The Marine Debris Research and Technology Grants Program

Request for Proposals

The Marine Debris Research and Technology Grants Program (Program) is a partnership between the NOAA Marine Debris Program and National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to provide grants to organizations working on projects to improve our understanding of the impacts of marine debris on our marine and coastal resources, and to reduce and prevent debris in our marine environment. Marine debris is defined as: any persistent solid material that is manufactured or processed and directly or indirectly, intentionally or unintentionally, disposed of or abandoned into the marine environment or the Great Lakes.

The Program supports projects that reduce the creation of derelict gear (both commercial and recreational) due to poor disposal practices and loss from day-to-day fishing practices, projects that increase our understanding of the impacts of marine debris on species, habitat and navigation, and/or projects that engage marinas, ports and the fishing industry/community.

Programmatic and Geographic Focus Areas

The Program provides competitive grants to finance innovative proposals in three primary focus areas:

Ports, Marinas and Fishing Communities - Projects that create or improve best management practices of ports, marinas, and fishing communities to decrease the threat of marine debris to marine life and/or navigation safety. Priority is given to projects that:
1. create incentives for marinas, ports, or fishing communities to reduce the introduction of marine debris;
2. improve marina, port, or fishing organizations best management practices for plastics, fishing gear, and other types of marine debris as defined above;
3. create incentives for fishing and boating communities to reduce or remove marine debris.
Gear Technology - Projects that work with the fishing industry and/or fisheries councils and organizations to develop better solutions to reduce derelict fishing gear in the marine environment. Priority is given to projects that:
1. work with fishing groups, industry, or manufacturers to improve fishing gear technology that could decrease gear loss and/or animal entanglement during fishing;
2. develop innovative technology improvements to reduce the effectiveness (catch rate) of lost gear (ghost fishing) or promote the use of gear that reduces ghost fishing.
Marine Debris Research and Assessment - Projects that improve understanding of the sources and impacts of marine debris on living marine resources, and tourist and fishing industries. Priority is given to projects that:
1. conduct research to understand reasons for fishing gear loss and develop methods/recommendations to prevent it;
2. quantify the biological, social and/or economic impacts of marine debris, with a priority on derelict fishing gear impacts to living marine resources. Studies of impacts to living marine resources, and cost-benefit analyses of removal by gear type are of particular interest;
3. assess the cost of marine debris impacts on navigation, tourism or other marine-dependent industries.

Proposals must identify which of the above focus area they are addressing, and will be evaluated and selected based on criteria that includes but is not limited to: merit, proposal quality, and available funding.

Eligibility

Eligible applicants are institutions of higher education, other non-profits, commercial organizations, and state (including Commissions), local, and tribal governments whose projects have the potential to benefit NOAA trust resources through marine debris research and prevention projects. Applications from federal agencies or employees of federal agencies will not be considered. Federal agencies are strongly encouraged to work with states, non-governmental organizations, and others that are eligible to apply.

Proposals must link clearly to one of the above focus areas, and clearly define a marine debris problem that applicants are seeking to address and explain how the project will provide measurable benefits for coastal and living marine resources. Projects should define a time-line for project implementation. If applicable, successful applicants will be required to provide sufficient documentation in regards to all necessary permits and clearances that the project expects to receive or has received in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Endangered Species Act (ESA), and any other federal, state, or local ordinances.

Proposals that include any gear removal aspects as part of their project must also include a letter from the appropriate state agency (on agency letterhead) indicating that your proposed project is in compliance with the state?s policies for handling fishing gear as part of the Full Proposal Application.

Restrictions

Funds cannot be used for political advocacy, boycotts, litigation expenses, terrorist activities or activities conducted in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

Awards

The majority of grants are anticipated to fall between $20,000 and $200,000. Larger grants will be reserved for those projects that are structured to definitively answers key research questions or implement projects over a broad scale. Please note that applications smaller than $10,000 will not be considered for support. A limited number of multi year (up to 3 years) grants will be awarded to exemplary projects that demonstrate a clear need and/or added value for the extended period.

Matching Funds

Matching funds are not required under this program, however, they are strongly encouraged. Proposals that can demonstrate at least a 1:1 match will be most competitive. To qualify, matching funds must be non-federal in origin and used directly for the project over the life of the grant (matching funds do not need to be in hand at the time of the application). Matching funds can be cash, in-kind or volunteer services. More information on match can be found by visiting the Help link in the Matching Contributions section of the application.

How to Apply

This funding opportunity will be opened on April 3, 2009. To apply, submit a pre-proposal via the Foundation's on-line application system by May 8, 2009. Upon receipt and competitive evaluation of the pre-proposal, the Foundation will invite successful applicants to submit a full proposal. Applicants will be notified by June 8, 2009 as to the status of their preliminary applications and whether they are invited to submit a full proposal. Awards for this program are scheduled to be announced in early October.

Click here for further assistance in navigating the Foundation?s Easygrants application. (www.nfwf.org/applicantinfo)

Click here for additional information on priorities and previous awards for this program. (www.nfwf.org/marinedebris)

Additional Questions

You are encouraged to contact Michelle Pico via email at pico@nfwf.org or by phone at 262-567-0601 to discuss project ideas or any additional questions on the priorities of this Program.