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A REGIONAL CENTER IN NOAA’S OFFICE OF OCEAN EXPLORATION AND RESEARCH
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Request for Pre‑Proposals – FY 2010
Due October 30, 2009
The West Coast & Polar Regions Undersea Research Center in NOAA’s Office of Ocean Exploration and Research invites pre‑proposals for research and technological innovation beginning in FY 2010. The programmatic theme for this period is Technological and scientific innovation in marine ecosystem and fisheries research. It is anticipated that a limited number of full proposals will be requested from those submitting pre-proposals, with funding decisions in early spring of 2010.
Click here to download the RFPP as a pdf.
The Center
The West Coast & Polar Regions Undersea Research Center is a regional center in NOAA’s Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, created by a merger of the National Undersea Research Program (NURP) and Ocean Exploration (OE). The Center supports highly‑rated, peer‑reviewed proposals to conduct undersea research in offshore and nearshore waters of Alaska, California, Oregon, Washington, and the northeastern Pacific Ocean; and in the polar waters of the Arctic and Antarctic, including the Bering, Beaufort and Chukchi Seas.
The West Coast & Polar Regions Undersea Research Center supports NOAA’s national and regional priorities by providing an improved understanding of the Nation’s underwater resources to enable effective ecosystem-based management. Our primary responsibility is to engage academic‑ and government‑based science and technology experts in developing solutions to problems facing the region, NOAA, and the Nation. Projects approved by the Center must further NOAA’s mission by addressing these themes, and must incorporate a strong component of technological innovation, broadly defined as development of new technologies and techniques or innovative use of existing technologies.
2010 Programmatic Theme
Technological and scientific innovation in marine ecosystem and fisheries research:
The vast area served by the West Coast & Polar Regions Undersea Research Center encompasses many ecological settings of substantial economic and scientific interest, including the nation’s richest fisheries resources. Effective ecosystem-based management of these diverse and valuable resources requires the best possible understanding of the various components of the ecosystems, how species interact with their habitats, and how they may be impacted by human activities, climate change and other oceanographic and climatic factors. Center programs will focus on developing and implementing novel technologies and techniques that can lead to new types and scales of observations, and have potential to open up new understanding of these ecosystems. Research in emerging areas of marine science is encouraged.
2010 Pre-Proposals
The Center invites pre-proposals under the 2010 Programmatic Theme. Pre-proposals will be accepted for work in any part of the Center’s region. Center‑supported projects will usually address a specific scientific need, and must incorporate a component of technological innovation. This innovation may involve development and/or application of new or improved technologies or techniques, design and/or testing of new instruments or sensors, or adaptation of existing technology to new applications. The program focuses on field-based research and development of technologies for use in the marine environment, rather than laboratory-based technologies.
The Center will continue to provide support for undersea systems, including scuba/nitrox techniques; manned, remotely operated, or autonomous underwater vehicles; and other systems appropriate to the work proposed. See http://www.westnurc.uaf.edu/sciops.html for further information. Restrictions on ship and vehicle charters are described below. The main constraint this year will be the budget limit.
The Center also welcomes proposals from U.S. scientists to contribute to multi-investigator field programs, including those aboard foreign research vessels and ancillary (piggyback) projects on ships already funded for other research. Marine studies from land-based field camps also are eligible.
PIs are encouraged to discuss potential projects with Center staff prior to submission. Staff are available by email or phone.
Requirements:
• The proposed research must address the 2010 Programmatic Theme and must explicitly incorporate an innovative technology component.
• Field work must be located within the Center’s region: the U.S. West Coast including California, Oregon, Washington, and Alaska; the northeast Pacific; and the Arctic and Antarctic regions.
• The lead PI must be a scientist at a U.S. institution, either government (federal, state, local, tribal), academic, or not‑for‑profit. Scientists from other countries are welcome as collaborators, but the proposal must be submitted through a U.S. institution.
• The lead PI must participate in any funded field work.
Restrictions:
Project Duration. One-year projects are generally preferred. Two-year projects will be considered if clearly justified and necessary for success of the project, but the proposal must specify activities and products to be completed in Year 1. Funding for Year 2 will be contingent on Year 1 achievements and availability of program funds from NOAA.
Charters. Prospective PIs are encouraged to discuss ship and equipment needs with Center staff at any time. PIs requiring ship time are especially urged to contact the Center staff before submitting a pre‑proposal. Due to budget constraints and the short lead time available for scheduling, we do not anticipate being able to charter major deep-diving vehicles (ROV, AUV, manned submersible) or larger research ships in 2010. Proposals involving the use of such assets will only be considered if prior approval is obtained from the Center Director or Associate Director. Small boat or vehicle charters and ancillary (piggyback) programs on a ship or vehicle already scheduled for another project are not included in this restriction.
Budget guidelines. Pre‑proposals for 2010 should be limited to ~$125,000 per year, including field support. Funds provided through NOAA are subject to applicable Federal cost principles. In addition, program-specific restrictions include the following: 1) federal agencies may not charge salary or indirect costs; and 2) requests for Center sponsorship of meetings, symposia, or workshops may not include indirect costs.
Note: Proposals for low‑cost “Developmental” funding, up to $20,000, may be submitted at any time during the year. Developmental funding is intended to support technique development or proof‑of‑concept activities that are likely to lead to a full proposal. In special cases it may be used for time-critical opportunities. It is not intended for projects that simply have a modest budget; those should be submitted through the normal proposal process.
Format:
The pre-proposal must be submitted electronically as a single PDF or MS Word file. Official forms and signatures are not required. The text may be up to 3 pages long; a 4th page may be added to show a location map and/or other key figures. The following must be included:
• Project title.
• Complete list of PI and co-PIs, with affiliations and website addresses if available. Include phone and email contact information for the lead PI only.
• Research outline.
• Project field location.
• Relevance to the 2010 Programmatic Theme.
• Aspect(s) of proposed research that involves innovation in technology and/or technique.
• Budget total, with a short descriptive summary of costs to be covered by support requested from the West Coast & Polar Regions Undersea Research Center. PIs are cautioned to propose a realistic budget total. Project cost will be one of the criteria for selection, and full proposals will normally be limited to the budget level of the pre-proposal.
Selection Process
Pre‑proposals are due by October 30, 2009. They should be submitted electronically (by email attachment) to westnurc@guru.uaf.edu.
Pre-proposals will be reviewed internally by Center staff. Requests for full proposals will be issued to lead PIs in mid-November and full proposals will be due in the second week of January, 2010. Provisional funding decisions are expected in late February or early March; final decisions will depend on the timing of the federal budget process for FY10. We will endeavor to keep short-listed PIs informed as the situation evolves. Questions are welcome at any time.
WEST COAST & POLAR REGIONS
UNDERSEA RESEARCH CENTER
Global Undersea Research Unit
School of Fisheries & Ocean Sciences
University of Alaska Fairbanks
P.O. Box 757220 - 209 O’Neill
Fairbanks, AK 99775-7220
phone: (907) 474-5870
fax: (907) 474-5804
email: westnurc@guru.uaf.edu
web: http://www.westnurc.uaf.edu
Center Director: David Christie (907) 474-7949 david.christie@alaska.edu
Associate 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
Click here to download the RFPP as a pdf.
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