NOFO Field: Content and Form of Application
NOFO Location:
Application and Submission Information - second field
- Preceding Field:
Address to Request Application Package
- Subsequent Field:
Unique entity identifier and System for Award Management (SAM)
OMB Guidance:
IV. Application and Submission Information
2. Content and Form of Application Submission -- Required.
This section must identify the required content of an application and the forms
or formats that an applicant must use to submit it. If any requirements are
stated elsewhere because they are general requirements that apply to multiple
programs or funding opportunities, this section may refer to where those
requirements may be found. This section also should address any preliminary
submissions that the agency requires or encourages, either to facilitate its
own planning or to provide potential applicants with feedback to help them
decide whether to submit a full proposal.
For a full application, this includes all content and forms or formats that
constitute a complete application, including: general information (e.g.,
applicant name and address), budgetary information, narrative programmatic
information, biographical sketches, and all other required information (e.g.,
documentation that an applicant meets stated eligibility criteria or
certifications or assurances of compliance with applicable requirements, such
as evidence of compliance with human subjects requirements). You must either
include required forms or formats as part of this announcement or state where
the applicant may obtain them.
In this section, you should specifically address content and form or format
requirements for:
- Pre-applications, letters of intent, or white papers that your agency
requires or encourages (see Section IV.3), including any limitations on the
number of pages or other formatting requirements similar to those for full
applications.
- The application as a whole. For hard copy submissions, that could include
any limitations on the number of pages, font size and typeface, margins, paper
size, number of copies, and sequence or assembly requirements. If electronic
submission is permitted or required,* that could include special requirements
for formatting or signatures.
- Component pieces of the application (e.g., if all copies of the application
must bear original signatures on the face page or the program narrative may not
exceed 10 pages). This includes any pieces that may be submitted separately by
third parties (e.g., references or letters confirming commitments from third
parties that will be contributing a portion of any required cost sharing).
- Information that successful applicants must submit after your agency notifies
them of its intent to make awards, but prior to award. This could include
evidence of compliance with human subjects requirements or information your
agency needs to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
Additional Guidance:
Published Examples:
B. Content and Form of Application:
Applications must adhere to the provisions under
"Applications" and the six requirements under "Required Elements"
by the deadline of April 5, 2007. Failure to follow these
restrictions will result in applications being rejected without
review.
1. Applications
Interested students should discuss this fellowship with their
local Sea Grant Program Director. Applicants from states not
served by a Sea Grant program should contact the NSGO;
subsequently, the applicant will be referred to the appropriate
Sea Grant program. Applications must be submitted by the
deadline set in the local Sea Grant announcement. Each Sea Grant
program may select and forward to the NSGO no more than six (6)
applicants based on the evaluation criteria used by the NSGO in
the national competition.
2. Required Elements
An application must include:
(1) Personal and academic curriculum vitae (not to exceed two
pages).
(2) A personal education and career goal statement emphasizing
the applicant’s abilities and the applicant’s expectations from
the experience in the way of career development (1000 words or
less). Placement preference in the Legislative or Executive
Branches of the Government may be stated; this preference will be
honored to the extent possible.
(3) Two letters of recommendation, including one from the
student’s major professor; if no major professor exists, the
faculty person academically knowing the applicant best may be
substituted.
(4) A letter of endorsement from the sponsoring Sea Grant
Program Director.
(5) Copy of all official undergraduate and graduate student
transcripts.
(6) Listing of classes and/or plans for spring 2007, summer 2007
and fall 2007 (not to exceed one page).
All applicants will be evaluated solely on their application
package according to the criteria listed below. Therefore,
letters of endorsement from members of Congress, friends,
relatives and others will not be accepted. Prior
contacts/arrangements made with possible host offices will be
cause for immediate disqualification from the process.
B. Content and Form of Application:
Each application package must include the following items: Failure to submit these items
exactly as described in each section below or if any item is omitted will disqualify the
application from consideration. All of these items, except as stated in section B.6. about the
submission of letters of recommendations, must be submitted as part of the on-line submission
process.
1. Standard Form 424 (SF-424), Application for Federal Assistance is located on
grants.gov and must be completed with information pertinent to the applicant.
2. General Information Sheet
Provide the information outlined below, but do not exceed 2 typewritten pages.
General Information Sheets that are longer than 2 pages in length will not be accepted and will
result in the application being disqualified.
a. Personal Data: Provide your full name, country of citizenship, current address,
permanent address, and home and work telephone numbers. If you can be reached by fax or email,
include that information. Optional B for statistical collection purposes only: indicate your
gender, and race or ethnicity.
b. Degree Sought: State your proposed field of study (oceanography, marine
biology, or maritime archaeology) and degree type you are seeking (e.g. M.S., M.A., Ph.D.).
Include the month and year you expect the degree to be awarded. State the name and location of
your institution.
c. Education: List the academic degrees you have received, or expect to receive
by the start of your proposed graduate studies for this program, including the date of receipt and
institution. Provide your graduate advisor’s name, address, telephone, fax number, and e-mail
address.
d. Academic Honors. List any academic honors that you have received.
e. Relevant Work Experience. List work experience related to your field of study.
You may include research and teaching assistantships and any other paid or
unpaid work.
f. Statement of Financial Need: In a concise paragraph, discuss how you plan to
fund your graduate level education and what the impact will be if you do not
receive this scholarship. Also, list the following in the order stated: estimated
amount needed for tuition and fees, all resources currently available to you to
cover your graduate studies (e.g., grants, student loans, scholarships, research
or teaching assistant positions, personal funds), the length of time these
resources will be available and if they include work requirements, other
resources for which you have applied and have received, as well as those for
which you have not received a response.
3. Statement of Intent
The Statement of Intent is a self-description of your academic research and career
goals, and how your proposed course of study or research will help you achieve these goals.
This is your opportunity to present yourself, your beliefs, and your aspirations. Include any
background information you believe is pertinent, and provide insight into why you have chosen
the goals you are pursuing. This statement should not be a research proposal or scientific
abstract. This statement will be used to evaluate you as an individual, not necessarily as a
scientist, and your motivation for applying for this scholarship. This statement should
demonstrate your organizational, analytical, and written communication skills. The statement of
intent should be typewritten, single-spaced on a blank sheet of paper, and should not exceed one
page in length. Statements longer than one page will not be accepted and will result in the
application being disqualified.
4. Institute Certification
A letter from the applicant=s institution certifying that the student is enrolled or has
accepted an offer to a graduate program must be submitted with the application. The letter
should consist of the following information on school letterhead and be signed by a school
official: Name and location of the academic institution, the school and department that you are
currently attending or plan to attend, and the month and year your studies will begin if you are
not currently enrolled. It is preferable that the institute certification described above be used.
However, some institutions will only provide a standardized institute certification, in which
cases they will be acceptable. If you have a graduate advisor, list his/her name, address,
telephone and fax numbers, and an e-mail address, if available in the Institute Certification
portion of your application. Current transcripts or letters of acceptance from the institution will
not be accepted in lieu of the Institute Certification. Failure to include the Institute Certification
specifically as indicated above will result in the application being disqualified.
5. Transcripts
Provide transcripts for all university/college level studies. Photocopied transcripts are
acceptable. Transcripts must be included with all other application materials. Those mailed
separately will not be accepted. Failure to include transcripts from all previous
university/college-level studies will result in the application being disqualified.
6. Three Letters of Recommendation
Each application must include three, and only three, signed letters of
recommendation from individuals who have knowledge of your academic record, research effort,
work and/or life experience. Relevant paid work, such as internships and volunteer efforts, is
applicable. If you have a sponsor or advisor in the program, one of these letters should be from
that individual. Letters of recommendation should be opened and uploaded for electronic
submission via http://grants.gov. If an individual writing a recommendation requests that the
applicant not open the letter of recommendation, the applicant should send all of the three letters
of recommendation together in one envelop to the address stated in IV. A above. Applications
without three, signed letters of recommendation or with more than three letters of
recommendation will result in the application being disqualified.
7. Declaration
Applicants must certify that all statements and information in their application are true
and correct by copying the following on a separate plain sheet of paper, signing it, and including
it in their application package:
I, the undersigned, declare, under penalty of perjury, that all statements and information in my
application are true and correct.
Executed on [insert date] _____________________________
Print or type Name __________________________________
Signature__________________________________________
Failure to include this statement, signed by the applicant, will result in the application being
disqualified.
B. Content and Form of Application:
The guidelines for preparation of LOIs and full proposals provided below are mandatory
(except where otherwise noted). Failure to adhere to these guidelines will result in LOIs and/or
full proposals being returned without review.
1. LOIs
(a) Prior to submitting a full proposal, PIs are strongly encouraged to submit a LOI for
each planned proposal. However, PIs who do not submit a LOI will not be precluded
from submitting a full proposal.
(b) The LOI must be no more than two pages in length, using a 12-point font and one
inch margins, and it must include the name(s) of the PI(s) and their home institution(s).
(c) The LOI must contain a brief description of the intended project.
(d) The LOI must include a brief budget which summarizes how resources will be
allocated [e.g., salaries, computing and communications, equipment (provide
justification), indirect charges, and travel]. Note that funding for secretarial support and
IT improvements at the PI's home institution is not generally available.
(e) Each LOI will be reviewed, following the criteria specified below in Section V.A. of
this notice, by members of the JHT Steering Committee, and/or other designated
reviewers, who will make their recommendations to the JHT Director and TPC/NHC
Director.
(f) All PIs will be notified whether a full proposal is encouraged or discouraged based on
the review of their LOI. Even though a full proposal may be discouraged, a PI will not
be precluded from submitting a full proposal. All PIs will receive a short synthesis of the
factors that led to the recommendation regarding their own reviewed LOI(s).
2. Full Proposals
(a) The proposal must include a title page signed by the PI(s) and the appropriate
representatives(s) of their home institution(s). Each PI and institutional representative
should be identified by full name, title, organization, telephone number, mailing address,
and e-mail address.
(b) A one-page abstract must be included and must contain a brief summary of the
proposed work to be completed. The abstract must appear on a separate page, headed
with the proposal title and the name(s) of the PI(s) and their home institution(s).
(c) All proposals must provide a Statement of Work that includes:
(c.1) The proposed duration of the project, from one to two years;
(c.2) A brief description of the project, with prior research results (including
references) to demonstrate sufficient maturity and potential for a successful
transition to operations at TPC/NHC and other operational forecast centers (e.g.,
CPHC, JTWC) and/or, if applicable, at a numerical weather prediction center;
(c.3) A proposed work plan for the project, including hardware and software needs,
the testing and evaluation approach, metric(s) for success, project deliverables, a
time line with key milestones, real-time operational data needed as input, and a
plan to port necessary codes to the operational environment of TPC/NHC and/or
NCEP Central Operations (NCO). An overview of the JHT and TPC/NHC
operational IT environments can be obtained from the JHT website:
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/jht/tpc_JHT_IT_structure_june06.pdf. For applicants
without Internet access, this information can be obtained by contacting: Dr. Jiann-
Gwo Jiing, Director, Joint Hurricane Testbed, Tropical Prediction Center, 11691
SW. 17th Street, Miami, FL 33165, phone (305) 229-4443, or via e-mail at
Jiann-Gwo.Jiing@noaa.gov. Final work plans for approved projects will be
reached by agreement between the PI and the JHT Director;
(c.4) A time line for delivering scientific and technical documentation and training
materials over the course of the project that are sufficient to enable testing and
evaluation of the proposed techniques. If the proposal is funded, researchers are
expected to coordinate with the JHT Director to formalize this time line;
(c.5) Schedule and needs for expected travel. PIs are strongly encouraged to plan
and budget during each year of the project to describe their work at the annual
Interdepartmental Hurricane Conference (IHC), sponsored by the Office of the
Federal Coordinator for Meteorological Services and Supporting Research.
Additionally, visits by PIs and/or their support staff to the TPC/NHC, and any
other operational center(s) as necessary, may be beneficial for training JHT staff
and the forecaster and technical point(s) of contact in preparation for project
testing and evaluation; and
(c.6) Estimates of JHT staff requirements in terms of on-site (or off- site) JHT
facilitator efforts, and estimated computational, communication, and/or display
requirements at the researcher's home institution and/or at JHT via remote access
and data transfer.
(d) All applicants must submit a budget that includes PI and scientific and technical
support staff salaries, JHT facility requirements, computing and communications
funding, equipment funding (provide justification), indirect charges, and travel. Note
that funding for secretarial support and IT improvements at the PI's home institution is
not generally available. Non-federal applicants must use Standard Form 424A, Budget
Information--Non-Construction Programs that is contained in the standard NOAA Grants
and Cooperative Agreement Application Package.
(e) Non-federal applicants must submit additional forms included in the standard NOAA
Grants and Cooperative Agreement Application Package (see section IV.A above).
(f) An abbreviated Curriculum Vita for the PI must be included. Reference lists should
be limited to all publications in the last three years with up to five other relevant papers.
(g) Current and pending Federal support: Each investigator must submit a list that
includes project title; supporting agency with grant number, investigator months, dollar
value and duration. Requested amounts should be listed for pending Federal support.
(h) Additional proposal requirements include:
(h.1) For applications submitted in hard copy, one signed original and two
additional hard copies of the complete proposal must be submitted
Submission of an electronic copy in PDF format of the proposal document via
the http://grants.gov/Apply website (abstract, Statement of Work, and budget) is
strongly encouraged to facilitate the review process.
(h.2) Each proposal must be dated and contain page numbers;
(h.3) Items 2b and 2c above must be contained within no more than ten pages,
using a 12-point font and one-inch margins.