NOAA Climate Program Funding Opportunities
Information on individual programs accepting project applications as part of the 2012 Federal Funding Opportunity is now available, as well as information on how to submit a proposal.

General Program Information
Changing climate confronts society with significant economic, health, safety, and national security challenges. NOAA advances scientific and technical programs to help society cope with, and adapt to, today's variations in climate and to prepare for tomorrow's. Toward this end, the agency conducts and supports climate research, observations, modeling, information management, assessments, interdisciplinary decision support research, outreach, education, and stakeholder partnership development. These investments are key to NOAA's mission of "Science, Service, and Stewardship" and are guided by the agency's vision to create and sustain enhanced resilience in ecosystems, communities, and economies, as described in NOAA's Next Generation Strategic Plan (NGSP).

Within this context, NOAA's Climate Program Office (CPO) manages competitive research programs in which NOAA funds high-priority climate science, assessments, decision support research, outreach, education, and capacity-building activities designed to advance our understanding of Earth's climate system, and to foster the application of this knowledge in risk management and adaptation efforts. The CPO supports research that is conducted in regions across the United States, at national and international scales, and globally. The CPO also provides strategic guidance for the agency's climate science and services programs and supports NOAA's contributions to the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) and the interagency Climate Change Adaptation Task Force. It also plays an active role in numerous international climate activities, including the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the Global Framework for Climate Services initiative launched by the 2009 Third World Climate Conference.

In seeking to advance the NGSP climate objective of an improved scientific understanding of the changing climate system and its impacts, the CPO supports research that advances core capabilities in (a) understanding and modeling, (b) observing systems, data stewardship, and climate monitoring, (c) predictions and projections, and (d) integrated service development and decision support.

These core capabilities are, in turn, intended to advance NOAA's ability to provide sustained, reliable, and timely climate services dealing initially, according to the NGSP, with the following broad, societal challenge areas: (a) climate impacts on water resources, (b) coasts and climate resilience, (c) sustainability of marine ecosystems, (d) changes in extremes of weather and climate, and (e) information for mitigating climate change. The CPO, therefore, supports research that addresses these societal challenges.

Program Priorities
In FY 2012, NOAA will accept individual applications for 12 Competitions, organized around CPO's four major Programs:

Climate Observations and Monitoring (COM)
Earth System Science (ESS)
Modeling, Analysis, Predictions, and Projections (MAPP)
Climate and Societal Interactions (CSI)

Letter of Intent (LOI) Information
The purpose of the LOI process is to provide information to potential applicants on the relevance of their proposed project to the Climate Program Office in advance of preparing a full application. Letters of intent should be no more than two pages in length and should include the components listed in section IV.A of the Federal Funding Opportunity. To receive feedback from the LOI process in advance of preparing a full proposal, all Letters of Intent should be received at the Climate Program Office by 5 p.m. Eastern Time, July 26, 2011. Applicants who have not received a response to their Letter of Intent within three weeks after this date should contact the identified NOAA Program Manager. Please refer to the Full Federal Funding Opportunity Announcement for instructions.

Proposal Submission Information
Application packages are available at Grants.gov (www.grants.gov) "Apply for Grants." The Federal Funding Opportunity Number is NOAA-OAR-CPO-2012-2003041. Full applications for all Competitions (except for the International Research and Applications Project) must be received by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time, October 3, 2011. Full applications for the International Research and Applications Project must be received by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time, November 2, 2011. Applications received after these times will not be considered for funding. For applications submitted through grants.gov a date and time receipt indication is included and will be the basis of determining timeliness. Hard copy submissions will be date and time stamped when they are received in the Climate Program Office. Faxed or emailed copies of applications will not be accepted.

For applicants without Internet access, please contact the CPO Grants Manager Diane Brown by mail at NOAA Climate Program Office (R/CP1), SSMC3, Room 12112, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910 to obtain an Application Package. Please allow two weeks after receipt for a response.

Award Information for Proposed Projects

1. Funding Availability: In FY2012, approximately $15.5 million will be available for new awards pending budget appropriations. It is anticipated that most awards will be at a funding level between $50,000 and $200,000 per year, with some exceptions for larger awards; see information sheets for additional details.
2. Project/Award Period: Projects will be led by principal investigators over a period of one to three years, although this timeframe is program-specific; see information sheets for additional details.
3. Evaluation Criteria: Applications will be evaluated based upon: (1) Importance/Relevance and Applicability to Program Goals; (2) Technical/Scientific Merit; (3) Overall Qualifications of the Applicant; and (4) Project Cost. Information on programs that will be accepting individual applications in FY 2012 can be viewed at www.cpo.noaa.gov/opportunities.