<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><br class=""><div class="">
<div style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; border-collapse: separate; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; widows: 2; border-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none;"><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; border-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;"><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; border-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;"><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-family: Georgia;"><i class=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; font-variant: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; border-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;"><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div class=""><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.2em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; font-style: normal; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); orphans: auto; widows: auto;" class=""><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" class="">The NOAA RESTORE Act Science Program has released its next federal funding opportunity (FFO-2017), which is focused on living coastal and marine resources and their habitats (click here for <a href="http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=284289" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(5, 35, 168); text-decoration: none;" class="">full announcement</a>). This funding competition continues the Science Program’s commitment to producing timely and high-quality scientific findings and products to support the management and sustainability of the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem, including its fisheries.</span></p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.2em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; font-style: normal; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); orphans: auto; widows: auto;" class="">The funding competition has two priorities. A research priority directed at six specific areas of living coastal and marine resource research and a decision-support tool priority directed at improving the tools available for resource management.</p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.2em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; font-style: normal; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); orphans: auto; widows: auto;" class="">Applicants must demonstrate clear connections to relevant management and restoration entities that will use the results of their proposed work. They must also define the specific steps they will use to ensure the application of their findings or the decision-support tool they develop.</p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.2em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; font-style: normal; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); orphans: auto; widows: auto;" class="">The amount of funding available in this competition will be up to approximately $17 million and the program anticipates funding between five and ten projects under the research priority and five to ten projects under the decision-support tool priority. Projects may be from one to three years in duration.</p><p style="margin: 0px 0px 1.2em; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; font-style: normal; line-height: 1.5em; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, sans-serif; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); orphans: auto; widows: auto;" class=""><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" class="">Letters of intent are due by July 8, 2016 and the deadline for submitting a full application is September 27, 2016. Please see the <a href="http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=284289" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(5, 35, 168); text-decoration: none;" class="">full announcement</a> for complete instructions on how to submit a proposal. </span><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" class="">Additional information about FFO-2017 including <a href="https://restoreactscienceprogram.noaa.gov/funding/ffo-2017-faqs" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(5, 35, 168); text-decoration: none;" class="">frequently asked questions</a> can be found on the <a href="https://restoreactscienceprogram.noaa.gov/" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; color: rgb(5, 35, 168); text-decoration: none;" class="">program’s website</a>. </span></p><div class="apss-theme-4 apss-social-share clearfix" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; font-family: 'Open Sans', sans-serif; color: rgb(85, 85, 85); font-style: normal; orphans: auto; widows: auto;"><div class="apss-single-icon apss-facebook" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; outline: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"></div></div></div><div class=""><br class=""></div></div></span></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; border-collapse: separate; line-height: normal; border-spacing: 0px;"><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; border-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;"><div style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; border-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;"><span><img height="124" width="364" apple-inline="yes" id="CB90CCF8-D8F5-4151-B8C9-4514162D89B2" apple-width="yes" apple-height="yes" src="cid:2164AFF3-7C27-4A62-AC73-823042830BF8@whoi.edu" class=""></span>
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