A -- NATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM (NOPP BAA)

Notice Date

September 26, 2001

Contracting Office

Office of Naval Research, 800 North Quincy St., Arlington, VA 22217-5660

ZIP Code

22217-5660

Solicitation Number

01-029

Response Due

December 18, 2001

Point of Contact

Brian Glance ONR Code 252, (703) 696-2596

Description

On behalf of the National Oceanographic Partnership Program (NOPP), the Office of Naval Research (ONR) solicits research proposals meeting the goal and purpose of the Partnership Program outlined in Title II, subtitle E, of Public Law 104-201. Up to $6.0M (over 3 years) may be available for this solicitation, subject to appropriation and final approval by the National Ocean Research Leadership Council (NORLC). Proposals are due by 4 pm EST, Thursday, December 18, 2001. Team efforts among academia, industry, and government participants are required (at least 2 of the 3). Cost sharing or proposals augmenting ongoing partnership efforts are very strongly encouraged. NOPP Background Information: The central focus of the Partnership Program is an integrated and sustained ocean observation system achieved by a federation of many elements to support a wide range of users. The following five Investment Areas form the basis of the NOPP Investment Portfolio: A) Operational/Routine Observations (including pilots, testbeds, etc.), B) Research "Observatories" (long-term experiments and data series, etc.), C) Observational Technique Development (sensors and platforms), D) "Commons" for Ocean Information ("hubs" and "nodes", etc.), E) Outreach/Education. This solicitation specifically addresses just two of these areas; the Observational Technique Development (Topic C) and the "Commons" for Ocean Information (Topic D) Investment Areas. Topics A, B and E may be addressed in other, later solicitations. The Census of Marine Life (CoML) is a concept developed over the past few years with the support of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. In June 1999, a decision was made by the science ministers of 29 countries to establish a Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). In FY2000, NOPP and the Sloan Foundation jointly funded research to initiate the design and development of the Ocean Biogeographical Information System (OBIS) architecture within the "Commons" for Ocean Information area; a description of those projects can be found on the NOPP webpage, [www.nopp.org], under NOPP Funded Projects, FY2000 Projects. The Sloan Foundation and NOPP seek proposals that will capitalize on the initial effort begun in FY2000 to: 1) further develop and populate the databases of the OBIS, and 2) initiate prototype data collections for inclusion in CoML, using novel sensor technologies. TOPIC C-OBIS2. Novel Approaches to Marine Biological Data Collection Partnership proposals are sought for the application of novel sensor technologies to the collection of marine biological data for OBIS. The technology should therefore be capable of delivering data that meet the data and metadata standards of OBIS, GBIF, VODHub (see NOPP website) and other relevant biogeographic data systems. Technologies which deliver increased amounts of data for less time, effort or cost than current methods; and/or are able to deliver difficult-to-obtain or novel biological data, or biological data with correlated physical environmental data, of relevance to the goals of OBIS and related programs are of particular interest. Technology should comply with applicable marine mammal and environmental laws and regulations. International partnering is encouraged, but is not required. Proposals should have a plan for application of the technology on a significant scale by 2004. NOPP envisions support for 1-2 projects in this topic not to exceed $1M per year over three years. TOPIC D-OBIS2. Digital Archival of Existing Data. Partnership proposals are sought for the compilation of currently available geo-referenced species abundance datasets of marine mammals, birds and/or reptiles, to compliment similar ongoing compilations of fish and marine invertebrate data sets (see the NOPP website for NOPP Funded Projects and Investment Areas). Appropriate datasets may include commercial harvest data, museum collections, contemporary directed survey, and remote sensing data, or any other source of data that would contribute to analyses of trends in distribution and relative abundance. The PIs should plan to work with the groups developing the metadata and documentation standards for OBIS and the VODHub to ensure that the databases developed under these grants are completely compatible with those systems. Databases should offer coverage of global, ocean basin scale or large regional areas, and should include multiple species, preferably all member species of at least one of the three vertebrate classes listed above. Input data should be identified at least to the species level (stock or population information is desirable, if available), and data should be geo-referenced to as precise a location as possible. A strategy for handling of intellectual property rights for the data sets described above should be addressed in the proposal. Consortia addressing this topic should include substantial participation by the private sector with most governmental partners via "in kind" participation. In keeping with the OBIS goal of being an effective data repository for all major data gatherers around the world, proposals which include international partners are strongly encouraged. Completed databases must be made freely and openly available via the Internet as soon as is practical, but by no later than the end of the granting period. In keeping with the Education and Outreach goals of OBIS, Internet databases should be friendly to users from a wide spectrum of abilities and backgrounds. Mechanisms to do this should be described in the proposal, and the costs included in the budget. Close cooperation with relevant government agencies is expected, as well as with existing initiatives and programs such as those already funded as part of OBIS. The efforts presented in the proposals should seek long-term integration of biological data with other marine data and should demonstrate an awareness of and familiarity with existing long-term observational programs in physical and chemical oceanography. NOPP envisions support for one to two projects in this Topic not to exceed $1M per year over three years. General Instructions and Information Information regarding proposal format is available under the Broad Agency Announcement section of the NOPP Website http://www.nopp.org. E-mail or fax submissions will not be accepted. Twenty copies of the proposals are due not later than 4:00PM EST on Thursday, December 18, 2001 to: Office of Naval Research NOPP BAA/ONR 32 Room 407-8 800 N. Quincy Street Arlington, VA 22217-5660 It is anticipated that awards resulting from this announcement will take the form of grants. Proposals received at ONR after this date and time will not be considered. All proposals must indicate the BAA number above and which subtopic area is being addressed (e.g., Topic C-OBIS2 or D-OBIS2) on the cover page. Separate proposals must be submitted for each topic or subtopic area. Adobe Acrobat PDF files of the proposals would be especially welcome, and should accompany the proposals on either a floppy diskette(s) or Iomega Zip disk. E-mail and facsimile materials are not acceptable. No request for proposal (RFP), solicitation, or other announcement of this opportunity will be made. Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority Institutions, as determined by the Secretary of Education to meet requirements of 34 CFR Section 608.2 and 10 U.S.C. Paragraph 2323(a)(1)(C), are particularly encouraged to participate. All proposals will be subject to peer review, which will include non-governmental reviewers. All reviewers will adhere to confidentiality and conflict of interest standards. Evaluations of the proposals will use the following selection criteria: (1) relevance of the proposed research to Partnership objectives, including a) support of critical research objectives or operational goals such as data accessibility, education and communication, b) broad participation within the oceanographic community, c) partners with a long-term commitment to the proposed objectives, d) resources are shared among partners, and e) the degree of cost-sharing by partners with the requested Partnership funding, (2) overall scientific and technical merits of the proposal, (3) the offeror's capabilities, related experience, and facilities or unique combinations of these that are critical to the proposal objectives, (4) the qualifications and experience of the proposed principal investigator and key personnel, (5) degree of significant partnering among at least two of the following parties, academia, industry or government, (6) realism of proposed costs. A synopsis of the NOPP review process can be found at www.nopp.org. The final distribution of awards will depend on quality of proposals, programmatic balance, NOPP priorities and availability of funds. Funding estimates for any ship-time must be specifically included in the proposal and the budget should clearly specify the size and type of vessels proposed for use. Ships of opportunity are encouraged. Proposers should include shiptime requests on either the former NSF Form 831 (Shiptime Request Form) or preferably the University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System (UNOLS) on-line request form available at: http://www.gso.uri .edu/unols/ship/shiptime.html Questions regarding business matters relating to this BAA should be directed to: Office of Naval Research Attention: ONR 252 Brian Glance Ballston Towers One 800 N. Quincy St. Arlington, VA 22217-5660, via phone at (703) 696-2596, or via e-mail at glanceb@onr.navy.mil. Technical questions may be submitted by E-mail to "NOPPBAA@ONR.NAVY.MIL" or by fax to "NOPP BAA" (703) 696-2007 if necessary.

Record

Loren Data Corp. 20010928/ASOL002.HTM (W-269 SN50Y7V0)