FY24 Cooperative Research Program (CRP) | NOAA NMFS SE 2024 2008076

Opportunity Information: Apply for NOAA NMFS SE 2024 2008076

The FY24 Cooperative Research Program (CRP) is a discretionary federal funding opportunity from the U.S. Department of Commerce, administered through NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), that supports collaborative fisheries research designed to strengthen working relationships between scientists and the fishing community. The central idea is to fund projects where NMFS researchers, state fishery agency staff, and university partners work directly with the U.S. fishing industry (both commercial and recreational) to collect and develop the kinds of basic fisheries information that managers rely on when evaluating management measures and regulatory options. In practice, this program is meant to build trust, improve communication, and produce better, more usable data by involving fishermen not just as stakeholders, but as active research partners in planning and implementing field work.

Geographically, the program is focused on the U.S. Southeast and Caribbean regions, specifically the Gulf of Mexico (Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas), the South Atlantic (Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia), and the U.S. Caribbean (U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico). Projects are expected to be relevant to fisheries and management needs within those areas. The work is framed under NOAA's broader mission to protect, restore, and manage coastal and ocean resources using an ecosystem approach to management, meaning proposals should generally support practical decision-making about sustainable use of marine resources and the ecosystems that support them.

Awards are made through a cooperative agreement, which typically signals a more hands-on partnership with the federal agency than a standard grant, often involving substantial involvement by NMFS during the project. The maximum award amount (award ceiling) is $250,000, and the program anticipated making about 4 awards under this competition. The funding activity category is listed broadly across environment, natural resources, and science and technology research and development, and the assistance listing is CFDA (now Assistance Listing) 11.454.

Eligibility is wide and includes many organization types that might participate in fisheries research partnerships. Eligible applicants include state, county, and local governments; special district governments; independent school districts; public and state-controlled colleges and universities; private institutions of higher education; federally recognized tribal governments and other tribal organizations; public housing authorities; nonprofit organizations with or without 501(c)(3) status; individuals; for-profit organizations (including small businesses and other for-profits). This broad eligibility aligns with the program's partnership-driven purpose, allowing proposals to be led by academic institutions, government agencies, fishing organizations, nonprofits, or private entities, as long as the project meaningfully engages fishermen and connects to regional fisheries research needs.

The opportunity was created on July 10, 2023, under funding opportunity number NOAA NMFS SE 2024 2008076, with an original application deadline of September 15, 2023. Overall, the CRP is best understood as a targeted NOAA/NMFS investment in collaborative, on-the-water research that improves the quality, credibility, and applicability of fisheries data by pairing scientific expertise with the operational knowledge, access, and participation of the fishing industry across the Gulf, South Atlantic, and Caribbean.

• The Department of Commerce in the environment, natural resources, science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY24 Cooperative Research Program (CRP)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 11.454.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jul 10, 2023.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Sep 15, 2023. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $250,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 4 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Independent school districts, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized), Public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments), Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education, Private institutions of higher education, Individuals, For profit organizations other than small businesses, Small businesses.

Apply for NOAA NMFS SE 2024 2008076

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