Information for Applicants
This section describes the general process for submission. Specifics on eligibility,
definitions, and more detailed instructions are on the following pages. Complete
instructions are also included within the individual Federal Funding Opportunity
(FFO) notice.
It is strongly suggested that applications be submitted through the grants.gov website.
Submission forms and instructions for electronic submission are at www.grants.gov.
A sample application is available for guidance
purposes.
Administrative and Merit Review Overview
Once the program office receives an application, an initial administrative review
is conducted to determine compliance with the minimum requirements of the FFO. All
proposals meeting minimum requirements are sent out for merit review, where they
are evaluated and scored individually in accordance with the assigned weights of
the posted FFO evaluation criteria. During a full merit review, applications are
also reviewed by a peer-review panel.
Merit reviews of proposals are used as a means to obtain the best available science
and information to support
NOAA mandates. NCCOS adheres to the guidelines for the
merit review process (i.e., the peer review process) as established by the Department
of Commerce (DOC) Grants and Cooperative Agreements Manual, chapter 8. We follow
the conflict of interest policy implemented by the
DOC, found within the
DOC Grants
and Cooperative Agreements Interim Manual, chapter 16.