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What
Is a Statement of Interest?
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Statement of Interest serves as a project preproposal which identifies
a topic relevant to coastal and marine needs in Florida and the nation.
It describes the scope of the need, problem or opportunity, and how
the results achieved under a grant would contribute to development,
conservation, or utilization of marine resources. Statements allow
for review of concepts, rationale and expected use of results before
faculty must commit extensive effort to writing a narrative of methodology,
literature review, and other requirements of a full proposal. |
| Download
the Statement
of Interest worksheet (MS Word document, right click
to save) and one-page Biographical
Data worksheet (MS Word document, right click to save).
Completed Statements of Interest are limited in length to the equivalent
of three 8 1/2 x 11 pages, single-spaced text, using standard, 12-point
type size and 1-inch margins. Although brief, the Statement is the
basis for deciding whether or not to request
a full proposal. Preparation should be done thoughtfully. (Note section
on review criteria and strong/weak
proposals below.) Return to
Questions |
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The
Florida Sea Grant Funding Cycle
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| Florida
Sea Grant research projects are normally funded for two years. Thus, projects
proposed should be for the period February 1, 2008 to January 31,
2009. Key dates are: |
| 2007 |
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| January 2 |
Call
for Statements of Interest |
Mid August |
Technical
panel meets for full proposals |
| February 21 |
Statements
of Interest due |
Late August |
Faculty
notified if proposal successful (Note: No additional review
will be conducted at national level, and faculty will know if
proposal accepted) |
| Mid - April |
Review
Panel meets |
September 12 |
Rebuttal letter
to peer reviews due |
| April 16 -20 |
Faculty
notified if Statement of Interest selected |
October
1 |
Omnibus
Florida Sea Grant Proposal submitted to National Sea Grant Office,
NOAA |
| April 16-June 7 |
Invited
proposals written |
2008 |
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| June 7 |
Full
proposals due |
February 1 |
New projects start |
| June 11-August 2 |
Peer
review conducted |
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| The next opportunity
to compete for Florida Sea Grant core program funding will be in early
2009 for projects that begin February 1, 2010. Return
to Questions |
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Who
Can Apply?
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| Faculty
at Florida institutions of higher education or non-agency, non-profit
marine research laboratories may apply. Investigators "new"
to Sea Grant are encouraged to apply. In fact, a goal of program management
is to have turnover of faculty. Please note that extramural co-sponsors
(e.g., agencies, industry) usually are involved in the most competitive
proposals.
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| Faculty
may participate in a maximum of two Statements of Interest. Being
listed as either Principal Investigator, Co-Principal Investigator,
or Associate Investigator counts as participation.
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| For
2006-2007 Florida Sea Grant received 76 Statements of Interest and
invited 31 full proposals for review. Of the full proposals received, 14
were funded. Return
to Questions |
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Size
of Grant Awards
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The
average annual project budget provided by the Florida Sea Grant core
program budget in 2006-07 was $60,000, not including match. The range
in project size is $21,776 to $75,513. The maximum annual Sea Grant
award that Florida Sea Grant will provide is $80,000. We will consider
occasional proposals that make a substantial case for greater funding.
Justification for larger budgets should include a multi-investigator/campus
component.
For each Sea Grant dollar, a 50% matching fund commitment
is required (i.e., every two federal dollars must be matched by one
dollar from non-federal sources).
For 2008 and 2009, the anticipated amount (assuming
the current federal appropriation) of annual research funding available
will be approximately $1,000,000. At the $80,000 level, this would
fund approximately 14 projects. Return
to Questions |
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Student Involvement Is Essential
Sea Grant is a program with its base in the academic sector. Thus, student support is important. Florida Sea Grant's goal is to ensure that 30 percent of its research funding supports students (and their associated costs) who are working within a project. Assuming all other review criteria among competing projects are approximately equal, the proposals with student involvement will be selected. |
| Review Criteria |
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Peer
review is the responsibility of the Florida Sea Grant Program (Director).
Oversight of the peer review process is the responsibility of the
National Sea Grant Office (Program Monitor).
For Statements of Interest, Florida Sea Grant will
obtain mail reviews from agency, industry and citizen groups, as well
as from a visiting panel of broadly experienced scientists recognized
in their disciplines from out-of-state, who will consider mail reviews
and their own in recommending which Statements of Interest will be
selected for development to a full proposal. Statements of Interest
must focus on the priorities in this document or they will be declined.
For full proposals, scientific peer review will
be obtained by mail, in addition to reviews from a panel of scientists
from out-of-state, who will consider all reviews and their own, and
recommend which full proposals should be selected.
Six criteria will be used to evaluate Statements.
Peer reviews provide the most input for the first three criteria,
while the Florida Sea Grant office provides the most input for the
latter three. Statements must score highly in the first three areas
to be competitive.
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1.
Scientific or Professional Merit (40%) - the degree to which the activity
is innovative and will advance the state of the science or discipline
through rigorous use and extension of state-of-the-art methods.
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2. Rationale
(20%) - the degree to which the proposed activity addresses an important
issue, problem, or opportunity in development, use, or management
of marine or coastal resources, both nationally and in Florida, described
in an informative (quantitative) manner. Projects which ultimately
contribute to environmental sustainability, job creation (or loss
negation) and economic competitiveness usually fare best.
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3. Users,
Participants and Co-Sponsors (15%) - the degree to which users or
potential users of the results of the proposed activity have been
brought into the planning and funding of the activity, will be brought
into the execution of the activity, or will use results.
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4. Expected
Results, Applications and Benefits (10%) - the degree to which the
completed project is expected to create new commercial opportunities,
improve technological and economic efficiency or improve management
decisions, in Florida or possibly nationally.
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5. Links to
Other Projects (10%) - the degree to which the proposed activity will
contribute as an essential or complementary unit to other projects.
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6. Investigator
Qualifications (5%) - the degree to which investigators are qualified
by education, training, and/or experience to execute the proposed
activity consistent with stage of career development; record of achievement
with previous funding.
Return to Questions |
Strong Statements/Weak Statements
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Strong Statements:
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Project idea builds on FSG priorities, clearly documents the issue, accurately states how the proposed work will help prevent or solve a problem, and explicitly lays out the steps needed to produce such valuable outcomes |
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Strong scientific merit is apparent; qualified investigators |
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Imaginative, creative, advances scholarship |
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National academic leadership, statewide impact |
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Testable hypothesis is clearly stated |
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Objectives are measurable, realistic in number |
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Methods clearly explained with evidence of likely success (e.g., pilot data), recognition of likely problems, and plans to address potential problems |
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Ultimate outputs are clearly defined and linked to an explicit timeline |
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Involvement of user group(s) and interest(s) clearly defined |
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Realistic timeframe and budget |
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Matching funds from outside cooperator already committed (or pending) |
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May be part of a package of inter-related projects, possible regional |
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PI will have discussed idea with campus coordinator, local Sea Grant Extension agent or Florida Sea Grant program managers |
Weak Statements:
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PI sends in ill-conceived last-minute idea |
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Idea may be better suited to another sponsor |
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Rationale is merely indicative (lacks data and clear evaluation of further work needed to produce outcomes) |
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Poor technical design |
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Hypothesis may be vague or not even provided |
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Objectives are merely a statement of methods |
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Methods to collect, analyze and interpret data are not explicitly stated and assumptions and likely problems are not clearly addressed |
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Vague identification of users |
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Geographic/subject focus too narrow, limited |
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Too ambitious, unfocused |
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No identification of role of outside cooperators |
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Isolated from related efforts |
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Hunting for funds, no relevance to Sea Grant |
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Exceeds space limitation |
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Biographical information incomplete, not up-to-date Return to Questions |
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Regional
Projects
All Sea Grant programs nationwide are encouraged to participate in “regional or multi-program” projects. The four Sea Grant programs around the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) are requesting regional research proposals that focus on priorities related to risks of life, property and the environment from coastal natural hazards events. The available federal budget for the project(s) will be $200,000 per year for two years; $100,000 in non-federal match is required each year. Complete details on priorities and proposal submission may be found at http://www.flseagrant.org/funding/GOM/index.htm. Please note that the submission process is different than for the Florida Sea Grant core program Statements of Interest defined in other sections of this call for projects.
Return to
Questions
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About
Florida Sea Grant
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Florida Sea Grant is the only statewide university-based coastal research, extension/outreach, communications and education program in Florida. It is part of a national Sea Grant network. The mission of Florida Sea Grant is to enhance the practical use and conservation of coastal and marine resources to create a sustainable economy and environment. It has been recognized as one of the top such programs in the nation.
The National Sea Grant College Program (NSGCP) consists of 32 Sea Grant Programs nationwide. The NSGCP is authorized by federal legislation which makes the NSGCP a part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Department of Commerce. Florida receives its federal funds from the National Sea Grant College Program. Each of the 32 programs is organized within the university structure of each state or groups of states. In Florida, the Sea Grant Program is a State of Florida Center of the Florida Board of Education, Division of Colleges and Universities.
The Florida Sea Grant College Program represents an effective statewide partnership of universities, marine industries, citizens and government. The research skills of university scientists from all disciplines related to ocean and coastal topics are combined with a strong commitment to make research findings available to a wide audience through a network of advisory and education specialists. Scientific, advisory, and public information reports, and conferences, workshops and personal contacts by Sea Grant extension and research faculty ensure that information needed to use and conserve Florida’s marine resources reaches those who need it.
Florida Sea Grant conducts its work principally through (1) research grants to faculty around the state, (2) full-time Sea Grant extension professionals, and (3) a small central office communications and management staff.
The Core Program
This is the basic year-to-year award from NOAA that supports Florida Sea Grant research, extension/outreach, education, communications and program development and management. It is subject to annual Congressional appropriations and continuing quality of program performance. Beyond that, additional appropriations may be designated by NSGCP for special competitions nationally. Interested faculty are urged to apply for NSGCP special competitions as a means of supplementing the biennial core budget. Check the Florida Sea Grant website for details.
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