FY 2017 NOAA Coastal Resilience Grants Program | NOAA NOS NRPO 2017 2005159

Opportunity Information: Apply for NOAA NOS NRPO 2017 2005159

The FY 2017 NOAA Coastal Resilience Grants Program is a competitive federal funding opportunity from the U.S. Department of Commerce, run jointly by NOAA's National Ocean Service and National Marine Fisheries Service. Its overall purpose is to fund on-the-ground projects that make U.S. coastal communities, local economies, and coastal and marine ecosystems more resilient to extreme weather and climate-related hazards. In this program, "resilience" is defined in practical terms: the ability to prepare and plan for hazards, absorb impacts when events occur, recover afterward, and successfully adapt over time. NOAA frames the program around reducing real-world risk to people, property, infrastructure, and natural systems, with the idea that stronger ecosystems and better-prepared communities reduce damages, speed recovery, and support long-term economic stability in coastal areas.

NOAA will fund projects in two main activity categories. The first category, Strengthening Coastal Communities, supports efforts that improve the capacity of multiple coastal jurisdictions to manage climate and disaster risk. That multi-jurisdiction emphasis matters: projects should be designed to benefit more than one governmental unit (for example, multiple municipalities, counties, states, territories, or tribes) and should show how coordinated planning or shared tools will help those places better prepare for, withstand, and adapt to hazards such as storms, flooding, sea level rise, and related impacts. The second category, Habitat Restoration, supports restoration actions that strengthen the resilience of coastal ecosystems while also decreasing the vulnerability of nearby communities. This reflects NOAA's view that natural and nature-based features (like wetlands, dunes, oyster reefs, and other habitats) can reduce storm surge and erosion, protect infrastructure, and provide ecological and economic benefits at the same time.

For proposals that focus on the "Strengthening Coastal Communities" category, NOAA expects applicants to be explicit about three core elements. First, the application should clearly identify the vulnerability, issue, or problem that is limiting resilience across the coastal jurisdictions involved. Second, the application should lay out expected outcomes and the specific actions that will be taken to reach those outcomes, rather than staying at the level of general planning language. Third, the application should explain how those actions will measurably enhance resilience for the jurisdictions expected to benefit, tying project activities back to reduced risk, improved preparedness, better recovery capability, or improved adaptive capacity.

Eligibility is broad but clearly defined. Eligible applicants include regional organizations, colleges and universities, nonprofit organizations, for-profit organizations, U.S. states and territories, Native American tribal governments, and local governments as defined at 2 C.F.R. 200.64 (which includes counties, municipalities, and cities). NOAA also clarifies what it means by a "regional organization" for this competition: an entity operating at a multi-state, multi-county, or multi-city/town scale, such as regional ocean partnerships or councils of government, as long as the organization can legally receive and spend federal funds. If a regional organization is not itself able to receive and expend federal funds, it can still participate by partnering with an eligible legal entity that applies on its behalf. Tribal eligibility includes both federally recognized tribes and tribes that are not federally recognized, which expands access compared with some federal programs.

Geographically, projects must benefit coastal communities located in eligible coastal states and territories. The covered locations include: Alabama, Alaska, American Samoa, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Guam, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Northern Mariana Islands, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, U.S. Virgin Islands, Washington, and Wisconsin. The District of Columbia can be included, but with an important restriction: applicants may only submit proposals under the Habitat Restoration category for projects in DC, consistent with authorizations under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act and the Endangered Species Act.

NOAA also defines the coastal focus for this competition. For program purposes, "coastal areas" include coastal shoreline counties (those directly adjacent to the open ocean, major estuaries, or the Great Lakes) and coastal watershed counties (inland counties along rivers and streams that significantly affect coastal and ocean resources). This definition is meant to capture not only communities right on the shore, but also upstream areas that influence coastal water quality, flooding dynamics, and ecosystem health.

Several entities are explicitly not eligible to apply. Applications from individuals, federal agencies, or federal employees will not be considered, and foreign governments are not eligible. NOAA encourages individuals and federal agencies that want to be involved to work through partnerships with eligible applicants such as states, local governments, tribes, universities, and nongovernmental organizations. If other federal agencies participate in a project, their role should be clearly described in the proposal so reviewers understand the structure, responsibilities, and coordination approach.

Administratively, this opportunity is a discretionary grant competition that uses a cooperative agreement as the funding instrument, indicating NOAA expects substantial involvement during project implementation (for example, coordination, technical input, or oversight consistent with cooperative agreements). The CFDA number associated with the program is 11.473. The funding opportunity number is NOAA NOS NRPO 2017 2005159. The original application deadline was March 17, 2017, the posting date was January 13, 2017, and the maximum award amount listed (award ceiling) was $2,000,000.

• The Department of Commerce in the environment, natural resources, science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY 2017 NOAA Coastal Resilience Grants Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 11.473.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2017-01-13.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2017-03-17. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $2,000,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for NOAA NOS NRPO 2017 2005159

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