Application for Designation as a Sea Grant College or Regional Consortium

2024-2027

Sea Grant
Omnibus
Application
Requirements

NATIONAL SEA GRANT COLLEGE PROGRAM

Table of
Contents
01 — Program Description

02 — Award Information
03 — Eligibility Information
04 — Application and Submission Information
05 — Application Review Information
06 — Award Administration Information
07 — Agency Contacts
08 — Other Information

National Sea Grant College Program | Omnibus 2024-2027

Summary
The National Sea Grant College Program was established by the U.S. Congress in 1966
(amended in 2008, Public Law 110-394) to be a highly leveraged federal and state
partnership to harness the intellectual capacity of the nation’s universities and research
institutions to solve problems and generate opportunities in coastal communities.
Subject to the availability of funding, the purpose of this document is to advise eligible
applicants developing omnibus applications for Sea Grant programs. Pursuant to 33
U.S.C. § 1123(d)(3)(B), the amount of federal funds allocated to each Sea Grant program
is set by the director of the National Sea Grant College Program. Non-federal matching
funds must equal at least 50% of the federal request, as detailed in Section III.B below.
Award Period
The anticipated start date is February 1, 2024, with projects to be completed by January
31, 2028. Individual projects in the omnibus application may run the entire duration of
the grant or any shorter interval.
Submission Date
Applications must be submitted to grants.gov by 11:59 p.m. Eastern time, October 12,
2023. (Note that National Sea Grant Office staff will only be available to answer
questions until 5:00 p.m. Eastern.)

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A. Program Objective
NOAA provides funding to Sea Grant institutions to increase the understanding,
assessment, development, management, utilization, and conservation of the nation’s
ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes resources. These important efforts promote a strong
educational base, responsive research and training activities, broad and prompt
dissemination of knowledge and techniques, and multidisciplinary approaches to
environmental problems, in accordance with 33 U.S.C. § 1121(b).
B. Program Priorities
Proposals should serve as the implementation plan of approved individual Sea Grant
program strategic plans.
C. Program Authority
Statutory authority for this program is provided under the National Sea Grant College
and Program Act of 1966, as amended (33 U.S.C. § 1121 et seq.).

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01.Program
Description

01. Program Description

02. Award Information

There is no guarantee that funds will be available to make
awards, or that any application will be selected for funding.
If an applicant incurs any costs prior to receiving an award
agreement signed by an authorized NOAA official, it does so
at its own risk of not being selected or of these costs not
being included in a subsequent award. NOAA and DOC will
not be responsible for any incurred project costs if this
program fails to receive funding.

Program directors will receive
funding level guidance from the
director of the National Sea Grant
College Program. If you have
specific questions related to your
funding, please ask your federal
program officer. For example, some
Sea Grant programs receive
additional funds either through Sea
Grant or other parts of NOAA
and/or the federal government.
These funds should not be included in
your omnibus application unless your
federal program officer directs you
to include them.

B. Project/Award Period
The anticipated start date is February 1, 2024, with projects to be completed by January 31, 2028.
Individual projects in the omnibus application may run the entire duration of the grant or any shorter
interval. No projects proposed in the omnibus application can start before the proposed start date of
the omnibus or end after the proposed end date.
C. Type of Funding Instrument
The funding instrument is a cooperative agreement to an eligible institution. A cooperative agreement
is used when substantial involvement of the federal government during performance of the proposed
work is anticipated. The recipient can expect substantial collaboration, participation, and/or
intervention in the management of the project by NOAA. Some examples of substantial involvement
by NOAA include, but are not limited to, required NOAA approval before certain projects can be
initiated in grant out-years, the ability of NOAA to halt an activity immediately if detailed
performance specifications are not met; NOAA specifying direction or redirection of scope of work
due to the interrelationships with other projects; and NOAA involvement in mid-cycle programmatic
evaluation and planning processes.

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02. Award
Infomation

A. Funding Availability
Subject to the availability of funding, this announcement
describes the application requirements for eligible applicants
to apply for institutional funding for FY 2024 through FY
2027, referred to as each Sea Grant program’s omnibus
application. Pursuant to 33 U.S.C. § 1123(d)(3)(B), the amount
of federal funds allocated to each Sea Grant program is set
by the director of the National Sea Grant College Program.
The federal funding amount to plan for will be communicated
to eligible applicants in a separate document.

03. Eligibility Information
A. Eligible Applicants
The following entities are eligible to submit omnibus
applications: Sea Grant College Programs, Sea Grant
Institutional Programs, and Sea Grant Coherent Area
Programs. For the remainder of this document, these
entities are collectively referred to as “Sea Grant
programs.”
The National Sea Grant College Program champions
diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) by recruiting,
retaining, and preparing a diverse workforce, and
proactively engaging and serving the diverse populations
of coastal communities. Sea Grant is committed to building
inclusive research, extension, communication, and
education programs that serve people with unique
backgrounds, circumstances, needs, perspectives, and
ways of thinking. We encourage Sea Grant program
applications to reflect diverse participation with regards to
age, race, ethnicities, national origins, gender identities,
sexual orientations, disabilities, cultures, religions,
citizenship types, marital statuses, education levels, job
classifications, veteran status types, income, and
socioeconomic status.

B. Cost Sharing or Matching Requirement
Non-federal matching funds equal to at least fifty percent (50%) of the federal funding request (i.e., one
dollar of match for every two dollars of federal money received) must be provided unless a waiver
justified by statute is granted. The cumulative match at the end of each year of the grant should not fall
below 50 percent of the cumulative federal request up to that point. In-kind contributions directly
supporting the application may count towards this matching requirement.
C. Other Criteria that Affect Eligibility
None.

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03. Eligibility
Information

Match may be in the form of selected
"in-kind" services, unrecovered
indirect (see below), or additional
funds from a specified institution,
agency, industry, or non-federal
program. No funds from federal
entities can be used as match, unless
specified in their respective statutes.
Funds are still considered as federal
for purposes of matching even when
initially given to a state or local
agency. According to 2 C.F.R. 200.1,
“in-kind” contributions mean the
value of non-cash contributions (i.e.,
property and services) that benefit a
federally assisted project or
program; and are contributed by
non-Federal third parties, without
charge, to a non-federal entity under
a federal award.

04. Application and
Submission Information
A. Address to Request Application Package
Application packages will be made available within appropriate time prior to the due date. An
email will be sent to all Sea Grant programs with the opportunity number and instructions for
downloading the application package at a later date.
B. Content of the Application

The Sea Grant omnibus application comprises an integrated suite of individual research,
extension, education, communication, and management projects that together address the
strategic goals of the program, as well as a series of required grant management forms to
support the proposal. This section provides an overview of these required proposal elements
(and where to locate them). Applications must adhere to the provisions under "Required
Elements" below and are responsible for ensuring all required elements are included. Failure to
adhere to these provisions may result in a delay in award processing or rejection of the
application, based on the extent of the noncompliance.

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04. Application and
Submission Information

IMPORTANT NOTE: This proposal package will be using a different set of forms than Sea
Grant programs have completed in the past. Instead of the “SF424 NOAA Standard NonConstruction Application Package” of forms, this omnibus application will include the “SF424
NOAA Research & Related (R&R) Forms Package.” While many of the forms may be
familiar, please pay special attention to the headings and instructions in this section.
Additional form-specific guidance will be provided at a later date.

Required Elements
(Please also see Section 8. Other Information for additional post-application required elements for
submission):

Required Elements for Project Abstract:
Use the following format:
Purpose:
Activities to be performed:
Expected Outcomes:
Intended Beneficiaries:
Subrecipient Activities:
Keep it short. In most cases, each element above should be a couple of sentences to
a paragraph in length.
DO NOT repeat the Proposal Title. The Proposal Title is always presented with the
Project Description, so including it in the abstract is not necessary.
Include a high quality description that includes specificity regarding the purpose of
the project. Characteristics of strong abstracts include a plain language description
of the purpose for the project (which may include specific performance goals,
indicators, milestones, or expected outcomes of the project), activities to be
performed, deliverables and expected outcomes, intended beneficiary or recipient.
Keep it simple. DO NOT use abbreviations, acronyms, technical terminology, or
agency-specific terms. The intended audience is Congress and the general public,
not specific interested parties and/or federal employees. The education level of the
reader should be assumed to be the fifth grade of elementary school. Even those
who are highly educated will appreciate a simply written document when they have
hundreds of projects to review in one sitting.

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04. Application and
Submission Information

1. Project Abstract Summary Form (Grants.gov, OMB Control No. 4040-0019)
Using 4,000 characters or less, the Project Abstract should provide an overview of the entire omnibus
application. Ensure the Project Abstract succinctly describes the project in plain language that the
public can understand and use without the full proposal. It should be a self-contained description of
the omnibus as one, inclusive project and should contain a general statement of objectives and
methods to be employed. It should be informative to other persons working in the same or related
fields and understandable to a technically literate lay reader. Do not include personally identifiable,
sensitive or proprietary/confidential information. This project abstract information (as submitted) will
be made available on public websites and/or databases including USAspending.gov.

2. Research & Related Senior/Key Person Profile Form (Grants.gov, OMB Control No. 4040-0001)
This form must be completed and include a profile for the Sea Grant program director, the associate
and/or assistant director(s), plus at least one senior staff member most relevant to each functional
area (not the Director). CVs and Current and Pending Support for each person’s profile will also be
attached to this form. This form does not need to be completed for research PIs, unless the
program/university wishes to include them here. However, research PIs will have to include CVs for
individual research project narratives in the next section.

3. Project Narrative Attachment

Omnibus-Level Information
Programs may include an introductory section at the beginning of their Project Narrative
Attachment that provides an overview of the program and an introduction to the omnibus
application. Additionally, programs should include an omnibus-level diversity statement. The NSGO
recognizes that there is a particular and unique opportunity to support NOAA’s commitment to
diversity and inclusion by taking an intentional step that encourages applicants to consider diversity
and inclusion as part of their scientific projects. This action has the potential to make an impact on
not only the diversity and inclusion in science at NOAA, but also in the equity of services provided
by NOAA and beyond the agency. In the omnibus-level diversity statement, please, describe how
well the proposed activities within the application broaden the participation of underrepresented
groups (e.g., race/ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability, geography, etc.) and how these
groups are given a voice in the community of practice. Examples could include (but are not limited
to) the full participation of women, persons with disabilities, and underrepresented minorities in
conducting this work or benefitting from its outcomes.

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04. Application and
Submission Information

Table of Contents
Each program must include a Table of Contents at the beginning of their project narrative
attachment. The Table of Contents should include the project ID and the title of the project in the
order in which they follow in the remainder of the document. It is highly recommended that the table
of contents includes clickable links to each project’s cover page.

National Sea Grant College Program | Omnibus 2024-2027 | 10

04. Application and
Submission Information

Project IDs
Each individual project included in the application must be assigned a project ID that identifies the
type of project as noted below. For projects that integrate elements of multiple types of projects,
applicants should choose the project ID that best describes the effort.
Management/Administration Projects - Support and activities for Sea Grant program
leadership and other administrative or management staff. The management and program
administration project should contain the project summary, budget, and new or revised material
not covered in the program’s strategic plan - such as the program organization chart,
management team information, management objectives, advisory and oversight structure,
oversight and reporting mechanisms, and a short resume/CV for the director (PI). If the program
has completed an overall data management plan for the entire omnibus, it should also be included
here.
Management and administration projects must be given a project ID number that begins with
"M/".
Program Development Projects - Program development (PD) is intended to fund rapid response
projects that could not have been anticipated at the time the omnibus was written or to make
investments in seed projects or other small projects. The application may contain a single program
development project whose budget in any year may not exceed 10% of the total omnibus federal
funding in that year.
Since the PD project is a management/administrative resource for achieving the objectives of
the omnibus, it must be given a project ID number that begins with "M/".
Research Projects - Research projects are usually selected through open competition in
accordance with the National Sea Grant College Program’s National Competition Policy.
Research projects, whether selected competitively or without competition via a merit review
process, should be given a project number beginning with "R/".

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04. Application and
Submission Information

Communication, Extension, and Education Projects - Sea Grant communications, extension, and
education projects may be from one to four years in duration, and together should describe the
totality of a program’s communication, extension, and education efforts over the performance
period. Short resumes/CVs for other program key personnel (i.e., research coordinator, extension
lead, education lead, communications lead, etc.) should be included with their associated project
descriptions, if not already included in the “Research & Related Senior/Key Person Profile Form.”
Extension Projects - Projects that provide research-based information, tools, and technical
assistance to industries, practitioners, decision-makers, and/or communities in a professional
setting to translate science into actionable information, including workforce development
trainings, collaborative processes, industry and community relationship-building, gap
analyses, and other engagement activities.
Extension projects should be given a project number beginning with "A/" (for advisory
services).
Education Projects: Projects/activities that exist to enhance the knowledge, skills, and/or
abilities of P-12 and community (non-professional) audiences; this may include community
science efforts if education, rather than research, is the primary function. It also includes
formalized undergraduate, graduate, and professional education or workforce development
activities, including but not limited to assistantships, internships, scholarships, fellowships, and
certification programs, whose focus is on the education of participants, rather than some
other primary goal, such as supporting research or expanding program staff capacity.
Education projects should be given a project ID beginning with "E/".
Communication Projects: Activities related to informing a wide variety of Sea Grant
audiences, such as websites, videos, photography, audio products, graphics, written stories
and reports, and other related products and efforts. Communications project(s) should
describe how your program will manage publications, photographs, and other media using
published guidance and best practices, as applicable, and how communications products will
achieve compliance with the appropriate sections of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Communication projects should be given a project ID beginning with "C/".
Future Competed Projects - This project ID is used for competitive projects not yet identified,
such as those that will be selected from future research competitions in Years 3-4. In this round of
funding, there may be one or more “Future Competed Projects'' in the omnibus application. To the
extent possible, each known competition should be given its own, separate future competed
project ID that begins with "P/" (for placeholder).
These are the only projects that should be given a “P/” project ID.

Individual Project Information
It is anticipated that each omnibus application will contain two categories of projects - those written
by the Sea Grant program, and those competitively selected through each program’s request for
proposals (RFPs). Initial omnibus applications may only include projects to be funded using Sea Grant
funding. All other projects (i.e. passthroughs) must be submitted separately to be added as
amendments to the original application.

Competitively-Selected Projects
All competitively-selected projects must follow the policies and procedures described in
the National Sea Grant College Program’s National Competition Policy. As stated in the
policy, at the completion of the competitive process, the letter of intent and associated
materials must be emailed directly to the federal program officer to request concurrence
and demonstrate adherence to the competitive policy. The final letter of intent and letter
of concurrence from the federal program officer should NOT be included in the omnibus
application but rather submitted via email.

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04. Application and
Submission Information

Sea Grant Project Proposals
Each project proposal narrative written by a Sea Grant program should be written such
that they are able to stand on their own if an outside person were to ask what Sea Grant
does, hopes to accomplish, and how Sea Grant programs are managed and staffed. The
project proposal narrative should be a primarily forward-looking document that
concentrates on a Sea Grant program’s plans and outcomes for the next four years in
alignment with its strategic plan. A program’s omnibus application will have multiple
projects within the project narrative. Please pay attention to project titles and attempt to
use clear, concise, and informative titles as these may be shared with agency leadership
or Congress. Do not use acronyms or shorthand language. Consult your federal program
officer with any questions you may have on how to best capture your program’s work.

Following the table of contents, each individual project included within the omnibus application must
include the following components (a through d), with differences between Sea Grant and
Competitively-Selected projects noted.
Sea Grant Project Proposals must include the following components (a through d) and
must adhere to the following order and format.
Competitively-Selected Projects must include the following components (a through d in
order listed below), and are encouraged to follow the order and format of the Project
Proposal Narrative below. The NSGO understands that competitive projects developed
by PIs during the RFP stage may not always adhere to the order, format, and page
limits listed below. Programs may choose to adjust the page-limit to best serve the
intent of their RFPs. However, to the extent possible, programs should attempt to align
RFP requirements for those projects to the criteria outlined below and adhere to the
following limits to allow for streamlined review.

b) Project Proposal Narrative
The project proposal narrative should include the following components using the format described.
The total number of pages in the project description can be up to fifteen (15). Applicants do not need
to use the entire 15-page maximum. Depending on the complexity of the proposed activities, a shorter
description may suffice to satisfactorily describe each of the project sections below.. Any works cited,
CVs, letters of support, and current and pending support sections included do not contribute to the
suggested page limit.

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04. Application and
Submission Information

a) Project Cover Page
Each individual project within the Project Narrative Attachment should start with a cover page listing
the designated project ID, the project title and names, titles, affiliations, and contact information
(email and phone) of the PI and any co-PIs. Programs should not include budget numbers on the cover
page.

Continued...Project Proposal Narrative
Institutional Review Board (as applicable, not
included in page limit)
Projects intending to use human test subjects
for research purposes should be identified
and include an anticipated timeline for when
Institutional Review Board approval will be
obtained and when the activities involving
human test subjects are expected to occur. If
the approval documentation is not available
at the time of Omnibus submission, a special
award condition will be placed on the award.
The program will submit an award action
request to satisfy that special award
condition once approval has been obtained.
No work involving human subjects may be
undertaken, conducted, or costs incurred
and/or charged for human subjects
research, until the appropriate
documentation is approved in writing by the
NOAA grants officer.
Outreach and technology transfer plan (as
applicable, not included in page limit)
Provide a cohesive strategy to ensure that
users across the greater geographic region,
beyond those who actively participate in the
proposed work, will learn about the project’s
outcomes.
Curriculum vitae (CV) for each PI (if not already
included in the “Research and Related
Senior/Key Person Profile Form”; suggested two
pages per CV; not included in page limit)
Works cited (if applicable; not included in page
limit)
Letters of support (if applicable; not included in
page limit)
Current and pending support (if applicable and if
not already included in the “Research and
Related Senior/Key Person Profile Form”; not
included in page limit)

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04. Application and
Submission Information

Project abstract (not included in the page
count)
Project background
Explain the specific opportunities and
challenges this project seeks to address and
justify its importance.
Project objectives
Provide a list of clearly defined objectives.
For each objective, provide a concise
statement explaining how it is aligned with
the goals and priorities of the program.
Project details
Provide an explanation of the methods you
will use to address your project objectives.
Explicitly explain how this project will be
conducted.
Anticipated outcomes and results
What are the expected outcomes and
results related to the creation of scientific
knowledge?
Provide a list of expected outcomes and
deliverables that will result from your
project(s). Explain how these outcomes will
be directly and beneficially applied to the
current and future needs of communities
and local interested parties.
Project timeline
Provide a timeline for accomplishing the
proposed work covering the entire project
duration. Include approximate dates for key
milestones related to the proposed work,
including the accomplishment of anticipated
outcomes and release of results.

c) National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review - Abbreviated Environmental Compliance
Questionnaire (OMB Control No. 0648-0538) or NEPA statement
Separate Abbreviated Environmental Compliance Questionnaires must be thoroughly filled
out for all relevant actions in the omnibus, unless covered under an exception for the
omnibus listed below. Every project should have one or more questionnaires filled out or
include the NEPA statement noted below under Exceptions.

Copies of all permits required for project activities must be provided if they are final. If a
permit is pending or planned, please provide this information. Submit NEPA packages
(questionnaires, permits, etc.) via email to the federal program officer as soon as they are
available before the Omnibus submission, in order to allow for sufficient time to complete
NEPA review. In addition, these materials must also be included in your Omnibus
application.
If sufficient detail is not provided, the federal program officer may request additional
information or place a special award condition on the omnibus award prohibiting specific
activities until the information is provided (e.g., if permits or other environmental
compliance documentation is not currently available). Some relevant extension and
education projects may not have complete details determined at the time the omnibus is
submitted (e.g., exact site location for activities). Please provide details in the questionnaire
that cover the possible parameters of the project (e.g., a list of the possible sites based on
previous work) so the federal program officer can assess whether the activity, under all
likely circumstances, will meet environmental compliance.
The Abbreviated Environmental Compliance Questionnaire, guidance on how to complete
the questionnaire, as well as examples of completed questionnaires, webinars, and Q&As
can be found here under NEPA Compliance:
https://seagrant.noaa.gov/insideseagrant/Implementation.

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04. Application and
Submission Information

If an individual project in the omnibus application includes multiple sub-projects or actions
(e.g., a competition, extension or education sub-projects), then a questionnaire must be
completed for each sub-project or action–unless there are similar actions that can be
appropriately grouped, described, and reviewed within one questionnaire. Sea Grant
programs can work with their federal program officer to determine what constitutes a
discrete action requiring a stand alone questionnaire.

Exceptions to NEPA
Projects or actions that fall into the below categories do not need a questionnaire. If a program
believes a project in the omnibus application meets one of the exceptions, the program should include
the following statement directly after the relevant project narrative,
"This project's activities are exclusively comprised of [choose applicable activities from bulleted list
below] and therefore no NOAA environmental compliance questionnaire is being submitted, as
allowed by NSGO guidance."
NOAA has final responsibility to determine whether a project or action requires environmental
compliance review. If NOAA determines that a project or action needs an environmental review, staff
may request the abbreviated questionnaire.

Additional categories for which a questionnaire must be completed:
Research--all research projects (those whose project ID starts with "R/") and all
other projects that include a component of research (including full lab-based or
social science research)
Environmental permits, authorizations, or waivers
Biological take and/or release (including tagging)
Environmental sampling
Hazardous or toxic substances and waste
Permanent or temporary environmental effects
Endangered or threatened species and/or protected areas
Known or unknown risks to human health or the environment
Controversial environmental subject matter

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04. Application and
Submission Information

Program management (i.e., projects assigned the “M/” project ID)
Program Development projects (these projects may need to undergo environmental
compliance review when the program identifies project activities; please work with your
federal program officer during implementation of these projects).
Placeholder projects (e.g., "Future Competed Projects;" these projects will have a special award
condition on the grant and will undergo environmental compliance review when the program
submits an award action request to satisfy that special award condition)
Workshops or conferences that do not involve the below list of actions requiring a questionnaire
Communication activities that do not involve the below list of actions
Fellowships where the Sea Grant program does not have discretion over the fellow’s externally
funded research
Hiring actions
Purely administrative actions (e.g., purchase of office supplies)

d) Data Management Plan
A NOAA Data Sharing Directive, effective January 1, 2013, requires all grant and cooperative
agreement recipients to make environmental data and information collected and/or created under
NOAA grants/cooperative agreements visible, accessible, and independently understandable to
general users. This shall be done at no or low cost, in a timely manner (typically no later than two
years after the data are collected or created), except where limited by law, regulation, policy, or by
security requirements. An additional Data Sharing Plan FAQ is also available for reference.
All omnibus applications must include a data management plan. The data management plan should be
a written narrative that briefly describes the parameters for projects in the omnibus that produce
environmental data. This requirement also applies to any data developed as part of sub-awards.

Applicants can satisfy this requirement in one of two ways:
1.Applicants may choose to provide an individual data management plan for each project in the
omnibus application that generates data, or
2.Applicants may choose to submit a single data management plan covering all non-research (R/)
projects within the omnibus that will not generate environmental data. In that scenario, a program
may choose to include a statement covering all of those projects stating, “These projects will not
generate any environmental data.”

e) Do not include the following for each project:
Omnibus applications should not include competitive external peer review documents, letters of
intent, and letter of concurrence documents. These documents are to be emailed directly to your
federal program officer.

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04. Application and
Submission Information

A typical plan should include:
Descriptions of the types of environmental data and information expected to be collected or
created during the course of the project;
The tentative date by which data will be shared;
The standards to be used for data/metadata format and content;
Procedures for providing access, data, and security;
The approximate total volume of data to be collected;
The type of collection method (e.g., aircraft, ship, satellite);
Your program’s policies addressing data stewardship and preservation;
Your program’s prior experience with publishing such data; and
A point of contact for questions about the data covered by the plan.

4. Research and Related Budget
a) Research and Related Budget (Total Fed + Non-Fed) Form (OMB Control No. 4040-0001)
The Research and Related Budget is a single form that will need to be filled out covering the entire,
overall omnibus award by budget period following the instructions from Grants.gov.
b) Budget Justification Attachment
At the end of the Research and Related Budget form (see 4.a above), “Section L” provides space for
one attachment titled, “Budget Justification.” This attachment will follow the order and format used in
previous omnibus submissions.
Each individual project within the omnibus application must include the following budget documents
(Sea Grant 90-4 forms and a budget narrative) in the following order and format. See subsections
below for details on how to prepare these documents. If possible, a PDF bookmarked by project ID
would be greatly appreciated.

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04. Application and
Submission Information

To allow for streamlined review, please place documents in the following order in
your budget justification attachment:
A completed Sea Grant 90-4 form describing the yearly and total budgets of
the overall omnibus (i.e., Year 1, Year 2, Year 3, Year 4, and Years 1-4).
Completed Sea Grant 90-4 forms describing the yearly and total budget for
Project One (i.e., Year 1, Year 2, Year 3, Year 4, and Years 1-4).
Completed Sea Grant 90-4 forms for the yearly and total budget of any subawards associated within Project 1 of the omnibus (i.e., Year 1, Year 2, Year 3,
Year 4, and Years 1-4) - if applicable.
Budget justification narrative for Project 1
Continue order and format for each individual project in the omnibus package

It is very important that the
total federal and non-federal
matching fund amounts from
the Sea Grant 90-4 forms
equal the total application
federal and non-federal match
amounts on the SF- 424 and
Research and Related Budget
form. Failure to do so may
delay approval of the
application, or impose
conditions on the grant
preventing funding or
execution of certain activities,
until all questions are
satisfactorily answered.
Detailed guidance on filling out
the standard federal forms
and assurances can be found
in Section IV.B.3

ii) Budget Narrative
A budget narrative for each year of each project in the omnibus that explains budget items in
sufficient detail to enable review of the appropriateness of the funding requested. Budget narrative
guidance provided by NOAA Grants Management Division can be found at NOAA Grants
Management Division's Budget Narrative Guidance.

National Sea Grant College Program | Omnibus 2024-2027 | 20

04. Application and
Submission Information

i) Sea Grant 90-4 Form (OMB Control No. 0648-0362)
A required form used to provide budget breakdowns and
budget justifications by year and object class for the overall
omnibus and each project in this application. Please download
the most up-to-date Excel version of the 90-4 form when
preparing the omnibus applications. The Excel version should be
used in the creation of the 90-4 and should then be turned into
a PDF to include with the budget narrative package. Ensure
that each Sea Grant 90-4 form is properly filled out with the
project ID number, and start and end dates. When printing the
Excel form to PDF, please ensure the full sheet is captured and
no information is cut-off. The following are required in the
omnibus application package:
A completed Sea Grant 90-4 form describing the yearly
and total budgets of the overall omnibus (i.e., Year 1, Year
2, Year 3, Year 4 and Years 1-4).
Completed Sea Grant 90-4 forms describing the yearly and
total budget of each project in the omnibus (i.e., Year 1,
Year 2, Year 3, Year 4 and Years 1-4).
Completed Sea Grant 90-4 forms for the yearly and total
budget of any sub-awards associated with each project in
the omnibus (i.e., Year 1, Year 2, Year 3, Year 4 and Years
1-4).

5. Additional Omnibus Application Package Forms
In addition to the forms required above, standard federal forms and assurances are required for the
overall omnibus and can be found with the application package on Grants.gov or on the Sea Grant
website. These include:
a) SF-424 R&R Form (Grants.gov, OMB Control No. 4040-0001)
This form, titled “Application for Federal Assistance,” must identify the entire funding period (February
1, 2024 - January 31, 2028), as well as the federal funding amount being requested by the applicant
and the non-federal matching fund amount. The form must be completed with the institution’s accurate
EIN and DUNS and point of contact, and signed by the institution’s authorized representative or
designee. Total federal and non-federal amounts listed in the SF-424 R&R, the Cumulative
Budget of the Research and Related Budget form, and overall Sea Grant 90-4 form must be the
same.

c) CD-511 (Grants.gov, US DOC)
The form, titled “Certification Regarding Lobbying,” must be completed and signed by the institution’s
authorized representative or designee.
d) SF-LLL (Grants.gov, OMB Control No. 0348-0046) - optional form, include if appropriate
This form, titled “Disclosure of Lobbying Activities,” is an optional form and should be included if
appropriate. If included, it must be completed and signed by the institution’s authorized representative
or designee.

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04. Application and
Submission Information

b) SF-424B Assurances (Grants.gov, OMB Control No. 4040-0007)
The form, titled “Assurances – Non-Construction Programs,” must be completed and signed by the
institution's authorized representative or designee.

C. Unique entity Identifier and System for Award Management (SAM)
Each applicant (unless the applicant is an individual or Federal awarding agency that is excepted from
those requirements under 2 CFR 25.110(b) or (c), or has an exception approved by the Federal
awarding agency under 2 CFR 25.110(d)) is required to: (i) Be registered in SAM before submitting its
application; (ii) Provide a valid unique entity identifier (UEI) in its application; and (iii) Continue to
maintain an active SAM registration with current information at all times during which it has an active
Federal award or an application or plan under consideration by a Federal awarding agency. NOAA
may not make a Federal award to an applicant until the applicant has complied with all applicable
unique entity identifier and SAM requirements and, if an applicant has not fully complied with the
requirements by the time NOAA is ready to make a Federal award, NOAA may determine that the
applicant is not qualified to receive a Federal award and use that determination as a basis for making
a Federal award to another applicant.

E. Intergovernmental Review
Applications under the National Sea Grant College Program are not subject to Executive Order 12372,
"Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs."
F. Funding Restrictions
The Sea Grant Act at 33 U.S.C. § 1124(d)(2) states:
“No payment under any grant or contract under this section may be applied to:
(A) the purchase or rental of any land; or
(B) the purchase, rental, construction, preservation, or repair of any building, dock, or
vessel; except that payment under any such grant or contract may be applied to the
short-term rental of buildings or facilities for meetings which are in direct support of any
Sea Grant program or project and may, if approved by the Secretary, be applied to the
purchase, rental, construction, preservation, or repair of non-self-propelled habitats,
buoys, platforms, and other similar devices or structures, or to the rental of any
research vessel which is used in direct support of activities under any Sea Grant
program or project.”
Only projects that will be funded using Sea Grant appropriated dollars may be included with a
program’s initial omnibus submission.

National Sea Grant College Program | Omnibus 2024-2027 | 21

04. Application and
Submission Information

D. Submission Dates and Times
Applications must be submitted to grants.gov by 11:59 p.m. Eastern time, October 12, 2023. (Note that
National Sea Grant Office staff will only be available to answer questions until 5:00 p.m. Eastern.)
Please note: validation or rejection of an application by Grants.gov may take up to two business days
after submission.

05. Application Review
Information
Federal program officers will review the complete omnibus application package using the following
criteria.
A. Evaluation Criteria

National Sea Grant College Program | Omnibus 2024-2027 | 22

05. Application Review
Information

(1) Is the application complete and correct per the required elements listed in IV.B.
“Content of the Application”?
(2) Is the scope of work feasible and does it align with the program's strategic plan and
advance the programs' strategic goals?
(3) Are all projects described sufficiently to allow accountability? Project proposals must
include clear objectives and anticipated outcomes.
(4) Have all projects been adequately reviewed?
Are the described competitive projects consistent with the recommendations
determined at the completion of the competitive review process as documented by
the letter of intent?
(5) Are all project budgets adequately justified, and reasonable for the work being
proposed?
(6) Do all projects have sufficient environmental compliance documentation to complete
environmental review (i.e., completed Abbreviated Environmental Compliance
Questionnaire and copies of all federal and state permits or statement that no such
questionnaire is required)?
(7) Are all environmental data to be generated covered by a data management plan?
(8) Has the applicant provided sufficiently detailed and consistent information for all
required application elements?

B. Review and Selection Process
All project proposals will be reviewed against the above evaluation criteria by the National Sea Grant
Office federal program officer and a NOAA Grants Management Division grants specialist. The letter
of intent, provided separately via email, will also aid the federal program officer in review of the
application.
The project proposals, supplemented with information from the Abbreviated Environmental
Compliance Questionnaire, will be reviewed by the federal program officer to assess the
environmental compliance of the proposed actions.
The federal program officer, NEPA team, or grants specialist may contact the program to discuss
questions about the environmental effects, merit, or administrative correctness of the omnibus
application, and may delay approval of the application, or impose conditions on the grant preventing
funding or execution of certain activities, until all questions are satisfactorily answered and
environmental review is complete.

D. Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates
Subject to the availability of funds, awards are expected to start February 1, 2024. The public
announcement of the awards will be coordinated by the National Sea Grant Office after all application
packages have been recommended for funding.

National Sea Grant College Program | Omnibus 2024-2027 | 23

05. Application Review
Information

C. Selection Factors
Subject to the availability of funds and the discretion of the director of the National Sea Grant College
Program, all applications are expected to be funded as institutional cooperative agreement awards
based on eligibility, compliance with requirements set forth in this announcement, and satisfactory
resolution of any questions from the National Sea Grant Office and NOAA Grants Management
Division.

06. Award
Admininistration
Information
A. Award Notices
The notice of award (CD-450) is executed by the NOAA Grants Management Division grants
officer and is the authorizing award document. It is provided electronically via the granting
system to the authorized representative of the recipient organization. The authorized
representative for a successful applicant will accept the award via the granting system.

National Sea Grant College Program | Omnibus 2024-2027 | 24

06. Award Administration
Information

B. Administrative and National Policy Requirements
(1) Department of Commerce Pre-Award Notification Requirements For Grants And Cooperative
Agreements - The Department of Commerce Pre-Award Notification Requirements for Grants and
Cooperative Agreements contained in the Federal Register notice of December 30, 2014 (79 FR
78390) are applicable to this solicitation and may be accessed online at
https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2014-12-30/pdf/2014-30297.pdf.
(2) Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements - Through 2
C.F.R. § 1327.101, the Department of Commerce adopted Uniform Administrative Requirements,
Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards at 2 C.F.R. Part 200, which applies to
awards in this program. Refer to http://go.usa.gov/SBYh and http://go.usa.gov/SBg4.
(3) Department of Commerce Terms and Conditions - Successful applicants who accept a NOAA
award under this solicitation will be bound by Department of Commerce Financial Assistance
Standard Terms and Conditions found in the notice of award CD-450.
(4) Limitation of Liability - Funding for programs listed in this notice is contingent upon the
availability of appropriations. Applicants are hereby given notice that funds may not have been
appropriated yet for the programs listed in this notice. In no event will NOAA or the Department
of Commerce be responsible for proposal preparation costs. Publication of this announcement
does not oblige NOAA to award any specific project or to obligate any available funds.

National Sea Grant College Program | Omnibus 2024-2027 | 25

06. Award Administration
Information

B. Administrative and National Policy Requirements continued
((5) National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) - NOAA must analyze the potential environmental
impacts, as required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), for applicant projects or
proposals which are seeking NOAA Federal funding opportunities. Detailed information on NOAA
compliance with NEPA can be found at the following NOAA NEPA website:
http://www.nepa.noaa.gov/, including our NOAA Administrative Order 216-6 for NEPA,
http://www.nepa.noaa.gov/NAO216_6.pdf, and the Council on Environmental Quality
implementation regulations, http://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/NEPA-40CFR1500_1508.pdf.
Consequently, as part of an applicant's package, and under their description of their program
activities, applicants are required to provide detailed information on the activities to be
conducted, locations, sites, species and habitat to be affected, possible construction activities,
and any environmental concerns that may exist (e.g., the use and disposal of hazardous or toxic
chemicals, introduction of non-indigenous species, impacts to endangered and threatened
species, aquaculture projects, and impacts to coral reef systems). In addition to providing specific
information that will serve as the basis for any required impact analyses, applicants may also be
requested to assist NOAA in drafting an environmental assessment, if NOAA determines an
assessment is required. Applicants will also be required to cooperate with NOAA in identifying
feasible measures to reduce or avoid any identified adverse environmental impacts of their
proposal. Failure to do so shall be grounds for not selecting an application. In some cases if
additional information is required after an application is selected, funds can be withheld by the
Grants Officer under a special award condition requiring the recipient to submit additional
environmental compliance information sufficient to enable NOAA to make an assessment on any
impacts that a project may have on the environment.
(6) Review of Risk - After applications are proposed for funding by the selecting official, the
Grants Office will perform administrative reviews, including an assessment of risk posed by the
applicant under 2 C.F.R. 200.206. These may include assessments of the financial stability of an
applicant and the quality of the applicant’s management systems, history of performance, and the
applicant’s ability to effectively implement statutory, regulatory, or other requirements imposed on
non-Federal entities. Special conditions that address any risks determined to exist may be applied.
Applicants may submit comments to the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information
System (FAPIIS) about any information included in the system about their organization for
consideration by the awarding agency.

National Sea Grant College Program | Omnibus 2024-2027 | 26

06. Award Administration
Information

B. Administrative and National Policy Requirements continued
(7) Data Sharing Plan - 1. Environmental data and information collected or created under NOAA
grants or cooperative agreements must be made discoverable by and accessible to the general
public, in a timely fashion (typically within two years), free of charge or at no more than the cost
of reproduction, unless an exemption is granted by the NOAA program. Data should be available
in at least one machine-readable format, preferably a widely-used or open-standard format, and
should also be accompanied by machine- readable documentation (metadata), preferably based
on widely used or international standards. 2. Proposals submitted in response to this
Announcement must include a data management plan of up to two pages describing how these
requirements will be satisfied. The data management plan should be aligned with the data
management guidance provided by NOAA in the announcement. The contents of the data
management plan (or absence thereof), and past performance regarding such plans, will be
considered as part of proposal review. A typical plan should include descriptions of the types of
environmental data and information expected to be created during the course of the project; the
tentative date by which data will be shared; the standards to be used for data/metadata format
and content; methods for providing data access; approximate total volume of data to be
collected; and prior experience in making such data accessible. The costs of data preparation,
accessibility, or archiving may be included in the proposal budget unless otherwise stated in the
guidance. Accepted submission of data to the NOAA National Centers for Environmental
Information (NCEI) is one way to satisfy data sharing requirements; however, NCEI is not
obligated to accept all submissions and may charge a fee, particularly for large or unusual
datasets. 3. NOAA may, at its own discretion, make publicly visible the data management plan
from funded proposals, or use information from the data management plan to produce a formal
metadata record and include that metadata in a catalog to indicate the pending availability of
new data. 4. Proposal submitters are hereby advised that the final pre-publication manuscripts of
scholarly articles produced entirely or primarily with NOAA funding will be required to be
submitted to NOAA Institutional Repository after acceptance, and no later than upon publication.
Such manuscripts shall be made publicly available by NOAA one year after publication by the
journal.
(8) Indirect Cost Rate - If an applicant does not have a current indirect cost rate with a federal
agency they may choose to negotiate a rate with the Department of Commerce or use the de
minimis indirect cost rate of 10% of Modified Total Direct Cost (MTDC) (as allowable under 2 C.F.R.
§200.414). The negotiation and approval of a rate is subject to the procedures required by NOAA
and the Department of Commerce Standard Terms and Conditions. Do not include participant
support costs when determining the indirect cost base. Additionally, applicants should be aware
that most indirect cost rate agreements require that participant support costs be excluded from
the MTDC base when calculating indirect costs. Applicants should reference their official
agreements. The NOAA contact for indirect or facilities and administrative costs is: Lamar Revis,
Grants Officer, NOAA Grants Management Division, 1325 East West Highway, 9th Floor, Silver
Spring, MD 20910, or [email protected].

B. Administrative and National Policy Requirements continued
(9) Minority Serving Institutions - The Department of Commerce National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (DOC NOAA) is strongly committed to increasing the participation of
Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs), i.e., Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanicserving institutions, Tribal colleges and universities, Alaskan Native and Native Hawaiian
institutions, and institutions that work in underserved communities.
(10) Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) - In the event that an application contains information or
data that you do not want disclosed prior to award for purposes other than the evaluation of the
Application, mark each page containing such information or data with the words "Privileged,
Confidential, Commercial, or Financial Information - Limited Use" at the top of the page to assist
NOAA in making disclosure determinations. DOC regulations implementing the Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C 552, are found at 15 C.F.R. Part 4, which sets forth rules for DOC
to make requested materials, information, and records publicly available under FOIA. The
contents of funded applications may be subject to requests for release under the FOIA. Based on
the information provided by the applicant, the confidentiality of the content of funded
applications will be maintained to the maximum extent permitted by law.
(11) NOAA Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment Prevention and Response Policy - If NOAAoperated, leased, or owned facilities are involved in any awards funded under this
announcement, such awards are subject to the NOAA Sexual Assault and Sexual Harassment
Prevention and Response Policy Applicable to Financial Assistance Awards Involving NOAAOperated Facilities (May 2018) found at:
https://www.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/legacy/document/2020/Mar/1330-52.22270%20NOAA%20Sexual%20Assault%20and%20Sexual%20Harassment%20Prevention%20and%20
Response%20Policy%20%28except%20for%20services%20for%20the%20use%20of%20a%20vesse
l%29%20%281%29.pdf.

National Sea Grant College Program | Omnibus 2024-2027 | 27

06. Award Administration
Information

C. Reporting
All progress reports for omnibus grants must be submitted electronically using the Research
Performance Progress Report (RPPR) format through the granting platform. Additionally, Sea
Grant programs are required to report annually through the NOAA Sea Grant's Planning,
Implementation, and Evaluation Resources (PIER) system.
The Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (31 U.S.C. § 6101 note) includes a
requirement for recipients of applicable federal grants to report information about first-tier
subawards and executive compensation under federal assistance awards. All recipients of
applicable grants and cooperative agreements are required to report to the Federal Subaward
Reporting System (FSRS) available at https://www.fsrs.gov/ on all sub-awards over $25,000.
Refer to 2 C.F.R. pt. 170.

07. Agency Contacts
Requests for information regarding this request for proposals should be directed to the assigned
federal program officer for your program. Federal program officer assignments and contact
information can be found here: https://seagrant.noaa.gov/About/National-Office

07. Agency
Contacts

National Sea Grant College Program | Omnibus 2024-2027 | 28

08. Other Information
(1) Programs must submit documentation by either including a statement within the omnibus
application, or via email to their federal program officer, that they have responded to the new
requirement to provide the following information for all named collaborators on your proposal.
(2022, OMB approved for PRA under DOC generic clearance information collections, 0690-0030
and 0690-0035).
Note: Programs may use their own method of collecting this information. The NSGO has also
developed this online form as an optional method for collection. Submission to this form would
count as fulfillment of this requirement.
1.Do you or your organization identify with any of the following groups that the federal
government, in Executive Order 13985, has identified as underserved? List all that apply.
a. Black
b.Latino
c.Indigenous and/or Native American
d.Asian American
e.Pacific Islander
f.Other person of color
g.Members of religious minorities
h.Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ+) persons
i.Persons with disabilities
j.Persons who live in rural areas
k.Persons otherwise adversely affected by persistent poverty or inequality
l.No, I do not identify with any of these groups
(2) Programs are required to use the National Sea Grant College Program’s Planning
Implementation and Evaluation Reporting (PIER) project database to communicate with the
National Sea Grant Office on activities relating to this award. This includes tracking progress and
impacts, in addition to performance metrics.

08. Other
Information

National Sea Grant College Program | Omnibus 2024-2027 | 29

(3) To enable the requirements in Section VIII.1 above, for each Project (as described in the
Project and Budget Narratives, as well as in Section VIII.2), programs will need to submit a Sea
Grant 90-2 Project Summary Form for each project within the omnibus application by
Friday, January 19, 2024. A detailed step-by-step guide and individual worksheets for
completing the 90-2 Form are available on the Inside Sea Grant - Implementation page. The
information provided in the Sea Grant 90-2 Form will be publicly available and searchable on the
National Sea Grant College Program public website once the project is approved and funded. See
FAQs for 2021 PIER-Related Business Rule Updates on Inside Sea Grant for more information, as
well as the documents noted in (4) below.
(4) Programs are required, to the best of their ability, to describe their omnibus extension and
education activities more granularly by characterizing them as discrete projects within PIER. This
action would be similar to how research projects have long been characterized as discrete
projects within PIER. However, within a program’s 2024-2027 omnibus application,
extension and education programming may still be reflected in an aggregated fashion. See
Resolving Omnibus Extension and Education Records on Inside Sea Grant for more information,
along with the revised PIER Project Classifications.
(5) The grant application and final report of all funded grants are public documents, except for
privileged information or material that is personal, proprietary, or otherwise exempt from
disclosure under law. Appropriate labeling in the omnibus application will aid identification of what
may be specifically exempt.

08. Other
Information

National Sea Grant College Program | Omnibus 2024-2027 | 30

(6) The applicant acknowledges and understands that information and data contained in
applications for financial assistance, as well as information and data contained in financial,
performance and other reports submitted by applicants, may be used by the Department of
Commerce in conducting reviews and evaluations of its financial assistance programs. For this
purpose, applicant information and data may be accessed, reviewed, and evaluated by
Department of Commerce employees, other federal employees, and also by federal agents and
contractors, and/or by non-federal personnel, all of whom enter into appropriate conflict of
interest and confidentiality agreements covering the use of such information. As may be provided
in the terms and conditions of a specific financial assistance award, applicants are expected to
support program reviews and evaluations by submitting required financial and performance
information and data in an accurate and timely manner, and by cooperating with Department of
Commerce and external program evaluators. In accordance with 2 C.F.R. § 200.303(e), applicants
are reminded that they must take reasonable measures to safeguard protected personally
identifiable information and other confidential or sensitive personal or business information
created or obtained in connection with a Department of Commerce financial assistance award.
(7) In addition, Department of Commerce regulations implementing the Freedom of Information
Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. § 552, are found at 15 C.F.R. § pt 4, Public Information. These regulations set
forth rules for the Department regarding making requested materials, information, and records
publicly available under the FOIA. Applications submitted in response to this funding opportunity
may be subject to requests for release under the Act. In the event that an application contains
information or data that the applicant deems to be confidential commercial information that should
be exempt from disclosure under FOIA, that information should be identified, bracketed, and
marked as Privileged, Confidential, Commercial or Financial Information. In accordance with 15
C.F.R. § pt 4.9, the Department of Commerce will protect from disclosure confidential business
information contained in financial assistance applications and other documentation provided by
applicants to the extent permitted by law.

08. Other
Information

National Sea Grant College Program | Omnibus 2024-2027 | 31