Oregon Sea Grant

Competitive, peer-reviewed grants for ocean and coastal research

Oregon Sea Grant offers NOAA-funded research grants on a two-year cycle, through a process that begins with a call for preliminary proposals. Our next biennial call for proposals will come early in 2013.

To be informed when a new call is issued, please subscribe to our grant announcement e-mail list.

• For questions about our funding priorities and policies, contact Sea Grant Director Stephen Brandt
• For questions related to scientific aspects of your proposal, contact Sarah Kolesar
• For questions about the application process and submission system, contact Eric Dickey

Biennial proposal process

In the fall of even-numbered years, we issue a call for preproposals due the following February. Available funding is set by the NOAA Sea Grant Program based on Congressional appropriations. Grants are available only to researchers affiliated with institutions of higher education.

After reviewing pre-proposals to ensure that they match the priorities and goals set forth in our Strategic Plan, we issue invitations for full proposals. Following rigorous peer review and review by our citizen Advisory Board, we notify successful grant recipients in September, and projects begin early the following year*.

Proposal submission and review schedule

• Preliminary proposals due: Early February of odd-numbered years (2013).
• Invitations for full proposals: Early March
• Full proposals due: mid-May
• Peer review period: mid-May through July
• Reviews to investigators: Early August
• Investigator responses to reviews due: One week later.
• Notice of funding decisions: Mid-September
• Successful projects begin: Early February, even-numbered year (2014).

*Some projects are scheduled to start in the second year of the two-year funding cycle.

What we are looking for

An ideal Sea Grant proposal would apply the best science and an innovative approach to a well-defined coastal or marine problem or opportunity that is important to Oregon, the Pacific Northwest Region, and the nation. The two primary criteria for evaluating proposals are 1) scientific excellence and 2) societal relevance. All proposals must state how they match up with the Oregon Sea Grant Strategic Plan.

Successful proposals are also likely to:

• show significant progress within two years
• focus on prediction (rather than explanation)
• focus on outcomes and clearly show how and to whom the work would make a difference
• include meaningful collaboration with industry, agencies, communities, or other stakeholders
• have substantive evidence of co-funding or co-support from interested stakeholders and partners
• request less than $90,000 per year and provide convincing justification for the funds
• involve regional or multi-institutional collaboration, especially that which involves one or more Sea Grant programs from other states
• include support for students
• explore potential long-term impacts to society and how the research may benefit stakeholders

Who may apply

Preliminary proposals may be submitted by  faculty of any public or private institution of higher education. While non-academic researchers may be included among the investigators, awards will be made only through colleges and universities.

We encourage the involvement of collaborators and researchers who are not university faculty, but the project’s principal investigator must be a faculty member.

Researchers may submit more than one preliminary proposal, but it is unlikely that more than one full proposal will be requested from any individual investigator.

Read more: Preparing and submitting your proposal