Pacific International Training Desk

The National Weather Service Program Office within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is offering funding under the Pacific International Training Desk (PITD) initiative. Established in 2001 at the University of Hawaii in partnership with the Weather Forecast Office in Honolulu, the PITD supports the World Meteorological Organization’s Voluntary Cooperation Program. The program delivers specialized meteorology training to meteorologists and observers from National Meteorological and Hydrological Services in Pacific Island nations, with an emphasis on tropical forecasting. NOAA’s Office of International Affairs seeks a qualified applicant to maintain and enhance PITD operations, aligning training with evolving regional needs and priorities. The PITD’s objectives include providing one-on-one basic weather forecast training, standard on-site instruction at the Honolulu Weather Forecast Office, roving workshops in the region including Guam, and dissemination of communications technology. The program addresses the critical shortage of highly trained forecasters in the Pacific, where extreme weather events such as tropical cyclones, floods, and tsunamis pose significant threats. Training components include e-learning courses to establish baseline competencies, hands-on operational forecasting practice, and provision of forecasting tools such as laptops equipped with necessary software and data resources. Funding for this cooperative agreement is anticipated to be approximately $3 million over five years, contingent on federal appropriations. Initial funding is available for three years, with future support dependent on performance and continued appropriations. The project period may span up to five years, with annual incremental funding. The cooperative agreement structure ensures substantial NOAA involvement, including collaboration and oversight in project implementation. Allowable costs include direct project expenses; indirect costs are limited to 10% of direct costs, and certain costs such as fundraising, unrelated travel, and profit are prohibited. Eligible applicants include institutions of higher education, non-profits, state, local, and tribal governments, commercial organizations, U.S. territories, and federal agencies authorized to receive this type of funding. Applications are accepted via Grants.gov with no fixed deadline; review begins upon receipt, and start dates are determined following acceptance. Proposals should include a title page, abstract, prior results, detailed project description, budget with justification, vitae, and current and pending support information. No Data Management Plan is required as the program does not generate environmental data. Applications are reviewed by independent peer panels using a Go-No Go scoring system on criteria such as program relevance, technical merit, applicant qualifications, project costs, and outreach. Recommendations are made to the International Project Manager for final funding decisions. Biannual performance and financial reports are required through eRA, and recipients must comply with federal administrative requirements, scientific integrity policies, and applicable anti-discrimination laws. For more information, applicants may contact Andrew Horan, International Project Manager at NOAA/NWS Office of International Affairs, via email at Andrew.Horan@noaa.gov or phone at 301-427-9047. The full announcement is available through Grants.gov.

Ensure SAM, Grants.gov, and eRA Commons registrations are complete before submission; indirect costs may not exceed 10%; proposals should not exceed 50 pages excluding mandated forms