Ocean Exploration Fiscal Year 2025 Funding Opportunity
Agency: DOC NOAA - ERA Production
Posted: 2024-04-02 | Closing date: 2024-10-03
Award ceiling: 1000000
Award floor: 50000
Cost sharing or matching requirement: No

 NOAA Ocean Exploration is soliciting proposals for ocean exploration-related projects under two themes: Ocean Exploration and Maritime Heritage. By supporting exploration (i.e., examining unknown or poorly understood areas of the seafloor, sub-bottom, or water column through initial assessments of the physical, chemical, geological, biological, archaeological, or other characteristics), NOAA Ocean Exploration seeks to advance our basic understanding of the unknown ocean. All proposed projects must support priorities in the NOAA Ocean Exploration Strategic Plan (https://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/about/what-we-do/media/noaa-oe-strategic-plan_fy23-fy27.pdf) and should also consider the Strategic Priorities for Ocean Exploration and Characterization of the United States Exclusive Economic Zone (https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/NOMEC_OEC_Priorities_Report.pdf). Proposed projects are not restricted to waters under U.S. jurisdiction, but proposals should address how projects will provide national benefit. For Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25) funding, NOAA Ocean Exploration is soliciting proposals focused on one of the following two themes: OCEAN EXPLORATION: Ocean Exploration proposals should support exploration of unknown or poorly known ocean areas, processes, or resources in waters deeper than 200 meters or in tropical mesophotic environments. Projects can entail conducting ocean exploration (e.g., mapping and characterizing ocean habitats, combining seismic and acoustic methods), advancing ocean exploration through the use or development of novel technologies (e.g., autonomous systems, nondestructive sensors, artificial intelligence/machine learning), and/or analysis of ocean exploration datasets or samples that already exist and are publicly accessible. NOAA Ocean Exploration is particularly interested in projects that explore the physical, chemical, and biological environments and processes in the deep oceanic water column and projects that will improve genetic libraries for species-level environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis of deep-sea species. All proposals must demonstrate how the proposed project relates to at least one of the exploration variables identified by NOAA Ocean Exploration (https://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/data/publications/exploration-variables.html). MARITIME HERITAGE: Maritime Heritage proposals should address the exploration for significant maritime heritage resources that improve our understanding of the past and inform decisions about management and preservation. Maritime heritage projects can be conducted at any water depth. NOAA Ocean Exploration is particularly interested in proposals that target conflict archaeology, incorporate Indigenous knowledge, or perform wide-area searches in areas poorly mapped for maritime heritage. NOAA Ocean Exploration welcomes the use of innovative technology and/or methods for quantitative assessment of targets to improve archaeological site identification and documentation. Informational documents about this funding opportunity are on the NOAA Ocean Exploration website at https://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/about/funding-opps/welcome.html. All links were valid as of the date of the publication of this notice. If updated links are needed, email oer.nofo2025@noaa.gov. The following lists are provided to aid preparation of pre-proposals and full proposals. Pre-Proposals (due May 30, 2024, at 4:59 p.m. ET) NOAA Ocean Exploration notice of funding opportunity cover sheet Pre-proposal narrative, maximum two pages Demographic information (optional) All applicants should submit proposals to oer.nofo2025@noaa.gov. Full Proposals (due October 3, 2024, at 11:59 p.m. ET) Updated NOAA Ocean Exploration notice of funding opportunity cover sheet Executive summary, maximum one page Project narrative, maximum 15 pages Data and information sharing plan, maximum two pages Outreach and education plan, maximum one page Statement of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA), maximum one page Previous significant results for each principal and co-principal investigator Summary of current funding support for each principal and co-principal investigator Curriculum vitae, maximum two pages for each principal and co-principal investigator Budget justification and budget tables Negotiated indirect cost rate agreement (if applicable) National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) questionnaire Letters of support (if applicable) from: The applicable state historic preservation office (SHPO; if the proposed project is in state waters) The tribal historic preservation office (THPO; if the proposed project is on federally recognized tribal lands) Indigenous communities identified as collaborating or cooperating with the proposed project Other supporters (optional, e.g., ship time operators) Details about coordination with the National Oceanographic Partnership Program (NOPP), maximum one page (only applicable if the lead principal investigator is a federal employee) Forms (for nonfederal applicants only): Application for Federal Assistance (SF-424) Budget Information for Non-Construction Programs (SF-424A) Assurances for Non-Construction Programs (SF-424B) Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (SF-LLL) Certification Regarding Lobbying (CD511) Suggested reviewers (optional) Nonfederal applicants must submit all documents required for a full proposal individually through Grants.gov. Federal applicants must email full proposals to oer.nofo2025@noaa.gov. Applicant organizations must complete and maintain three registrations to be eligible to apply for or receive an award. These registrations include SAM.gov, Grants.gov, and eRA Commons. All registrations must be completed prior to the application being submitted. The complete registration process for all three systems can take 4 to 6 weeks, so applicants should begin this activity as soon as possible. If an eligible applicant does not have access to the internet, please contact the Agency Contacts (see in Section IV.A.) for submission instructions. Prior to registering with eRA Commons, applicant organizations must first obtain a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) from SAM.gov, if needed (see Section IV.C). Organizations can register with eRA Commons in tandem with completing their full SAM and Grants.gov registrations; however, all registrations must be in place by time of application submission. eRA Commons requires organizations to identify at least one Signing Official (SO) and at least one Program Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) account in order to submit an application. 

Eligibility: Eligible applicants are U.S.-based institutions of higher education; nonprofit organizations; U.S. state, tribal, territory, and local governments; for-profit organizations; and federal agencies that possess the statutory authority to accept funding for this type of work. While individuals representing non-U.S.-based organizations cannot submit proposals, they can collaborate on projects with eligible U.S.-based organizations as sub-awardees.      Applicants from institutions that are part of the Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute (OECI), which are the University of Rhode Island, Ocean Exploration Trust, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, the University of New Hampshire, and the University of Southern Mississippi, are not eligible to apply as these institutions have an annual opportunity to apply for NOAA Ocean Exploration funding via the OECI. Personnel from the above-listed OECI institutions may still collaborate with an eligible U.S.-based applicant on a proposal as a subawardee, but not as a principal (lead) or co-principal investigator.    Before proposals from federal agencies other than NOAA can be funded, applicants must affirm that their agency has legal authority to receive funds from another federal agency for this type of work in excess of their appropriation. Because this notice is not proposing to procure goods or services from applicants, the Economy Act (31 U.S.C. section 1535) does not provide this authority.     Applicants from authorized federal agencies and NOAA must be able and agree to take FY25 funding for proposed projects (both one- and two-year projects) and allocate those funds in FY25 (i.e., between October 1, 2024, and September 30, 2025).      To be eligible to apply or receive an award, applicant organizations must complete and maintain three registrations; SAM.gov, Grants.gov, and eRA Commons. For each, the complete registration process can take 4 to 6 weeks, so applicants must begin this activity as soon as possible and well before the proposal due date. For more information on how to meet these registration and application submission requirements without errors, we advise all to carefully review relevant Applicant and Grantee Training modules: https://www.commerce.gov/ocio/programs/gems/applicant-and-grantee-training.