NOAA SECTORAL APPLICATIONS RESEARCH PROGRAM (SARP)
FY 2010 Information Sheet
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I. Program Overview and Goals
The Sector Applications Research Program (SARP) supports the overarching goal of the
NOAA Climate Program Office, to "understand climate variability and change to enhance
society's ability to plan and respond," and NOAA's efforts to establish a climate service. This
will be accomplished by catalyzing and supporting interdisciplinary research and
innovative outreach and education activities that enhance the capacity of key
socioeconomic sectors to respond to and plan for a changing climate through the use of
climate information and related decision support resources. The program is designed to
systematically build an interdisciplinary and expressly applicable knowledge base and
mechanism for the creation, dissemination and exchange of climate-related research
findings and decision support resources critical for understanding and addressing resource
management challenges in vital social and economic sectors (e.g., water resources, energy,
transportation, agriculture, ecosystems, human health, society)
The overarching goals of SARP are the following:
- Provide a better understanding of the interactions among climate, human and
environmental systems within key socioeconomic sectors and to identify their
vulnerabilities to a changing climate.
- Improve insight and understanding related to NOAA's stakeholder (internal and
external) needs and obstacles they face in coping with climate variability and
change, for an increasingly effective and relevant climate service.
- Support new and/or synthesized interdisciplinary research to produce cutting-edge
knowledge, tools, methodologies, etc., for decision makers' use in vulnerability
analysis, planning, adaptation, mitigation, etc.
- Advance the infusion of climate information, including information on climate risks
and uncertainty, in sector-specific decision making processes on various scales.
- Promote partnerships between the scientific and sector-specific decision-making
community (e.g., Federal interagency initiatives such as NIDIS, broader NOAA
mandates, as well as non-Federal such as non-governmental organizations (NGO)
and the private sector)
The identification of specific sectors to be addressed by this program depends upon NOAA
priorities, program budgets, and input from the Federal, research, and decision-making
communities. For FY10, SARP will continue to support projects specifically for the coastal
and water resource management sectors. In addition, SARP is part of a consortium of
several NOAA Climate Program Office programs supporting drought impacts research
through the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS), "Coping with
Drought" initiative.
- SARP - Coasts: specifically seeks to catalyze and support applications research that
links climate science with practical challenges in coastal regions where over 50% of
the world's population resides. Coastal communities face a complex suite of
interrelated issues, which can be compounded by climate variability and change.
- SARP - Water: supports applications research on the influence of climate variability
and change on water resource management primarily in urban environments,
where over half of the world's population currently resides, and points us toward
specific products and information services that will enhance response/coping
capacity.
- SARP - Coping with Drought in Support of NIDIS: is particularly interested in
funding research projects specifically addressing human populations coping with
drought within the U.S. or U.S. transboundary areas.
Information about current and past SARP projects can be found at:
http://www.climate.noaa.gov/cpo_pa/sarp.
II. Program Approach and Structure
SARP pursues its objectives through the establishment of sector-focused projects
comprised of a combination of competitive applied research/decision support resource
development, outreach and community building, and the establishment of productive
partnerships with sector-specific decision-making and technical entities. These activities
are conducted within a sectoral framework that provides a construct for defining: the
nature, requirements and capabilities of a relatively bounded suite of stakeholders; the
applications and decision support research priorities and associated interdisciplinary
community to tap into (or to stimulate) to address these needs and priorities; and the key
partners needed to effectively create, disseminate and apply climate information in a
particular sector.
From a programmatic perspective, each of these sector projects can be viewed as
organizing/integrating systems that serve as a plane for understanding and addressing
many complex socioeconomic issues that are influenced by climate, and for developing
linkages with specific decision makers and partners. While a common framework and
approach will be utilized for all of the SARP sector projects (e.g., stakeholder requirements
workshops, competitive funding opportunities to advance decision support resource
development), the exact nature of the research activities and partnerships developed for
each is, and will be, highly influenced by a sector's information needs, partners, and state of
readiness.
III. FY 2010 Funding Opportunities
Listed below are FY10 funding priorities for the coastal and water resource management
sectors as well as a drought-related solicitation. In addition, the SARP program is beginning
to explore the possibility of expanding to a new sector; we have included an opportunity
for preliminary work towards that endeavor.
Priorities for the Coastal and Water Resource Management Sectors -
For FY10, SARP will concentrate funding in two focus areas: (A) a directed focus on
understanding the needs and gaps for climate information faced by decision makers in
distinct climate-impacted communities; and (B) a topical focus on improving decision
support capacity under a changing climate.
Decisions on the number of projects to fund for each focus area will be determined by the
quality and quantity of proposals received in response to this call and the availability of funds.
A description of each focus area follows.
A. Understanding the needs and gaps for climate information faced by decision makers in
distinct climateimpacted communities. With increased awareness of climate and related
impacts, there has been an associated demand for climate forecasts and information.
Requests from coastal and water resource management decision makers differ in their
specificity and sophistication of the knowledge of current and future climate information
products and the potential for development of products. As a result, this year we are
funding projects by investigators who will work with a defined community of decision
makers and/or their associated national interest group, within the coastal or water sectors,
to ascertain and communicate: (a) the key vulnerabilities to changing climate conditions
faced by the community; (b) their accessibility to relevant climate information and
products (c) their current use of climate information for decision making and (d) their
specific needs for climate forecasts, projections, and information products at relevant
spatial and temporal scales. The definition of a "community" should be specific and may
encompass a topical area (e.g., coastal real estate agents, wastewater managers,
hydroelectric managers, etc.), geographic entity (e.g., river basins, barrier islands along a
specific coast, etc.) or even administrative unit (e.g., towns along a river, Native American
Nation, etc.).
Additional components could include (a) an assessment of the existing knowledge to action
networks and readiness for increased use of climate products, and/or (b) the development
of a tool, model, methodology or other outreach materials (including handbooks and
synthesis documents) to address their needs. A plan for dissemination of the findings
would be critical for this task.
B. A topical focus on improving decision support capacity under a changing climate. The
FY10 SARP competition will focus on supporting adaptation and mitigation approaches to
reduce vulnerability and increase the nation's resilience to the influence of climate
variability and change in coastal and water environments. The results of the grants are
expected to produce specific products and information services that will enhance response
and coping capacity. This year, we are specifying three topics for each Sector. For SARPCoasts
these include: sea level rise, marine habitats, and marine resources; for SARP-Water
these include: urban flooding, urban water resource planning, and water management and
energy. Specifically, SARP will support individual projects that address one of the
abovementioned topics within the realm of one of the following issue areas:
- Assessing impacts and/or the benefits of enhancing preparedness associated with
climate variability and change. These assessments could include, for example:
indirect or secondary economic impacts, development of socioeconomic baselines
and vulnerability assessments, and/or tools for generating risk and adaptation
scenarios.
- Characterizing climate related risk and/or vulnerability by institutions faced with
making decisions about managing resources in a changing climate. We are
interested in determining what variables influence them to respond proactively to
threats and potential hazards and would like to identify future hot spots that will be
vulnerable to a changing climate.
- Developing prototype decision support resources and methodologies that are
designed to integrate the social and natural aspects of climate science into efforts to
reduce vulnerability and increase community resilience in the face of climate
variability and change, and related hazards (including insights into how such tools
should be evaluated). Examples of decision support resources include: visualization
tools, synthesis documents, handbooks for decision makers, etc.
- Creating and communicating innovative and transferable methodologies and
products that provide public awareness and education frameworks for interacting
with those affected by climate on actual and potential impacts, how these impacts
affect human and natural systems, and which actions can be undertaken to mitigate
impacts in coastal regions.
Please note that a proposal would most likely address only one topic and one issue area.
For further information, contact Nancy Beller-Simms (301-734-1205); (Nancy.Beller- Simms@noaa.gov) for the SARP-Water and Coping with Drought proposals; Adrienne
Antoine (301-734-1201); (Adrienne.Antoine@noaa.gov) for the SARP-Coasts proposals.
Priorities for Drought - in support of the National Integrated Drought Information System
(NIDIS)
While SARP is a sector-based program, individual projects often focus on a specific
geographic location. Therefore for FY 2010, SARP will be funding research projects in
watersheds in the following geographic areas (in no particular order):
- Transboundary - (a) US and Mexico (e.g., the Rio Grande) and (b) US and Canada
(specifically the Pacific Northwest) and (c) California border (Oregon, Arizona,
Mexico).
- Coastal (specifically the Chesapeake Bay watershed).
Projects that will be funded will address the risk perception, analysis and management as
well as specific socioeconomic and institutional aspects of drought planning that:
- Characterize climate-related risk perception by institutions faced with making
decisions in a changing climate
- Assess the components and types of risk analysis that are needed for planning for a
changing climate
- Assess impacts including indirect or secondary economic impacts, develop socioeconomic
baselines, and/or tools for generating drought risk scenarios (e.g. water
supply analyses)
- Understand how a jurisdiction (local, regional or state) plans to respond to water
demand in the face of drought. Specifically we are interested in understanding how
decisions are made to allocate water given competing needs from the residential,
agricultural and environmental sectors
- Analyze the benefits of mitigation and preparedness for drought impacts, including
an examination of short-term decision - making in the context of long-term
adaptation
- Characterize the readiness of institutions, within the focused watersheds listed
above or the current NIDIS pilots, that are dealing with drought to utilize climate
information
It is not our intention that one award would address all of these items or geographic areas.
Awardees would be required to report findings and communicate throughout the lifetime
of the grant with both NOAA - SARP and NIDIS personnel. For additional information about
SARP's drought focus, please contact Nancy Beller-Simms at 301-734-1205, or
Nancy.Beller-Simms@noaa.gov.
Exploring New Sectors Relevant to NOAA -
In support of NOAA's climate service efforts, SARP will begin to explore the possibility of
expanding to include one or more new sectors. In FY10, SARP will support initial efforts
that investigate the societal need and readiness of other potential sectors that meet NOAA's
climate mission, the priorities of the NOAA Climate Program Office, and the goals of NOAA's
climate service efforts. This would include activities such as scoping meetings and
stakeholder requirement workshops. It is anticipated that SARP will fund several different
activities, each with a maximum budget of $50,000. We encourage both individual
endeavors as well as proposed work with partner organizations and agencies.
IV. Additional Project Information
This section is intended to provide additional information regarding the traditional nature
of the individual research projects supported by SARP.
Nature of SARP Investigator Teams
Multidisciplinary teams of investigators are often best suited for addressing the complex
issues related to climate, society and enhanced adaptation through the use of science and
technology. Thus, the SARP effort encourages proposals from PI teams comprised of
disciplines of the social and natural sciences. In the past, most of the successful projects
have integrated social with natural or physical science components to form a more
comprehensive analysis of the dynamics of climate-human interactions. Furthermore,
proposals involving local, state and federal agency decision makers/stakeholders/resource
managers as direct participants (e.g., in the design, implementation, and evaluation of the
project) are highly recommended. This year, we encourage projects to include a member of
the community that would be involved in the project as a co-PI. Finally, the proposal should
include an explanation of the roles of the investigators and how the team will interact and
integrate the multiple components. Investigators who will not be requesting funds for
salaries must also be listed along with their estimated time of commitment.
Transferability
The proposals that have been most successful in securing funding in the past had
components within the research or application that were explicit as to how the results of
their work could be used in other areas/arenas or sectors and proposed a mechanism (e.g.,
having someone from another area involved in a workshop) for transferring the knowledge
there.
Geographic Focus, Stakeholder Participation, and Partnerships
Unless otherwise noted, SARP projects may have a geographically defined scope within the
US or overseas where the impacts of climate variability and change are acute and/or
significant and relevant to NOAA interests. Research teams should present evidence of
strong collaborations with local researchers and institutions (e.g., NGOs, extension services,
state and local governments, representative private sector organizations) in the region of
study. Letters of support from local collaborators and supporters should be included with
the proposal. We strongly encourage projects to include an evaluation component at the
end of the project (and/or earlier if appropriate) that involves stakeholders, and evidence
of stakeholder support (e.g., cost-sharing, letters of support). In addition, we encourage the
development or strengthening of partnerships between researchers and critical decisionmaking
institutions. We also welcome participation with other federal, state and local
agencies.
Funding Levels
The total project cost (i.e., for all subcontracts and linked projects) is expected to fall
between $50k - $300K. Projects should be 6-24 months in duration, with clear and discrete
outcomes, impact, and/or products at the end of this period. Cost sharing is encouraged.
Specifics about the Proposal
Proposals that can show that they are building on what is already known from the
published literature about the proposed topic (e.g., value of climate information, decision
making under uncertainty, use/transfer of new scientific information, integrated modeling
of natural and human systems, impact of climate on sector activities, sectoral decision
making analyses) prove that the PIs have a comprehension of the topic and that their
proposed work will augment the existing science. Projects that have been funded through
SARP (or its predecessor programs) are listed on our website along with associated annual
and final reports (www.climate.noaa.gov/cpo_pa/sarp). In addition, we have included a
list of current and relevant references for optional use at the end of this document.
We encourage investigators to: 1) define (in a sentence or two) in the abstract or
introduction the problem they are addressing; 2) describe in extensive detail the proposed
methodology and how it will be accomplished; 3) clearly define expected outcomes; 4)
provide a descriptive benefit analysis of the outcome; 5) describe their plan to measure the
success of the project's outcome; 6) describe a dissemination plan for the study's results;
and 7) provide a description of a sector's readiness and need for climate information.
(Please note that support for extensive modeling of the physical and natural system is more
appropriately handled through climate science programs both within the other sections of
NOAA's Climate Program Office and other agencies.)
Communication of Results and Progress Reports
Investigators will be expected to provide annual progress reports in a prescribed format
that highlight scientific progress as well as linkages to practical applications (see the
"Community Corner" section of the website (www.climate.noaa.gov/cpo_pa/sarp/).
We also encourage creative methods of conveying the results of work done under the grant
or more general knowledge about climate-human interactions to the broader community of
researchers and decision makers. For example, information can be displayed on websites,
in non-scientific newsletters, on CDs, on short video documentaries that can be copied and
disseminated, etc.
Interaction with NOAA
Applicants whose proposals are chosen for funding will be expected to undertake an
ongoing dialogue with NOAA's Climate Program Office. Part of this dialogue may consist of
a Principal Investigators' meeting of funded projects to discuss common questions and
frameworks to be addressed in the new research projects and periodic teleconferences
with other SARP-funded Principal Investigators and responses to periodic updates on the
project status made throughout the term of the grant.
Process
Interested applicants are highly encouraged to submit a 1-2 page Letter of Intent (LOI) to
the aforementioned Program Managers by June 12, 2009.
Information about how and when to submit a proposal will be posted on
http://www.climate.noaa.gov/opportunities when the program announcement is released via the Federal Register. We anticipate this release in early July.
NOAA will conduct a peer review process to determine the best proposals per the
descriptions in this information sheet and the program announcement. Proposals being
offered funding for this fiscal year will be announced in the summer of 2010.
List of Suggested Reviewers (optional)
Proposers are invited to include a list of suggested reviewers who they believe are
especially well qualified to review the proposal. These suggestions are optional and the
decision whether or not to use the suggested reviewers remains with the Program
Manager. All reviewers will eventually be asked to sign a conflict of interest statement.
V. Selected references relating to SARP's efforts
- Brekke, L.D., Kiang, J.E, Olsen, J.R, Pulwarty, R.S, Raff, D.A, Turnipseed, D.P, Web, R.S, and
White, K.D. 2009. Climate Change and Water Resource Management: A Federal
Perspective: U.S. Geological Survey Circular 1331, 65p.
- IPCC, 2007: Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution
of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change [Solomon, S., D. Qin, M. Manning, Z. Chen, M. Marquis, K.B. Avery, M.
Tignor and H.L. Miller (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom
and New York, NY, USA.
- Jacobs, K.L., (2002), Connecting Science, Policy and Decision-Making: A Handbook for
Researchers and Science Agencies, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,
Office of Global Programs, Silver Spring, Maryland.
- National Research Council. 1999. Making Climate Forecasts Matter. National Academy
Press, Washington, D.C.
- National Research Council. 2009. Informing Decisions in A Changing Climate. National
Academies, Washington, D.C.
- National Research Council. 2009. Restructuring Federal Climate Research to Meet the
Challenges of Climate Change. National Academies, Washington, D.C.
- NIDIS Implementation Team. 2007. The National Integrated Drought Information
System Implementation Plan.
- U.S. Climate Change Science Program, 2008. Synthesis and Assessment Product 5.3
Decision-Support Experiments and Evaluation using Seasonal-to-Interannual Forecasts
and Observational Data: A Focus on Water Resources.
Other Relevant Websites:
