Welcome, everyone.
Thanks for joining today.
We'll get started in a moment.
Welcome, everyone.
We're about a minute after the hour, so I'm going to go ahead and get started.
Thank you all for joining the webinar today.
Today we'll be talking about our fiscal year 2025
Notice of Funding Opportunity for Ocean Exploration.
This webinar for today will be recorded and added to our funding website.
The audience will remain muted throughout the webinar,
but we do ask you to ask questions in the questions tab,
and we will answer them live
during the question and answer session at the end of the session.
For more information about our funding opportunity this year,
please visit our website at oceanexplorer.noaa.gov.
We have details about this website in our chat
on the Go to webinar panel.
My name is Frank Cantelas
and I'm the acting program manager for this funding opportunity.
I have several people working behind the scenes today who I’d like to introduce,
helping to make the webinar possible.
We have Ashley Marranzino, a benthic biologist.
She’ll be working to answer your questions
within the questions tab of the GoToWebinar panel.
We also have Nina Pruzinsky here,
grant science support coordinator.
She is helping with troubleshooting any problems you may have.
At the end of this webinar during the question and answer period,
she will be reading your questions aloud for me to answer.
We also have Anna Lienesch,
who is our data management lead for our grant program.
She will help with any data related questions that may come up.
I'd also like to mention
and introduce Adrian Copeland, who’s currently,
who is normally the grant program manager for this funding opportunity.
I'm covering for her while she's away from the office, but she'll be back in June
and will be the main POC for those who apply for these grants.
During the webinar today,
we'll be giving you an introduction to NOAA Ocean Exploration,
discussing the FY 25 Ocean Exploration funding opportunity,
and going over the requirements for this year's funding opportunity.
And discussing some proposal tips.
Along the bottom of each slide, you'll see tabs
that will orient you to this agenda.
So to start,
we'll talk a little bit about NOAA Ocean Exploration.
NOAA Ocean Exploration is a program dedicated to exploring
the unknown ocean, unlocking its potential through scientific discovery,
technology advancements, partnerships, and data delivery.
NOAA Ocean Exploration is leading national efforts
to fill gaps in our basic understanding of the marine environment,
providing critical ocean data, information, and awareness
needed to strengthen our economy, health, and security
of the United States.
NOAA Ocean Exploration focuses on unexplored
or underexplored areas for national benefit.
We have a particular focus on areas
that are greater than 200 meters in water depth.
However, we do explore in shallower areas for this opportunity when it comes to
our maritime heritage priorities and tropical metaphoric environments.
The main goal of our office is to make the data
we collect publicly accessible as soon as possible.
Our priorities are informed by a number of strategic documents,
including the NOAA Ocean Exploration Strategic Plan
and the national strategy for ocean mapping, exploring and characterizing
the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone.
Ocean exploration
comprises activities that provide a multidisciplinary view of an unknown
or poorly understood area of the seafloor, sub-bottom or water column
In an initial assessment on the physical, chemical, biological,
archeological, or other characteristics of such an area.
You can see from the schematic on the right that defines site exploration
that includes the water column, seafloor, sub-seafloor,
looking at the biology and environment of that place.
The primary work we conduct is focused in several areas,
the operation of NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer with its 6,000 meter capable ROV,
deepwater mapping system, and telepresence communication system.
We support development of new ocean exploration technologies.
We use funding mechanisms like competitive grants
and cooperative agreements to support the ocean exploration community.
Education and outreach are integral
parts of all NOAA Ocean Exploration projects.
Finally, building strong partnerships to carry out
the mission is also a priority.
Now I'm going to get into the discussion
of the funding opportunity.
I'd like to preface this part of the talk to let you know
The Ocean Exploration Fiscal Year 2025 Notice of Funding Opportunity,
available in Grants.gov, is the authoritative guide
for the application process.
We are here today to help you with that process, and everything we share
about the application process is from this notice of funding opportunity.
This year's funding opportunity is open to applicants
from 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.
For this year, federal principal investigators are required to consult
with the National Oceanographic Partnership Program
to make sure that their project aligns with those requirements.
Applicants from institutions that are part of the Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute,
or OECI, are only eligible to collaborate with an eligible
U.S.-based applicant on the proposal as a subawardee,
but not as a principal or co-principal investigator.
Projects are not limited to waters under U.S. jurisdiction,
but must address how they will provide
national benefit.
Proposed projects must support priorities in the
NOAA Ocean Exploration Strategic Plan, and/or consider the strategic priorities
for ocean exploration and characterization
of the United States Exclusive Economic Zone.
The amount of funding available for this opportunity
is subject to the final FY25 federal appropriation.
We are anticipating approximately $3 million
available to fund 4 to 8 awards.
These can be 1- or 2-year awards.
Funding requests must range from $50,000 to $750,000 for maritime heritage themes,
and $50,000 to $1 million for ocean exploration themes.
As I just mentioned, we have two themes.
First is the ocean exploration theme, and the second is the maritime heritage theme.
I'll describe each of these.
In the ocean exploration theme,
We're looking for proposals that explore unknown or poorly known ocean
areas, processes, and resources in waters deeper than 200 meters.
It can include the use or development of
novel technologies, and/or analysis of samples
and datasets that already exist are are publicly accessible.
Projects in shallower waters will be considered for exploration
of tropical mesophotic environments.
Projects must demonstrate a relationship to at least one
exploration variable identified by NOAA Ocean Exploration.
The link to that document is in our notice of funding opportunity
and on our website.
There are two focus areas
within the ocean exploration theme.
Exploration of physical, chemical, and biological environments
and processes within the oceanic water column.
And improvements to genetic libraries
for species-level environmental DNA analysis of
deep-sea species.
The second theme is maritime heritage.
This is the exploration for significant maritime heritage resources
that improve understanding of the past and inform decisions
about management and preservation.
Projects can be conducted in any water depth and are not limited to waters
under U.S. jurisdiction.
The focus under this theme is conflict archeology,
incorporation of Indigenous knowledge, and wide-area searches
in areas poorly mapped for maritime heritage.
This is the
FY25 funding opportunity timeline.
We published our notice of funding opportunity on April 2.
The deadline for pre-proposals, which is a requirement to submit
a full proposal, is May 30, 2024, at 4:59 p.m. Eastern Time.
The deadline for full proposal submission is October 3, 2024,
at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time.
We plan to notify applicants
of their award selection by April 2025.
Anticipated start, the anticipated start date for grants
is September 2025.
Dates here are subject to change.
Now, I'm going to go over the requirements
for applying to this year's funding opportunity.
Our resources and instructions can, again, be found on our website
at this address. On our website,
you'll find a link to this year's notice of funding opportunity,
which will take you to the Grants.gov website.
Within the notice of funding opportunity
are all the details I'm going to be mentioning today, as well as a checklist
to ensure that you've submitted all the required materials
as part of both the pre-proposal and the full proposal submission.
On our website, you'll also find the required cover sheet,
which is a requirement for both the pre-proposal
and full proposal, as well as instructions on how to complete the cover sheet.
You'll also find guidance on how to put together the budget tables
and the data management plans, which are both again requirements at full proposal stage.
On our website, there's a link to the most recent
NEPA, or National Environmental Policy Act, questionnaire,
which is required to be completed at the full proposal stage.
You'll also find the frequently asked questions. The frequently asked
questions document will be updated throughout this funding cycle.
So, I encourage you to check back there if you have any questions.
If you don't find your question
answered there, you can also reach out to us via email,
and we'll be happy to answer those questions.
We will also be updating the frequently asked questions
based on the questions we received today.
I'll go over the requirements for the pre-proposal now.
Again, you are required to submit a pre-proposal in order
to be considered for a full proposal.
The first requirement for the pre- proposal stage is to complete
a NOAA Ocean Exploration notice of funding opportunity cover sheet.
This document is a two-page document that can be found on our website,
as I mentioned previously.
The next requirement
is the pre-proposal, which is a maximum of two pages.
Anything beyond the two-page limit will not be reviewed.
Details about what you should include
for the pre-proposal can be found in the notice of funding opportunity.
This year, we also request that you submit demographic information
through a web link found in the funding opportunity announcement.
This is completely voluntary.
The pre-proposal package is due May 30, 2024, at 4:59 p.m. Eastern Time
via email to our email address listed here, which is
oer.nofo2025@noaa.gov.
Make sure to allow enough time for this submission,
because any pre-proposals received after this deadline
will not be considered for review.
When you send those emails, make sure to include your last name
as the principal investigator along with
ocean exploration pre-proposal.
Now for the full proposal requirements.
Again, you'll need to submit the NOAA Ocean Exploration
notice of funding opportunity cover sheet and make sure to update it with whatever
changes might have occurred between the pre-proposal and full proposal stage.
The proposal must include an executive summary, a maximum of one page,
a project narrative, maximum 15 pages.
And again, I'll encourage you to read the notice of funding opportunity
because it talks about what you should include within the project narrative.
A data and information sharing plan, a maximum of two pages.
An outreach and education plan, maximum of one page.
A statement of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility,
a maximum of one page.
A previous significant results document
from any prior funding from NOAA Ocean Exploration.
This is important.
This is a required document.
So, if you have not received
previous funding, be sure you still include this document
and state that you have received no prior funding.
A summary of current funding.
Support for each principal investigator and co-principal investigator.
A CV or resume for each principal investigator
and each co-principal investigator,
with a maximum of two pages per document per person.
A budget justification and budget tables.
If applicable, the negotiated indirect cost memo.
The NEPA questionnaire with questions 1 through 19
and 51 through 57, answered.
And again, that NEPA questionnaire, as well as guidance on the budget
justification and budget tables, can be found on the website.
It's optional for grant.
It's optional to provide letters of support.
Letters of support can be for the outreach and education activities.
It can also be letters of support for ship time
request or work in MPAs as examples.
But those are optional.
If your project is in state waters, you must submit a letter of support
from the applicable State Historic Preservation Office.
A letter of support
from the Tribal Historic Preservation Office
if a project occurs on federally recognized tribal lands.
A letter of support from the Indigenous community
if a project mentions cooperation
or collaboration with any Indigenous community by name.
Nonfederal applicants must submit
these OMB forms: the SF-424,
the SF-424A,
SF-424B, SF-LLL,
and the CD511 forms.
For federal
principal investigators, they also need to include a maximum
one page document detailing their NOPP coordination efforts,
NOPP stands for National Oceanographic Partnership Program,
and how the project conforms to the NOPP partnership requirements.
You can submit a list.
You can submit a list of suggested reviewers, which is optional.
Again, be sure that all of these documents are submitted.
If they are not submitted, the proposal will not go out for review.
Full proposals are due October 3, 2024,
at 11:59 Eastern Time. For nonfederal applicants,
documents must be submitted individually through Grants.gov.
For federal applicants, they must be submitted via email
to our email address, again listed here at
oer.nofo2025@noaa.gov
I also want to highlight here,
and it's not listed,
make sure when you submit your project narrative, you also include
your references or citations. Your references and citations
do not count towards the 15-page limit of the project
narrative.
There are a few format requirements to be aware of
for the full proposal.
All full proposals must be formatted to print on 8.5x11 inch paper
with one inch margins and 12 point font.
PDF is the preferred format for those documents.
The principal investigator’s last name should be
typed at the bottom right hand corner of each page.
All digital files should be named with the applicant's last name
and a descriptor indicating the file content.
For example, here.
For each proposal, the title must be no longer than 15 words
or 100 characters.
So, now I'm
going to talk through the review process,
first with the pre-proposals.
And I want to say again, the pre-proposal is a requirement
in order to submit a full proposal.
And the pre proposal
will go through a
NOAA Exploration internal evaluation panel.
Every pre-proposal will be reviewed by at least three experts.
And these are the following things that will be reviewed:
The first one is relevant to the NOAA and NOAA Ocean Exploration mission and goals.
The second evaluation criterion
is the scientific and technical merit of the project.
The third criteria are the qualifications and competencies
of the applicants, and this includes past performance
on OER or ocean exploration
awards.
Past performance can include things like timely publications,
submission of data, etc.
And the final review criteria is the cost
for the overall project, including the value of cost sharing
and/or in-kind contributions, as well as specific items.
It also includes the strength of the NOPP partnerships for federal applicants.
These are the items
that the internal panel will be reviewing.
So, when you write your proposal, keep this in mind.
After the internal evaluation, all principal investigators
will be notified whether or not we encourage or discourage
the pre-proposal to go for submission of a full proposal.
If a project is discouraged from submitting a full proposal,
it is still up to the principal investigator and their institution
if they would like to submit a full proposal.
So, if you receive a discouragement, that does not limit
you from submitting a full proposal.
On full proposals,
there's a two-stage external review process.
The first stage is an email peer review process
that has a minimum of three experts that review the proposal.
After that, the proposals will go through a panel review, again
with a minimum of three reviewers.
And the panel reviewers will be different
from the email reviewers.
These external peer
reviewers are asked to evaluate the full proposals
based on the criteria listed within the notice of funding opportunity.
I'm going to go through each of them now.
They start on page 20 of the funding announcement.
The first criteria is importance and relevance
and applicability of the proposed project to NOAA and
NOAA Ocean Exploration missions and priorities.
It includes whether or not there is an intrinsic value
in the proposed project, and if there is relevance to NOAA,
federal, regional, state, tribal, or local activities.
And specifically, the reviewers will evaluate the extent
to which the proposed project is germane to NOAA Ocean Exploration
mission goals.
Whether the proposed project is exploration focused, that is focused
on the potential for making discoveries versus research focus,
which is a focus on increasing knowledge concerning a particular topic.
And finally,
whether the anticipated results could have significant downstream impact.
This criteria is worth 30 percent of the total score.
The second criteria are science and technical merit.
Again, this is 30% of the total score.
This criterion assesses whether the approach is technically sound
and or innovative, if the methods are appropriate, and whether there is a clear
if there are clear project goals and objectives.
For this evaluation criteria, the reviewers will evaluate the extent
to which the proposed approach is scientifically and technically feasible.
Whether the proposed project is innovative.
Whether the proposal includes clear goals and objectives.
Whether the methods are commensurate with the goals and objectives.
Whether the project is interdisciplinary. And whether the plans
for documentation, archiving, and sharing of data and multimedia
and sample collections are adequately described.
The third criterion is worth 15 percent of the total
and addresses the overall qualifications of the applicant.
This criterion assesses whether the applicant possesses
the necessary education, experience, training facilities,
and administrative resources to accomplish the project.
For an ocean exploration proposal
reviewers will evaluate the qualifications of the applicants,
including if they are, if they have proper expertise to accomplish the proposed
project, and the strength, breadth, and depth of any proposed project
partnerships.
If the applicant has previously received NOAA Ocean Exploration
funding, reviewers will also evaluate their past award performance.
This can include things like timely publication of results
and sharing of data. And the applicant's qualifications, independent
of the applicant's career stage, will be considered under this criterion.
The fourth criterion is project cost,
and this is also 15 percent of the total score.
This criterion assesses the proposed budget to determine
if it's realistic and commensurate with the proposed project needs and timeline.
The fifth and final criterion is outreach and education
and diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility.
This is worth 10 percent of the total score.
It is an assessment of whether the proposed project provides
a focused and effective education outreach strategy, in line with NOAA's mission
to protect the nation's natural resources and if it will provide an opportunity
to broaden the participation of underrepresented groups.
For NOAA Ocean Exploration,
the reviewers will determine the extent to which the outreach and
education plan
is innovative and likely to be effective.
Whether the proposed project will provide opportunities
to broaden participation of underrepresented groups.
Whether the proposed project
will provide opportunities for early career researchers and students.
And whether the proposed project budget includes funding to support the outreach
and education plan that will target diverse
future generations of explorers.
You are encouraged if you're an applicant,
and if you're interested in submitting full proposal, to read through these
evaluation criteria, starting on page 20 of the notice of funding opportunity,
and make sure that your full proposal addresses each of these criterion.
Now, I want to go through some helpful tips
while you're developing your proposal.
Again,
just a reminder to read the entire notice of funding opportunity.
Read it 2 or 3 times, or maybe 4 times.
There's lots of great information
and details on how to complete the proposal
in the notice of funding opportunity, as well as on our website:
oceanexplorer.noaa.gov
Read through the basis for our ocean exploration
strategic plan for our priorities and make sure
your proposal addresses these.
Also, the national ocean mapping, exploration, and characterization
strategy and implementation plan, as well as the exploration variable
report provide helpful information. And again, almost
all these documents are linked within the notice of funding opportunity
as well as in our frequently asked questions document.
On the cover sheet,
make sure to fill in all the fields thoroughly and accurately.
Make sure the cover sheet matches everything that's included
in both the pre-proposal and full proposal text.
I also encourage all applicants to look through the list of past grant
funding recipients on our website, listed here.
This goes back to 2014.
And, you can see all the projects we have funded since then.
You can see what types of projects we have funded and check to ensure
that your proposal doesn't duplicate a past-funded project.
I also encourage you to reach out if you have any questions.
Again, our email is listed here, and it’s
oer.nofo2025@noaa.gov.
Tips on data management.
In this section,
which is within your data and information
sharing plan, which is a two-page required document for the proposal.
Again, all data must be discoverable and accessible to the public.
This means that data must be archive ready,
machine readable, open source, and in nonproprietary formats.
All data must be submitted to the National Centers
for Environmental Information, if applicable.
All data must be made available free of charge or at a
cost of reproduction. Data is due to the National Centers for Environmental
Information at one of these points, whichever is the earliest:
At the publication of a manuscript based on the data
two years from the time the data was collected.
If there was not a publication, or two years from the end
of the award period.
So, whichever of these comes first is the deadline
for data submission.
These are tips for your education and outreach and diversity
and inclusion section.
It's a requirement to work with NOAA Ocean Exploration on web communications.
But that's not enough for your outreach and education plan.
You can include other things as part of your education
and outreach plan to make it more robust.
We've seen a lot of different activities
take place in the past
on projects ranging from hosting webinars, ship
to shore interactions, and to hosting workshops.
Again, I'd like to encourage you to look at the evaluation criteria
for the education and outreach and keep in mind that you want to include
funding support for these items as part of your project budget.
You also want to describe how the proposed activity broadens
the participation of underrepresented groups.
Consider diversity,
equity, and inclusion in team composition,
team management, team leadership, and in decision making,
in focus areas and in partnerships, and how the outcomes
of these considerations are reflected in the proposed project.
Where possible, the statement should also include goals
and metrics for assessing and adjusting outreach and education
and diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility
efforts.
There are also tips on
budget tables and budget justification.
Again, I'll point you to our website because it has details
about what you should include in these sections.
Make sure as you're putting those budget tables
and justifications together, that you provide details
for the basis of why you have those estimates.
For example, if you have traveled to
and from conferences or fieldwork,
make sure to include airfare cost and cost comparisons.
You can
use the GSA rates for approved estimates,
but if you're using anything outside of that, you'll want to make sure
you provide the details as to why you chose those rates
in your budget numbers.
If a request for funding is for two years, the narrative must be divided
into year one and two, with each year displayed in two different sections
clearly identified as year one and two,
with a summary budget table at the top of the narrative displaying
both years by project, by object class, and total column.
Object class are shown
on the SF-424 form
and on page two of the cover sheet.
Finally,
make sure you check all your materials,
including the cover sheet, executive summary, and budget narratives,
and all of the OMB forms to ensure that
all of the numbers are consistent.
We've seen many proposals where the budget numbers
in those various sections come in different amounts, so make sure
all these amounts match and are correct.
And so that's my final tip
and final slide for this presentation.
And at this time, we’re going to answer your questions.
All right.
Thanks, Frank.
Our first question is in regard to maritime heritage proposals.
It reads: are proposals focused on gathering and synthesizing
Indigenous knowledge of maritime heritage acceptable?
Could you repeat the question, please?
Yes, for maritime
heritage proposals, are proposals focused on gathering
and synthesizing Indigenous knowledge of maritime
heritage acceptable?
I want to call on another participant here.
Phil Hartmeyer.
That's a good question.
I think it's probably best to follow up,
so we can get a better understanding
of what the details are.
Thanks, Phil.
Nina, can you...
Frank, I don't know if everyone was able to hear that.
Try this again.
Ashley, can you, can you hear me?
It's pretty faint.
Right. yes.
Let's go back to it.
Let me change my settings. We can hear you now.
Better. Okay.
Regarding the first question, I think we
take it offline, over email, so we can better understand
some details about the project nature of the question.
Sounds like, sounds like the best call.
Thanks.
Thank you, Phil.
Yes. Thanks, Phil.
Our next question is: Will the presentation slides be available later?
The presentation recording will be available and posted on the website
probably within the week, along with the transcript
of the presentation.
All right.
Thanks, Frank.
The next one reads, my collaborative team would like to submit a proposal
that could count as both ocean exploration and maritime heritage
for the data collection could support both.
Is this advantageous?
Or should the team choose one and work to narrow our proposal to fit more narrowly?
Can you repeat the question, Nina?
Yes. Sorry.
My collaborative team
would like to submit a proposal that could count
as both ocean exploration and maritime heritage themes
for the data collection could support both of those themes.
Is this advantageous?
Or should the team choose one theme and work to narrow
our proposal to fit more narrowly?
Okay. Thank you, Nina.
It's a requirement that on the
cover sheet, you select only one topic or theme area.
So, you will have to choose between the two.
You can talk about
the other theme in the proposal,
but you must choose between one theme
or the other.
Okay.
Thank you.
The next question
is: Is there guidance on how to reconcile the requirement for data
being made available to the public versus heritage data from tribal, government,
or organizational partners that would wish to limit certain data access?
I was going to ask if
Anna could join us for this data question.
Sure,
and I'll probably have Phil jump in here afterwards.
But within the data and information sharing plan, if you anticipate
collecting data that would be restricted from public access for a certain reason,
we ask that you include that in the data and information sharing plan.
and stipulate the reasoning why you would be restricting data access.
And then Phil, I'm not sure if you have any more of the specific guidance
that could be required or could be provided from NOAA Ocean Exploration.
Thanks, Anna. And, yes,
You know, it's something front of mind, for this particular, data type.
And, you know, we're also consulting with NOAA’s tribal
team, the communities,
through consultation with the PI to figure out data sensitivity concerns,
a project that would include indigenous knowledge,
before fieldwork or data acquisition begins.
Thanks.
Okay.
Thanks. Phil and Anna.
The next question is. Thank you, Frank.
Can one researcher be involved in multiple pre-proposals
or full proposals if not the lead in either.
Yes. Yes.
They can.
But consider also
the requirement to talk about
or submit information on funding commitments already
that the PI is already involved in
as part of the full proposal process.
Okay.
Piggybacking off of that question, is the next one, and it's: Can one person
submit multiple proposals?
Are collaborative proposals, such as those supported
by NSF possible?
Collaboration is always encouraged.
And, yes,
a person can submit more than one proposal.
Right.
The next question is, are proposals to conduct exploratory deep sea
research in the Federated States of Micronesia acceptable or will
this be too far away?
There are no restrictions
on where projects can take place.
So, as in past years,
the past few years, projects have been restricted to
U.S. waters,
but this year there is
no restriction on where projects can take place.
So yes,
a proposal could include Micronesia.
Okay.
For ocean exploration proposals,
how are requests for ROV time and ship time handled?
Are these included separately in the budget or as line items
in the regular budget form?
They are an expense within
the budget, and they must be included in the budget.
Both ship time and ROV time.
Okay.
Thank you.
Can you explain more about the exception for tropical mesophotic environments?
Is there a specific focus?
For the tropical mesophotic environment,
that is an exception to the 200 meter
minimum depth limit for the ocean exploration
proposal.
So, if a proposal is for work in the tropical
mesophotic environment,
it is eligible
as a proposal topic
in our funding announcement.
I'll follow up with that.
It can be less than 200 meters.
Great.
Thanks, Frank.
For a research topic such as volcano- caused tsunamis, the realm of data
required will extend from shallow water/ maritime heritage focus
and exploration in water that's greater than 200 meters,
is it possible to submit that type of proposal
to those categories?
I have to ask you to ask that question again.
That's fine. I'll go. Sorry.
For a research topic such
as volcano-caused tsunamis,
where the realm of data required will extend from shallow water/
maritime heritage focus and exploration in waters
that's greater than 200 meters,
is it possible to submit the proposal to those categories?
Well, you would have to submit a pre-proposal.
If it's in shallower waters and 200 meters, it
would have to be a proposal either in maritime heritage or
tropical mesophotic
environment.
So, that might require some further conversation
by email or phone to further understand
more about the project idea.
And, I would encourage that person to to contact us.
Great.
Thank you. For the eDNA component,
are organisms needed for this or just water/
sediment samples?
Sorry, Nina, can you repeat that again?
Yeah.
For the eDNA component, are organisms needed for this
or just water/sediment samples?
That is a science question.
I think it can be any of that.
But again,
maybe that's a question for further conversation.
If that person wants to contact us.
Okay.
And our last question is: Can the use of the Okeanos
Explorer be proposed?
The Okeanos Explorer
is not part of this funding opportunity.
Time on the
Okeanos Explorer is not available through
this funding opportunity.
Okay.
Thanks, Frank.
Right now, all the answers, all the questions have been answered
in the chat.
I can send it back over to you to close out the webinar.
Okay.
I'm going to hang on for a few minutes.
Maybe a couple more minutes in case anybody else
has more questions.
Frank, I wanted to clarify one of the questions that was asked earlier.
For the question that is asking about researchers
studying volcanoes caused by tsunamis,
that focus on both shallow water and maritime heritage focus,
within the ocean exploration topic, they ask,
is it possible to submit the pre-proposal to both categories?
So, I think if you're able to speak to it, we will allow proposals to be submitted
for both
categories, I figured they're asking if the same proposal
could be submitted to two separate categories.
I see.
I think it could be submitted
to two separate categories.
All right.
Frank, we had another question comes through.
Annette said: Would further analysis
of previously supported NOAA collections be supported?
Further analysis of what? I didn't quite get that Nina.
Would further analysis of previously supported
NOAA collections be supported?
Yes. As part of the ocean exploration
topic, that would be supported.
The next question is: What happens
if a PI or a co-PI changes location and job,
such as a postdoc to professor, changing states
between the pre-proposal to full proposal phase?
We can accommodate that,
but they will have to contact us
for
clarification and to let us know what has happened.
And they will also have to
make sure that
the new university
is aware of the project and involved in
in the proposal process, as they normally would be.
This would be before any award would take place.
So, it wouldn't involve any
sort of funding matters, but
moving between institutions would not disqualify
somebody from submitting an application
during the process.
Okay.
Great.
The next question is: Can salary be covered?
I'm sorry.
Say that again.
Can salary be covered?
Salary? Yes.
Salary and benefits can be part covered
as part of this.
But federal salary
cannot be covered for federal employees.
But for people outside the federal government,
we can cover salary and benefits.
Thank you.
We'll hang on to see if any more questions
come through.
I spoke too soon.
Okay.
Does this call include instrument development?
Please repeat that.
Does this call include
instrument development?
It can include instrument development
if it is part of an ocean exploration proposal.
We are not funding technology development this year, but we would support
technology as part of an ocean exploration
proposal.
Just not outside.
We would not support a standalone
technology development proposal.
All right.
Thank you for clarifying.
The next question is: Can small businesses be part of the proposal?
Yes, absolutely.
We would welcome small businesses to apply for our grant program.
Okay.
That’s great.
Are there limitations to who can serve as a
PI in terms of education or position title?
The qualifications for a PI
are part of the review criteria in that a
PI must be qualified to carry out the work,
with
experience,
background of experience and training.
A title doesn't necessarily matter, but
the qualifications of the person
based on their experience, which is usually
provided through a CV or resume will be evaluated
to make sure that a PI is qualified
to carry out the work.
Okay.
So, following up on the instrument development and technology
development question earlier, it says so the application of a new technology
like an eDNA auto sampler in new habitats,
would that be supported?
Standby for one second.
Advancing ocean exploration through the use and development
of novel technologies as part of the
ocean exploration
topic.
So,
we would
potentially support
project technology development that was part of an ocean exploration
proposal.
Okay.
Thank you.
For a small business or a not for profit organization,
should we select one person to serve as point person for communicate?
Sorry.
For communications with NOAA.
Yes. That would be the ideal way to do it.
To have a single point person,
that we contact.
And, that person would
relay any information
or any other things that we might need from a larger group
that is part of the proposed project.
Great.
Thank you.
We'll still hang on for a bit for a few more questions.
If they come through.
Okay. I also wanted to follow up on that.
Normally, the main contact would be the principal investigator
on the
cover sheet and identified in the proposal.
That person is usually the main contact
with us
for the proposal process.
Okay.
Can I get more clarification as to what are/
where are tropical mesophotic environments?
What's that about
the location of tropical mesophotic environments?
Yes. It says what they are and where they are.
Well,
I think I'm going to look to some of our staff
on the call for location and what they are.
We’re calling on our expertise within the office.
That's one thing Ashley, you wanted to handle.
Yeah. Frank, I can take this one.
So, as far as location goes, there isn't any geographic restriction,
and we do not have any depth limitations as far as a minimum
shallow depth or maximum.
So, really it is a tropical environment mesophotic reef.
So, if you can justify that your location
sits within those boundaries, then there is no other restrictions.
Thanks, Ashley.
Okay.
Thanks. Ashley and Frank.
Can proposals include co-PIs at international institutions?
And are there funding restrictions for those or listed
collaborators?
That's an interesting question.
I know we address it in our...
Frank, I can take this one if you’d like.
So, as far as co-PIs,
so, we will allow international institutions to be supported
as a subawardee.
However, they cannot, international institutions
cannot serve as a PI or a co-PI.
So, they would have to go down
as a significant participant and be listed in a budget under subawardee
instead.
All right.
Thanks, Ashley.
Those are all the questions at the moment.
Frank.
Thank you.
Nina.
I think we'll stay here
until the top of the hour for 4 p.m.
Okay.
Are U.S.
territories considered international?
No, they wouldn't be considered international.
They would,
They would, fall under what would areas
that could be considered in for for this funding announcement?
There are no geographic limitations.
Just to follow up,
an organization that is registered in the U.S.
(501c3), but works outside
the U.S. can be a PI?
Yes. They can submit PI from those organizations.
Thank you.
Okay.
Just had another question come in,
and it says: Can I get some clarification as to
how do the thematic priorities relate to the main
two themes?
Please repeat that again.
You know.
Can I get some clarification
as to how the thematic priorities relate to the two main themes?
I think I need a little bit
more clarification if that person is still on the line.
Unless
Ashley or someone else in our group
would care to answer that one.
Yeah, I think the question is...
So, we have our main themes, and then we have priorities within those themes.
So the two main themes that we have are ocean exploration
and maritime heritage, both have some specific priorities that
we have listed under them that Frank went over during this webinar.
We are specifically highlighting those as proposals we would like to see.
So, it does not mean that the proposals
we will consider must fall within those veins.
It is, however, saying that those are priorities for our office,
which does get taken into consideration
as a potential evaluation criteria when we get to the full proposal stage,
when we determine what projects get recommended for funding.
And I
think, if you have any further questions about that, type it into the chat
and we can try and clarify some more as well.
Thank you.
Ashley.
Yes. Thanks, Ashley.
Frank, we have answered all the questions currently.
Just so you're aware.
We're after 4 p.m.
here.
So, I want to thank everybody for joining today.
If you have any more questions or are curious about our funding opportunity,
please contact us at the address on the screen there.
And I wish everybody a good afternoon.
Thank you. Bye now.