IOOS Ocean Technology Call for Proposals

Posted August 5, 2019
Current Closing Date: January 13, 2020

Award Floor/Ceiling: $400K – 1.2 mil
Total Program Funding: $7.5 mil

https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/search-grants.html?keywords=IOOS

Description:
The U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS®) is a national and regional partnership working to provide ocean, coastal and Great Lakes observations, data, tools, and forecasts to improve safety, enhance the economy, and protect our environment. To increase observational and technical capabilities we need smart investments to innovate sensors, data management, decision support products, and other technical capabilities that will improve our ability to monitor and forecast environmental conditions with greater efficiency. The primary objective of IOOS’ Ocean Technology Transition Project (OTT) is to reduce the Research to Operations transition period for ocean observing, product development, and data management technologies for the ocean, coastal and Great Lakes. The term ‘Technologies’ includes: ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes sensors, Information Technology (data management, data visualization); platform enhancement, and technology modernization efforts. This objective is accomplished by investing in the transition of emerging and promising marine and Great Lakes observing technological capabilities from the mid to latter phases of research into operational status.

The National Oceanographic Partnership (NOPP) was established by Congress via Title II, subtitle E, of Public Law 104-201 to promote the national goals of assuring national security, advancing economic development, protecting quality of life, and strengthening science education and communication by improving knowledge of the ocean. There are over twenty agencies participating in the NOPP.  They are identified on the NOPP website: www.nopp.org.

U.S. IOOS Program, in conjunction with NOPP, is seeking to fund projects, subject to the availability of funds, which advance new or existing technology-based solutions that address long standing and emerging coastal observing, product development, and data management challenges. The projects will be focused on those technologies for which there are demonstrated operators who commit to integrated, long term use of those technologies and open data sharing. A Transition Manager for the project should be identified and a Transition Plan will be a Year One deliverable. 

Funding will be targeted to technologies that are sufficiently mature for long term operations. This announcement specifically funds activities needed to progress these technologies through the transitional stages between research and full operations such as system integration, testing, validation, and verification. Funding will not be awarded to continue projects previously funded through the Ocean Technology Transition Project.

In FY 2020-2022, it is estimated that up to $7.5 million will be available from the U.S. IOOS Program. Multiple awards are anticipated, subject to availability of funds, in amounts up to $400,000 per year for up to three years, with some exceptions for highly ranked proposals. Proposals not funded in the current fiscal period may be considered for funding in the next fiscal period (Fiscal Year 2021) without NOAA repeating the competitive process outlined in this announcement.

Investigators are highly encouraged to visit the U.S. IOOS Ocean Technology Transition website for more information about the program: https://ioos.noaa.gov/project/ocean-technology- transition/