Cooperative Institute in the Northern Gulf of America (CINGA)
Grant Opportunity Analysis
NOAA’s Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research is seeking applications to establish the Cooperative Institute in the Northern Gulf of America, a cooperative agreement supporting research and development in NOAA priority areas. The lead institution for an eligible consortium of Gulf-region universities, colleges, and research institutions must submit one overarching application that sets out high-level research themes rather than detailed projects, with later non-competitive project proposals expected under the award. The institute’s themes include technology-based solutions, coastal hazards, ecosystem management, and data management systems, and the competition emphasizes relevance, technical merit, applicant qualifications, costs, and education and outreach; applicants must also have SAM.gov, Grants.gov, and eRA Commons registrations in place. Proposals are due February 2, 2026, the maximum award ceiling is $100,000,000, and questions may be directed to cipo.oar@noaa.gov.
Eligible Applicants
The following entities are eligible to submit to this opportunity: Eligibility is limited to non-Federal public and private non-profit universities, colleges and research institutions that offer accredited graduate level degree-granting programs in NOAA-related sciences and that are within the Gulf of America region. Only the lead institution in the consortium applying for the award (and where the CI will be established) must satisfy the location requirement. Federal agencies and their personnel are not permitted to receive federal funding under this competition; however, federal scientists and other employees can serve as uncompensated partners or co-Principal Investigators on subsequent T3 projects proposals. Federal labs and offices can also make available specialized expertise, facilities or equipment to applicants but cannot be compensated under this competition for their use. To be eligible to apply or receive an award, applicants must complete and maintain three registrations; SAM.gov, Grants.gov, and eRA Commons. For each, the complete registration process can take 4 to 6 weeks, so applicants must begin this activity as soon as possible and well before the proposal due date. For more information on how to meet these registration and application submission requirements without errors, we advise all to carefully review relevant Applicant and Grantee Training modules: https://www.commerce.gov/ocio/programs/gems/applicant-and-grantee-training. Additionally, we advise that all carefully read ‘Additional Application Package Forms’ within the ‘Full Proposal Required Elements’ section below.