I. Background:

Each omnibus proposal to the National Sea Grant Office includes a request for Program Development funds. There is a maximum percentage that these funds can be of the total award, but they can be utilized at the director's discretion. Awards greater than $10,000 require approval from the NSGO and may involve peer review. Typical awards are $1-3,000, but may be up to $10,000 without peer review required. Awards are generally for small research projects and proof of concept with the intent of seeding an idea for later development into larger funding proposals. However, there are other credible needs for these types of funds and they can be used for equipment, extension, education, communications, travel, graduate student support, and workshops or conferences. PI salaries and indirect costs are not funded by Program Development awards. Decisions on Program Development awards will be made by the Maine Sea Grant management team made up of the Director, the Assistant Director and the Research Director.

II. Target Allocation by category:

These levels are general targets and are intended to provide guidance only.

Research - 50%

Extension / Education - 30%

Workshops / conferences - 10%

Other - 10%

III. Timing of decisions and distributions:

In order to ensure that the program has Program Development funds through out the year and is therefore able to respond to emergency issues rapidly, there needs to be a strategy for retaining some of the funds in the available pool. This proposed timeline will allow the program to solicit proposals and provide three distinct decision points and available funding for each 4-month period. This timeline may be waived in situations involving rapid response funds for an emergency situation.

• June 1 - 30% of total current year PD allocation

• October 1 - 30% of total current year PD allocation

• February 1 - 40% of total current year PD allocation (or remainder)

IV. Criteria to be considered in evaluating Program Development proposals:

A. Measurable impact to the State of Maine

B. Timeliness and urgency of the proposed activity

C. Potential to leverage other funds

D. Proof of concept for further development

E. Commitment from other partners

F. Fostering relationships with other partners

G. Innovation and relevance to emerging issues

H. Alignment with strategic and implementation plans