Research Funding
Virginia Sea Grant offers a range of funding opportunities for researchers, graduate students, and undergraduate students. We support sound scientific research that is consistent with Virginia Sea Grant’s Strategic Plan to benefit the Commonwealth.
National Research Competitions
Since 1966, Sea Grant has invested in the development of sustainable marine and Great Lakes resources to help coastal communities maintain a safe and sustainable local seafood supply. The National Sea Grant College Program continues to invest in research aimed toward protecting these resources through funding opportunities offered at the national level.
Current Opportunities
No Opportunities are Currently Available
Application Deadline: September 5, 2025
Notice of Funding Opportunity Number: NOAA-OAR-CIPO-2025-31269
Project Description
The NOAA Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) in collaboration with the National Marine Fisheries Service invites applications for the establishment of a Cooperative Institute Fostering Aquaculture Research and Marketing (CIFARM) that will: directly support NOAA’s Research and Development Vision Areas by advancing key goals in aquaculture, fostering innovation, promoting environmental stewardship, and building strong coastal economies; support the robust development of aquaculture in the United States to address the seafood import deficit and benefit the economy; and help the agency fulfill the tenets of the NOAA Aquaculture Strategic Plan. This Cooperative Institute (CI) will facilitate a long-term collaborative relationship between NOAA and the recipient within which broad-based research, technology innovation, and education and outreach capabilities that focus on NOAA’s priorities for the US aquaculture sector can be developed and sustained. The CI may consist of one or more research institutions with expertise and capabilities in the NOAA priority areas that contribute to the areas of research described as research themes later in this announcement.
Applicants to this Notice of Funding Opportunity will submit one overarching application that seeks to establish the CIFARM at an eligible institution or group of institutions. This application should speak to high level research themes (See I.B.) that future projects could fall under, but should not include detailed projects at this time. This overarching application will be identified as a T1 award.
Following the selection of the CI host institution, the awardee will then be requested to submit an additional application for approximately $9,000,000 detailing the proposed projects that fall under the research themes. Not every applicant will be asked to submit this second application, only the institution recommended for funding. Once awarded, this second application will be identified as a T3. The host institution will continue to submit T3 detailed project applications at various funding levels throughout the life of the five year award.
All projects must take place within the United States or territories or their respective waterways.
Applicants must complete and maintain three registrations to be eligible to apply for or receive an award. These registrations include SAM.gov, Grants.gov, and eRA Commons. All registrations must be completed prior to the application being submitted. The complete registration process for all three systems can take 4 to 6 weeks, so applicants should begin this activity as soon as possible. If an eligible applicant does not have access to the internet, please contact the Agency Contacts listed in Section VII for submission instructions. NOAA has created a website to aid applicants in understanding Notices of Funding Opportunities (NOFOs), the application process, and how to properly format application packages to eRA, linked here.
Prior to registering with eRA Commons, applicant organizations must first obtain a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) from SAM.gov, if needed (refer to Section IV. Applications and Submission Information, Section C). Organizations can register with eRA Commons in tandem with completing their full SAM and Grants.gov registrations; however, all registrations must be in place by time of application submission. eRA Commons requires organizations to identify at least one Signing Official (SO) and at least one Program Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) account in order to submit an application.
For questions regarding this announcement contact the Cooperative Institutes Administrative Office (CIAO), OAR, NOAA at cipo.oar@noaa.gov, or Mark Rath at (301) 734-1181.
Regional Research Competitions
To address broader regional priorities, Virginia Sea Grant periodically partners with other Sea Grant programs throughout the mid-Atlantic region to bring together innovative research teams with high levels of integration, those who demonstrate synergistic benefits, and mechanisms for transferring knowledge to end-users.
No Opportunities are Currently Available
Notice of Intent Deadline: January 31, 2024, by 11:59pm ET.
Application Deadline: March 27, 2024, by 11:59pm ET.
Project Description
Subject to the availability of funding in fiscal years 2024 and 2025, Sea Grant anticipates approximately $16,000,000 will be available to support innovative, transformational research to application (R2A) projects that will address the prevention and/or removal of marine debris, with award periods of three years. “Research to application” or R2A refers to research and development projects that transition into tangible, scalable outcomes and outputs. Examples include (but are not limited to) new prototypes, products, processes, or tools.
Proposals may address (but are not limited to) innovative or non-proven interception and/or removal technologies (i.e. prototype devices that require additional research and development prior to deployment, and/or need to be tested in new environments), reusable systems, microplastics, and/or nanoplastics. Successful proposals will build upon and extend existing knowledge and efforts related to marine debris; support broad, innovative research to address critical gaps with respect to marine debris; make that information available to communities and stakeholders; include Sea Grant education and extension professionals, community representatives, government, academic, non-governmental, tribal, and industry partners, as appropriate; and proactively incorporate principles of diversity, equity, inclusion, justice, and accessibility at every level of the work. Proposals must include funding for Sea Grant education and/or extension personnel as collaborators. Community, government, academic, non-government, and industry stakeholder participation/involvement in projects is strongly encouraged. Applications DO NOT require non-federal match. However, applicants are strongly encouraged to combine NOAA federal funding with formal matching contributions and informal leverage from a broad range of sources in the public and private sectors. To this end, applicants should note that cost sharing and leverage of other funds is an element considered in the evaluation criteria.
Applicants and awardees from the FY22/23 National Sea Grant Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) Marine Debris Challenge Competition are eligible to apply for these funds. Current awardees may submit an application outlining how additional funds would advance their original project. These applicants should focus on scaling and operationalizing their original technology or method rather than additional research. NOAA also encourages new applicants or previous applicants with new project ideas to apply.
Fully integrated teams of collaborators noted above must submit proposals with a Sea Grant program (Sea Grant Colleges, Institutions, or Coherent Area Programs) as a partner. A Sea Grant program may participate in more than one proposal. Collaborations among Sea Grant programs are encouraged, as appropriate. Please note that it is not a requirement that investigators, including the PI, are part of a Sea Grant program. Contact information for each program can be found at https://seagrant.noaa.gov/About. All 34 Sea Grant programs are eligible to serve as partners and to submit applications. If you need further assistance in identifying a program to partner with please contact the National Sea Grant Office via email at sg.grants@noaa.gov
Eligibility:
This opportunity is open to any person or group within the United States or its territories, as well as tribal nations within those geographies.
Applicants must submit proposals in partnership with a relevant Sea Grant program. Please note that it is not a requirement that investigators, including the PI, are part of a Sea Grant program. Contact information for Sea Grant programs can be found at: https://seagrant.noaa.gov/About. If you need further assistance in identifying a program to partner with, please contact one of the Sea Grant Marine Debris Team listed below in Section VII. Agency Contacts.
Federal agencies and their personnel are not permitted to receive federal funding under this competition; however, federal scientists and other employees can serve as uncompensated partners or co-Principal Investigators on applications. Federal labs and offices can also make available specialized expertise, facilities, or equipment to applicants but cannot be compensated under this competition for their use.
Funding Availability:
Subject to the availability of funding, this announcement describes how eligible applicants should apply for the National Sea Grant BIL Marine Debris Challenge Competition. Sea Grant anticipates having approximately $16,000,000 to fund approximately 5-12 projects of up to three years’ duration. We expect the average project size will be between $1,000,000 and $2,000,000; however, applications may request up to $3,000,000 in federal funds addressing the program priorities.
Questions:
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Program Development Awards
One of the most valuable aspects of a Sea Grant program is its capacity to bring university, governmental, or private resources to bear upon various emerging problems or opportunities. Program Development funds are provided by Virginia Sea Grant to achieve four primary goals: support high-impact students, cultivate innovation through collaborative proof-of-concept projects, nurture strategic initiatives, and to examine pressing or emerging problems. Proposals to convene multi-institutional or partnership-focused meetings that explore opportunities for collaboration, help advance integration across partners, or address pressing or emerging needs are encouraged.
For more information, contact VASG Associate Director Scott Sandridge at sasandridge@vaseagrant.org or 804-684-7251.
Additional Support
Virginia Sea Grant will no longer fund external requests to sponsor conferences or support participants at conferences. This policy change results from increased organizational requests seeking financial support that exceed our available resources. Instead, our emphasis will be on providing our fellows with the professional development opportunities that they require to be successful and on meeting emerging strategic needs to benefit the Commonwealth.
If your proposal includes a communications component involving the Virginia Sea Grant Communications Center, please include this in your budget. The Center offers services like science writing, copy editing, photography, videography, drone footage, graphic design, web design, and web hosting. For more information, contact Jay Clark, assistant director for communications.
