2024 Effects of Sea Level Rise | NOAA NOS NCCOS 2024 2008163

Opportunity Information: Apply for NOAA NOS NCCOS 2024 2008163

The 2024 Effects of Sea Level Rise grant opportunity is a NOAA-led funding program focused on improving how coastal regions understand, plan for, and respond to rising sea levels. The central idea is that sea level rise is already creating measurable risks for coastal ecosystems, communities, and built infrastructure, and those risks are expected to grow over time. The opportunity highlights several ways sea level rise causes harm, including loss of land, shifts in habitat and ecosystem function, and greater exposure to storms and chronic flooding. It also points to physical processes that can amplify damage during coastal events, such as wave run-up, wave forces, wave-induced buoyancy impacts on structures, and erosion. While sea level rise is a global issue, the opportunity stresses that the real-world impacts are highly uneven from place to place, meaning local shoreline conditions and human decisions strongly shape outcomes.

A major theme of the program is addressing local and regional variability. The notice emphasizes that differences in shoreline geomorphology (how the coast is shaped and behaves), ecosystem type (wetlands, marshes, beaches, mangroves, estuaries, etc.), the level and pattern of development, and community responses (for example, beach nourishment projects, development setbacks, and other management actions) all influence how sea level rise translates into flooding, habitat loss, infrastructure exposure, and economic disruption. Because of that variability, the program is aimed at producing information and analyses that are relevant at scales that matter to decision-makers, rather than relying only on broad global averages. The goal is to improve practical knowledge about the likely extent of inundation, the types of impacts expected, and which mitigation and adaptation approaches may reduce damages and economic losses.

The opportunity is offered by the U.S. Department of Commerce through NOAA, under the National Ocean Service and the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS), and it is administered as a discretionary cooperative agreement. The program is commonly referred to as the ESLR Program (Effects of Sea Level Rise), and its intended output is decision-support information that can guide policy choices, land management decisions, and infrastructure design. In other words, the program is not just looking for sea level rise research in the abstract; it is looking for work that results in actionable, usable products that help coastal managers, planners, engineers, and communities make better choices under increasing sea levels and more frequent flooding conditions.

Another key point is that NOAA expects applicants to build on what already exists. The notice recognizes that many reports, datasets, and tools have already been developed to support coastal resilience, so projects should, when appropriate, leverage established information sources that the end-user community already uses. The intent is to avoid reinventing the wheel and to make new work compatible with current practices. Only after assessing existing resources should applicants propose entirely new outputs, including new tools or interactive applications. This emphasis suggests the program values projects that are well-integrated into real-world decision environments, align with user needs, and can be adopted quickly rather than remaining academic or disconnected from management workflows.

In terms of basic funding facts, the opportunity title is "2024 Effects of Sea Level Rise" (Funding Opportunity Number: NOAA NOS NCCOS 2024 2008163). The CFDA number listed is 11.478. The estimated maximum award amount (award ceiling) is $500,000, and NOAA anticipates making about six awards. The opportunity was created on September 21, 2023, with an original closing date of January 24, 2024. Eligibility is listed broadly as "Others," with the details provided in the full announcement under the section titled "Additional Information on Eligibility," indicating that applicants need to consult that section to confirm whether their organization type qualifies.

Overall, this grant opportunity is aimed at strengthening coastal resilience by funding applied, decision-relevant projects that improve understanding of sea level rise impacts and translate that understanding into practical guidance. Successful proposals are likely to be those that address specific coastal impact questions at meaningful geographic scales, incorporate the physical and ecological realities of different shorelines, account for human development and management choices, and produce outputs that directly support planning, adaptation, mitigation, and infrastructure decisions, ideally by extending and integrating with tools and information sources already in use by coastal practitioners.

• The Department of Commerce in the law, justice and legal services sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "2024 Effects of Sea Level Rise" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 11.478.
• This funding opportunity was created on Sep 21, 2023.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jan 24, 2024. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $500,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 6 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for NOAA NOS NCCOS 2024 2008163

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