Coral Reef Conservation Program International Coral Reef Conservation Cooperative Agreements | NOAA NOS OCM 2016 2004570

Opportunity Information: Apply for NOAA NOS OCM 2016 2004570

The Coral Reef Conservation Program International Coral Reef Conservation Cooperative Agreements opportunity (NOAA NOS OCM 2016 2004570) is a discretionary NOAA grant program run through the U.S. Department of Commerce that funds international projects aimed at protecting and managing coral reef ecosystems. The program uses cooperative agreements, which typically means NOAA expects to be more involved than in a standard grant, often through coordination, technical input, or shared planning during the life of the project. The funding is designed specifically to advance NOAA CRCPs International Strategy 2010-2015 by strengthening or building onto existing regional conservation efforts that are tied to U.S. coral reef health through ecological connections, shared threats, and established partnerships. For this particular competition, NOAA narrowed its focus to two priority regions: the Wider Caribbean and Micronesia.

Funding for the FY 2016 round was contingent on Congressional appropriations, with NOAA anticipating about $600,000 total available and roughly three awards. Applicants were expected to request between $75,000 and $300,000 per year, with projects lasting up to two years. While an award could cover a two-year period, continuation beyond the first year was not automatic and generally depended on future appropriations, how well the work aligned with evolving CRCP priorities, and the recipients performance and progress during year one. A key feature of the program is that it provides matching grants, meaning recipients should be prepared to share costs with non-federal funds or resources, and they need to plan their budgets and partnerships accordingly.

Eligibility was broad and included U.S. and non-U.S. entities such as universities and other higher-education institutions, nonprofit organizations (including both 501(c)(3) and non-501(c)(3) nonprofits), for-profit organizations (including small businesses and other for-profits), and foreign public entities and non-U.S. government natural resource management agencies. Applicants could assemble teams that include subrecipients, contractors, and other collaborators, including governmental authorities, to deliver a coordinated regional effort. Federal agencies and federal employees could participate as unfunded partners (covering their own costs), but their in-kind services and equipment generally could not be counted toward the applicants required match. If a proposal included federal collaborators, NOAA expected applicants to clearly describe what those federal partners would do, such as serving on review panels, joining technical working groups, or participating in task teams or leadership structures.

Geography was tightly defined, and proposals had to fit into one of the specified regional pathways. In the Wider Caribbean, proposals tied to the NOAA-GCFI Assessment had to take place in a specific list of non-U.S. countries and territories: Bahamas, Belize, British Virgin Islands, Grenada, Honduras, Mexico, Saba and St. Eustatius, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Turks and Caicos Islands, with additional references to eligible marine protected area sites under the programs stated priorities. Other Caribbean projects at a regional or national scale had to operate only in at least two non-U.S. countries or territories from a larger approved list that includes, among others, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Haiti, Jamaica, Nicaragua, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela, and multiple French, Dutch, and UK Caribbean territories. For Micronesia-focused proposals, work was limited to the independent nations under Compacts of Free Association with the United States: the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Republic of Palau, and the Federated States of Micronesia. The overall intent was to fund practical, partner-driven conservation work in these targeted places where outcomes would support regional reef resilience and align with broader NOAA coral reef conservation objectives.

• 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 "Coral Reef Conservation Program International Coral Reef Conservation Cooperative Agreements" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 11.482.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2015-09-09.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2016-02-18. (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 $600,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 3 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), Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), 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 OCM 2016 2004570

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