Financial
Assistance for Community-based Habitat Restoration National
and Regional Partnerships
II. AWARD INFORMATION
III. ELIGIBILITY
INFORMATION
IV. APPLICATION
AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION
V. APPLICATION
REVIEW AND SELECTION INFORMATION
VI. AWARD ADMINISTRATION
INFORMATION
VII. AGENCY CONTACTS
VIII. OTHER INFORMATION
   
AGENCY: National Marine
Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries), Office of Habitat
Conservation, Restoration Division. ACTION: Notice of availability
of funds. CATALOGUE OF FEDERAL DOMESTIC
ASSISTANCE NUMBER: The NOAA Community-based
Restoration Program (CRP) is described in the “Catalogue
of Federal Domestic Assistance,” under program
number 11.463, Habitat Conservation. DATES: Applications
for partnership funding under the CRP must be received
by or postmarked by December 5, 2003. Applications
received or postmarked after that time will not be
considered for funding. Applications submitted via
the U.S. Postal Service must have an official postmark;
private metered postmarks are not acceptable. Applications
delivered by a delivery service after the postmark
date will be accepted for review if the applicant can
document that the application was provided to the delivery
service on or prior to the specified postmark cut-off
date. In any event, applications received later than
15 business days following the closing date will not
be accepted. No facsimile or electronic mail applications
will be accepted. SUMMARY: The
purpose of this document is to invite the public to
submit multi-year proposals for establishing innovative
partnerships for up to 3 years with the NOAA Restoration
Center (RC) at a national or regional level to further
community-based habitat restoration that will benefit
living marine resources including anadromous fish.
NOAA envisions working jointly on such partnerships,
through its Community-based Restoration Program (CRP),
to select, competitively fund, and administer projects
with substantial community involvement that restore
NOAA trust resource habitats.
This document describes the types of habitat restoration partnerships that
the RC envisions establishing, portrays the qualities that NOAA has found to
be ideal in previously established partnerships, and describes criteria under
which applications will be evaluated for funding consideration. Partnerships
selected through this notice will be implemented through a grant, cooperative
agreement or interagency transfer, and will involve joint selection and co-funding
of multiple community-based habitat restoration projects as sub-awards made
through the partner organization. Funding requested for establishing partnerships
in FY 04 is expected to be greater than the funds available for this purpose
and the selection process is anticipated to be highly competitive. Funding
of up to $7,000,000 is expected to be available for establishing habitat restoration
partnerships in FY 2004, and annual funding is anticipated to maintain them
for up to 3 years duration. The NOAA Restoration Center anticipates that typical
partnership awards will range from $200,000 to $600,000 per year. This is not
a request for individual community-based habitat restoration project proposals. 
I. FUNDING OPPORTUNITY
DESCRIPTION A. Program
Description
The CRP, a financial and technical Federal assistance program, promotes strong
partnerships at the national, regional and local levels to fund grass-roots,
community-based activities that restore living marine resources and their habitats
and promote stewardship and a conservation ethic for NOAA trust resources.
NOAA trust resources are living marine resources that include commercial and
recreational fishery resources (marine fish and shellfish and their habitats);
anadromous species (fish, such as salmon and striped bass, that spawn in freshwater
and then migrate to the sea); endangered and threatened marine species and
their habitats; marine mammals, turtles, and their habitats; marshes, mangroves,
seagrass beds, coral reefs, and other coastal habitats; and resources associated
with National Marine Sanctuaries and National Estuarine Research Reserves.
Due to limited funding available to the CRP, partnerships for habitats in the
Great Lakes region are not covered by this solicitation. The CRP’s objective is to bring together citizen
groups, public and nonprofit organizations, watershed
groups, industry, corporations and businesses, youth
conservation corps, students, landowners, academic
institutions and local government, state, and federal
agencies to cooperatively implement habitat restoration
projects to benefit NOAA trust resources. Partnerships
developed at national, regional and local levels contribute
funding, land, technical assistance, workforce support
or other in-kind services to promote citizen participation
in the improvement of locally-important living marine
resources and develop local stewardship and monitoring
activities to sustain and evaluate the success of the
restoration.
The CRP recognizes the significant role that partnerships can play in making
habitat restoration happen within communities, and acknowledges that habitat
restoration is often best implemented through technical and monetary support
provided at a community level. Community-based restoration projects supported
by the CRP are successful because they have significant local backing, depend
upon citizens’ hands-on involvement, and typically involve NOAA technical
assistance or oversight. The role of NOAA in the CRP is to help identify potential
restoration projects, strengthen the development and implementation of sound
restoration projects within communities, and develop long-term, ongoing national
and regional partnerships to support community-based restoration efforts of
living marine resource habitats across a wide geographic area. For more information
on the CRP, see Section IV. A. “Application Packages.” B. Restoration
Partnership Mechanisms
The RC envisions working collaboratively to implement fisheries habitat restoration
primarily through cooperative agreements, where potential national and regional
partners apply for funds to work with the RC on a multi-year basis to identify,
develop, implement and monitor community-based habitat restoration projects
to benefit NOAA trust resources. Establishing partnerships through a cooperative
agreement mechanism or interagency transfer will involve joint selection and
co-funding of numerous community-based habitat restoration projects as sub-awards
made through the partner organization. C. Statutory
Authority
The Secretary of Commerce is authorized under the Fish and Wildlife Coordination
Act, 16 U.S.C. 661, as amended by the Reorganization Plan No. 4 of 1970, to
provide grants or cooperative agreements for fisheries habitat restoration.
II. AWARD INFORMATION A. Funding
Availability
This solicitation announces that funding of up to $7,000,000 is expected to
be available for establishing habitat restoration partnerships with the NOAA
Restoration Center in FY 2004. Annual funding is anticipated to maintain partnerships
for up to 3 years duration, but is dependant on funding made available by Congress;
funding for subsequent years will also depend on the performance of partners
to successfully conduct partnership activities. NOAA anticipates that typical
partnership awards will range from $200,000 to $600,000 for the formation of
national and regional habitat restoration partnerships in FY 2004. NOAA will
not accept proposals with a single year budget under $100,000 or over $1,700,000
under this solicitation. Funding requests to continue partnership activities
in subsequent years may be scaled up from FY 2004 levels to $2,000,000 in FY
2005, and to $4,000,000 in FY 2006, however annual funding levels and any increases
over FY 2004 levels for successful applicants will be dependent upon future
budget increases provided by Congress, partnership success, and regional priorities. In accordance with NOAA Community-based Restoration
Program Guidelines (65 FR 16890, March 30, 2000), the
Restoration Center Director (Director) will determine
the proportion of funds available to the CRP on an
annual basis that will be obligated to national and
regional partnerships each year. The number of partnership
awards to be made as a result of this solicitation
will depend on the number of eligible applications
received, the amount of funds requested for initiating
partnerships by the applicants, the merit and ranking
of the proposals, and the amount of funds made available
to the CRP by Congress. NOAA anticipates that between
5 and 15 awards will be made as a result of this solicitation. There is no guarantee that sufficient funds will
be available to initiate partnerships where funding
has been recommended, and the number of national and
regional partnerships established will be up to the
discretion of the Director. The exact amount of funds
that may be awarded to work within a habitat restoration
partnership will be determined in pre-award negotiations
between the applicant and NOAA representatives, and
multi-year funding requests may be funded incrementally
on an annual basis. Publication of this document does
not obligate NOAA to establish any specific partnership
proposed or to obligate all or any parts of the available
funds for partnership activities. In FY 2001 (the first year that 3-year partnerships
were offered through the CRP), 14 national and regional
partnership awards were made ranging from $100,000
to $1,700,000 for a total of $5.5 million. In FY 2002,
four additional 3-year regional partnership awards
were made ranging from $100,000 to $350,000 for a total
of $780,000. Funds available to support partnerships
in FY 2003 were dedicated to maintaining successful
partnerships established in prior years, and no new
partnerships were initiated. B. Award
Period
Applications for national and regional partnerships should cover a project
period between 1 and 3 years. Multi-year project period requests may be funded
incrementally on an annual basis, but once awarded, multi-year partnerships
will not need to compete for funding in subsequent years. The intention of
the CRP is to attract and maintain partnerships that will be ongoing and long-lasting;
established partnerships are expected to continue through the duration of the
project period. If an application is selected and approved for funding under
a partnership, NOAA has no obligation to provide additional funding in connection
with this partnership in subsequent years. A recommendation to the NOAA Grants
Management Division (GMD) to continue an award for a partnership in subsequent
years, or to extend the period of performance, is at the total discretion of
the Director. Future opportunities for submitting proposals to
the competitive process for developing multi-year,
national and regional habitat restoration partnerships
are anticipated, but will be dependent on CRP funding
levels and on the performance of existing partners
to successfully conduct partnership activities to identify,
develop, evaluate, implement and monitor community-based
fisheries habitat restoration projects. The earliest date for receipt of awards will be approximately
120-150 days after the close of this solicitation;
applicants should consider this selection and processing
time in developing requested start dates for proposed
restoration activities. C. Funding
Instruments
Proposals selected for funding from non-federal applicants will be funded through
a cooperative agreement under the terms of this document. For applications
funded through cooperative agreements, substantial involvement of the federal
government may include, but is not limited to, activities such as assisting
national and regional partners to promote locally driven habitat restoration
activities; cooperating with partners in project identification, evaluation
and selection; conducting site visits and evaluating the performance of individual
restoration projects sub-awarded through partnerships; supporting project partners
to enhance their effectiveness in meeting stated restoration goals for improving
fisheries habitat; providing project-specific permitting guidance and/or assistance;
and involvement in public events to highlight restoration activities. Proposals
selected for funding from a non-NOAA federal agency will be funded through
an interagency transfer.
III. ELIGIBILITY
INFORMATION A. Eligible
Applicants
Eligible applicants are institutions of higher education, hospitals, other
non-profits, commercial (for-profit) organizations, organizations under the
jurisdiction of foreign governments, international organizations, state, local
and Indian tribal governments. Applications from federal agencies will be considered.
Before non-NOAA federal applicants may be funded, they must demonstrate that
they have legal authority to receive funds from another federal agency in excess
of their appropriation. Because this announcement is not proposing to procure
goods or services from applicants, the Economy Act (31 U.S.C. 1535) is not
an appropriate legal basis. Although federal agencies are eligible to apply
under this solicitation, they are strongly encouraged to work with states,
non-governmental organizations, national service clubs or youth corps organizations
and others that are eligible to apply, rather than seeking partnership funding
directly from the CRP. The Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (DOC/NOAA) is strongly committed to
broadening the participation of Historically Black
Colleges and Universities, Hispanic Serving Institutions,
and Tribal Colleges and Universities in its educational
and research programs. The DOC/NOAA vision, mission,
and goals are to achieve full participation by Minority
Serving Institutions (MSI) in order to advance the
development of human potential, to strengthen the nation’s
capacity to provide high-quality education, and to
increase opportunities for MSIs to participate in,
and benefit from, Federal financial assistance programs.
DOC/NOAA encourages proposals for innovative national
and regional partnerships involving MSIs according
to the criteria in this document, to strengthen the
capacity of MSIs to foster student careers, research
and workforce competitiveness in fisheries habitat
restoration through identification, development, implementation
and monitoring of on-the-ground community-based restoration
projects on a national or regional scale. B. National
and Regional Restoration Partnership Goals
NOAA is interested in developing multi-year national and regional partnerships
that will lead to the accomplishment of on-the-ground, community-based restoration
of marine, coastal and freshwater habitats to benefit living marine resources,
including anadromous fish species. The primary goals of NOAA in establishing
these partnerships, as described in this announcement and the CRP Guidelines
(65 FR 16890, March 30 2000), are to restore living marine resource habitats;
to involve community member volunteers in restoration activities to increase
public awareness of the ecological value of fisheries habitat and foster a
sense of community stewardship and pride for local restoration efforts; to
develop and maintain long-term, ongoing, working relationships of mutual benefit
by partnering on activities where the priorities and goals of partners overlap;
to combine resources with national and regional partners to increase the geographic
scope and rate at which habitat restoration can be conducted; and to collaborate
on project identification, development, and selection for funding with partners
that are able to coordinate and manage most or all aspects of restoration activities. Successful applicants will be those whose partnership
proposals are broad-reaching and demonstrate the potential
for significant benefits to living marine resources
across a large geographic area and/or according to
a publically vetted, prioritized regional restoration
plan or similar document to accomplish coordinated,
strategic implementation of individual projects that
will involve community participation. Applicants seeking
to establish partnerships must demonstrate that restoration
activities will be consistent with NOAA Fisheries goals
outlined in this notice. Proposals for both national and regional partnerships
are encouraged. However, because regional partnerships
are more focused in geographic scope, these applicants
will be expected to demonstrate coordinated efforts
among multiple groups such as universities, science
centers, state and municipal agencies, watershed groups,
local schools, civic groups and non-governmental organizations.
Applications for regional partnerships should involve
a coalition that has or will develop joint goals and
objectives to accomplish habitat restoration, and whose
activities are expected to take place across a substantial
and defined geographic region, such as the Chesapeake
Bay watershed or the states that border the Gulf of
Maine or the Gulf of Mexico, for example, and/or that
will work within a prioritized framework to implement
projects of greatest benefit in a comprehensive, strategic
fashion. C. Ideal
Partnership Qualities
The CRP has worked with a variety of partners on community-based fishery habitat
restoration. Successful partnerships resulted where joint goals and priorities
were most effectively accomplished through collaborative activities, including
the pooling of financial and technical resources. The following narrative highlights
the ideal qualitites the CRP desires in working within national and regional
community-based restoration partnerships based on the CRP’s previous
experience funding and working with national and regional habitat restoration
partners. The following narrative illustrates aspects that will be considered
in the evaluation of applications, but it is not intended to limit the scope
of partnership proposals. The CRP seeks partnerships to match NOAA cash contributions
at a minimum of a 1:1 level overall, and will give
priority to those partnerships that can provide cash
match for project implementation funds at the national/regional
level, before local contributions for specific projects
are factored in. Providing cash match at the national/regional
level for project implementation and a 1:1 match overall
will enable a greater number of jointly evaluated and
selected community-based habitat restoration projects
to be implemented. The combined partnership investments
are to be subsequently leveraged between 1 and 5 times
once cash and in-kind contributions from local partners
and volunteers are included. Ideally, NOAA’s
contribution under a partnership is used to co-fund
competitive habitat restoration projects that benefit
a wide range of NOAA trust resources over a substantial
geographic area and/or that are designed to address
restoration in a coordinated, prioritized fashion within
a well defined geographic region. NOAA and its partner(s)
will jointly solicit for local, citizen-driven habitat
restoration proposals, and identify, evaluate and prioritize
individual projects for funding. Partnerships that
do not propose a competitive process or do not rely
on regional restoration planning for identifying priority
projects may not score as well in the evaluation. Partners will be expected to play a primary role
in project development, the competitive solicitation
of proposals, the coordination of joint reviews and
evaluations of proposals, the award and administration
of sub-grants, and the direct administrative oversight
and routine review of funded projects. Partners will
be expected to ensure that all work on individual projects
will meet federal, state and local environmental permitting
requirements prior to the use of federal funds for
implementation and that projects will be adequately
monitored to evaluate their success. Partners also
will be expected to conduct all financial, administrative
and contractual aspects of sub-awards, consistent with
all applicable federal regulations and U.S. Department
of Commerce/NOAA procedures and policies.
D. Restoration
Expectations through the Sub-award Process
Projects funded under a partnership will be expected to have strong on-the-ground
habitat restoration components that provide educational and social benefits
for people and their communities in addition to long-term ecological habitat
improvements for NOAA trust resources. NOAA recognizes that accomplishing restoration
is a multi-faceted effort involving project design, engineering services, permitting,
construction, oversight and monitoring. Therefore, to allow maximum flexibility
under a partnership, applicants should avoid unduly restricting proposed activities
to specific restoration phases or categories of cost. Restoration is defined here as activities that contribute
to the return of degraded or altered marine, estuarine,
coastal and freshwater anadromous fish habitats to
a close approximation of their condition prior to disturbance.
Restoration may include, but is not limited to, improvement
of coastal wetland tidal exchange or reestablishment
of historic hydrology; dam or berm removal; improvement
or reestablishment of fish passage; reef/substrate/habitat
creation; establishment of riparian buffer zones and
improvement of freshwater habitat features that support
anadromous fish; exclusionary fencing and planting;
invasive species removal; planting of native coastal
wetland and submerged aquatic vegetation; and enhancement
of feeding, spawning and growth areas essential to
marine or anadromous fish. A partnership application may target the restoration
of specific habitats or the use of certain restoration
techniques, or focus work within certain geographic
locations, if the restoration of these habitats or
work with particular techniques or restoration in designated
locations has been documented under an inclusive, regional
planning effort to be a priority that is also consistent
with the priorities of NOAA Fisheries. An example would
be proposed restoration activities resulting from a
regional planning or other process where multiple stakeholders
have reached consensus and for which suitable documentation
of the planning effort is included with the application.
Proposals for partnerships with a narrow restoration focus that will benefit
limited resources or few user groups, that emphasize a single restoration component,
such as only outreach, monitoring, or program coordination, that lack a competitive
or comprehensive restoration planning element for identifying and selecting
projects, or that request funding solely to support or increase general organizational
activities, are discouraged. Similarly, applications for partnerships that
would have limited NOAA involvement, or that seek to primarily support administration,
salaries, overhead and travel are not considered ideal for the partnership
development goals of the NOAA Restoration Center, and will be less likely to
be selected for partnership agreements with the RC. Priorities for habitat restoration partnership activities
include: areas identified by NOAA Fisheries as essential
fish habitat (EFH) and areas within EFH identified
as Habitat Areas of Particular Concern; areas identified
as critical habitat for federally or state listed marine
and anadromous species; areas identified as important
habitat for marine mammals and turtles; watersheds
or such other areas under conservation management as
special management areas under state coastal management
programs; and other important commercial or recreational
marine fish habitat, including degraded areas that
historically were important habitat for living marine
resources. E. Matching
Requirements
The overall focus of the CRP is to provide seed money to individual projects
that leverage funds and other contributions from a broad public and private
sector to implement locally important habitat restoration to benefit living
marine resources. To this end, applicants seeking national and regional partnerships
with the RC are encouraged to demonstrate a minimum 1:1 non-Federal match overall
for federal funds requested. Additionally, those partnerships that propose
to provide a 1:1 cash match for project implementation funds at the national/regional
level (before local, project-specific contributions are included) will be likely
to score higher in the evaluation of project costs. While this is not a requirement,
the RC strongly advises applicants to leverage as much investment as possible.
Applicants with less than 1:1 match and those that do not have a cash match
for project implementation funds at the national/regional level will not be
disqualified, however applicants should note that cost sharing is an element
considered in evaluation criteria #4. “Project Costs.” Similarly,
proposals that limit administrative costs to 15% at the national or regional
level also will be likely to score higher on this criterion. The match can come from a variety of public and private
sources and can include in-kind goods and services.
Federal funds may not be considered matching funds.
Applicants are permitted to combine non-federal contributions
from additional partners in order to meet the 1:1 match
expected to establish a partnership, as long as the
matching funds are not already being used to match
other funding sources and are available within the
project period stated in the application. Applicants
are also permitted to apply federally negotiated indirect
costs in excess of federal share limits as described
in Section IV. E. 2. “Indirect Costs”. Applicants whose proposals are selected for habitat
restoration partnership funding will be bound by the
percentage of cost sharing reflected in the award document
signed by the NOAA Grants Officer. Successful applicants
should be prepared to carefully document matching contributions,
including the number of volunteer or community participation
hours devoted to individual habitat restoration projects.
IV.
APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION A. Application
Packages
Information on the CRP, including examples of national and regional partnerships
and community-based habitat restoration projects that have been funded to date,
can be found on the world wide web at http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/habitat/restoration.
The standard NOAA application forms and instructions for applicants are accessible
through this web site, or they can be obtained from the NOAA Restoration Center,
Community-based Restoration Program, National Marine Fisheries Service, 1315
East West Highway (F/HC3), Silver Spring, MD 20910-3282, or requested by phone
at(301)713-0174. Potential applicants are invited to contact NOAA Restoration
Center staff before submitting an application to discuss the applicability
of partnership ideas to the CRP’s goals and objectives, and to request
an application package that contains instructions for submitting NOAA standard
grants applications and supplementary instructions specific to the CRP. B. Application
Submission
To apply, a complete NOAA grants application package should be submitted in
accordance with the guidelines in this document. Each application should include
all specified sections as follows: Cover sheet - an applicant must use Office
of Management and budget (OMB) Standard Form (SF) 424 as the cover sheet for
each project; budget detail (SF-424A and budget justification narrative); grant
assurances SF-424B and CD-511, and SF-LLL and CD-346 if applicable; narrative
partnership description, curriculum vitae or resume of primary partnership
personnel, and other supporting documentation relevant to the proposed partnership
such as regional restoration planning documents. Budgets must include a detailed breakdown by category
of cost (object class) separated into federal and non-federal
shares as they relate to specific aspects of the partnership,
with appropriate justification for both the federal
and non-federal shares. A separate SF-424A budget form
should be used to break down multi-year budget requests
into annual funding increments. Budget justifications
should indicate if funding requests to support partnership
activities have been submitted elsewhere, whether the
funds requested are federal or non-federal, and what
amount has been requested or secured from other sources
to support partnership activities described in the
application submitted to NOAA. The narrative project description should be no more
than 15 double-spaced pages long, in 12 point font,
and should clearly demonstrate the broad-based benefits
expected to living marine resource habitats, and how
these benefits will be achieved through the proposed
partnership activities. It should identify the problems
the partnership plans to address and the geographic
area over which the partnership will operate. The narrative
should describe short- and long-term objectives and
goals, methods for identifying potential projects,
the criteria that will be used for selecting restoration
proposals and determining the success of projects implemented
at a community level under the partnership, and the
relevance and significance of the proposed partnership
to enhancing habitat to benefit living marine resources.
If specific projects are identified in the application,
the narrative should describe the historic condition
of the restoration sites, the processes which resulted
in degradation of the area and how these processes
have been abated to allow for successful restoration,
if applicable. The narrative should describe how partners will ensure
that all necessary environmental permits and consultations
will be secured prior to the use of federal funds for
implementing individual projects that may require permits
and consultations. It should also identify the anticipated
partnership duration (between 12 and 36 months), the
amount and timing of funds requested, potential sources
of national/regional and local match, including cash
match available at the national/regional level for
supporting project sub-awards, and any restrictions
the partner may impose on the further use of federal
funds. For example, if the partner anticipates limiting
competition, restricting the level of funding per project,
designating funding for specific project phases, cost
categories or to specific recipients, restricting habitat
types, organization types or geographic locations from
consideration, these limitations or restrictions should
be clearly detailed in the narrative. It is NOAA’s
intention to maintain maximum competition and flexibility
in the use of federal restoration funds. The project narrative should also include information
on how the selection of projects under the partnership
with NOAA will promote significant community involvement
in fisheries habitat restoration and stewardship, and
describe how the partnership will be advanced or promoted.
It should also describe the organizational structure
of the applicant, detail their qualifications and identify
proposed partnership staff. Anticipated project partners
other than the applicant should be identified, and
supporting documentation indicating their intent to
participate and identifying their potential contributions
should be included. This is particularly important
for those applying to establish regional partnerships.
Inclusion of supplementary materials such as letters
of support, restoration planning documents, photographs,
etc. are strongly encouraged and do not count toward
the narrative page limit. Applicants should not assume
prior knowledge on the part of NOAA as to the relative
merits of the partnership described in the application. Applications should not be bound or stapled and should
be printed on one side only. Three hard copies (including
one original signed in blue ink) of each application
are required and must be submitted to the NOAA Restoration
Center (see subsection G. “Addresses”).
Applicants may opt to submit additional hard copies
(seven are needed for reviewing purposes) if it does
not cause a financial hardship. An additional copy
may also be submitted on a PC-compatible diskette or
CD ROM in either Microsoft Word or WordPerfect formats. C. Submission
Dates and Times
Applications for partnership funding under the CRP must
be received by or postmarked by December 5, 2003. Applications received
or postmarked after that time will not be considered for funding. Applications
submitted via the U.S. Postal Service must have an official postmark; private
metered postmarks are not acceptable. Applications delivered by a delivery
service after the postmark date will be accepted for review if the applicant
can document that the application was provided to the delivery service on or
prior to the specified postmark cut-off date. In any event, applications received
later than 15 business days following the closing date will not be accepted.
No facsimile or electronic mail applications will be accepted. Applicants desiring
acknowledgment of receipt of their applications should include a self-addressed
post card.
D. Intergovernmental Review
Applications under this program are subject to the provisions of Executive
Order 12372, “Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs.” Any
applicant submitting an application for funding is required to complete item
16 on SF-424 regarding clearance by the State Single Point of Contact (SPOC)
established as a result of EO 12372. To find out about and comply with a State’s
process under EO 12372, the names, addresses and phone numbers of participating
SPOC’s are listed in the Office of Management and Budget’s home
page at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/grants/spoc.html. E. Funding
Restrictions
1. Allowable Costs
Funds awarded cannot necessarily pay for all the costs that the recipient might
incur in the course of carrying out the partnership. Generally, costs that
are allowable include salaries, equipment and supplies, as long as these are “necessary
and reasonable” specifically for the purpose of the award. Allowable
costs are determined by reference to the OMB Circulars A-122, “Cost Principles
for Non-profit Organizations”; A-21, “Cost Principles for Education
Institutions”; A-87, “Cost Principles for State, Local and Indian
Tribal Governments”; and Federal Acquisition Regulation, codified at
48 Code of Federal Regulations, subpart 31.2 “Contracts with Commercial
Organizations.” All cost reimbursement sub-awards (subgrants, subcontracts,
etc.) are subject to those federal cost principles applicable to the particular
type of organization concerned. Pre-award costs are generally unallowable. The earliest
date for receipt of awards will be approximately 120-150
days after the close of this solicitation. Applicants
should consider this selection and processing time
in developing requested start dates for proposed restoration
activities. Pre-award costs incurred before a notice
of award document is provided by the NOAA Grants Office
is at the applicant’s own risk. 2. Indirect Costs
The budget may include an amount for indirect costs if the applicant has an
established indirect cost rate with the federal government. Indirect costs
are essentially overhead costs for basic operational functions (e.g., lights,
rent, water, insurance) that are incurred for common or joint objectives
and therefore cannot be identified specifically within a particular partnership.
For this solicitation, the federal share of the indirect costs must not exceed
the lesser of either the indirect costs the applicant would be entitled to
if the negotiated federal indirect cost rate were used or 25 percent of the
direct costs proposed. For those situations in which the use of the applicant’s
indirect cost rate would result in indirect costs greater than 25 percent
of the federal direct costs, the difference may be counted as part of the
non-federal share. A copy of the current, approved negotiated indirect cost
agreement with the federal government should be included with the application.
If the applicant does not have a current negotiated rate and plans to seek
reimbursement for indirect costs, documentation necessary to establish a
rate must be submitted within 90 days of receiving an award. F. Other
Requirements
The Department of Commerce Pre-Award Notification Requirements for Grants and
Cooperative Agreements contained in the Federal Register notice of October
1, 2001 (66 FR 49917), as amended by the Federal Register notice published
on October 30, 2002 (67 FR 66109), are applicable to this solicitation. G. Addresses
Send applications to Christopher D. Doley, Director, NOAA Restoration Center,
National Marine Fisheries Service, 1315 East West Highway (F/HC3), Silver
Spring, MD 20910-3282; ATTN: CRP Partnership Applications.
V.
APPLICATION REVIEW AND SELECTION INFORMATION A. Evaluation
Criteria
Reviewers will assign scores to proposals ranging from 0 to 100 points based
on the following five standard NOAA evaluation criteria and respective weights
specified below. 1. Importance and Applicability
of Proposal (20 points)
This criterion ascertains whether there is intrinsic value in the
proposed work and/or relevance to NOAA, federal, regional, state or local activities.
For the Community-based Habitat Restoration National and Regional Partnerships
competition this includes:
Applications will be evaluated on the national
or regional extent of proposed habitat restoration
activities and the types of habitats that are proposed
to be restored under the partnership and the range
of species expected to benefit from on-the-ground
restoration activities. In particular, NOAA will
evaluate partnership applications based on the potential
and proposed magnitude of the partnership to restore,
protect, conserve, and enhance habitats and ecosystems
vital to self-sustaining populations of living marine
resources under NOAA Fisheries stewardship.
2. Technical/Scientific
Merit (20 points)
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. For the Community-based Habitat Restoration National and Regional
Partnerships competition this includes:
Applications will be evaluated on the feasibility
of the partnership to accomplish stated goals and
objectives, the likelihood that the partnership will
achieve significant progress within the proposed
project period, and the degree to which the partnership
and projects selected are likely to catalyze future
restoration and protection of living marine resources.
Applications will be reviewed for: (a) the adequacy
of proposed strategies for coordination with NOAA
in all phases of project selection, design, implementation
and monitoring; (b) the degree to which the selection
process is competitive, and ensures that sub-awards
are made according to technical evaluations and identified
weighting factors consistent with NOAA priorities;
(c) the likelihood that restoration activities supported
through the partnership will be consistent with regional
or community planning processes, or other stakeholder
mechanisms used to prioritize projects; (d) the degree
to which projects selected for sub-awards are expected
to have long-lasting results that will be sustained
into the future through conservation easements or
similar protection; and (e) whether there is an adequate
plan to ensure that projects implemented through
sub-awards will meet all federal, state and local
environmental laws and obtain applicable permits
and consultations.
3. Overall Qualifications
of Applicants (20 points)
This criterion ascertains whether the applicant possesses the necessary education,
experience, training, facilities and administrative resources to accomplish
the project. For the Community-based Habitat Restoration National and Regional
Partnerships competition this includes:
Applicants will be evaluated on their capacity
to conduct the scope and scale of the proposed work
by examining the qualifications, past experience,
and potential of the project partners to effectively
identify, develop, select, manage and oversee all
project phases, particularly financial and administrative
management of sub-awards, and their ability to ensure
scientifically-based monitoring is implemented on
individual projects funded through sub-awards. The
applicant should demonstrate their abilities to effectively
and efficiently manage a significant number of projects
simultaneously. Communities and/or organizations
developing their first partnership proposal may not
be able to document past experience and, therefore,
will be evaluated on their potential to effectively
manage and oversee all administrative aspects as
described above, and by their description of qualifying
characteristics such as education, training and/or
experience of primary project participants, and facilities
and/or administrative resources and capabilities
available to support the partnership work, including
the availability of technical expertise to handle
sub-award processes and guide individual habitat
restoration projects to a successful completion.
4. Project Costs (20 points)
This criterion evaluates the budget to determine if it is realistic and commensurate
with the project needs and time-frame. For the Community-based Habitat Restoration
National and Regional Partnerships competition this includes:
Applications will be evaluated for whether the
proposed budget is realistic, sufficiently detailed
and commensurate with the project needs and time
frame, and for appropriate budget breakdown and justification
of both federal and non-federal shares by object
class as listed on form SF-424A. A separate SF-424A
budget form should be used to break down multi-year
budget requests into annual funding increments. Applications
proposing to use restoration funds to expand an organization’s
day-to-day activities are unlikely to obtain a high
score under this criterion. In order to encourage
on-the-ground restoration, if funding for salaries
is requested, it should be used to support staff
directly involved in overseeing the accomplishment
of the restoration work that will take place under
the partnership and should contain a detailed breakdown
of personnel hours and costs by task.
Applications also will be evaluated on the need
for funding and their cost-effectiveness by examining:
(a) the percentage of funds that will be dedicated
to all phases of restoration project implementation
including physical, on-the-ground restoration compared
to the percentage that is for administration and
overhead to be used by the partner--proposals that
limit administrative costs to 15% at the national
or regional level will be likely to score higher
for this criterion; (b) the overall leverage of NOAA
funds anticipated, including the amount of cash match
available on the national/regional level specifically
to support project implementation; and (d) the ability
of the applicant organization to demonstrate that
a significant benefit will be generated for a reasonable
cost. NOAA desires cost sharing to leverage funding
and to further encourage partnerships among government,
industry, and academia.
5. Outreach, Education and
Community Involvement (20 points)
This criterion assesses whether the proposal provides a focused and effective
education and outreach strategy regarding NOAA’s mission. For the Community-based
Habitat Restoration National and Regional Partnerships competition this includes:
Applications will be evaluated on the suitability
of proposed actions to involve citizens and broaden
their participation in habitat restoration projects
and the diversity and strengths of other involved
partners, as well as on the potential to publically
advance the partnership and increase awareness of
the importance of habitat restoration. Community
involvement may include: (a) hands-on training and
restoration activities undertaken by volunteers;
(b) sponsorship from local entities, either through
in-kind goods and services (earth moving, technical
expertise, conservation easements) or cash contributions;
(c) public education and outreach; (d) support from
state and local governments; and (e) ability to achieve
long-term stewardship for restored resources and
to generate a community conservation ethic.
B. Review
and Selection Process
Applications will be screened by CRP staff to determine if they are eligible,
complete and in accordance with instructions detailed in the standard NOAA
Grants Application Package. Eligible restoration partnership proposals will
undergo a technical review, ranking, and selection process. As appropriate
during this process, the NOAA Restoration Center will solicit individual technical
evaluations of each partnership proposed and may request evaluations from other
NOAA offices, the Regional Fishery Management Councils, other Federal and state
agencies, such as state coastal management agencies and state fish and wildlife
agencies, and private and public sector restoration experts who have knowledge
of a specific applicant, program or its subject matter. Proposals also will
be reviewed by NOAA regional and headquarters staff to determine how well they
meet the stated aims of the CRP, and how well the proposal meets the goals
of the NOAA Restoration Center. Applications for proposed partnerships will be evaluated
by at least three individual technical reviewers, including
those mentioned in the above paragraph, according to
the criteria and weights described in this solicitation.
The proposals will be rated, and reviewer comments
and composite project scores and a rank order will
be presented to the Director of the NOAA Restoration
Center (Director). Director, in consultation with CRP
staff, will select the partnership proposals to be
recommended to the Grants Management Division for funding
and determine the amount of funds available for each
approved partnership. The proposals shall be recommended
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: (1) the availability
of funds; (2) the balance and distribution of funds:
a) geographically, b) by type of institution, c) by
type of partners, d) by research areas, e) by project
types; (3) duplication of proposed activities with
other activities funded or considered for funding by
NOAA and/or other federal agencies; (4) program priorities
and policy factors; (5) applicant’s prior award
performance; (6) partnerships with/participation of
targeted groups. Hence, awards may not necessarily
be made to the highest scored proposals. Unsuccessful
applicants will be notified in writing that their proposal
was not among those recommended for funding, and unsuccessful
applications will be kept on file until the close of
the following fiscal year then destroyed. Successful applicants generally will be selected
approximately 60-90 days after the close of this solicitation.
The earliest date for receipt of awards will be approximately
120-150 days after the close of this solicitation,
when all NOAA/applicant negotiations of cooperative
activities have been completed. Applicants should consider
this selection and processing time in developing requested
start dates for proposed partnership activities.
VI.
AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION A. Award
Notices
Successful applicants may be asked to modify objectives, work plans, or budgets
prior to final approval of an award. The exact amount of funds to be awarded,
the final scope of activities, the partnership duration, and specific NOAA
cooperative involvement with the activities of each partnership will be determined
in pre-award negotiations among the applicant, the NOAA Grants Office, and
the NOAA CRP staff. Partnership activities should not be initiated in expectation
of federal funding until a notice of award document is received from the NOAA
Grants Office. B. Administrative
and National Environmental Policy Act Requirements
Successful applicants that accept a NOAA award under this solicitation will
be bound by Department of Commerce standard terms and conditions. This document
will be provided with a copy of the award by the NOAA Grants Office, and can
be found at: http://www.osec.doc.gov/oebam/pdf/ST&C-rev-1002.pdf. In addition,
award documents provided by the NOAA Grants Office may have the following special
terms and conditions, as applicable:
- [APPLICANT] will ensure that implementation
of the projects sub-awarded under this partnership
will meet all federal environmental laws and regulations
by completing any required federal consultations
and obtaining all applicable permits and approvals
prior to expenditure of federal funds for those
activities requiring permits and consultations.
Verification of federal permits and environmental
compliance related to projects sub-awarded under
this cooperative agreement must be presented to
the NOAA Program Officer prior to project implementation.
In addition, please provide a list of all local,
state, and tribal permits acquired for each project
sub-awarded under this partnership. Verification
of permits and approvals for projects sub-awarded
under the partnership can be presented in the form
of an email or letter to the Program Officer listing
the project name, the permit or approval, its tracking
number, the issuance date, and the expiration date
applicable to that project.
- [APPLICANT] will not expend any funds for project
implementation until they have received written
concurrence from NOAA Fisheries on project selection
and clearance from NOAA Fisheries on National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA) compliance on a project specific
basis. [APPLICANT] agrees to assist and cooperate
with NOAA Fisheries in the preparation of any NEPA
compliance documentation related to projects sub-awarded
under this cooperative agreement.
- [APPLICANT] must maintain project files for the
restoration projects funded under this agreement.
These files must contain, at a minimum, project
work plans and copies of all federal, state and
local permits and consultations associated with
project implementation.
- [APPLICANT] must display, where appropriate and
practical, publically visible signs indicating
that the project has received funding through the
NOAA Community-based Restoration Program. These
signs should also identify other contributing partners.
These contributions should also be acknowledged
in all communications with the media and the public
and in all outreach related to the projects.
- The partnership should be referred to as the "[Regional
or National] Partnership between the NOAA Community-based
Restoration Program and [APPLICANT]".
- Progress reports for sub-awards made under the
partnership must use the NOAA Community-based Restoration
Program’s progress report narrative format
and form approved by OMB under control number 0648-0472.
Under each partnership awarded, the CRP will review
individual project proposals considered for sub-award
funding for National Environmental Policy Act compliance
on a project by project basis. Restoration activities
that are not covered by the NOAA Fisheries Community-based
Restoration Program Environmental Assessment (EA) and
Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) will be reviewed
under NOAA Administrative Order (NAO) 216-6, Environmental
Review Procedures for Implementing The National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA). The CRP EA and FONSI can be found
at:
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/habitat/restoration/projects_programs/crp/assessment/
ea_main.html
NAO 216-6 is located at http://www.rdc.noaa.gov/~nao/216-6.html.
Successful partnerships will need to ensure that project
proposals considered for sub-award funding provide
enough detail for NOAA to make a NEPA determination,
and that funds will not be released until NOAA completes
necessary NEPA documentation. Successful applicants
are encouraged to consult with NOAA as early as possible
on projects considered for sub-awards to obtain guidance
with respect to the level and scope of information
needed by NOAA to comply with NEPA; a phased approach
may be recommended. C. Reporting
Requirements
Financial reports are due semi-annually and should be submitted directly to
the NOAA Grants Office. Financial reports cover the periods from October 1
- March 31 (due by April 30) and April 1 - September 30 (due by October 30).
Progress reports are due semi-annually and cover 6-month periods that begin
with the start date an applicant has selected. Progress reports are due directly
to the NOAA Community-based Restoration Program office and are due no later
than 30 days after each 6-month project period. A final report is due no later
than 90 days after the expiration date of an award. Progress reports should detail partnership activities
that have occurred at the national or regional level
during the reporting period that correspond with goals
and objectives identified in the narrative, as well
as provide specific, project-related information, as
described below. Progress reports for individual projects sub-awarded
under each approved partnership must be submitted using
a specific format for narrative information and a form
for project specific details. This format and form
can be found on the NOAA Restoration Center webpage
at:
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/habitat/restoration/projects_programs/crp/
partners_funding/project_reports.html
Use of this required progress report form and format
involves collection-of-information requirements subject
to the Paperwork Reduction Act, and has been approved
by OMB under control number 0648-0472 and expires on
April 30, 2006. Complete details on reporting requirements
will be provided to successful applicants in the award
documentation provided by the NOAA Grants office.
VII.
AGENCY CONTACTS For further information contact Robin Bruckner, Alison
Ward or Melanie Severin at(301)713-0174, or by fax
at (301) 713-0184, or by e-mail at Robin.Bruckner@noaa.gov,
Alison.Ward@noaa.gov or Melanie.Severin@noaa.gov.
VIII.
OTHER INFORMATION The Community-based Restoration Program expects to
solicit applications for implementing individual habitat
restoration projects in FY 2004. A separate notice
of funding availability will be issued to request individual
project applications. Prior notice and an opportunity
for public comment are not required by the Administrative
Procedure Act [5 U.S.C. 553 (a) (2)] or by any other
law for
this document concerning grants, benefits, and contracts. Accordingly, a
regulatory flexibility analysis is not required by
the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.
C. 601 et seq.). This action has been determined to be not significant
for purposes of Executive Order 12866. The use of the
standard NOAA grants application package referred
to in this notice involves collection-of-information
requirements subject to the Paperwork
Reduction Act. The use of Standard Forms 424, 424A, 424B, SF-LLL, and
CD-346
have been approved by 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 respond
to, nor shall any person be subject to a penalty
for failure
to comply
with, a collection of information subject to the Paperwork Reduction
Act, unless
that collection displays a currently valid OMB control number.
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