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FAQs: Develop Climate Change Adaptation Analysis (F16AS00151)

What is the title of this grant opportunity?

The opportunity is titled "Develop Climate Change Adaptation Analysis."

What is the Funding Opportunity Number?

The Funding Opportunity Number is F16AS00151.

Which agency offered this grant?

This was a discretionary grant offered by the U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (DOI-FWS).

What type of funding instrument was used?

The opportunity used a grant funding instrument.

How many awards were expected?

One award was expected (a single project).

What was the maximum award amount?

The funding ceiling was $50,000.

What was the overall purpose of the project?

The project was intended to take a close, practical look at how climate change adaptation decisions are currently made across major conservation organizations in Hawaii, and to produce clear recommendations to improve those decisions and actions so implementation can be faster and more coordinated.

What did the grant mean by analyzing the "operating environment" for climate adaptation?

The analysis was expected to examine the real-world conditions that shape adaptation work, including existing policies, legal or administrative mandates, institutional relationships, and day-to-day practices that influence what conservation entities can do, what they prioritize, and how they coordinate.

Was the project supposed to be descriptive, or was it expected to recommend changes?

It was expected to do more than describe the landscape. The intent was to identify where coordination breaks down, where mandates or procedures create barriers, where responsibilities overlap or remain unclear, and where better alignment could lead to more effective adaptation actions on the ground, then translate that into actionable recommendations.

Who was expected to use the results of the analysis?

The work was designed to directly support the Pacific Islands Climate Change Cooperative (PICCC) and its member organizations, producing recommendations that PICCC Steering Committee members could realistically use to improve planning, decision-making, and implementation.

How does this opportunity relate to the Hawaii Terrestrial Adaptation Initiative (HITAI)?

The project was intended to help PICCC members implement climate change adaptation more efficiently in ways that advance the goals of the Hawaii Terrestrial Adaptation Initiative (HITAI).

Which organizations were explicitly included within the scope of the analysis?

The opportunity explicitly identified these primary conservation entities as in scope: the State of Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources; The Nature Conservancy of Hawaii; Kamehameha Schools; the Office of Hawaiian Affairs; the National Park Service; the Trust for Public Lands; the Hawaiian Islands Land Trust; and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Were applicants expected to engage those organizations directly (for example, interviews or workshops)?

Yes. Because these organizations are members of the PICCC Steering Committee, applicants were told to treat them as willing participants. This signaled the project could reasonably involve interviews, document review, workshops, or other collaborative methods without needing to overcome basic access barriers.

What kinds of issues or barriers was the project expected to diagnose?

The analysis was expected to identify barriers and enabling conditions that affect adaptation decisions and implementation, including items such as policy constraints, institutional incentives, coordination structures, data-sharing norms, planning timelines, funding pathways, and similar decision and implementation factors.

What kinds of deliverables were implied by the opportunity description?

Based on the description, the core deliverable was a thorough, practical analysis of adaptation decision-making across the named organizations, along with specific, prioritized, and actionable recommendations for improving coordination and speeding implementation in Hawaii's conservation context.

What activity areas did this opportunity cover?

The opportunity covered activity areas including environment, natural resources, science and technology, and research and development.

What CFDA number was associated with this opportunity?

The CFDA number listed for this opportunity was 15.669.

Who was eligible to apply?

The opportunity was open to an unrestricted pool of eligible applicants, meaning it was broadly open to different entity types, subject to any additional eligibility clarifications that may have been included in the full notice.

When was the opportunity posted and when did it close?

It was posted (and created) on March 31, 2016, and it closed on June 1, 2016.

What geographic focus did the project target?

The analysis was tailored to Hawaii's conservation context and focused on coordination and adaptation decision-making across major conservation entities operating in Hawaii.

What would a competitive proposal have been expected to include?

A competitive proposal would have been expected to present a credible plan to map the current adaptation decision system across the listed organizations, diagnose barriers and enabling conditions, and convert findings into specific, prioritized recommendations that support faster, more coordinated climate adaptation planning and action.

What was the underlying long-term goal of funding this work?

The underlying goal was to strengthen how conservation partners in Hawaii jointly plan and act under climate change, reduce friction between institutions, and improve the effectiveness of adaptation work across jurisdictions and land ownerships.