.) commensurate with the length of its Sea Grant operations and the 

level of funding under which it has worked.

    (8) Support. The Sea Grant Regional Consortium candidate must have 

the ability to obtain matching funds from non-Federal sources, such as 

State legislatures, university management, State agencies, and business 

and industry. A diversity of matching funds sources is encouraged as a 

sign of program vitality and the ability to meet the Sea Grant 

requirement that funds for the general programs be matched with at least 

one non-Federal dollar for every two Federal dollars.

    (c) Finally, it must be found that the Sea Grant Regional Consortium 

candidate will act in accordance with the following standards relating 

to its continuing responsibilities as a Sea Grant Regional Consortium:

    (1) Continue pursuit of excellence and high performance in marine 

research education, training, and advisory services.

    (2) Provide regional leadership in marine activities including 

coordinated planning and cooperative work with



[[Page 91]]



local, State, regional, and Federal agencies, other Sea Grant Programs, 

and non-Sea Grant organizations.

    (3) Maintain an effective management framework and application of 

organizational resources to the achievement of Sea Grant objectives.

    (4) Develop and implement long-term plans for research, education, 

training, and advisory services consistent with Sea Grant goals and 

objectives.

    (5) Advocate and further the Sea Grant concept and the full 

development of its potential within the consortium and the region.

    (6) Provide adequate and stable matching financial support for the 

program from non-Federal sources.

    (7) Establish and operate an effective system to control the quality 

of its Sea Grant program.