[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 16 (Friday, January 24, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3514-3516]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-1643]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[Docket No. 020814191-2191-01]


Establishment of a Joint or Cooperative Institute Within the 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office of 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) Joint and Cooperative Institute 
Program

AGENCY: Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research; National Oceanic 
and Atmospheric Administration; Department of Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of Request for Letters of Intent and Guidelines for 
Submission of Full Proposals.

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SUMMARY: NOAA invites interested institutions to submit Letters of 
Intent (LOI) indicating interest in establishing a Joint or Cooperative 
Institute within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 
(NOAA) Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) Joint and 
Cooperative Institute Program. The proposed name of the Joint Institute 
will be the Cooperative Institute for Climate Applications and 
Research. The OAR Joint and Cooperative Institute Program is listed in 
the CFDA under number 11.432, Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Research (OAR) Joint and Cooperative Institutes.
    The Institutes represent a close link between OAR laboratories, 
other branches of NOAA and the external research community. NOAA 
collaborates on cooperative research activities and provides financial 
support to enhance the public benefits to be derived from these 
research activities. The Institutes are established based on their 
geographical proximity to a NOAA facility, and/or their expertise in 
areas related to the mission of the NOAA/OAR research laboratories.

DATES: Letters of Intent should be submitted no later than February 24, 
2003. Response letters will be issued from NOAA approximately 45 days 
after the date of the Federal Register Announcement. Institutions will 
be informed of the submittal date for full proposals in the response 
letter.

ADDRESSES: Letters of Intent and proposals should be submitted to: Dr. 
Ants Leetmaa; NOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory; Forrestral 
Campus Rt. 1; P.O. Box 308; Princeton, NJ 08452-0308.
    An Application Kit can be obtained from: Mr. Michael Nelson; NOAA 
Grants Management Division; Silver Spring Metro Center Bldg. 2, Room 
9348; Silver Spring, MD 20910.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Ants Leetmaa; NOAA Geophysical 
Fluid Dynamics Laboratory; Forrestral Campus Rt. 1; P.O. Box 308; 
Princeton, NJ 08452-0308.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Program Authority

    Authority: 49 U.S.C. 44720; 33 U.S.C. 883d; 15 U.S.C. 2907; 15 
U.S.C. 2931.

II. Program Description

    Funding: The base funding for the Institute is expected to be 
$100,000 per year. However, funding is contingent upon availability of 
funds and is at the sole discretion of NOAA.
    The funding instrument will be a Cooperative Agreement based on the 
envisioned substantial involvement of NOAA scientists in projects 
undertaken by the Institute. NOAA collaborates on cooperative research 
activities and provides financial support to enhance the public 
benefits to be derived from these research activities. NOAA envisions a 
sharing of expertise between GFDL and the proposed Institute in the 
areas of: earth system modeling, modern and paleoclimatic observations, 
and climate variability and change applications research. Funding for 
non-U.S. institutions and contractual arrangements for services and 
products for delivery to NOAA are not available under this 
announcement. The award will have an initial base term of five years. 
An OAR-sponsored, independent panel will conduct a review of the 
Institute during the fourth year of the five year term. The Panel's 
findings and recommendations will serve as the basis for renewal of the 
Institute for an additional five years.
    Program Priorities: The Institute will be affiliated with the 
Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) located in Princeton, New 
Jersey. The Institute will align itself with the following GFDL 
research priorities:
    a. Earth System modeling: Including, but not limited to, the 
development of dynamical models of the global climate system, and the 
production of forecasts of the long-term variability of the climate.
    b. Modern and paleoclimatic observations: including but not limited 
to standard hydrographic observations and the construction and analysis 
of new proxies (e.g. geochemical and isotopic tracers in deep-sea 
sediments, aquifers, tree rings and ice cores) for studies of climate 
variability and change, including abrupt climate changes.
    c. Climate variability and change applications research: including 
but not limited to the study of communication between forecasters and 
users of forecasts; the application of climate variability and change 
information to decision making in fields such as water resources, 
agriculture, human health, and policy making; and institutional 
mechanisms for responding to climate variability and change 
information.
    The Institute is meant to be an integral component in a coordinated

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research effort to produce the best possible forecasts of climate 
variability and change and to aid in the development of forecast 
guidance products that are socially and economically useful to decision 
makers. The Institute will promote research efforts designed to (1) 
develop coupled models of the global atmosphere, ocean, and land 
surface to serve as a basis for improved climate variability and change 
simulations and forecasts, (2) produce and analyze modern and 
paleoclimatic data that will be required for the verification of the 
simulations and forecasts, and (3) explore and develop methods that 
will facilitate the effective dissemination of the forecasts to 
decision makers.

III. Eligibility

    Extramural eligibility is limited to U.S. 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.

IV. Evaluation Criteria

    Consideration for financial assistance will be given to those 
proposals that address the Program Priorities listed above and meets 
the following evaluation criteria. Equal weight is assigned to each of 
the criteria.
    a. Scientific Merit: Intrinsic scientific value of the proposed 
research.
    b. Program Relevance: Applicability to the OAR Joint and 
Cooperative Institute Program as described in Section II, Program 
Description.

V. Submission Requirements

    The guidelines for proposal preparation provided below are 
mandatory. Failure to heed these guidelines will result in proposals 
being returned without review.
    a. Letters of Intent: (1) Letters of Intent (LOI) are required 
prior to submission of a full proposal. (2) The LOI should be no more 
than ten pages in length and should include the name and institution of 
the principal investigator. (3) The LOI should provide a concise 
description of the proposed work. (4) The LOI should also provide a 
detailed description of the resources and capabilities of the host 
institution, specifically scientific expertise, specialized facilities, 
ongoing research activities, and educational and training programs. (5) 
Evaluation will be by OAR program management, according to the 
evaluation criteria for full proposals described above. (6) 
Institutions with an LOI deemed unresponsive will not be encouraged to 
submit full proposals, however they will not be precluded from 
submitting a full proposal.
    b. Full Proposals: 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. The 
PI and institutional representative should be identified by full name, 
title, organization, telephone number, and address.
    (2) Abstract: A one page abstract must be included and should 
contain a brief summary of the work to be completed. The abstract 
should appear on a separate page, headed with the proposal title, 
institution(s) investigators(s) , total proposed cost and budget 
period.
    (3) Statements of work: All proposals should provide detailed five-
year plans for climate variability and change modeling and prediction 
research, modern and paleoclimatic observations, and climate forecast 
applications which build upon the program outlined in the LOI. The 
following areas must be addressed in the proposal: Proposed mechanisms 
for the development and implementation of climate model improvements; 
creation and maintenance of a modern and paleoclimatic data base; 
strategy for generating experimental forecasts guidance products and 
their effective dissemination to decision makers. The proposed work 
should be described, including identification of the problems, 
scientific objectives, proposed methodology, and relevance to the 
program priorities listed above. Factors, such as readiness of needed 
infrastructure, ease of interaction with scientists at GFDL, amount and 
type of NOAA support presently received, benefits of the proposed work 
to the general public, the scientific community, and decision makers, 
should be described. Results from related projects previously and 
presently supported by NOAA should be included.
    (4) Budget: Applicants must submit a budget using the Standard Form 
424a(4-92), Budget Information--Non-Construction Programs. The form is 
included in the standard NOAA application kit.
    (5) Vita: An abbreviated Curriculum Vita for the PI should be 
included. Reference lists should be limited to all publications in the 
last three years with up to five other relevant papers.
    (6) Current and pending Federal support: Each investigator should 
submit a list that includes project title, supporting agency with grant 
number, investigator months, dollar value and duration. Requested 
values should be listed for pending federal support.

VI. Selection Procedures

    All proposals will be evaluated in accordance with the above 
evaluation criteria by an independent peer review panel consisting of 
both NOAA and non-NOAA Federal experts. The panel will review and 
discuss each proposal and, based on the above evaluation criteria, make 
a consensus recommendation of the most meritorious and relevant 
proposal to the Selecting Official.
    The Selecting Official may either accept the recommendation or 
select another proposal based on the following program policy factor: 
geographic diversity within the existing Joint Institute program. The 
selected proposal will be forwarded to the Grants Officer for action 
and the successful applicant notified.

VII. Other Requirements

    (1) Applications under this program are not subject to Executive 
Order 12372, ``Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs.''
    (2) 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. The NOAA Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Research does not have direct Telephone Device for the Deaf (TDD) 
capabilities, but can be reached through the State of Maryland-supplied 
TDD contact number, 800-735-2258, between the hours of 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
    (3) The Department of Commerce Pre-Award Notification of 
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), is applicable to this solicitation.

VIII. Classification

    This notice has been determined to be not significant for purposes 
of Executive Order 12866. This notice contains collection-of-
information requirements subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act. The 
use of Standard Forms 424, 424A, and SF-LLL has been approved by OMB 
under the respective control numbers 0348-0043, 0348-0044, and 0348-
0046. 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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    It has been determined that this notice does not contain policies 
with Federalism implications as that term is defined in Executive Order 
13132. Because notice and comment are not required under 5 U.S.C. 553, 
or any other law, for this notice relating to public property, loans, 
grants benefits or contracts (5 U.S.C. 553(a)), a Regulatory 
Flexibility Analysis is not required and has not been prepared for this 
notice, 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.

    Dated: January 15, 2003.
Louisa Koch,
Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Research, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
[FR Doc. 03-1643 Filed 1-23-03; 8:45 am]
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