Coastal Services Center

1. What is the difference between a cooperative agreement and a grant award?
   For a detailed answer, please refer to the General Financial Assistance Information (PDF, requires a plug-in such as Adobe® Reader®).

   For applicants submitting cooperative agreement grant proposals related to Applications of Spatial Technology under the GIS I&D program, the key to developing a successful proposal is to outline a collaboration between the cooperator and the Center that makes effective use of each organization’s strengths and capabilities. The proposal should explicitly state the roles and responsibilities of the NOAA Coastal Services Center and the cooperator. If the cooperator does not fully understand the potential roles of the Center, then the proposal should include a plan for the Center and the cooperator to work together to fully develop more detailed tasks early in the project. The proposal should demonstrate that the proposing group understands the general resources available through the Center and how the collective resources and expertise of the Center, the cooperator, and cooperator’s partners might be applied to an effective examination of coastal
   management issues. See GIS I&D’s list of projects and products to gain an understanding of the type of support the program can provide.

2. How has the GIS I&D program supported past cooperative agreement grants?
   As the Omnibus states, the Center’s technical role in past projects has generally included, but is not limited to, the development of spatial data tools, analyses, and data to address a variety of management issues; the design of GIS and Web-based architectures; and the compilation of final products into a training module, CD-ROM, Web site, or other distribution mechanism.

   In cooperative grant agreement projects, the recipient leads the overall project, with GIS I&D and other partners contributing as needed. GIS I&D’s effort is typically spent helping with project management, developing models or specialized GIS applications, providing quality control support, providing guidance with metadata strategies, and assisting with Web site or CD-ROM development. The grant recipient leads the project, develops most of the content, and guides GIS I&D’s efforts to ensure they focus on the needs of the user community.
   

3. How long do grant and cooperative agreement grant projects recommended under the GIS I&D program last?
   GIS I&D grant and cooperative agreement grant projects typically last from one to two years. Each grant should start and end on the first and last day of the month specified.

4. What is the average amount of GIS I&D grants/cooperative agreement grants?
   The NOAA Omnibus notes that the GIS I&D program typically funds a few projects each year with awards ranging from about $50,000 to $100,000. You can view a table listing GIS I&D past awards here (PDF, requires a plug-in such as Adobe® Reader®).

5. What are current project locations?
   A map showing current project locations with related links for active GIS I&D projects can be seen on the project summaries page.

6. Can GIS I&D grant proposals be submitted under other NOAA CSC program announcements or vice versa?
   Yes. Several programs at the Coastal Services Center run similar grant programs focused on different issues. The same general proposal can be applied to other Omnibus announcements, but the prospective grantee must submit separate proposals and clearly explain how the proposals would independently promote the objectives of the respective grant programs and how the grantee might enhance the project by integrating the expertise of each technical and outreach component, for example, with each other.

7. Are matching funds mandatory, and if not, will they be favorably perceived?
   No, matching funds are not mandatory under the GIS I&D’s section of the NOAA Omnibus. Yes, matching funds could likely be perceived favorably based on the Project Costs evaluation criteria listed in the Omnibus, especially as this related to overall cost-effectiveness and partnerships employed, however, reviewers are not specifically instructed to take this into consideration.

8. Do GIS I&D proposals need to be received or postmarked by the deadline date?
   Proposals must be received by the deadline identified in the Omnibus. Applicants who fail to get proposals in by the deadline because of their own delay or errors caused by delivery services will have their proposals returned and not reviewed.

9. Will the Center provide feedback on project topics or potential project ideas?
   The Center will provide this information to any potential applicant in order to maintain fair and open competition for all applicants. Applicants are encouraged to review the GIS I&D Web pages, to find descriptions of the kind of work the Center does and descriptions of past projects selected for funding. This information should help you decide if your ideas are in line with the goals of our program.

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