Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), Tribal Engagement in Regional Ocean Partnership Priorities

The purpose of this program is to encourage or enhance tribal engagement with or participation in existing Regional Ocean Partnerships (ROPs) around the country. Proposals submitted in response to this announcement must:

• support tribal activities aligned with ROP priorities, including identification of ocean and coastal priorities;
• provide opportunities for tribes to work together to define intertribal ocean and coastal management priorities and identify alignment and intersection with ROP priorities;
• enhance or create capacity for tribes to engage with and in ROP activities (e.g., webinars, meetings, workshops);
• support the development of partnerships or engagement between a tribal government and a ROP in the management of ocean and coastal resources; and/or
• increase consideration and inclusion of tribal information and knowledge (as appropriate) in regional data portals, enhance tribes’ ability to access data developed by ROPs, or to inform which data and tools are available in regional data portals.

Eligible applicants are U.S. federally-recognized Indian Tribes that have current and/or ancestral interests in a region with an established Regional Ocean Partnership and wish to pursue coastal and ocean activities that align with Regional Ocean Partnership priorities. The established Regional Ocean Partnerships are: the Gulf of Mexico Alliance (https://gulfofmexicoalliance.org/); the West Coast Ocean Alliance (https://westcoastoceanalliance.org/); the Northeast Regional Ocean Council (https://www.northeastoceancouncil.org/); and, the Mid Atlantic Regional Council on the Ocean (https://www.midatlanticocean.org/). Tribal-serving organizations may apply on behalf of one or more tribes, but must include a letter(s) from the tribe(s) confirming tribal leadership support for the application and describing how the tribe will be involved in the proposed work. This funding announcement is supported by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA, Public Law 117-58), 135 STAT. 1356 (Nov. 15, 2021), also referred to as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL); both terms may be used interchangeably throughout this document.

Applicant organizations must complete and maintain three registrations to be eligible to apply for or receive an award. These registrations include SAM.gov, Grants.gov, and eRA Commons. All registrations must be completed prior to the application being submitted. The complete registration process for all three systems can take 4 to 6 weeks, so applicants should begin this activity as soon as possible. If an eligible applicant does not have access to the internet, please contact the Agency Contacts listed in Section VII for submission instructions.

Prior to registering with eRA Commons, applicant organizations must first obtain a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) from SAM.gov, if needed (refer to Section IV. Applications and Submission Information, Section C). Organizations can register with eRA Commons in tandem with completing their full SAM and Grants.gov registrations; however, all registrations must be in place by time of application submission. eRA Commons requires organizations to identify at least one Signing Official (SO) and at least one Program Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) account in order to submit an application.

Applicants can email their applications to [email protected] if they are unable to submit through grants.gov and can demonstrate that they have encountered technical difficulties