0384 SS 091809rev

SUPPORTING STATEMENT
NOAA COASTAL OCEAN PROGRAM GRANTS PROPOSAL APPLICATION
PACKAGE
OMB CONTROL NO. 0648-0384
A. JUSTIFICATION
1. Explain the circumstances that make the collection of information necessary.
Beginning in late FY1998, the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration’s
(NOAA’s) National Ocean Service (NOS), Coastal Ocean Program (COP) was able to
provide direct financial assistance in the form of discretionary research grants and
cooperative agreements under its own program for the management of coastal
ecosystems. COP financial assistance had been previously provided to non-profit
organizations and educational institutions through joint participation in the Sea Grant
omnibus vehicle.
The COP is part of a unique federal-academic partnership designed to provide predictive
capability for managing coastal ecosystems. Under the authority of 33 U.S.C. Section
1442, “Research program respecting possible long-range effects of pollution, overfishing,
and man-induced changes of ocean ecosystems”, COP supports research on critical issues
associated with the Nation’s estuaries, coastal waters and the Great Lakes, and translates
its finding into accessible information for coastal managers, planners, lawmakers and the
public. COP’s projects are multi-disciplinary, large in scale and long in duration (usually
three to five years). Grants monies are available for related activities. Multi-year
funding will be funded incrementally.
All potential NOAA COP grant recipients are required to submit the Standard Form used
by NOAA for Federal grants as follows: SF-424; the SF-424A, Budget Information for
Non-Construction Programs; the SF-424B, Assurances for Non-Construction Programs;
the CD-511 and 512 Certifications and the SF-LLL (lobbying form) if applicable.
At the time of application, COP grant applicants will be asked to include a COP Project
Summary (Abstract) Form in addition to the standard application requirements for
Federal grants. A copy of the proposed form is attached with this request. The main
purpose of this information collection is to enable COP to provide a summary of each
proposed project. The information gathered will enable COP to properly evaluate
proposals in a collaborative environment with its partner agencies.
Grant recipients will also be required to file COP Annual Progress Reports and a COP
Project Final Report. The proposed formats for this information are attached to this
request. The COP Annual Progress Report and the COP Project Final Report provide a
consistent, detailed format to grantees.

Project Summary (Abstract) Form:
The Project Summary (Abstract) Form provided at time of application includes a
statement of objectives, methods to be employed and the significance of the proposed
activity to the advancement of knowledge or education. This information collection shall
not be more than one page in length and must be written in the third person. The
summary is used to help compare proposals quickly and allows the respondents to
summarize these key points in their own words.
Reporting Requirements:
Consistency in reporting requirements for competitive research grant programs is
desirable and this is behind COP’s efforts in proposing a standardized format/form. In
accordance with current OMB guidance, recipients are responsible for managing and
monitoring each project, program, sub-award, function or activity supported by an award.
The Federal awarding agency prescribes the frequency with which the performance
reports shall be submitted, which typically shall not be required more frequently than
quarterly or less frequently than annually. A final report will be required upon expiration
or termination of grant support.
Format – Annual Performance Report:
The format chosen provides the minimum information required by this program to
evaluate the project’s progress with respect to its goals and objectives, schedule for
accomplishments, and application to resource management. It has been determined
that with respect to research, semi-annual reports are an unnecessary reporting burden,
especially for large multi-investigator projects typical of the COP. The request for
annual performance reports has been accepted and approved by the NOAA Grants
Management Division for COP-sponsored grants or cooperative agreements.
Format – Final Report:
The use of the Project Final Report format provides the level of detail required to
evaluate the effort invested by investigators and staff on project management; any
actual accomplishments and research findings; and what goals and objectives were
attained. The proposed final report format is compatible with the format in use by
other agencies that participate in joint projects with COP, e.g. the National Science
Foundation (NSF).
2. Explain how, by whom, how frequently, and for what purpose the information
will be used.
Project Summary (Abstract) Form:
The summary is used to help compare proposals quickly by the reviewing officials in the
competitive process. It is submitted at time of application.

Annual Report:
For the proposed progress report format, the first section is taken from the COPimplementation plan and has some advantages in that previously-funded investigators
will be familiar with the format. Use of this format will provide COP with the necessary
information required to evaluate performance for the purpose of renewal of research
grants. Since COP’s grants are typically three to five years in duration, one annual
report will be requested at the end of each year funded. A copy of the annual progress
report is maintained in the COP Program Information File and it is electronically
transmitted to the Grants Management Division (GMD) through the NOAA Grants On
Line system.
Final Report:
Final reports are reviewed to determine if any information products were delivered by the
grantee. In addition, the final report is used as a management tool by program managers
to determine recipient compliance and performance with the terms and conditions of the
grant.
As explained in the preceding paragraphs, the information gathered has utility. NOAA
will retain control over the information and safeguard it from improper access,
modification, and destruction, consistent with NOAA standards for confidentiality,
privacy, and electronic information. See response to Question 10 of this Supporting
Statement for more information on confidentiality and privacy. The information
collection is designed to yield data that meet all applicable information quality
guidelines. Although the information collected is not expected to be disseminated directly
to the public, results may be used in scientific, management, technical or general
informational publications. Should NOAA Fisheries Service decide to disseminate the
information, it will be subject to the quality control measures and pre-dissemination
review pursuant to Section 515 of Public Law 106-554.
3. Describe whether, and to what extent, the collection of information involves the
use of automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological techniques or other
forms of information technology.
There is Web availability of the grant application kit on the COP’s home page at:
http://www.cop.noaa.gov/. The Web site offers the public the ability to print all COP –
required forms with accompanying instructions from the internet. Applicants are able to
electronically submit grant applications at: www.grants.gov and the progress reports can
be submitted electronically by those recipients having electronic access at:
https://grantsonline.rdc.noaa.gov/flows/home/Login/verifyLogin.do.
4. Describe efforts to identify duplication.
No duplication has been identified.

5. If the collection of information involves small businesses or other small entities,
describe the methods used to minimize burden.
The program does not significantly impact small business entities.
6. Describe the consequences to the Federal program or policy activities if the
collection is not conducted or is conducted less frequently.
Summaries are submitted only at the time of application and efficient review of the
proposals is not possible without these documents. If annual and final reports are not
submitted, monitoring of grant performance would be much more difficult and there
would be less benefit to other professionals from the projects.
7. Explain any special circumstances that require the collection to be conducted in a
manner inconsistent with OMB guidelines.
This request does not require the collection to be conducted in a manner inconsistent with
OMB guidelines.
8. Provide information on the PRA Federal Register Notice that solicited public
comments on the information collection prior to this submission. Summarize the
public comments received in response to that notice and describe the actions taken
by the agency in response to those comments. Describe the efforts to consult with
persons outside the agency to obtain their views on the availability of data,
frequency of collection, the clarity of instructions and recordkeeping, disclosure, or
reporting format (if any), and the data elements to be recorded, disclosed or
reported.
A Federal Register Notice published on July 7, 2009 (74 FR 32106) solicited public
comments on this submission. No comments were received.
9. Explain any decisions to provide payments or gifts to respondents, other than
remuneration of contractors or grantees.
No payments or gifts are provided (other than grant monies).
10. Describe any assurance of confidentiality provided to respondents and the basis
for assurance in statute, regulation, or agency policy.
As stated on the summary and report forms, grant files are subject to the Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA). However, the forms also state, unpublished research results
shall not be published without prior permission from the recipient.

11. Provide additional justification for any questions of a sensitive nature, such as
sexual behavior and attitudes, religious beliefs, and other matters that are
commonly considered private.
There are no sensitive questions.
12. Provide an estimate in hours of the burden of the collection of information
(excluding the value of the burden hours in Question 12 above).

Requirement

# of Annual
Respondents

# of Responses
per
Respondent

Total
Responses

Average Time
per Response

Total Annual
Response
Time (Hours)

Summary
Annual Report
Final Report
TOTALS

200
50
50
300

1
1
1

200
50
50
300

30 minutes
5 hours
10 hours

100
250
500
850

13. Provide an estimate of the total annual cost burden to the respondents or
record-keepers resulting from the collection.
No capital expenditures are required.
In the research grant environment, applicants have staff dedicated to the submission of
proposals, including clerical support. Both time and dollar costs are charged to grantors
under the general and administrative overhead line item on the proposal budget. This
includes hours spent for preparation of the other reports.
14. Provide estimates of annualized costs to the Federal government.
The total annualized cost burden to the Government for conducting the collection and
handling the information submitted is estimated at $950.00. This does not include costs
for secondary uses of the information or costs for reviewing the annual and final progress
reports. The summary form is the only collection of information incurring additional
expense. This estimate is based on staff time per response of five minutes for the project
summary. A salary cost of $38/hr was used. The annualized total cost is estimated as
follows:
5 min per project summary review (5/60) x 200 annual respondents x $38.00/hr =
$634.00.
15. Explain the reason for any program changes or adjustments.
The number of applications and related documents has decreased, due to a change in the
way the Center for Sponsored Coastal Ocean Research program competitions are
announced. For most programs, the solicitations now name a specific region and the

priorities that need to be addressed in that region. Previously, the applicants had more
leeway in submitting their own ideas for priorities and regions.
16. For collections whose results will be published, outline the plans for tabulation
and publications.
Not applicable. Grants products may be published, but not applications or reports.
17. If seeking approval to not display the expiration date for OMB approval of the
information collection, explain the reason why display would be inappropriate.
Not applicable.
18. Explain each exception to the certification statement.
Not applicable.
B. COLLECTIONS OF INFORMATION EMPLOYING STATICAL METHODS
This collection does not employ statistical methods.