NOAA’s FY 2027–2029 Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) invites proposals for oceanic and atmospheric research, including work connected to the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) partnership network. CESU projects are typically regional and collaborative, engaging host universities along with tribes, nonprofits, and other partners to address natural and cultural resource challenges. Applicants must follow NOAA’s submission/validation and registration requirements through Grants.gov and eRA Commons.

A description of NOAA Line and Staff Offices is found at https://www.noaa.gov/about/organization, and applicants may contact the Agency Contacts in Section VII. below for more information. If you submit the same application to more than one Line or Staff Office, mention this in your application and notify the relevant contacts in Section VII. so that NOAA may coordinate internally.

This notice also solicits proposals that are part of the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) program. CESU is a U.S. federal partnership network that connects agencies with universities, tribes, nonprofits, and other partners to address natural and cultural resource challenges. Each CESU is structured as a working collaborative with participation from numerous federal and nonfederal institutional partners. CESUs are based at host universities and focused on a particular biogeographic region of the country.

Submission Validation

When you submit an application to this competition you will receive notification of submission validation from Grants.gov and eRA Commons. Only validated applications are sent to NOAA to review. To ensure successful submission of an application, we strongly recommend that you submit a final and complete application at least two business days prior to the submission deadline.

In addition to the Grants.gov automated notification messages, once an electronic application is accepted in eRA Commons, you will receive an automated notification from eRA Commons that the completed application was received and that an application number will be assigned. If there are errors in the application, eRA Commons will send an automated email notification(s) of any errors or warnings identified by eRA Commons. You must resolve all eRA Commons errors prior to the application due date in order for the application to be processed.

You should save and print the proof of submission messages from both Grants.gov and eRA Commons. If you do not receive an acceptance message from both Grants.gov and eRA Commons, you should follow up with the eRA Helpdesk at 1-866-504-9552 and the agency contact listed in Section VII to confirm NOAA’s receipt of the complete submission. See Section IV(G) for detailed instructions on submission validation requirements.

Registration Requirements

NOTE: We strongly encourage all prospective applicants to begin the required registration as early as possible. Completing the required registration can take six weeks or longer. Submission due dates will not be extended because of registration delays. Submissions received after the due date will be considered late and will not be accepted. Applicant organizations and individuals must register for three different Federal systems prior to submitting an application through Grants.gov (SAM.gov, eRA Commons, and Grants.gov). Applicant organizations and individuals must first register with SAM.gov and obtain a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI). After you obtain your UEI, you can complete your Grants.gov and eRA Commons registrations concurrently. See Section IV(G) for detailed instructions on registration requirements. If you do not have access to the internet, please contact the Agency Contacts listed in this NOFO for submission instructions.