Fiscal Year 2017 Chesapeake Bay-Watershed Education and Training Program-Capacity Building | NOAA NMFS NCBO 2017 2005170

Opportunity Information: Apply for NOAA NMFS NCBO 2017 2005170

The Fiscal Year 2017 Chesapeake Bay-Watershed Education and Training (B-WET) Program - Capacity Building opportunity is a competitive federal grant program run by the U.S. Department of Commerce through NOAA. Its purpose is to strengthen environmental education across the entire Chesapeake Bay watershed by helping organizations expand and improve Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences (MWEEs) for K-12 students. The program is designed to build the long-term ability of schools, districts, states, and partner organizations to deliver hands-on, locally relevant watershed learning that connects classroom instruction with field-based experiences tied to NOAA-related science and Chesapeake Bay environmental issues.

This particular funding announcement focuses specifically on capacity building rather than direct, standalone delivery of student programs. Projects are expected to advance environmental literacy goals tied to the Chesapeake Bay Agreement and NOAA's Education Strategic Plan by increasing the systems, partnerships, training, and supports that make MWEEs more widely implemented and sustainable. A central expectation is that funded work will help educators and institutions consistently provide high-quality, standards-aligned watershed learning that integrates outdoor investigations, in-class learning, and instruction grounded in relevant science content.

NOAA is soliciting proposals under two priority areas. The first is State or Multi-State K-12 Environmental Literacy Initiatives, aimed at advancing MWEE implementation at a broader, systemic scale. In practice, this can include efforts like statewide or regional coordination, developing shared tools and frameworks, expanding educator professional development systems, aligning MWEEs with curriculum standards, strengthening cross-sector partnerships, and building structures that help more schools adopt MWEEs reliably over time. The second priority area is MWEE Mini Grant Program Administration, which supports organizations that manage subaward or mini-grant programs that help schools implement pieces of MWEEs at the school level. This can include creating and administering application processes, providing technical assistance, monitoring and support for grantees, and helping schools overcome practical barriers to implementing field experiences and related classroom components.

A key detail in this opportunity is that FY 2017 used two separate Chesapeake B-WET funding opportunities because NOAA's priorities and the project types it wanted to support differed. This specific announcement is limited to capacity-building efforts for MWEEs, meaning it is not intended to fund direct support for systemic MWEE implementation activities and emerging MWEE projects that were covered elsewhere. Applicants therefore needed to frame proposals around building infrastructure, coordination, training, and grantmaking support mechanisms that expand MWEE access and quality, rather than proposing a single program that primarily serves students directly without broader capacity impacts.

Administratively, the award mechanism is a cooperative agreement, which generally implies a more substantial federal involvement than a standard grant, often including coordination, shared expectations, or ongoing engagement from NOAA staff during the project period. The opportunity is categorized as discretionary funding under CFDA 11.457 and falls within environment, natural resources, science and technology, and related research and development activity areas. The funding opportunity number is NOAA NMFS NCBO 2017 2005170. It was posted on February 3, 2017, with an original application deadline of April 6, 2017.

In terms of scale, NOAA anticipated making around six awards, with an award ceiling of $200,000. Eligibility is listed broadly as "Others" with additional clarification referenced in the full eligibility section of the announcement, which typically indicates that a range of organizations such as nonprofits, local or state entities, educational institutions, or other qualified partners may apply depending on the detailed requirements and geographic/service-area constraints tied to the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Overall, the opportunity is best understood as a strategic investment in the systems and partnerships that allow MWEEs to become more widespread, consistent, and effective across K-12 education in the Chesapeake Bay region.

• The Department of Commerce in the environment, natural resources, science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Fiscal Year 2017 Chesapeake Bay-Watershed Education and Training Program-Capacity Building" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 11.457.
• This funding opportunity was created on Feb 03, 2017.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Apr 06, 2017. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $200,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 6 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for NOAA NMFS NCBO 2017 2005170

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