Emphasizing Research Transitions in a Notice of Funding Opportunity

NOAA’s Office of Weather and Air Quality (OWAQ) supports a diverse portfolio of research and development projects nationwide through annual funding competitions. Since Fiscal Year (FY) 2019, OWAQ’s competitions have been announced and managed together in a single, omnibus Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). OWAQ’s NOFO emphasizes that funding selections are generally made with an ultimate goal of accelerating the transition of research into operations or other applications and fostering opportunities to maximize its impact on science and society. Thus, a “big-picture” approach to project planning, from the project’s commencement through transition activities beyond the end of the funding period, is crucial to the success of both funding applications and the research project itself. This presentation will discuss the importance of research transition planning during the funding application process and how it shapes OWAQ’s call for proposals. The intent is to provide context to why certain proposal components are required and to provide insight into how a NOFO is developed. Other considerations such as how application deadlines are determined and roles that potential end-users may play will also be discussed.