FY 2025 Opportunity for the Development of Sea Grant Projects

The National Sea Grant College Program was enacted by the U.S. Congress in 1966 (amended in 2020, Public Law 116-221) to support leveraged federal and state partnerships that harness the intellectual capacity of the nation’s universities and research institutions to solve problems and generate opportunities in coastal communities.

The National Sea Grant Office (NSGO) supports the development of Sea Grant projects and programs in the remaining geographic areas that are eligible for Sea Grant College Program designation in accordance with the National Sea Grant College Program Act, as amended in 2020 (Sea Grant Act) (33 U.S.C. 1121 et seq.) and the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations (15 CFR 917 and 15 CFR 918), which set forth the eligibility, qualifications, and responsibilities for Sea Grant programs. 

Approximately $2,400,000 of federal funds may be available, pending future federal appropriations, to support two awards in order to develop a new Sea Grant project in each of the following geographic areas: U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) and the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands (CNMI). Awards will be made for no more than $1,200,000 in federal funds per four year project, not to exceed $300,000/year.

There is a required 50% non-federal match for all Sea Grant federal funding. Waivers to non-federal match will be considered during the federal financial assistance application process, where applicable.

Applications to this opportunity should propose projects that:

• have a topical focus relevant to the national focus areas outlined in the National Sea Grant College Program Strategic Plan,
• be executed through one or more of the Sea Grant functional areas of research, extension, or education, as defined in the Strategic Plan
• and explore capabilities and needs in the proposed geographic area.

All projects must take place within the United States or territories or their respective waterways.

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.

This document sets out requirements for submitting to [NOAA-OAR-SG-2024-27643]