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Current Research Competition

2023 Research Competition - Request for Proposals 

The University of Guam Sea Grant requests proposals to fund research in Guam, CNMI and the Freely Associated States for one-year projects. Projects should be directly relevant to the goals of the UOGSG Strategic Plan (2018-2023). Research projects within this region focused in these areas will be considered:

  1. Healthy coastal ecosystems
  2. Environmental literacy and workforce development
  3. Sustainable fisheries and aquaculture
  4. Resilient communities and economies.

An estimated $328,000 will be available to support up to 4 research projects over a two-year funding period. Researchers may request between $10,000 to $75,000 total in federal Sea Grant funds, not to exceed $38,000 per year. Successful proposals will have a start date of September 1, 2022 and an end date of no later than January 31, 2024. Researchers at institutions of higher education and organizations or agencies that conduct research in Guam, CNMI and the Freely Associated States are eligible to respond to this RFP. The research conducted must demonstrate the benefits it provides Guam.

Submit completed proposals to: research.seagrant@triton.uog.edu 

Full proposals due: Friday, July 8, 2021 by 5:00 p.m. (CHST, Local Guam time) Late and/or incomplete applications will not be considered.

Learn more about this RFP

 

Past Research Competitions

We welcome inquiries from potential applicants! Below, please see the frequently asked questions, and our replies, that can apply to a cross-section of applicants.

No. Applicants should identify the appropriate target audience that will deliver the outcomes they intend to obtain. Specifically, the judging criteria for this component is on the RFP’s page 7. Reviewers are asked to consider the following questions: Has the applicant identified a specific target end user and/or target audience? How well has the applicant justified targeting the specific end user and/or target audience? How appropriate is the applicant’s extension/outreach product in reaching the target audience? Will the results be useful to the identified users?

“Approach” is a basic overview of the project’s execution, while “Methodology” is most closely aligned with those that one would find in a scientific paper (protocols, data analysis). For methodology, each step or action that one plans to take should be written in the proposal.

Either is fine, just be consistent.

For the 2018-2019 fellowship competition, Sea Grant will be awarding two (2) fellowships due to a reduction in budgets.  Please note that reviewers could indicate that a proposal is worth funding, but that a projected budget is too high for a particular activity, and the amount awarded could be less then what was requested. Thus, having well-researched and thoughtfully justified expenditures are important.
A proposal should include realistic deliverables and timelines for the amount of funds requested.  It does not mean, for example, that one is required to have a completed and defended thesis as a final output (although, if that is truly a realistic output, then it would be “realistic” to include). Sea Grant wants to help fund active research, not necessarily the entire thesis endeavor, which for some students can take several years.
The RFP does not explicitly disqualify research that does not take place in Guam. That being said, an applicant should make a strong connection and justification between the proposed research site and the relevance to the community’s coastal users/user groups.  Outreach products and/or activities must also target such coastal users/groups.

In reading research RFPs, potential applicants may find that their projects do not appear to fit “perfectly” (at first glance) under the RFP’s purview. Therefore, it is incumbent upon the proposer to write a proposal in such a way that clarifies to reviewers why/how the project meets RFP objectives. People who regularly write applications develop that skill over time; proposals are not just great plans but also compelling and convincing writing! Additionally, sometimes proposals that do not get funded inform the RFP development in subsequent years, as they may demonstrate a need that the RFP developers did or could not originally envision.

If applicants find that they have researchable topics and activities that need support, they should consider applying. However, understand that grants are not “free” money nor a purely merit-based disbursement of funds. Acceptance and implementation of a grant incurs responsibility and accountability, not least of which means making progress on research, analysis, and conducting an extension and outreach component.
There is no preferred citation system as articulated in the RFP. It is more important to maintain consistency throughout one’s proposal.
According to the RFP, “Proposals should be single spaced with 1-inch margins, 12-point Times or Times New Roman font, and page numbers on the bottom right corner.”
If a relevant permit is not secured and/or finalized by the proposal submission date, the applicant should indicate in the proposal that the permit is in process and an anticipated date of acquisition. Additionally, reviewers may take this information into consideration. They might see a project as unrealistic if permit acquisition takes a protracted amount of time.
Applicants should not include indirect cost charges to their budgets.

Last updated: March 4, 2021


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