Coastal Zone Management Projects of Special Merit Competition - FY2025

The purpose of this document is to advise eligible applicants that NOAA is soliciting proposals for competitive funding under the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA)’s Enhancement Program Projects of Special Merit, authorized under Section 309 of the CZMA (16 U.S.C. §1456b). The objective of Section 309 assistance is to encourage each State or Territory with a federally-approved coastal management program (CMP) to continually improve its program in specified areas of national importance. The intent of Projects of Special Merit (PSM) funding is to offer CMPs the opportunity to develop innovative projects that further their approved enhancement area strategies and focus on the following national enhancement area priorities: Coastal Hazards, Ocean and Great Lakes Resources, and Wetlands. In order to apply for this funding opportunity, CMPs must be approved by NOAA pursuant to the Coastal Zone Management Act (16 U.S.C. §1455) and have an approved 2021-2025 Section 309 Assessment and Strategy. Additionally, CMPs can only apply for priorities for which they have a corresponding approved strategy. Coastal Zone Management Program Regulations at 15 C.F.R. Part 923 apply to this Announcement, and program policies and procedures are further implemented through the provisions in this announcement.

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.

The NOAA Office for Coastal Management (OCM) encourages applicants and awardees to support the principles of diversity and inclusion when writing their proposals and performing their work. Diversity is defined as a collection of individual attributes that together help organizations achieve objectives. Inclusion is defined as a culture that connects each employee to the organization. Promoting diversity and inclusion improves creativity, productivity, and the vitality of the climate research and grant community in which OCM engages.