GrantExec

FY2025 Weather Program Office Research Programs Announcement - Observations

FY2025 Weather Program Office Research Programs Announcement - Observations aims to fund innovative research projects that develop and enhance sensor and observation technologies to improve the accuracy and reliability of weather forecasts, particularly in high-impact weather scenarios.

$600,000
Closed
Nationwide
Grant Description

The FY2025 Weather Program Office (WPO) Research Programs NOFO, issued by NOAA's Oceanic and Atmospheric Research division, supports advancements in U.S. weather, water, and earth system observations through research and technology development. This funding opportunity, with approximately $2.1 million available annually, targets the development and testing of new observation technologies and techniques to improve weather forecasting capabilities. Key program priorities include mitigating weather buoy outages, improving rainfall estimation, enhancing tropical cyclone reconnaissance, and advancing surface wind and rainfall measurements. The application process includes an encouraged Letter of Intent (LOI) due by October 2, 2024, with full applications due by December 2, 2024. Awards are expected to begin on August 1, 2025, and will span up to two years. The WPO’s funding objectives align with NOAA’s mission to improve predictive capabilities for high-impact weather events. Projects should support NOAA’s observational needs, particularly through innovations that improve the reliability, spatial reach, and cost-effectiveness of weather observations, especially at the surface and in the planetary boundary layer. The NOFO encourages applications targeting Readiness Levels 4-7, indicating projects at various stages from prototype testing to deployment readiness. Collaborative projects involving NOAA and non-NOAA entities are welcomed, and applicants are encouraged to engage with operational weather stakeholders, including the private sector, to ensure that outcomes have direct operational applications. Eligible applicants include public and private institutions, state and local governments, Tribal entities, and educational organizations. NOAA’s requirements preclude federal agencies from receiving funding directly, but they may collaborate as unpaid partners. Notably, NOAA federal collaborators may receive limited project-related travel support and testbed access, though direct salary support is excluded. Applicants must be registered in SAM.gov, Grants.gov, and eRA Commons before submitting an application. Federal institutions are permitted to participate in a supportive role but must adhere to eligibility restrictions. A successful proposal will address one or more WPO Observations Program priorities, clearly demonstrating how the project will benefit operational weather forecasting. Proposals should contain detailed project plans, budget justifications, and outlines of expected impacts. WPO places strong emphasis on community engagement, diversity, and the involvement of underserved communities, encouraging projects that incorporate diverse perspectives in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields. Additionally, all funded projects must include a Data Management Plan, and if software development is part of the project, a Software Management Plan. The proposal evaluation process includes independent peer reviews assessing relevance, technical merit, team qualifications, project costs, and commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. Successful applications will be selected based on scoring and alignment with program goals. Final selections are subject to NOAA’s funding availability and policy priorities. NOAA anticipates notifying applicants of award recommendations in June 2025, with project start dates as early as August 1, 2025. Awardees will submit semi-annual technical and financial reports through NOAA’s eRA system, and public visibility for project results is encouraged. The Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act also mandates that recipients report on subawards over $25,000 through FSRS.gov.

Funding Details

Award Range

$100,000 - $600,000

Total Program Funding

Not specified

Number of Awards

Not specified

Matching Requirement

No

Eligibility

Eligible Applicants

State governments
City or township governments
County governments
Native American tribal organizations
Nonprofits

Additional Requirements

Applicants are responsible for ensuring that they are eligible for this competition and identify with the appropriate title listed hereafter. The following entities are eligible and encouraged to participate in this funding opportunity, in conjunction with the Weather Program office: any public or private corporation, partnership, or other association or entity or any State, political subdivision of a State, Tribal government or agency or officer thereof. Non-NOAA federal agencies and their personnel are not permitted to receive federal funding under this competition; however, federal scientists and other employees can serve as uncompensated partners or co-Principal Investigators on applications. Federal labs and offices can also make available specialized expertise, facilities or equipment to applicants but cannot be compensated under this competition for their use, nor can the value of such assets be used as a match. If any applicants requesting funding are ineligible, the application(s) will be rejected without review.To be eligible to apply or receive an award, applicant organizations must complete and maintain three system registrations and access to include: SAM.gov, Grants.gov, and eRA Commons. For each, the complete registration process can take 4 to 6 weeks, so applicants must begin this activity as soon as possible and well before the proposal due date. For more information on how to meet these registration and application submission requirements without errors, we advise all to carefully review relevant eRA Applicant and Grantee Training modules: https://www.commerce.gov/ocio/programs/gems/applicant-and-grantee-training. Additionally, we advise that all applicants carefully read Additional Application Package Forms within the Full Proposal Required Elements section below.No foreign applicants based outside of the U.S. may request funding.Applicability to Federal Employees and Federal Contractors: Federal employees (hereafter referred to as federal collaborator(s)) may serve as co-Principal Investigators (co-PIs) or co-Investigators (co-Is) but their salary costs are ineligible expenses to be covered by awards from this NOFO. NOAA Federal applicants are required to partner with one or more eligible non-federal institution(s) who would submit the application for the competition through Grants.gov per instructions in Section IV.K Other Submission Requirements. Eligibility also depends on the statutory authority that permits NOAA to fund the proposed activity. For the purposes of this funding announcement, prospective PIs that are also employed as federal contractors have the same eligibility restrictions as Federal employees.Costs incurred by NOAA federal collaborators are eligible for funding through this NOFO only if they fit into one of the categories listed below. Further details are provided in the attached General Information Sheet.Allowed: NOAA federal collaborator travel is only eligible in critical project-dependent cases. Other allowable expenses include project-critical equipment, indirect costs for NOAA affiliate institutions, infrastructure, and testbed-related costs.NOT Allowed: Conference and workshop travel. Any other direct funding for federal institutions, including employee salaries or other costs not listed as eligible in Section III.A, will not be considered as part of this funding opportunity.All funded investigators must assure and verify, if requested, that they will not be allocated for greater than 100% of their annual employment time should their proposal be selected for funding. NOAA will verify this requirement if the proposal is recommended for funding.

Geographic Eligibility

All

Key Dates

Application Opens

September 17, 2024

Application Closes

December 2, 2024

Contact Information

Grantor

Mark Vincent

Subscribe to view contact details

Newsletter Required
Categories
Business and Commerce
Science and Technology