Climate Program Office, Climate and Societal Interactions Division — Bipartisan Infrastructure Law

Donor Name: Department of Commerce

Deadline: 03/29/2023

Size of the Grant: $500,000

Grant Duration: 4 years

Details:

Through this NOFO, the Climate and Adaptation Partnerships program in the Climate and Societal Interactions (CSI) division of the Climate Program Office is soliciting applications for three competitions totaling approximately $4.8 Million (approximately $3.6 Million available in FY 22/23).

• Improving Engagement Methods for Coastal Resilience Planning (approximately $800,000 available)
• Assessing Tradeoffs and Co-Benefits for Complex Decision-Making in Communities Facing Coastal Inundation and/or Inland Flooding (approximately $1,870,000 available)
• Identifying Complex Interactions between Social Infrastructure and Wildfire Risks to Improve Community Adaptive Capacity (approximately $930,000 available)

The goal of this Notice of Federal Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is to support collaborative research and community engagement projects that improve climate adaptation planning and action. Collaborative research and community engagement are defined here as the process of developing trusted and sustained partnerships between scientists, decision-makers, and communities that lead to shared understandings of climate adaptation needs and the co generation of credible and actionable climate knowledge to support community defined plans, including implementable solutions. Outcomes from this work will support and inform the identification of equitable and inclusive infrastructure investments that mitigate flooding and wildfire risks.

This initiative supports National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) activities within the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL). Through BIL, NOAA aims to improve capabilities to better inform decisions to protect life and property, and mitigate flooding and wildfire impacts to the U.S. population and economy. Specifically, outcomes of grants funded through this opportunity will support national adaptive capacity by

• generating new, locally relevant knowledge and strategies to reduce risks from flooding and wildfire in frontline communities,
• testing and evaluating the scalability and transferability of existing methods of engagement and/or approaches for integrating social and interdisciplinary knowledge into climate adaptation planning for flooding and wildfire, and
• piloting new methods of engagement and/or approaches for integrating social and interdisciplinary knowledge into climate adaptation planning for flooding and wildfire.

Priorities

Proposals for all competitions in this NOFO should focus on the inclusion and relevance of their work to frontline communities in order to ensure benefits such as data, tools and other products are equitably produced and received. Applicants should work with community partners to ensure they are involved in and benefit from the project. Projects in all competitions must identify at least one community partner and ensure adequate resources, including financial resources, are available to enable their full participation, including project scoping work. Proposals should identify not only the local impacts of their work, but also the broader anticipated outcomes of their work including their potential to inform climate adaptation planning and infrastructure solutions. Proposals should incorporate the principles of Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) into their applications. To do so, applicants should consider the following factors when developing their projects:

• The vulnerabilities and disproportionate impacts of climate change on frontline communities including economically disadvantaged communities, historically marginalized communities, indigenous and tribal communities, and rural communities.
• Communities, towns, or neighborhoods under-resourced and underserved by technical, financial, and/or human resources (e.g. communities too small to qualify for FEMA grants) to address climate risks and vulnerabilities.
• The role of researchers and practitioners in carrying out work in ways that acknowledge existing legacies of social and environmental inequities and supporting actions that address them, including but not limited to the inclusion and compensation of frontline community members in setting project priorities.
• Regional diversity expressed in the team structure, roles and responsibilities, team decision making approaches, institutional roles, and broader networks and partnerships.
• Team contributions to a diverse, next-generation climate adaptation workforce through training, mentorship, education, and other means and by engaging with students and early career professionals.

Cross-CAP/RISA Priorities

Successful proposals to these competitions must leverage expertise across CAP/RISA team and expansion activity regions to test, scale, and transfer knowledge to build national adaptation capacity. Through this set of projects, applicants will work together across regions with comparable adaptation challenges, climate threats, communities, or governance structures to share and develop knowledge, approaches, and solutions that have potential for
scalability across the nation and provide outcomes for local communities.

Competition specific guidelines for all three competitions are as follows:

• Improving Engagement Methods for Coastal Resilience Planning
• Assessing Tradeoffs and Co-Benefits for Complex Decision-Making in Communities Facing Coastal Inundation and/or Inland Flooding
• Identifying Complex Interactions between Social Infrastructure and Wildfire Risks to Improve Community Adaptive Capacity

Funding Information

• Improving Engagement Methods for Coastal Resilience Planning – Proposals can request up to $500,000 total, for project performance periods of up to 4 years. It is anticipated that 2- 4 awards will be made.
• Assessing Tradeoffs and Co-Benefits for Complex Decision-Making in Communities Facing Coastal Inundation and/or Inland Flooding – Proposals can request up to $475,000 total for project performance periods of up to 4 years. It is anticipated that up to 3-5 awards will be made.
• Identifying Complex Interactions between Social Infrastructure and Wildfire Risks to Improve Community Adaptive Capacity – Proposals can request up to $475,000 total for project performance periods of up to 4 years. It is anticipated that 2-3 awards will be made.

Project Period

Projects for all three competitions are expected to last 4 years

Eligibility Criteria

Eligible applicants are institutions of higher education, other nonprofits, commercial organizations, international organizations, and state, local and Indian tribal governments.

Federal agencies or institutions are not eligible to receive Federal assistance under this notice.

For more information, visit Grants.gov.