FY2020 NOAA Ruth Gates Coral Restoration Innovation Grants | NOAA NMFS HCPO 2020 2006361

Opportunity Information: Apply for NOAA NMFS HCPO 2020 2006361

The FY2020 NOAA Ruth Gates Coral Restoration Innovation Grants opportunity (NOAA NMFS HCPO 2020 2006361) is a competitive, discretionary federal funding program from the U.S. Department of Commerce designed to push coral restoration beyond conventional approaches. Created in tribute to Dr. Ruth Gates, the program focuses on translating cutting-edge research into practical restoration outcomes that can meaningfully improve the long-term survival of coral reefs. The central idea is to fund science-driven innovation that helps restoration practitioners work with corals that are more resilient to changing ocean conditions, while also making restoration methods more efficient and scalable.

The program is run through NOAA, with funds administered by the Office of Habitat Conservation in coordination with the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP). Projects are expected to strengthen coral reef ecosystems by supporting the development and application of innovative techniques that result in resilient, genetically diverse, and reproductively viable coral populations. In practical terms, NOAA is looking for work that helps restoration efforts move toward corals and restoration strategies that can better withstand environmental stressors such as warming events, bleaching, disease pressures, and other climate- and water-quality-related impacts, while still maintaining genetic diversity and the ability of restored populations to reproduce and persist over time.

Funded projects fall into two major focus areas. First, NOAA is supporting research and development of interventions that improve coral resilience to environmental stressors. This can include developing, testing, and validating new approaches that help corals tolerate stress or recover more effectively, with the expectation that the results will be applicable to real-world restoration. Second, the program supports research, development, and field-testing of novel techniques to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of coral population enhancement. That includes improvements to both asexual and sexual coral restoration workflows, as well as creative methods that make outplanting faster, more reliable, less costly, or more likely to succeed at meaningful scales.

Awards under this solicitation are made as cooperative agreements, which generally implies substantial involvement by NOAA during the project period (for example, coordination, shared technical direction, or collaboration tied to program goals). NOAA will consider projects lasting one year or multiple years, with a maximum period of up to three years. Applicants proposing multi-year work are expected to provide detailed projected budgets for year two and/or year three in the initial FY20 application. Continued funding beyond the first year is not automatic; it depends on future federal appropriations and whether the project meets progress expectations and milestones.

In terms of funding levels, NOAA anticipates typical federal support in the range of $100,000 to $250,000 per year, with total project funding commonly falling between $100,000 and $750,000 across one to three years. NOAA set clear bounds on request sizes: it will not accept proposals requesting less than $100,000 in federal funds, and it will not accept proposals requesting more than $1,000,000 total over three years. For FY20 specifically, NOAA anticipated about $500,000 available under the announcement, with an estimated four awards (the listing notes an award ceiling of $250,000). NOAA also indicated that an additional $500,000 to $1,500,000 might become available in FY21 and FY22 to continue supporting selected multi-year awards, but those later-year amounts depend on what Congress appropriates in those budget cycles.

The opportunity is also shaped by portfolio balance requirements under the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000. NOAA noted that funding may be allocated across U.S. Pacific and Atlantic regions in a way that helps maintain overall geographic balance in the CRCP FY20 funding portfolio. This means strong proposals are expected to fit not only the technical and scientific goals of the program, but also the broader NOAA strategy for coral reef conservation across regions.

Key administrative details included that the opportunity uses CFDA number 11.482, falls under environment, natural resources, science and technology, and other research and development activity categories, and was posted with a creation date of January 16, 2020, with an original closing date of March 20, 2020. Eligibility is listed broadly as "Others" with further clarification referenced in the full announcement text. Overall, this grant program targets applicants who can bring forward credible innovation and demonstrable pathways from research to on-the-ground restoration impact, with an emphasis on resilience, genetic diversity, reproductive viability, and practical efficiency in scaling coral restoration.

• The Department of Commerce in the environment, natural resources, science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY2020 NOAA Ruth Gates Coral Restoration Innovation Grants" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 11.482.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jan 16, 2020.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Mar 20, 2020. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $250,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 4 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for NOAA NMFS HCPO 2020 2006361

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