pile of marine debris with green, blue, and yellow tangled rope

The National Sea Grant Office announces $19 million in federal funding opportunities to address the prevention and removal of marine debris. 

  1. Marine Debris Challenge Competition: Approximately $16,000,000 will be available to support innovative research to application projects that will address the prevention and removal of marine debris.
  2. Marine Debris Community Action Coalitions: Approximately $3,000,000 will be available to support the creation of coalitions and partnerships among communities, groups, and localities to address the prevention and removal of marine debris.

To apply via NH Sea Grant:

Letters of intent (LOIs) and final applications for both opportunities must be submitted "with and through" a Sea Grant Program. The only projects that will be eligible are those with LOIs submitted directly by state Sea Grant staff. Interested New Hampshire partners must submit a "Partnership Form" to NH Sea Grant by Friday, July 29, 2022 at 12:00 PM ET.

  • Applicants can submit this form multiple times for separate proposal ideas.
  • Due to the short timeline and high interest, NH Sea Grant cannot consider requests for partnership outside of submissions via this Partnership Form by the July 29th deadline.

Download Partnership Form (Word Doc)

Submit completed Partnership Form via email to Gabriela Bradt (gabriela.bradt@unh.edu), Steve Jones (stephen.jones@unh.edu), and Lindsey Williams (lindsey.williams@unh.edu).

OFFICE HOURS:

NH Sea Grant will be hosting Office Hours for project idea discussions and questions on Monday, July 25 at 11:00 AM - 1:00 PM ET (virtual; drop-in style). During these Office Hours, NH Sea Grant staff will be available to answer questions pertaining to this funding opportunity, partnership requirements, and potential proposal ideas. You do not need to attend the whole 2-hr session. Staff will be available for you to drop-in. If this time does not work for you, please reach out to set up a time to talk separately!

REGISTER/JOIN Office Hours on July 25, 11am-1pm

Webinar:

To learn more about these opportunities, the National Sea Grant Office invites you to join an informational webinar on July 12, 2022 at 4:30 pm ET. Register here: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7183120883290481419

DEIJA Statement:

Both opportunities encourage applicants and awardees to support the principles of diversity, equity, inclusion, justice, and accessibility (DEIJA) when writing their proposals and performing their work. The work completed under these opportunities will place an emphasis on engagement with communities, groups and localities, especially those that have been traditionally underrepresented and underserved.


1. Marine Debris Challenge Competition

The Marine Debris Challenge Competition will support original, innovative, and transformational marine debris prevention and removal research that pushes the boundaries of existing technologies and approaches, changes the current landscape of marine debris mitigation, and ties that research to tangible outputs. 

The National Sea Grant Office (NSGO) anticipates approximately $16,000,000 in FY 2022 and 2023 federal funds will be available to support research to application projects that will address the prevention and/or removal of marine debris. Approximately 5-12 projects of up to three years duration may be funded.

Match Requirement: Applications DO NOT require the standard 50% non-federal match for Sea Grant projects. However, applicants are strongly encouraged to combine NOAA federal funding with formal matching contributions and informal leverage from a broad range of sources in the public and private sectors.

Eligible Applicants: Sea Grant College Programs, Sea Grant Institutional Programs, and Sea Grant Coherent Area Programs. A Sea Grant program may submit or participate in more than one proposal. Other interested entities must submit letters of intent and proposals in partnership with and through a relevant Sea Grant program. Please note that it is not a requirement that investigators, including the PI, are part of a Sea Grant program; however proposals must be submitted with and through a Sea Grant program.

Interested NH partners should contact NH Sea Grant to express interest, by emailing Steve Jones (stephen.jones@unh.edu) about proposal details & Gabriela Bradt (gabriela.bradt@unh.edu) and Lindsey Williams (lindsey.williams@unh.edu) for partnering ideas.

Grants.gov Posting: NOAA-OAR-SG-2022-2007452

Application Due Dates:

  • Partnership Form due to NH Sea Grant: July 29, 2022 by 12 PM ET
  • Letters of intent due to NH Sea Grant: August 8, 2022 by 5 PM ET
  • Letters of intent due from NH Sea Grant to NSGO by August 9, 2022
  • Full proposals due to NH Sea Grant: October 4, 2022 by 5 PM ET
  • Application materials due from NH Sea Grant to Grants.gov by October 13, 2022

Questions and Answers on Sea Grant’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Marine Debris Funding Opportunities (PDF)


2. Marine Debris Community Action Coalitions

The Marine Debris Community Action Coalitions funding opportunity will support the creation of coalitions and partnerships among communities, groups, and localities, especially those that have been traditionally underserved, to address marine debris prevention and removal.

The National Sea Grant Office (NSGO) anticipates approximately $3,000,000 in FY 2022 and 2023 federal funds will be available to individual Sea Grant programs in order to support approximately 10-15 Marine Debris Community Action Coalitions. Each award will be no greater than $300,000.

Match Requirement: Applications DO NOT require the standard 50% non-federal match for Sea Grant projects.

Eligible Applicants: This competition is open to all Sea Grant programs.

Interested NH partners should contact NH Sea Grant to express interest, by emailing Steve Jones (stephen.jones@unh.edu) about proposal details & Gabriela Bradt (gabriela.bradt@unh.edu) and Lindsey Williams (lindsey.williams@unh.edu) for partnering ideas.

Application Due Dates:

  • Partnership Form due to NH Sea Grant: July 29, 2022 by 12 PM ET
  • Letters of intent due to NH Sea Grant: August 8, 2022 by 5 PM ET
  • Letters of intent due from NH Sea Grant to NSGO by August 16, 2022
  • Application materials due from NH Sea Grant to Grants.gov by September 15, 2022

Questions and Answers on Sea Grant’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Marine Debris Funding Opportunities (PDF)


NOAA's Marine Debris Investments

These opportunities are a component of nearly $3 billion in targeted investments for NOAA in the areas of habitat restoration, coastal resilience and weather forecasting infrastructure through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act provides $50 million over five years to Sea Grant to support marine debris prevention and removal. These two funding opportunities represent funding for the first two fiscal years of this appropriation (FY 2022 and 2023). 

Details about both Sea Grant funding opportunities can also be found on the Sea Grant Funding page

Sea Grant’s funding opportunities complement a $56 million funding opportunity from NOAA’s Marine Debris Program that will fund large scale marine debris removal and interception projects. To learn more about the Marine Debris Removal Grants, please join an informational webinar on July 14 at 4:00 p.m. ET.

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