OpportunityTitle: Financial Assistance to Establish five NOAA Cooperative Science Centers at Minority Serving Institutions
AdditionalInformationOnEligibility: For the purpose of this program Minority Serving   Institutions: Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-  Serving Institutions, Indian Tribally Controlled Colleges and   Universities, Alaska Native-Serving Institutions, and Native Hawaiian-  Serving Institutions, as identified on the 2007 United States   Department of Education, Accredited Postsecondary Minority Institution   list (http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/edlite-minorityinst.html   and http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/edlite-minorityinst-list-  tab.html) are eligible to apply. A proposed center&apos;s principal academic   institution must be an accredited MSI with a PhD degree-granting   program in a STEM field that supports NOAA&apos;s mission. Applications will   not be accepted from non-profit organizations (except organizations   that are classified as Institutions of Higher Education), foundations   (except foundations that represent Institutions of Higher Education),   auxiliary services or any other entity submitted on behalf of MSIs.   Private and/or public sector and community college partnerships are   encouraged. Partnerships with community colleges may be considered as a   mechanism to build the undergraduate pipeline of four-year academic   institutions. A Cooperative Science Center may partner with one or more   institutions that have demonstrated education and research performance   in NOAA-related sciences. While the center will be established at an   MSI, consortia with non-minority serving institutions partners will not   be restricted. If a cooperative agreement is awarded to a consortium of   institutions, the consortium must propose a governance structure that   includes a single director and one award. Where multi-institutional   applications between majority and MSIs are submitted, no less than   eighty percent (80%) of the total funds shall be awarded to the MSI(s).   The MSI lead cannot issue sub-awards for more than twenty percent (20%)   of the total project costs to majority institutions.
Description: NOAA&apos;s Office of Education (OEd), Educational Partnership Program (EPP) with Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) solicits applications from accredited postsecondary MSIs to establish five NOAA Cooperative Science Centers (CSCs). These five CSCs are designed to create collaborative partnerships among MSIs and NOAA&apos;s Line Offices. NOAA&apos;s mission as stated in the FY2009-2014 NOAA Strategic Plan, is ``[t]o understand and predict changes in Earth&apos;s environment and conserve and manage coastal and marine resources to meet our nation&apos;s economic, social, and environmental needs.&apos;&apos; The Uniform Resource Locator for NOAA Strategic Planning is http:// www.ppi.noaa.gov/strategic_planning.html. Additional information about NOAA may be found on the Web site: http://www.noaa.gov. Each NOAA Cooperative Science Center must conduct education and research that directly supports NOAA&apos;s mission. The purpose of these CSCs at MSIs is to: (1) Educate students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields related to the CSCs&apos; research areas to increase the number and diversity of NOAA&apos;s and the nation&apos;s STEM workforce; (2) conduct research in collaboration with NOAA scientists and engineers to better understand the significance of changes in the Earth&apos;s oceans, coasts, Great Lakes, weather and climate; and, (3) build capacity and sustainability in NOAA-relevant STEM areas at all center institutions. The CSCs are to leverage existing education and research program capabilities to train and graduate students in NOAA- mission STEM fields including broader disciplines (e.g., economics and social sciences). The CSCs are to build sustainable capacity, maintaining newly established curricula, as well as upgraded research facilities that will enhance their ability to conduct NOAA education and research that contributes to a pipeline of students trained in STEM fields. The EPP is designed to enhance capacity at MSIs that educate, train, and graduate students in STEM fields and to increase environmental literacy by establishing partnerships with academia, the private sector, and other state, tribal and local agencies. Additional program details may be found on the Web site: http://www.epp.noaa.gov. Interested applicants should be responsive to both the notice in the Federal Register and the Federal Funding Opportunity (FFO) announcement. A PDF version of both the Federal Register Notice and the FFO are available at http://www.epp.noaa.gov/.
GrantorContactEmailDescription: For application download issues only
GrantorContactText: Steve Drescher &lt;br/&gt;Policy Advisor &lt;br/&gt;