2009 Invitation for Full Proposals - Overview
Full proposals may be submitted by invitation only.

Invitations are based on Center Staff’s assessment of pre-proposals submitted on or before October 31, 2008. Full proposals are due by January 15, 2009.
Full proposals must be developed from the outline and work plan presented in the pre-proposal. Significant departures should be discussed with center staff prior to submission. Projects approved for FY 2009 will include a strong component of technological innovation, broadly defined as development of new instruments, sensors, and techniques, and adaptations of existing technology to new applications. Technology development should be directed toward a specific scientific need, and may include initial research application of the technology.

Projects must further the mission of NOAA and of the West Coast & Polar Regions Undersea Research Center by addressing one or more of the 2009 programmatic themes:

Theme 1) U.S. Arctic Continental Shelf Ecosystems
Arctic environments are experiencing both climate change and increased human activity. Progress in understanding these extreme and remote regions depends strongly on technological innovation that will improve access to, and enhance our ability to understand, the physical, chemical, geological and biological processes of the polar seas.
For 2009, the Center solicits technologically innovative proposals that will contribute to our understanding of nearshore and/or continental shelf ecosystems of the U.S. Arctic. To maximize the return from our limited budgets, the Center welcomes proposals from U.S. scientists to contribute to multi-investigator field programs, including those aboard foreign research vessels and “piggy-back” proposals on ships of opportunity. Marine studies from land-based field camps may also be eligible.

Theme 2) Ecosystem Effects of the Oxygen Minimum Zone
Little is known of marine ecosystems within the oceanic oxygen minimum zone, their interaction with adjacent regions of the ocean, or the potential consequences of upward migration of the zone boundaries. The Center solicits proposals that will involve or lead to technically innovative advances in understanding this important feature.

Theme 3) Regional Oceanographic Data from Sensors on Pelagic Marine Organisms
A few studies to date have recovered valuable oceanographic data from instruments carried by marine mammals and other pelagic species. The Center solicits proposals to further develop these innovative, low-cost oceanographic techniques.

Eligibility: Eligible applicants are U.S. institutions of higher education, not-for-profit institutions, and federal, state, local, and tribal governments. Scientists from other countries are welcome as collaborators, but the proposal must be submitted through a U.S. institution.

Project Timing and Duration: PIs will be notified of provisional funding decisions in March, 2009, and final decisions will depend on the timing of the federal budget process for FY 2009. The earliest possible starting date will be late March, and might be as late as May. The WCPR Center will make every effort to accommodate project needs. PIs with early dates for proposed field work should indicate their needs in the proposal. If the timing of funding precludes field work in 2009, funds may be awarded in 2009 for use in 2010. One- or two-year projects will be considered; however, due to Center commitments in FY 2010, a second year of funding is not guaranteed and may be deferred to FY 2011.

Field Work and Charters: The lead PI on the proposal must participate in the field work. Small-boat charters and support for undersea vehicles should be included in the project’s science budget.

Financial Support Provided:
BUDGET TOTALS SHOULD NOT DIFFER SIGNIFICANTLY FROM THOSE OF THE PRE-PROPOSAL.
General support of at-sea operations, including system charters (vessel and underwater vehicle), food, and lodging, may be requested. Grantees are eligible to receive modest support to defray costs of supplies, services, equipment (especially that used undersea), shipping, travel, PI salary, technician salaries and graduate student stipends. Support for pre-cruise technology development and equipment fabrication, and post-cruise laboratory analysis, may also be requested. Because program funds are limited, PIs are asked to request that indirect costs be waived or reduced by their home institution (e.g., an off-campus rate). Please note that specialized permanent equipment purchased with funds provided by the Center is the property of the Center.

Federal agencies may not charge salary or indirect costs. Requests for Center sponsorship of meetings, symposia, or workshops may not include indirect costs.

Evaluation:. The Center will request mail reviews from appropriate peer reviewers. Final funding decisions will be made as early as possible, pending the Center’s FY 2009 budget notification from NOAA. The Center expects a proposal success rate in the range of 30-60%, depending on the Center’s final budget level.

Proposals will be evaluated on the basis of scientific and technological merit as evaluated by peer review and by Center staff, as well as responsiveness to NOAA and Center priorities:
• Scientific merit, including relevance to the Programmatic Themes.
• Technological merit. This includes the degree to which the innovative components represent distinctly “new” technology, or a distinct “new” application, the potential to transform, to provide new or better data, or lead to other scientific benefit.

Center Director:                  David Christie               (907) 474-7836        dchristie@guru.uaf.edu
Science Director:                 Jennifer Reynolds          (907) 474-5871        jreynolds@guru.uaf.edu
Staff Scientist:                     Brenda Konar               (907) 474-5028        bkonar@guru.uaf.edu
Regional Coordinator:          Geoff Wheat                 (831) 633-7033        wheat@mbari.org

Download the Full Guidelines as a pdf.

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