A North Atlantic Regional Cooperative Institute, 58569-58572 [E8-23654]
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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 195 / Tuesday, October 7, 2008 / Notices
Note: The times and sequence
specified in this agenda are subject to
change.
Dated: October 2, 2008.
Tracey L. Thompson,
Acting Director, Office of Sustainable
Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. E8–23628 Filed 10–6ndash;08; 8:45
am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–S
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA)
[Docket No. 0809261279–81280–01; I.D.
GF001]
A North Atlantic Regional Cooperative
Institute
OAR Cooperative Institutes
Program Office (CIPO), Oceanic and
Atmospheric Research (OAR), National
Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of funding availability.
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AGENCY:
SUMMARY: The NOAA National Marine
Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the
NOAA Office of Ocean and
Atmospheric Research (OAR) invite
applications for the establishment of a
cooperative institute (CI) that will focus
on the themes of (1) Ecosystem
Forecasting, (2) Ecosystem Monitoring,
(3) Ecosystem Management, Protection
and Restoration of Resources, (4)
Sustained Ocean Observations and (5)
Climate Research. These 5 themes will
be supported by a variety of research
activities, which may include:
• Research on the linkages among
productivity, fish and fisheries,
pollution, climate change, and
ecosystem health;
• Research to improve the integration
and availability of ocean observations
across spatial scales, from global to
regional and local;
• Research to distinguish marine
resource changes due to human impacts
from those resulting from natural
forcing, including climate variability
and change;
• Development and application of
new tools and approaches for
monitoring ecosystem health and
forecasting ecosystem change’
• Examination of the expected
increases in socioeconomic benefits
accrued from a better understanding of
the effects of climate change, food webs,
physical-chemical coupling, and
ecosystem production dynamics’
• Collaborative research and
education leading to closer linkages
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between scientific assessments and
management actions.
This research, conducted within the
New England and the Mid-Atlantic
regions, is described in the full Federal
Funding Opportunity notice.
Through this new CI, NOAA also
seeks to augment its existing North East
Regional climate research with an
expanded fisheries forecasting
capability, and to develop an integrated
capability to research emerging issues
from an ecosystem perspective. The CI
may consist of one or more research
institutions with expertise and
capabilities in the NOAA priority areas
that contribute to the areas of research
described as research themes above.
Through this competition, NOAA
intends to establish competitively a new
CI according to the policy and
procedures described in NOAA
Administrative Order 216–107 and the
Cooperative Institute Interim Handbook
both available at https://
www.nrc.noaa.gov/ci/. This
announcement provides requirements
for the proposed CI and includes details
for the technical program, evaluation
criteria, and competitive selection
procedures. Applicants should review
the CI Interim Handbook prior to
preparing a proposal for this
announcement.
DATES: Proposals must be received by
OAR no later than January 5, 2009 5
p.m., E.T. Proposals submitted after that
date will not be considered.
ADDRESSES: Applicants are strongly
encouraged to apply online through the
Grants.Gov Web site https://
www.grants.gov. Paper submissions are
acceptable only if internet access is not
available. Grants.gov requires applicants
to register with the system prior to
submitting an application. This
registration process can take several
weeks, involving multiple steps. In
order to allow sufficient time for this
process, you should register as soon as
you decide that you intend to apply,
even if you are not yet ready to submit
your proposal. If an applicant has
problems downloading the application
package from Grants.gov, contact
Grants.gov Customer Support at (800)
518–4726 or support@grants.gov. For
non-Windows computer systems, please
see https://www.grants.gov/MacSupport
for information on how to download
and submit an application through
Grants.gov. If a hard copy application is
submitted, the original and two
unbound copies of the proposal should
be included. Paper submissions should
be sent to: Mr. Philip L. Hoffman, 1315
East West Highway, Room 11308, Silver
Spring, Maryland 20910; telephone
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(301)734–1096. No email or facsimile
proposal submissions will be accepted.
For
a copy of the Federal Funding
Opportunity announcement and/or an
application package, please access
Grants.gov, the NOAA Cooperative
Institute Web site (https://
www.nrc.noaa.gov/ci) or contact Mr.
Philip L. Hoffman, 1315 East West
Highway, Room 11308, Silver Spring,
Maryland 20910; telephone (301)734–
1096; e-mail: Philip.Hoffman@noaa.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
The
purpose of this announcement is to
invite the submission of proposals to
establish a North Atlantic Regional CI
which will operate along the eastern
U.S. Continental Shelf frontier to
conduct exploration, research, and
technology development, and to provide
details on the application, review, and
selection process.
CI Concept/Program Background: A
CI is a NOAA-supported, non-Federal
organization that has established an
outstanding research program in one or
more areas that are relevant to the
NOAA mission ‘‘to understand and
predict changes in the Earth’s
environment and conserve and manage
coastal and marine resources to meet
our Nation’s economic, social, and
environmental needs.’’ CIs are
established at research institutions that
also have a strong education program
with established graduate degree
programs in NOAA-related sciences.
The CI provides significant coordination
of resources among all non-government
partners and promotes the involvement
of students and post-doctoral scientists
in NOAA-funded research. The CI
provides mutual benefits with value
provided by all parties. NOAA
establishes a new CI competitively
when it identifies a need to sponsor a
long-term (5–10 years) collaborative
partnership with one or more
outstanding non-Federal, non-profit
research institutions. For NOAA, the
purpose of this long-term collaborative
partnership is to promote research,
education, training, and outreach
aligned with NOAA’s mission; to obtain
research capabilities that do not exist
internally; and/or to expand research
capacity in NOAA-related sciences.
More specifically, the new CI will
perform the following types of research
activities:
• Research on the linkages among
productivity, fish and fisheries,
pollution, climate change, and
ecosystem health;
• Research to improve the integration
and availability of ocean observations
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 195 / Tuesday, October 7, 2008 / Notices
across spatial scales, from global to
regional and local;
• Research to distinguish marine
resource changes due to human impacts
from those resulting from natural
forcing, including climate variability
and change;
• Development and application of
new tools and approaches for
monitoring ecosystem health and
forecasting ecosystem change;
• Examination of the expected
increases in socioeconomic benefits
accrued from a better understanding of
the effects of climate change, food webs,
physical-chemical coupling, and
ecosystem production dynamics;
• Collaborative research and
education leading to closer linkages
between scientific assessments and
management actions.
A CI will consist of one or more
research institutions that demonstrate
outstanding performance within one or
more established research programs in
NOAA-related sciences. These
institutions may include Minority
Serving Institutions and universities
with strong departments that can
contribute to the proposed activities of
the CI. CIs conduct research under
approved scientific research themes (see
Section I.B of the full funding
opportunity announcement) and Tasks
(additional tasks can be proposed by the
CI).
i. Task I activities are related to the
management of the CI, as well as general
education and outreach activities. This
task also includes support of
postdoctoral and visiting scientists
conducting activities within the
research themes of the CI that are
approved by the CI Director, in
consultation with NOAA, and are
relevant to NOAA and the CI’s mission
goals.
ii. Task II activities usually involve
on-going direct collaboration with
NOAA scientists. This collaboration
typically is fostered by the collocation
of Federal and CI employees.
iii. Task III activities require minimal
collaboration with NOAA scientists and
may include research funded by other
NOAA competitive grant programs.
Electronic Access: The full text of the
full funding opportunity announcement
for this program can be accessed via the
Grants.gov Web site at https://
www.grants.gov. The announcement
will also be available by contacting the
program officials identified under FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
Applicants must comply with all
requirements contained in the full
funding opportunity announcement.
Statutory Authority: 15 U.S.C. 1540,
33 U.S.C. 883(d), 15 U.S.C. 313, 15
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U.S.C. 2901 et seq., 118 Stat. 71 (Jan. 23,
2004).
CFDA: 11.432, OAR Joint and
Cooperative Institutes.
Funding Availability: The award
period will be 5 years, and may be
renewed for an additional 5 years based
on the outcome of a CI review in the
fourth year. All funding is contingent
upon the availability of Federal
appropriations. NOAA expects that
approximately $7M will be available for
the CI in the first year of the award. The
Task I budget should not exceed
$350,000. The final amount of funding
available for Task I will be determined
during the negotiation phase of the
award based on availability of funding.
Funding for subsequent years is
expected to be constant throughout the
period and will depend on the quality
of the research, the satisfactory progress
in achieving the stated goals described
in the proposal, continued relevance to
program objectives, and the availability
of funding.
Eligibility: Eligibility is limited to
non-Federal public and private nonprofit universities, colleges and research
institutions that offer accredited
graduate level degree-granting programs
in NOAA-related sciences.
Cost Sharing Requirements: To stress
the collaborative nature and investment
of a CI by both NOAA and the research
institution, cost sharing is required.
There is no minimum cost sharing
requirement; however, the amount of
cost sharing will be considered when
determining the level of the CI’s
commitment under NOAA’s standard
evaluation criteria for overall
qualifications of applicants. Acceptable
cost-sharing proposals include, but are
not limited to, offering a reduced
indirect cost rate against activities in
one or more Tasks, waiver of indirect
costs assessed against base funds and/or
Task I activities, waiver or reduction of
any costs associated with the use of
facilities at the CI, and full or partial
salary funding for the CI director,
administrative staff, graduate students,
visiting scientists, or postdoctoral
scientists.
Evaluation and Selection Procedures:
The general evaluation criteria and
selection factors that apply to full
applications to this funding opportunity
are summarized below. The evaluation
criteria for full applications will have
different weights and details. Further
information about the evaluation criteria
and selection factors can be found in the
full funding opportunity announcement.
Evaluation Criteria for Projects:
Proposals will be evaluated using the
standard NOAA evaluation criteria.
Various questions under each criterion
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are provided to ensure that the
applicant includes information that
NOAA will consider important during
the evaluation, in addition to any other
information provided by the applicant.
i. Importance and/or relevance and
applicability of proposed project to the
program goals (25 percent): This
criterion ascertains whether there is
intrinsic value in the proposed work
and/or relevance to NOAA, Federal,
regional, state, or local activities.
• Does the proposal include research
goals and projects that address the
critical issues identified in NOAA’s 5year Research Plan, NOAA’s Strategic
Plan, and the priorities described in the
program priorities (see Section I.B. of
the full funding opportunity
announcement)?
• Is there a demonstrated
commitment (in terms of resources and
facilities) to enhance existing NOAA
and CI resources to foster a long-term
collaborative research environment/
culture?
• Does the proposal meet the
geographical constraints described in
the announcement?
ii. Technical/scientific merit (30
percent): 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.
• Does the project description include
a summary of clearly stated goals to be
achieved during the five year period
that reflect NOAA’s strategic plan and
goals?
• Does the project description include
innovative approaches to meeting the
undersea technology development,
exploration and research goals of the
proposal?
• Does the CI involve partnerships
with other universities or research
institutions, including Minority Serving
Institutions and universities with strong
departments that can contribute to the
proposed activities of the CI?
iii. Overall qualifications of
applicants (30 percent): This criterion
ascertains whether the applicant
possesses the necessary education,
experience, training, facilities, and
administrative resources to accomplish
the project.
• If the institution(s) and/or Principal
Investigators have received current or
recent NOAA funding, is there a
demonstrated record of outstanding
performance working with NOAA and/
or NOAA scientists on research
projects?
• Is there nationally and/or
internationally recognized expertise
within the appropriate disciplines
needed to conduct the collaborative/
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interdisciplinary research described in
the proposal?
• Is there a well-developed business
plan that includes fiscal and human
resource management, as well as
strategic planning and accountability?
• Are there any unique capabilities in
a mission-critical area of research for
NOAA?
• Does the CI possess the necessary
undersea technical expertise and
resources, and/or provide access to the
technical resources outlined in the
proposal?
• Has the applicant shown a
substantial investment to the NOAA
partnership, as demonstrated by the
amount of the cost sharing contribution?
iv. Project costs (5 percent): The
budget is evaluated to determine if it is
realistic and commensurate with the
project needs and time-frame.
v. Outreach and education (10
percent): NOAA assesses whether this
project provides a focused and effective
education and outreach strategy
regarding NOAA’s mission to protect
the Nation’s natural resources.
• Is there a strong education program
with established graduate degree
programs in NOAA-related sciences that
also encourages student participation in
NOAA-related research studies.
Review and Selection Process: An
initial administrative review/screening
is conducted to determine compliance
with requirements/completeness. All
proposals will be evaluated and
individually ranked in accordance with
the assigned weights of the above-listed
evaluation criteria by an independent
peer review panel. At least three
experts, who may be Federal or nonFederal, will be used in this process. If
non-Federal experts participate in the
review process, each expert will submit
an individual review and there will be
no consensus opinion. The merit
reviewers’ ratings are used to produce a
rank order of the proposals. The
Selecting Official selects proposals after
considering the peer reviews and
selection factors listed below. In making
the final selections, the Selecting
Official will award in rank order unless
the proposal is justified to be selected
out of rank order based upon one or
more of the selection factors.
Selection Factors For Projects: The
merit review ratings shall provide a rank
order to the Selecting Official for final
funding recommendations. The
Selecting Official shall award 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:
i. Availability of funding.
ii. Balance/distribution of funds:
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a. Geographically.
b. By type of institutions.
c. By type of partners.
d. By research areas.
e. By project types.
iii. Whether this project duplicates
other projects funded or considered for
funding by NOAA or other Federal
agencies.
iv. Program priorities and policy
factors.
v. Applicant’s prior award
performance.
vi. Partnerships and/or participation
of targeted groups.
vii. Adequacy of information
necessary for NOAA staff to make a
National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA) determination and draft
necessary documentation before
recommendations for funding are made
to the Grants Officer.
Intergovernmental Review:
Applications under this program are not
subject to Executive Order 12372,
‘‘Intergovernmental Review of Federal
Programs.’’
Limitation of Liability: In no event
will NOAA or the Department of
Commerce be responsible for proposal
preparation costs if these programs fail
to receive funding or are cancelled
because of other agency priorities.
Publication of this announcement does
not oblige NOAA to award any specific
project or to obligate any available
funds.
National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA): NOAA must analyze the
potential environmental impacts, as
required by the National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA), for applicant
projects or proposals which are seeking
NOAA federal funding opportunities.
Detailed information on NOAA
compliance with NEPA can be found at
the following NOAA NEPA Web site:
https://www.nepa.noaa.gov/, including
our NOAA Administrative Order 216–6
for NEPA, https://www.nepa.noaa.gov/
NAO216_6_TOC.pdf, and the Council
on Environmental Quality
implementation regulations, https://
ceq.eh.doe.gov/nepa/regs/ceq/
toc_ceq.htm. Consequently, as part of an
applicant’s package, and under their
description of their program activities,
applicants are required to provide
detailed information on the activities to
be conducted, locations, sites, species
and habitat to be affected, possible
construction activities, and any
environmental concerns that may exist
(e.g., the use and disposal of hazardous
or toxic chemicals, introduction of nonindigenous species, impacts to
endangered and threatened species,
aquaculture projects, and impacts to
coral reef systems). In addition to
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providing specific information that will
serve as the basis for any required
impact analyses, applicants may also be
requested to assist NOAA in drafting of
an environmental assessment, if NOAA
determines an assessment is required.
Applicants will also be required to
cooperate with NOAA in identifying
feasible measures to reduce or avoid any
identified adverse environmental
impacts of their proposal. The failure to
do so shall be grounds for not selecting
an application. In some cases if
additional information is required after
an application is selected, funds can be
withheld by the Grants Officer under a
special award condition requiring the
recipient to submit additional
environmental compliance information
sufficient to enable NOAA to make an
assessment on any impacts that a project
may have on the environment.
The Department of Commerce PreAward Notification Requirements for
Grants and Cooperative Agreements:
The Department of Commerce PreAward Notification Requirements for
Grants and Cooperative Agreements
contained in the Federal Register notice
of February 11, 2008 (73 FR 7696), are
applicable to this solicitation.
Paperwork Reduction Act: This
document contains collection-ofinformation requirements subject to the
Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA). The
use of Standard Forms 424, 424A, 424B,
SF–LLL, and CD–346 has been approved
by the Office of Management and
Budget (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, nor shall
a person be subject to a penalty for
failure to comply with, a collection of
information subject to the requirements
of the PRA unless that collection of
information displays a currently valid
OMB control number.
Executive Order 12866: This notice
has been determined to be not
significant for purposes of Executive
Order 12866.
Executive Order 13132 (Federalism):
It has been determined that this notice
does not contain policies with
Federalism implications as that term is
defined in Executive Order 13132.
Administrative Procedure Act/
Regulatory Flexibility Act: Prior notice
and an opportunity for public comment
are not required by the Administrative
Procedure Act or any other law for rules
concerning public property, loans,
grants, benefits, and contracts (5 U.S.C.
553(a)(2)). Because notice and
opportunity for comment are not
required pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553 or any
other law, the analytical requirements
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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 195 / Tuesday, October 7, 2008 / Notices
by telephone at 571–272–7735; or by email at Robert.Clarke@uspto.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
for the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5
U.S.C. 601 et seq.) are inapplicable.
Therefore, a regulatory flexibility
analysis has not been prepared.
Dated: October 1, 2008.
Mark E. Brown,
Chief Financial Officer/Chief Administrative
Officer, Oceanic and Atmospheric Research,
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration.
[FR Doc. E8–23654 Filed 10–6–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–P
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Patent and Trademark Office
Statutory Invention Registration
ACTION:
Proposed collection; comment
request.
SUMMARY: The United States Patent and
Trademark Office (USPTO), as part of its
continuing effort to reduce paperwork
and respondent burden, invites the
general public and other Federal
agencies to take this opportunity to
comment on the extension of a
continuing information collection, as
required by the Paperwork Reduction
Act of 1995, Public Law 104–13 (44
U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)).
DATES: Written comments must be
submitted on or before December 8,
2008.
You may submit comments
by any of the following methods:
• E-mail: Susan.Fawcett@uspto.gov.
Include ‘‘0651–0036 comment’’ in the
subject line of the message.
• Fax: 571–273–0112, marked to the
attention of Susan K. Fawcett.
• Mail: Susan K. Fawcett, Records
Officer, Office of the Chief Information
Officer, Customer Information Services
Group, Public Information Services
Division, U.S. Patent and Trademark
Office, P.O. Box 1450, Alexandria, VA
22313–1450.
• Federal Rulemaking Portal: https://
www.regulations.gov.
ADDRESSES:
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
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Requests for additional information
should be directed to the attention of
Robert A. Clarke, Deputy Director,
Office of Patent Legal Administration,
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, P.O.
Box 1450, Alexandria, VA 22313–1450;
I. Abstract
A statutory invention registration is
not a patent. It has the defensive
attributes of a patent but does not have
the enforceable attributes of a patent. In
other words, a person occasionally
invents something solely for personal
use (not for production or sale) and does
not want to go through the effort and
expense of obtaining a patent on the
invention. At the same time, the
inventor wants to prevent someone else
from later obtaining a patent on a like
invention. In that situation, the inventor
can register a statutory invention and
have it published. Once published, it
cannot be claimed by another person.
35 U.S.C. 157 authorizes the United
States Patent and Trademark Office
(USPTO) to publish a statutory
invention registration containing the
specifications and drawings of a
regularly filed application for a patent
without examination, providing the
patentee meets all the requirements for
printing, waives the right to receive a
patent on the invention within a certain
period of time prescribed by the
USPTO, and pays all application,
publication and other processing fees.
The USPTO administers 35 U.S.C. 157
through 37 CFR 1.293–1.297. Under
these rules, an applicant for an original
patent may request, at any time during
the pendency of the application, that the
specifications and drawings be
published as a statutory invention
registration. Any request for a statutory
invention registration may be examined
to determine if all the conditions have
been met, if the subject matter of the
application is appropriate for
publication, and if the requirements for
publication are met.
The public may petition the USPTO
to review rejection decisions within one
month or other such time as is set forth
in the decision refusing publication.
The public may also petition the USPTO
to withdraw a request to publish a
statutory invention registration prior to
the date of the notice of the intent to
publish.
If the request for a statutory invention
registration is approved, a notice to that
effect will be published in the Official
Gazette of the USPTO. Each statutory
invention registration that is published
will include a statement relating to the
attributes of a statutory invention
registration.
The public uses form PTO/SB/94,
Request for Statutory Invention
Registration, to request and authorize
publication of a regularly-filed patent
application as a statutory invention
registration, to waive the right to receive
a United States patent on the same
invention claimed in the identified
patent application, to agree that the
waiver will be effective upon
publication of the statutory invention
registration, and to state that the
identified patent application complies
with the requirements for printing. No
forms are associated with the petition
for a review of the refusal to publish a
statutory invention registration or the
petition to withdraw the request for
publication of a statutory invention
registration.
II. Method of Collection
By mail, facsimile, or hand delivery to
the USPTO when the applicant or agent
files a statutory invention registration
with the USPTO.
III. Data
OMB Number: 0651–0036.
Form Number(s): PTO/SB/94.
Type of Review: Extension of a
currently approved collection.
Affected Public: Individuals or
households; business or other for-profit;
not-for-profit institutions.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 8
responses per year.
Estimated Time per Response: The
USPTO estimates that it will take
approximately 24 minutes (0.40 hours)
each to gather, prepare, and submit the
request for statutory invention
registration, the petition to review the
rejection decision, and the petition to
withdraw the publication request,
depending upon the complexity of the
situation. This collection contains one
form and two petitions.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent
Burden Hours: 4 hours each per year.
Estimated Total Annual Respondent
Cost Burden: $1,240. Using the
professional hourly rate of $310 per
hour for associate attorneys in private
firms, the USPTO estimates $1,240 per
year for salary costs associated with
respondents.
Estimated time
for response
(min)
Item
Statutory Invention Registration ............................................................................................
Petition to Review Rejection Decision ...................................................................................
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24
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Estimated
annual
responses
Estimated
annual
burden hours
5
1
2
1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 195 (Tuesday, October 7, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58569-58572]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-23654]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
[Docket No. 0809261279-81280-01; I.D. GF001]
A North Atlantic Regional Cooperative Institute
AGENCY: OAR Cooperative Institutes Program Office (CIPO), Oceanic and
Atmospheric Research (OAR), National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA), Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of funding availability.
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SUMMARY: The NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the NOAA
Office of Ocean and Atmospheric Research (OAR) invite applications for
the establishment of a cooperative institute (CI) that will focus on
the themes of (1) Ecosystem Forecasting, (2) Ecosystem Monitoring, (3)
Ecosystem Management, Protection and Restoration of Resources, (4)
Sustained Ocean Observations and (5) Climate Research. These 5 themes
will be supported by a variety of research activities, which may
include:
Research on the linkages among productivity, fish and
fisheries, pollution, climate change, and ecosystem health;
Research to improve the integration and availability of
ocean observations across spatial scales, from global to regional and
local;
Research to distinguish marine resource changes due to
human impacts from those resulting from natural forcing, including
climate variability and change;
Development and application of new tools and approaches
for monitoring ecosystem health and forecasting ecosystem change'
Examination of the expected increases in socioeconomic
benefits accrued from a better understanding of the effects of climate
change, food webs, physical-chemical coupling, and ecosystem production
dynamics'
Collaborative research and education leading to closer
linkages between scientific assessments and management actions.
This research, conducted within the New England and the Mid-
Atlantic regions, is described in the full Federal Funding Opportunity
notice.
Through this new CI, NOAA also seeks to augment its existing North
East Regional climate research with an expanded fisheries forecasting
capability, and to develop an integrated capability to research
emerging issues from an ecosystem perspective. The CI may consist of
one or more research institutions with expertise and capabilities in
the NOAA priority areas that contribute to the areas of research
described as research themes above. Through this competition, NOAA
intends to establish competitively a new CI according to the policy and
procedures described in NOAA Administrative Order 216-107 and the
Cooperative Institute Interim Handbook both available at https://
www.nrc.noaa.gov/ci/. This announcement provides requirements for the
proposed CI and includes details for the technical program, evaluation
criteria, and competitive selection procedures. Applicants should
review the CI Interim Handbook prior to preparing a proposal for this
announcement.
DATES: Proposals must be received by OAR no later than January 5, 2009
5 p.m., E.T. Proposals submitted after that date will not be
considered.
ADDRESSES: Applicants are strongly encouraged to apply online through
the Grants.Gov Web site https://www.grants.gov. Paper submissions are
acceptable only if internet access is not available. Grants.gov
requires applicants to register with the system prior to submitting an
application. This registration process can take several weeks,
involving multiple steps. In order to allow sufficient time for this
process, you should register as soon as you decide that you intend to
apply, even if you are not yet ready to submit your proposal. If an
applicant has problems downloading the application package from
Grants.gov, contact Grants.gov Customer Support at (800) 518-4726 or
support@grants.gov. For non-Windows computer systems, please see http:/
/www.grants.gov/MacSupport for information on how to download and
submit an application through Grants.gov. If a hard copy application is
submitted, the original and two unbound copies of the proposal should
be included. Paper submissions should be sent to: Mr. Philip L.
Hoffman, 1315 East West Highway, Room 11308, Silver Spring, Maryland
20910; telephone (301)734-1096. No email or facsimile proposal
submissions will be accepted.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For a copy of the Federal Funding
Opportunity announcement and/or an application package, please access
Grants.gov, the NOAA Cooperative Institute Web site (https://
www.nrc.noaa.gov/ci) or contact Mr. Philip L. Hoffman, 1315 East West
Highway, Room 11308, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910; telephone (301)734-
1096; e-mail: Philip.Hoffman@noaa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The purpose of this announcement is to
invite the submission of proposals to establish a North Atlantic
Regional CI which will operate along the eastern U.S. Continental Shelf
frontier to conduct exploration, research, and technology development,
and to provide details on the application, review, and selection
process.
CI Concept/Program Background: A CI is a NOAA-supported, non-
Federal organization that has established an outstanding research
program in one or more areas that are relevant to the NOAA mission ``to
understand and predict changes in the Earth's environment and conserve
and manage coastal and marine resources to meet our Nation's economic,
social, and environmental needs.'' CIs are established at research
institutions that also have a strong education program with established
graduate degree programs in NOAA-related sciences. The CI provides
significant coordination of resources among all non-government partners
and promotes the involvement of students and post-doctoral scientists
in NOAA-funded research. The CI provides mutual benefits with value
provided by all parties. NOAA establishes a new CI competitively when
it identifies a need to sponsor a long-term (5-10 years) collaborative
partnership with one or more outstanding non-Federal, non-profit
research institutions. For NOAA, the purpose of this long-term
collaborative partnership is to promote research, education, training,
and outreach aligned with NOAA's mission; to obtain research
capabilities that do not exist internally; and/or to expand research
capacity in NOAA-related sciences. More specifically, the new CI will
perform the following types of research activities:
Research on the linkages among productivity, fish and
fisheries, pollution, climate change, and ecosystem health;
Research to improve the integration and availability of
ocean observations
[[Page 58570]]
across spatial scales, from global to regional and local;
Research to distinguish marine resource changes due to
human impacts from those resulting from natural forcing, including
climate variability and change;
Development and application of new tools and approaches
for monitoring ecosystem health and forecasting ecosystem change;
Examination of the expected increases in socioeconomic
benefits accrued from a better understanding of the effects of climate
change, food webs, physical-chemical coupling, and ecosystem production
dynamics;
Collaborative research and education leading to closer
linkages between scientific assessments and management actions.
A CI will consist of one or more research institutions that
demonstrate outstanding performance within one or more established
research programs in NOAA-related sciences. These institutions may
include Minority Serving Institutions and universities with strong
departments that can contribute to the proposed activities of the CI.
CIs conduct research under approved scientific research themes (see
Section I.B of the full funding opportunity announcement) and Tasks
(additional tasks can be proposed by the CI).
i. Task I activities are related to the management of the CI, as
well as general education and outreach activities. This task also
includes support of postdoctoral and visiting scientists conducting
activities within the research themes of the CI that are approved by
the CI Director, in consultation with NOAA, and are relevant to NOAA
and the CI's mission goals.
ii. Task II activities usually involve on-going direct
collaboration with NOAA scientists. This collaboration typically is
fostered by the collocation of Federal and CI employees.
iii. Task III activities require minimal collaboration with NOAA
scientists and may include research funded by other NOAA competitive
grant programs.
Electronic Access: The full text of the full funding opportunity
announcement for this program can be accessed via the Grants.gov Web
site at https://www.grants.gov. The announcement will also be available
by contacting the program officials identified under FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT. Applicants must comply with all requirements
contained in the full funding opportunity announcement.
Statutory Authority: 15 U.S.C. 1540, 33 U.S.C. 883(d), 15 U.S.C.
313, 15 U.S.C. 2901 et seq., 118 Stat. 71 (Jan. 23, 2004).
CFDA: 11.432, OAR Joint and Cooperative Institutes.
Funding Availability: The award period will be 5 years, and may be
renewed for an additional 5 years based on the outcome of a CI review
in the fourth year. All funding is contingent upon the availability of
Federal appropriations. NOAA expects that approximately $7M will be
available for the CI in the first year of the award. The Task I budget
should not exceed $350,000. The final amount of funding available for
Task I will be determined during the negotiation phase of the award
based on availability of funding. Funding for subsequent years is
expected to be constant throughout the period and will depend on the
quality of the research, the satisfactory progress in achieving the
stated goals described in the proposal, continued relevance to program
objectives, and the availability of funding.
Eligibility: Eligibility is limited to non-Federal public and
private non-profit universities, colleges and research institutions
that offer accredited graduate level degree-granting programs in NOAA-
related sciences.
Cost Sharing Requirements: To stress the collaborative nature and
investment of a CI by both NOAA and the research institution, cost
sharing is required. There is no minimum cost sharing requirement;
however, the amount of cost sharing will be considered when determining
the level of the CI's commitment under NOAA's standard evaluation
criteria for overall qualifications of applicants. Acceptable cost-
sharing proposals include, but are not limited to, offering a reduced
indirect cost rate against activities in one or more Tasks, waiver of
indirect costs assessed against base funds and/or Task I activities,
waiver or reduction of any costs associated with the use of facilities
at the CI, and full or partial salary funding for the CI director,
administrative staff, graduate students, visiting scientists, or
postdoctoral scientists.
Evaluation and Selection Procedures: The general evaluation
criteria and selection factors that apply to full applications to this
funding opportunity are summarized below. The evaluation criteria for
full applications will have different weights and details. Further
information about the evaluation criteria and selection factors can be
found in the full funding opportunity announcement.
Evaluation Criteria for Projects: Proposals will be evaluated using
the standard NOAA evaluation criteria. Various questions under each
criterion are provided to ensure that the applicant includes
information that NOAA will consider important during the evaluation, in
addition to any other information provided by the applicant.
i. Importance and/or relevance and applicability of proposed
project to the program goals (25 percent): This criterion ascertains
whether there is intrinsic value in the proposed work and/or relevance
to NOAA, Federal, regional, state, or local activities.
Does the proposal include research goals and projects that
address the critical issues identified in NOAA's 5-year Research Plan,
NOAA's Strategic Plan, and the priorities described in the program
priorities (see Section I.B. of the full funding opportunity
announcement)?
Is there a demonstrated commitment (in terms of resources
and facilities) to enhance existing NOAA and CI resources to foster a
long-term collaborative research environment/culture?
Does the proposal meet the geographical constraints
described in the announcement?
ii. Technical/scientific merit (30 percent): 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.
Does the project description include a summary of clearly
stated goals to be achieved during the five year period that reflect
NOAA's strategic plan and goals?
Does the project description include innovative approaches
to meeting the undersea technology development, exploration and
research goals of the proposal?
Does the CI involve partnerships with other universities
or research institutions, including Minority Serving Institutions and
universities with strong departments that can contribute to the
proposed activities of the CI?
iii. Overall qualifications of applicants (30 percent): This
criterion ascertains whether the applicant possesses the necessary
education, experience, training, facilities, and administrative
resources to accomplish the project.
If the institution(s) and/or Principal Investigators have
received current or recent NOAA funding, is there a demonstrated record
of outstanding performance working with NOAA and/or NOAA scientists on
research projects?
Is there nationally and/or internationally recognized
expertise within the appropriate disciplines needed to conduct the
collaborative/
[[Page 58571]]
interdisciplinary research described in the proposal?
Is there a well-developed business plan that includes
fiscal and human resource management, as well as strategic planning and
accountability?
Are there any unique capabilities in a mission-critical
area of research for NOAA?
Does the CI possess the necessary undersea technical
expertise and resources, and/or provide access to the technical
resources outlined in the proposal?
Has the applicant shown a substantial investment to the
NOAA partnership, as demonstrated by the amount of the cost sharing
contribution?
iv. Project costs (5 percent): The budget is evaluated to determine
if it is realistic and commensurate with the project needs and time-
frame.
v. Outreach and education (10 percent): NOAA assesses whether this
project provides a focused and effective education and outreach
strategy regarding NOAA's mission to protect the Nation's natural
resources.
Is there a strong education program with established
graduate degree programs in NOAA-related sciences that also encourages
student participation in NOAA-related research studies.
Review and Selection Process: An initial administrative review/
screening is conducted to determine compliance with requirements/
completeness. All proposals will be evaluated and individually ranked
in accordance with the assigned weights of the above-listed evaluation
criteria by an independent peer review panel. At least three experts,
who may be Federal or non-Federal, will be used in this process. If
non-Federal experts participate in the review process, each expert will
submit an individual review and there will be no consensus opinion. The
merit reviewers' ratings are used to produce a rank order of the
proposals. The Selecting Official selects proposals after considering
the peer reviews and selection factors listed below. In making the
final selections, the Selecting Official will award in rank order
unless the proposal is justified to be selected out of rank order based
upon one or more of the selection factors.
Selection Factors For Projects: The merit review ratings shall
provide a rank order to the Selecting Official for final funding
recommendations. The Selecting Official shall award 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:
i. Availability of funding.
ii. Balance/distribution of funds:
a. Geographically.
b. By type of institutions.
c. By type of partners.
d. By research areas.
e. By project types.
iii. Whether this project duplicates other projects funded or
considered for funding by NOAA or other Federal agencies.
iv. Program priorities and policy factors.
v. Applicant's prior award performance.
vi. Partnerships and/or participation of targeted groups.
vii. Adequacy of information necessary for NOAA staff to make a
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) determination and draft
necessary documentation before recommendations for funding are made to
the Grants Officer.
Intergovernmental Review: Applications under this program are not
subject to Executive Order 12372, ``Intergovernmental Review of Federal
Programs.''
Limitation of Liability: In no event will NOAA or the Department of
Commerce be responsible for proposal preparation costs if these
programs fail to receive funding or are cancelled because of other
agency priorities. Publication of this announcement does not oblige
NOAA to award any specific project or to obligate any available funds.
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA): NOAA must analyze the
potential environmental impacts, as required by the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), for applicant projects or proposals
which are seeking NOAA federal funding opportunities. Detailed
information on NOAA compliance with NEPA can be found at the following
NOAA NEPA Web site: https://www.nepa.noaa.gov/, including our NOAA
Administrative Order 216-6 for NEPA, https://www.nepa.noaa.gov/NAO216_
6_TOC.pdf, and the Council on Environmental Quality implementation
regulations, https://ceq.eh.doe.gov/nepa/regs/ceq/toc_ceq.htm.
Consequently, as part of an applicant's package, and under their
description of their program activities, applicants are required to
provide detailed information on the activities to be conducted,
locations, sites, species and habitat to be affected, possible
construction activities, and any environmental concerns that may exist
(e.g., the use and disposal of hazardous or toxic chemicals,
introduction of non-indigenous species, impacts to endangered and
threatened species, aquaculture projects, and impacts to coral reef
systems). In addition to providing specific information that will serve
as the basis for any required impact analyses, applicants may also be
requested to assist NOAA in drafting of an environmental assessment, if
NOAA determines an assessment is required.
Applicants will also be required to cooperate with NOAA in
identifying feasible measures to reduce or avoid any identified adverse
environmental impacts of their proposal. The failure to do so shall be
grounds for not selecting an application. In some cases if additional
information is required after an application is selected, funds can be
withheld by the Grants Officer under a special award condition
requiring the recipient to submit additional environmental compliance
information sufficient to enable NOAA to make an assessment on any
impacts that a project may have on the environment.
The Department of Commerce Pre-Award Notification Requirements for
Grants and Cooperative Agreements: The Department of Commerce Pre-Award
Notification Requirements for Grants and Cooperative Agreements
contained in the Federal Register notice of February 11, 2008 (73 FR
7696), are applicable to this solicitation.
Paperwork Reduction Act: This document contains collection-of-
information requirements subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA).
The use of Standard Forms 424, 424A, 424B, SF-LLL, and CD-346 has been
approved by the Office of Management and Budget (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, nor shall a person be subject to a penalty for failure to
comply with, a collection of information subject to the requirements of
the PRA unless that collection of information displays a currently
valid OMB control number.
Executive Order 12866: This notice has been determined to be not
significant for purposes of Executive Order 12866.
Executive Order 13132 (Federalism): It has been determined that
this notice does not contain policies with Federalism implications as
that term is defined in Executive Order 13132.
Administrative Procedure Act/Regulatory Flexibility Act: Prior
notice and an opportunity for public comment are not required by the
Administrative Procedure Act or any other law for rules concerning
public property, loans, grants, benefits, and contracts (5 U.S.C.
553(a)(2)). Because notice and opportunity for comment are not required
pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553 or any other law, the analytical requirements
[[Page 58572]]
for the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) are
inapplicable. Therefore, a regulatory flexibility analysis has not been
prepared.
Dated: October 1, 2008.
Mark E. Brown,
Chief Financial Officer/Chief Administrative Officer, Oceanic and
Atmospheric Research, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
[FR Doc. E8-23654 Filed 10-6-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
