[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 117 (Monday, June 17, 1996)] [Notices] [Pages 30593-30596] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 96-15258] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [Docket No. 950407092-6099-02] RIN: 0648-XX12 Climate and Global Change Program AGENCY: Office of Global Programs, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Commerce. ACTION: Notice. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: The Climate and Global Change Program represents a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) contribution to evolving national and international programs designed to improve our ability to observe, understand, predict, and respond to changes in the global environment. This program builds on NOAA's mission requirements and longstanding capabilities in global change research and prediction. The NOAA Program is a key contributing element of the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), which is coordinated by the interagency Committee on Environmental and Natural Resources. NOAA's program is designed to complement other agency contributions to that national effort. DATES: Strict deadlines for submission to the FY 1997 process are: Letters of intent must be received at OGP no later than July 19, 1996. Full proposals must be received at OGP no later than September 20, 1996. Applicants who have not received a response to their letter of intent by August 9, 1996 should contact the program office. The time from target date to grant award varies with program area. We anticipate that review of full proposals will occur during late 1996 through early 1997 and funding should begin during the spring of 1997 for most approved projects. May 1, 1997, should be used as the proposed start date on proposals, unless otherwise directed by the appropriate Program Officer. Applicants should be notified of their status within 6 months. All proposals must be submitted in accordance with the guidelines below. Failure to heed these guidelines may result in proposals being returned without review. ADDRESSES: Proposals may be submitted to: Office of Global Programs, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 1100 Wayne Avenue, Suite 1225, Silver Spring, MD 20910-5603. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Irma dePree at the above address, or at phone: (301) 427-2089 ext. 17, fax: (301) 427-2073, Internet: deP[email protected]. [[Page 30594]] SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Funding Availability NOAA believes that the Climate and Global Change Program will benefit significantly from a strong partnership with outside investigators. Current Program plans assume that over 50% of the total resources provided through this announcement will support extramural efforts, particularly those involving the broad academic community. Because of ongoing debates on the Federal budget, it is uncertain how much money will be available through this announcement. Actual funding levels will depend upon the final FY 1997 budget appropriations. This Program Announcement is for projects to be conducted by investigators both inside and outside of NOAA, primarily over a one, two or three year period. The funding instrument for extramural awards will be a grant unless it is anticipated that NOAA will be substantially involved in the implementation of the project, in which case the funding instrument should be a cooperative agreement. Examples of substantial involvement may include but are not limited to proposals for collaboration between NOAA or NOAA scientists and a recipient scientist or technician and/or contemplation by NOAA of detailing Federal personnel to work on proposed projects. NOAA will make decisions regarding the use of a cooperative agreement on a case-by-case basis. Funding for non-U.S. institutions and contractual arrangements for services and products for delivery to NOAA are not available under this announcement. Matching share is not required by this program. Program Authority Authority: 49 U.S.C. App. 1463; 33 U.S.C. 883d, 883e; 15 U.S.C. 2904; 15 U.S.C. 2931 et seq. (CFDA No. 11.431)--Climate and Atmospheric Research Program Objectives The long term objective of the Climate and Global Change Program is to provide reliable predictions of climate change and associated regional implications on time scales ranging from seasons to a century or more. NOAA believes that climate variability across these time scales can be modelled with an acceptable probability of success and are the most relevant for fundamental social concerns. Predicting the behavior of the coupled ocean-atmosphere-land surface system will be NOAA's primary contribution to a successful national effort to deal with observed or anticipated changes in the global environment. NOAA has a range of unique facilities and capabilities that can be applied to Climate and Global Change investigations. Proposals that seek to exploit these resources in collaborative efforts between NOAA and extramural investigators are encouraged. Program Priorities In FY 1997, NOAA will give priority attention to individual proposals in the areas listed below. Investigators are asked to specify clearly which of these areas is being pursued. The names, affiliations and phone numbers of relevant Climate and Global Change Program Officers are provided. Funding for some programs may be limited to ongoing projects or may be used to fund projects proposed in FY 1996 that were unable to be funded due to unusual budgetary circumstances. Prospective applicants should communicate with Program Officers for information on priorities within program elements and prospects for funding. Applicants should send letters of intent and proposals to the NOAA Office of Global Programs rather than to individual Program Officers, unless specifically instructed otherwise.Atlantic Climate Change/World Ocean Circulation Experiment--contact: David Goodrich, NOAA/Global Programs, Silver Spring, MD; 301-427-2089 ext. 38, Internet: [email protected]. Atmospheric Chemistry--contact: Joel Levy, NOAA/Office of Global Programs, 301-427-2089 ext. 21, Internet: [email protected]. Climate Change Data and Detection--contact: Bill Murray, NOAA/Global Programs, Silver Spring, MD; 301-427-2089 ext. 26, Internet: [email protected]. Climate Observations--contact: Rex Fleming, NOAA/OAR, Boulder, CO, 303/497-8165, Internet: [email protected]; Bill Murray (for atmosphere and land surface observations), NOAA/Global Programs, Silver Spring, MD; 301/427-2089 ext. 26, Internet: [email protected]; or Mike Johnson (for ocean observations), NOAA/ Global Programs, Silver Spring, MD; 301-427-2089 ext. 62, Internet: [email protected]. Economics and Human Dimensions of Climate Fluctuations-- contact: Claudia Nierenberg, NOAA/Global Programs, Silver Spring, MD; 301-427-2089 ext. 46, Internet: [email protected] or Caitlin Simpson, NOAA/Global Programs, Silver Spring, MD; 301-427-2089 ext. 47, Internet: [email protected]. Education--contact: Daphne Gemmill, NOAA/Office of Global Programs, Silver Spring, MD; 301-427-2089 ext. 20, Internet: [email protected]. GCIP (GEWEX Continental-Scale International Project)-- contact: Rick Lawford, NOAA/Programs, Silver Spring, MD; 301-427-2089 ext. 40, Internet: [email protected]. Global Ocean--Atmosphere--Land System (GOALS) and Pan- American Climate Studies (PACS)--contact: Michael Patterson, NOAA/ Office of Global Programs, Silver Spring, MD; 301-427-2089 ext. 12, Internet: [email protected]. Ocean-Atmosphere Carbon Exchange Study (OACES)--contact: James F. Todd, NOAA/Global Programs, Silver Spring, MD; 301-427-2089 ext. 32, Internet: [email protected]. Paleoclimatology--contact: Mark Eakin, NOAA/Global Programs, Silver Spring, MD; 301-427-2089 ext. 19, Internet: [email protected] or Jonathan Overpeck, NOAA/National Geophysical Data Center, Boulder, CO; 303-497-6172, Internet: [email protected]. Eligibility Extramural eligibility is not limited and is encouraged with the objective of developing a strong partnership with the academic community. Non-academic proposers are urged to seek collaboration with academic institutions. Universities, non-profit organizations, for profit organizations, State and local governments, and Indian Tribes, are included among entities eligible for funding under this announcement. While not a prerequisite for funding, applicants are encouraged to consider conducting their research in one or more of the National Marine Estuarine Research Reserve System or National Marine Sanctuary sites. For further information on these field laboratory sites, contact Dr. Dwight Trueblood, NOAA/NOS, 301-713-3145 ext. 174. The NOAA Climate and Global Change Program has been approved for multi-year funding up to a three year duration. Funding for non-U.S. institutions is not available under this announcement. Letters of Intent Letters of Intent: (1) Letters should be no more than two pages in length and include the name and institution of principal investigator(s), a statement of the problem, brief summary of work to be completed, approximate cost of the project, and program element(s) to which the proposal should be directed. [[Page 30595]] (2) Evaluation will be by program management, according to the selection criteria for full proposals described above. (3) It is in the best interest of applicants and their institutions to submit letters of intent; however, it is not a requirement. (4) Facsimile and electronic mail are acceptable for letters of intent only. (5) Projects deemed unsuitable during program review should not be submitted as full proposals. Evaluation Criteria Consideration for financial assistance will be given to those proposals which address one of the Program Priorities listed below and meet the following evaluation criteria: (1.) Scientific Merit (20%): Intrinsic scientific value of the subject and the study proposed. (2.) Relevance (20%): Importance and relevance to the goal of the Climate and Global Change Program and to the research areas listed above. (3.) Methodology (20%): Focused scientific objective and strategy, including measurement strategies and data management and consideration; project milestones; and final products. (4.) Readiness (20%): Nature of the problems; relevant history and statue of existing work; level of planning, including existence of supporting documents; strength of proposed scientific and management team; past performance record of proposers. (5.) Linkages (10%): Connections to existing or planned national and international programs; partnerships with other agency or NOAA participants, where appropriate. (6.) Costs (10%): Adequacy of proposed resources; appropriate share of total available resources; prospects for joint funding; identification of long-term commitments. Section Procedures All proposals will be evaluated and ranked in accordance with the assigned weights of the above evaluation criteria by (1) independent peer mail review, and/or (2) independent peer panel review; both NOAA and non-NOAA experts in the field may be used in this process. Their recommendations and evaluations will be considered by the Program Manager/Officer in final selections. Those ranked by the panel and program as not recommended for funding will not be given further consideration and will be notified of non-selection. For the proposals rated either Excellent, Very Good or Good, the Program Manager will: (a) Ascertain which proposals meet the objectives, fit the criteria posted, and do not substantially duplicate other projects that are currently funded by NOAA or are approved for funding by other federal agencies (b) select the proposals to be funded, (c) determine the total duration of funding for each proposal, and (d) determine the amount of funds available for each proposal. Awards are not necessarily made to the highest-scored proposals. Unsatisfactory performance by a recipient under prior Federal awards may result in an application not being considered for funding. Proposal Submission The guidelines for proposal preparation provided below are mandatory. Failure to heed these guidelines may result in proposals being returned without review. (a) Full Proposals: (1) Proposals submitted to the NOAA Climate and Global Change Program must include the original and two unbound copies of the proposal. (2) Investigators are not required to submit more than 3 copies of the proposal, however, the normal review process requires 20 copies. Investigators are encouraged to submit sufficient proposals copies for the full review process if they wish all reviewers to receive color, unusually sized (not 8.5 x 11''), or otherwise unusual materials submitted as part of the proposal. Only three copies of the Federally required forms are needed. (3) Proposals must be limited to 30 pages (numbered), including budget, investigators vitae, and all appendices, and should be limited to funding requests for one to three year duration. Appended information may not be used to circumvent the page length limit. Federally mandated forms are not included within the page count. (4) Proposals should be sent to the NOAA Office of Global Programs at the above address. (5) Facsimile transmissions and electronic mail submission of full proposals will not be accepted. (b) Required Elements: All proposals should include the following elements: (1.) Signed title page: The title page should be signed by the Principal Investigator (PI) and the institutional representative and should clearly indicate which project area is being addressed. The PI and institutional representative should be identified by full name, title, organization, telephone number and address. The total amount of Federal funds being requested should be listed for each budget period. (2.) Abstract: An abstract must be included and should contain an introduction of the problem, rationale and a brief summary of work to be completed. The abstract should appear on a separate page, headed with the proposal title, institution(s) investigator(s), total proposed cost and budget period. (3.) Results from prior research: The results of related projects supported by NOAA and other agencies should be described, including their relation to the currently proposed work. Reference to each prior research award should include the title, agency, award number, PIs, period of award and total award. The section should be a brief summary and should not exceed two pages total. (4.) Statement of work: The proposed project must be completely described, including identification of the problem, scientific objectives, proposed methodology, relevance to the goal of the Climate and Global Change Program, and the program priorities listed above. Benefits of the proposed project to the general public and the scientific community should be discussed. A year-by-year summary of proposed work must be included clearly indicating that each year's proposed work is severable and can easily be separated into annual increments of meaningful work. The statement of work, including references but excluding figures and other visual materials, must not exceed 15 pages of text. Investigators wishing to submit group proposals that exceed the 15 page limit should discuss this possibility with the appropriate Program Officer prior to submission. In general, proposals from 3 or more investigators may include a statement of work containing up to 15 pages of overall project description plus up to 5 additional pages for individual project descriptions. (5.) Budget: Applicants must submit a Standard Form 424 (4-92) ``Application for Federal Assistance,'' including a detailed budget using the Standard Form 424a (4-92), ``Budget Information--Non- Construction Programs.'' The form is included in the standard NOAA application kit. The proposal must include total and annual budgets corresponding with the descriptions provided in the statement of work. Additional text to justify expenses should be included as necessary. (6.) Vitae: Abbreviated curriculum vitae are sought with each proposal. Reference lists should be limited to all publications in the last three years with up to five other relevant papers. (7.) Current and pending support: For each investigator, submit a list that includes project title, supporting agency with grant number, investigator months, dollar value and duration. Requested [[Page 30596]] values should be listed for pending support. (8.) List of suggested reviewers: The cover letter may include a list of individuals qualified and suggested to review the proposal. It also may include a list of individuals that applicants would prefer to not review the proposal. Such lists may be considered at the discretion of the Program Officer. (c) Other requirements: (1.) Applicants may obtain a standard NOAA application kit from the Program Office. Primary applicant Certification--All primary applicants must submit a completed Form CD-511. ``Certification Regarding Debarment, Suspension and Other Responsibility Matters; Drug-Free Workplace Requirements and Lobbying''. Applicants are also hereby notified of the following: 1. Nonprocurement Debarment and Suspension--Prospective participants (as defined at 15 CFR Part 26, section 105) are subject to 15 CFR Part 26, ``Nonprocurement Debarment and Suspension,'' and the related section of the certification form prescribed above applies; 2. Drug Free Workplace--Grantees (as defined at 15 CFR part 26, section 605) are subject to 15 CFR Part 26, Subpart F, ``Governmentwide Requirements for Drug-Free Workplace (Grants)'' and the related section of the certification form prescribed above applies; 3. Anti-Lobbying--Persons (as defined at 15 CFR Part 28, section 105) are subject to the lobbying provisions of 31 U.S.C. 1352, ``Limitation on use of appropriated funds to influence certain Federal contracting and financial transactions,'' and the lobbying section of the certification form prescribed above applies to applications/bids for grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts for more than $100,000, and loans and loan guarantees for more than $150,000, or the single family maximum mortgage limit for affected programs, whichever is greater; and 4. Anti-Lobbying Disclosures--Any applicant that has paid or will pay for lobbying using any funds must submit an SF-LLL, ``Disclosure of Lobbying Activities,'' as required under 15 CFR part 28, appendix B. Lower Tier Certifications--Recipients must require applicants/ bidders for subgrants, contracts, subcontracts, or lower tier covered transactions at any tier under the award to submit, if applicable, a completed Form CD-512, ``Certifications Regarding Debarment, Suspension, Ineligibility and Voluntary Exclusion-Lower Tier Covered Transactions and Lobbying'' and disclosure form SF-LLL, ``Disclosure of Lobbying Activities.'' Form CD-512 is intended for the use of recipients and should not be transmitted to DOC. SF-LLL submitted by any tier recipient or subrecipient should be submitted to DOC in accordance with the instructions contained in the award document. (2.) Recipients and subrecipients are subject to all applicable Federal laws and Federal and Department of Commerce policies, regulations, and procedures applicable to Federal financial assistance awards. (3.) Preaward Activities--If applicants incur any costs prior to an award being made, they do so solely at their own risk of not being reimbursed by the Government. Notwithstanding any verbal assurance that may have been received, there is no obligation to the applicant on the part of Department of Commerce to cover preaward costs. (4.) This program is subject to the requirements of OMB Circular No. A-110, ``Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and Other Agreements with Institutions of Higher Education, Hospitals, and Other Non-Profit Organizations,'' and 15 CFR Part 24, ``Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and Cooperative Agreements to State and Local Governments,'' as applicable. Applications under this program are not subject to Executive Order 12372, ``Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs.'' (5.) All non-profit and for-profit applicants are subject to a name check review process. Name checks are intended to reveal if any key individuals associated with the applicant have been convicted of, or are presently facing criminal charges such as fraud, theft, perjury, or other matters which significantly reflect on the applicant's management, honesty, or financial integrity. (6.) A false statement on an application is grounds for denial or termination of funds and grounds for possible punishment by a fine or imprisonment as provided in 18 U.S.C. 1001. (7.) No award of Federal funds shall be made to an applicant who has an outstanding delinquent Federal debt until either: (i) The delinquent account is paid in full, (ii) A negotiated repayment schedule is established and at least one payment is received, or (iii) Other arrangements satisfactory to the Department of Commerce are made. (8.) Buy American-Made Equipment or Products--Applicants are encouraged that any equipment or products authorized to be purchased with funding provided under this program must be American-made to the maximum extent feasible. (9.) The total dollar amount of the indirect costs proposed in an application under this program must not exceed the indirect cost rate negotiated and approved by a cognizant Federal agency prior to the proposed effective date of the award or 100 percent of the total proposed direct cost dollar amount in the application, whichever is less. (d) If an application is selected for funding, the Department of Commerce has no obligation to provide any additional future funding in connection with the award. Renewal of an award to increase funding or extend the period of performance is at the total discretion of the Department of Commerce. (e) In accordance with Federal statutes and regulations, no person on grounds of race, color, age, sex, national origin or disability shall be excluded from participation in, denied benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving financial assistance from the NOAA Climate and Global Change Program. The NOAA Climate and Global Change Program does not have direct TDD (Telephonic Device for the Deaf) capabilities, but can be reached through the State of Maryland supplied TDD contact number, 800-735- 2258, between the hours of 8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Classification: This notice has been determined to be not significant for purposes of Executive Order 12866. The standard forms have been approved by the Office of Management and Budget pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act under OMB approval number 0348-0043, 0348- 0044, and 0348-0046. Dated: June 2, 1996. J. Michael Hall, Director, Office of Global Programs, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. [FR Doc. 96-15258 Filed 6-14-96; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510-12-M