V. Proposal Review Information
Research projects proposed in response to this announcement must: 1) address through their master’s or doctoral research coastal management issues identified as having local, regional, and/or national significance, described in the "Focus Areas" (Section I); and 2) be conducted within one or more designated reserve(s). No more than two fellowships at any one reserve will be funded at any one time.
A. Proposals will be evaluated on the basis of the following evaluation criteria at the indicated weights:
- Academic record and statement of career goals and objectives (5 percent)
- Quality of research and applicability to program priorities (90 percent): This 90 percent will be broken down as follows: A. The quality of proposed research and its applicability to the NERRS research focus areas listed in Section I of this announcement (70%). B. The research's applicability to specific reserve research and resource management goals as they relate to the research focus areas in Section I of this announcement (20%).
- Recommendations/endorsements (5 percent)
- Additional relevant experience (0 percent)
- Financial need (0 percent)
B. Review and Selection Process
Once applications have been received by NOAA through www.Grants.gov, an initial administrative review is conducted to determine compliance with requirements and completeness of the application. All proposals will be evaluated for scientific merit by no less than three reviewers from the scientific community. The research coordinator and/or reserve manager or Estuarine Reserve Division Coordinator will oversee the review process. Efforts are taken to ensure that conflicts of interest are avoided. It is permissible for applicants to suggest those people whom they feel would have a conflict of interest and therefore not appropriate to review their proposal. The merit reviewer’s ratings are used to produce a rank order of the proposals. The Selecting Official shall award in the rank order unless the proposal is justified to be selected out of rank order based upon one of the selection factors identified below. The Selecting Official makes final recommendations for award to the Grants Officer who is authorized to obligate the funds and execute awards.
C. Selection Factors
The Selecting Official may choose a proposal out of rank order based on the following:
- Balance/Distribution of funds:
- Across academic disciplines
- By types of institutions
- Geographically
- Availability of funds
- Program-specific objectives
- Degree in scientific area and type of degree sought
D. Anticipated Announcement and Award Dates
Funding recommendations should be announced via email by the end of February 2009.
For more information contact Alison Krepp.
