Application Process

• Eligibility

  The Gulf Research Program welcomes proposals from all types of U.S. organizations, excluding federal agencies, on behalf of qualified individuals. The applying organization will be referred to as the “applicant” hereafter. The individual who will leads the proposed project will be referred to as “project director” hereafter.
  Project directors usually initiate proposals that are officially submitted by their employing organizations (the applicant). When initiating a proposal, the project director typically is responsible for ensuring the proposal meets all the requirements outlined by the Gulf Research Program as well as any requirements set by their employing organization.
  The Gulf Research Program requires applicants to adhere to the following:

  • This funding opportunity is for new, distinct activities only. Proposals for activities that are already underway using other funds or that are seeking supplementary funds to continue an existing activity are not eligible. Proposed activities that are part of a broader, existing effort or “project” may be eligible if the proposal clearly demonstrates that the funding request is for new, distinct activities that would not otherwise occur.
  • Activities currently under consideration for funding from other sources are not eligible.
  • U.S. organizations (excluding federal agencies) that have a valid federal tax ID number are eligible to apply.

  The Gulf Research Program requires individuals named as project director or key personnel in an application to adhere to the following:

  • An individual may be proposed as project director in only one application. If an individual is proposed as project director in any application s/he may also be proposed as key personnel in up to two additional applications.
  • An individual not proposed as a project director in any application may be named as key personnel in up to three applications.
  • It is the responsibility of each individual being named as project director or key personnel in any application to ensure that s/he is not named in more than three total applications.

  Project Guidelines

  This is a broad call for projects that combine high-quality research and practice components to produce a stronger evidence-base for strategies and approaches that can enhance community resilience and well-being. Successful proposals will seek to support change by developing information, testing strategies, and providing evidence that communities can use to enhance their resilience to climate change, severe weather, and chronic impacts of environmental degradation in ways that also improve individual, group, and community well-being.
  There are a variety of approaches to achieving the aims of this RFA. The examples of topics and questions described in the Purpose section of this RFA are intended to stimulate idea development. They are not meant as rigid guidelines, and investigators are encouraged to think broadly about critical challenges and opportunities in the Gulf region and to submit innovative proposals that use appropriate methods for the proposed project.
  To be considered responsive to this RFA topic, proposals should involve the following:

  • Integrative teams: Because these grants seek to improve the science and practice of resilience, project teams should bring together researchers and practitioners. Teams should seek to integrate perspectives from diverse institutions, sectors, disciplines, and frames of reference. Interdisciplinary collaboration across the health, social, and natural sciences is encouraged. Project partners from outside of academia should participate throughout the project, not just in the inception and dissemination stages. For the purposes of this opportunity, practitioners can mean policy makers, community leaders and members, and others from the public, private, and non-profit sectors directly involved in implementation and action in the Gulf region.
  • Community involvement: Projects should involve community members and leaders who are directly affected by the problem of concern. This includes formal or informal community leaders from various sectors. The level of engagement will depend on the nature of the project and might range from community members informing or carrying out aspects of the research to community-based participatory research (i.e., an equitable partnership among community members, researchers, and other personnel in all aspects of the research process, including setting the research agenda, and in which all partners contribute expertise and share decision-making and ownership). Projects that involve communities and local leadership early in the project as initiators of the project are strongly encouraged and more likely to produce actionable information. Projects should seek to develop sustained capacity at the community level for enhancing resilience.
  • Actionable information: Research should yield information that is actionable in that it can be used immediately by the public, public agencies, educators, community groups, policymakers and other decision-makers and individuals to guide actions, plans, or strategies. Projects that do not include pathways for translation, application, implementation, and dissemination are not a good fit for this opportunity.
  • U.S. Gulf of Mexico region: Projects should include and directly benefit the residents of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico region, which includes the states of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas.
  • Scientifically valid research: Proposed projects must be driven by salient research questions to be pursued in accordance with principles of scientific research. Projects should use appropriate qualitative, quantitative, or mixed methods, tools, analyses, and approaches that will yield data and results suitable for publication in peer-reviewed journals and contribute to improvement of the science and practice of resilience.