FY2014 Demonstration of a U.S. Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (Marine BON) | Apply Online

Opportunity Summary:

The FY2014 Demonstration of a U.S. Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (Marine BON) grant opportunity is a federal funding call aimed at jumpstarting a practical, nationwide approach to tracking marine biodiversity in a consistent and sustainable way. The core idea is to fund one or more coordinated demonstration projects that show how an operational Marine BON could work in real-world settings by building prototype observation networks in U.S. coastal waters, the Great Lakes, and the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Rather than focusing on a single species or a narrow research question, the opportunity is framed around building an integrated observing system that can be scaled and sustained over time, ultimately supporting national ocean management priorities.

A major emphasis of the opportunity is the broad definition of biodiversity and the need to observe it across multiple levels of biological organization. In this context, biodiversity includes genetic variation, species diversity, ecosystem and biome diversity, and functional diversity, including how different parts of ecosystems contribute to ecological processes. The opportunity is grounded in the growing scientific consensus that maintaining marine biodiversity is tightly linked to ecosystem resilience, long-term ocean and coastal health, and human well-being, especially as environmental conditions change globally. It also highlights that biodiversity status can function as a practical proxy for overall ecosystem condition and the capacity of marine systems to deliver services people rely on, such as fisheries production, coastal protection, and water quality.

The grant also explains why a Marine BON matters for management and decision making, not just for academic knowledge. The intended outcomes include better biosecurity against invasive species and marine pathogens, stronger predictive modeling capabilities, improved decision support for agencies and stakeholders, and more effective adaptive monitoring under Ecosystem Based Management approaches. The opportunity aligns with U.S. policy direction articulated in the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force recommendations, which emphasize protecting, maintaining, and restoring the health and biological diversity of ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes ecosystems. In other words, the Marine BON is presented as a tool that can connect scientific observing capacity to concrete management needs.

Historically, the opportunity builds on momentum from the Census of Marine Life, which concluded in 2010 and significantly expanded knowledge of marine biodiversity, while also underscoring gaps in systematic, sustained, and nationally coordinated observation. In response, an expert workshop convened in May 2010 under the Interagency Working Group on Ocean Partnerships produced a plan and recommendations for achieving an operational Marine BON. A later BioScience publication in 2013 further addressed feasibility. This FY2014 funding call is designed to move from planning and feasibility into an integrated demonstration phase that proves how an end-to-end biodiversity observing network can be implemented.

A defining requirement is the concept of an "end-to-end" Marine BON, meaning proposals should demonstrate integration of biodiversity observations and data across multiple dimensions. This includes scale of diversity (from genetics to whole ecosystems, and from microbes to large marine mammals), time (from near-instant measurements to long-term records spanning decades or longer), and space (from in situ observations in the water to broader satellite remote sensing). The emphasis on integration signals that the agencies are looking for systems-level prototypes that connect sampling, observing technologies, data management, and usable information products rather than isolated monitoring efforts.

The opportunity is issued on behalf of the National Oceanographic Partnership Program (NOPP) and led by NOAA with partner agencies including NASA, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The funding mechanism is a cooperative agreement, which typically implies substantial federal involvement or coordination during the project, reflecting the program's interest in building interoperable systems and partnerships rather than simply funding stand-alone research. Proposals that show strong, durable partnerships and a credible path to long-term sustainability receive special consideration, signaling that the agencies want the demonstration projects to be the foundation for enduring monitoring capacity.

Funding levels are substantial and structured to support multi-year development and operations. NOPP anticipated making one or more awards, depending on available funds, with annual amounts ranging from $500,000 to $2,000,000 for project periods of up to five years. There is no cost-sharing or matching requirement listed. The funding opportunity falls under CFDA 11.012, Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS), placing it within the broader U.S. framework for coordinated ocean observations.

Eligibility is broad and includes institutions of higher education, nonprofit organizations, state and local governments, Indian Tribal governments, commercial organizations, U.S. territories, and federal agencies that have statutory authority to accept such funding. Federal agencies seeking funds must identify the statutory authority that permits receipt of funds, and the announcement clarifies that the Economy Act is not an appropriate basis because the program is not procuring goods or services from applicants.

Administratively, this was a discretionary funding opportunity issued by the Department of Commerce (through NOAA). The opportunity number is NOAA NOS IOOS 2014 2003803. It was posted on September 24, 2013, with an application deadline of December 2, 2013, and an archive date of January 1, 2014. A listed point of contact for access issues with the full announcement is Regina Evans at U.S. IOOS in Silver Spring, Maryland.

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