*Now Accepting Proposals*
STREAM Spotlight: Island Creek Oysters
STREAM Awards support short, innovative projects up to $9,999, including:
- Educational initiatives that connect classrooms and communities with coastal/marine science
- Small research projects aligned with MIT Sea Grant’s coastal and marine focus areas
- Seed funding for exploratory or innovative efforts in art, education, industry, outreach, or research
- Rapid response projects that advance areas of emerging interest or address a current challenge
- Student support to expand an independent or class project
STREAM Award projects should align with MIT Sea Grant’s coastal and marine focus areas and principles:
- Support one or more MIT Sea Grant goals/objectives outlined in the 2024-2027 Strategic Plan
- Align with Focus Area(s): Healthy Coastal Ecosystems; Environmental Literacy + Workforce Development; Resilient Communities + Economies; Sustainable Fisheries + Aquaculture
- Incorporate DEIJA principles (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Justice, and Accessibility)
- Cultivate partnerships by collaborating with or engaging a diversity of partners/communities
1. Project Narrative (2-5 pages)
Eligible projects will show innovation and relevance to the 2024-2027 MIT Sea Grant Strategic Plan. Include a 2-5 page Project Narrative (12-pt Times New Roman or equivalent, single-spaced, 1-inch margins) with the sections below. Any text over the 5-page limit will be removed and will not be shared with the reviewing STREAM Committee. Please refer to the full RFP for complete instructions:
- Title and Contact Information: Include the proposal title and the name, affiliation, email address, and phone number of the lead investigator/applicant. Provide your institutional UEI number, and indicate if your institution has received federal funding during the past 5 years. You must have a full SAM registration and Unique Entity Identifier UEI number (or have an active application pending) at the time of submission in order to be considered for this award.
- Project Start and End Dates: The project start and end dates must fall between May 1, 2025 and April 30, 2026. Please note the actual start and end dates may vary depending upon funding and processing timelines.
- Coastal- or Marine-Related Issue or Opportunity to be Addressed: Identify the coastal or marine-related problem, issue or hypothesis requiring this work. If relevant, describe how your project would explore the relationship between art and marine science. You must identify the project’s relevance to one or more MIT Sea Grant focus areas as detailed in the MIT Sea Grant Strategic Plan, including how these will be advanced by supporting the proposed work.
- Objectives: Provide your specific objectives in a numbered list format.
- Methods/Approach: Include a description of how you will achieve your objectives, including lesson plans, field trips, fieldwork, laboratory analyses, or theoretical
studies, and the approximate amount of time needed for these activities. If your proposal involves fieldwork, copies of all sampling licenses and permits will be required prior to the start of the project. - Outcomes/Benefits to MA Communities/Constituents: Describe the potential outcomes or impacts that can be seen and measured, and if the anticipated benefits of the project will have practical applications or if they will lead to new understanding, attitudinal or behavioral changes, economic improvements, increased policy understanding, etc.
- Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Justice, and Accessibility: Describe how the proposed work broadens the participation of individuals from underrepresented groups in STEM fields and how this work will have broader societal impacts on stakeholders from underrepresented or underserved communities.
- Engagement and Outreach: Proposals must include a plan for meaningful engagement with the identified communities or constituents. Outline the project’s outreach goals, methods, and how the work will impact or serve specific constituents.
- Please refer to the full RFP for complete instructions.
2. Personnel and CVs/Resumes
Include project personnel and CVs/resumes of the Principle Investigator/Student/Educator. Each resume/CV should be no more than two pages.
3. Budget and Justification
Applicants must budget for all costs of the project, including research, education, communications, and outreach activities, and include a written justification for each budget item. The budget must include all costs of the project, including matching funds. Please note:
- Matching Funds: Matching funds are funds and non-cash contributions provided by the applicant that support the funds being requested. STREAM funds may not be used for salary, but non-federal salaries may be used for matching funds. Please contact MIT Sea Grant’s Assistant Director, Administration Mary Newton Lima at
[email protected] for any questions you may have regarding the budget or matching funds. - Indirect Costs (IDC): IDC are costs that are not easily attributable to individual awards such as utilities (light, heat/cooling, power), internet, and data transmission and storage. You may apply for IDC as part of your budget, but your proposal may not be only IDC. If you wish to waive your organization’s IDC, verify that you have permission to do this with your organization, and include that in writing. If you do wish to include IDC in your proposal and your organization has a negotiated IDC rate to use in the budget, please include that rate and a copy of the agreement identifying the rate. If you do not have a negotiated rate then you can use the up to 15% standard rate that the federal government allows. Upload IDC-related documents on the narrative page of eSeagrant.
*Please review the full RFP for additional information and more detailed descriptions.
4. Data Management Plan
- Data Management Plan (DMP): If your project does not include data collection, enter a simple statement such as, “This proposal will not generate environmental data. Therefore, a Data Management Plan is not required as part of the proposal.”
- If your proposal does include data collection, you will need to create a DMP. The plan must conform to NOAA’s Data Sharing Directive for Grants, Cooperative Agreements, and Contracts. If you are unsure what is needed for a DMP please contact MIT Sea Grant’s Assistant Director, Administration Mary Newton Lima at [email protected], and she will be glad to help support you in preparing a DMP.
eSeaGrant Portal
Proposals will be submitted to MIT Sea Grant through our online portal, eSeaGrant. Please contact [email protected] to receive your password at least one business day prior to the submission deadline. We are happy to provide eSeaGrant tours and other assistance to applicants upon request.
Post-Award + Reporting
Award Type: STREAM Grants under this RFP will be cost-reimbursable (i.e. the awardee will receive payment after submitting receipts and invoices for approved, allowable cost items). If you have any questions or concerns about this process, please contact us ([email protected]) so that we can provide guidance and discuss workable methods to assist your organization.
Reporting: At the end of the project period, STREAM Grant recipients will be expected to participate in MIT Sea Grant’s annual reporting, including submitting a final report and identifying impacts and accomplishments. Details on report formats, impact statements, and metrics will be provided upon funding.
Here is an at-a-glance list of metrics MIT Sea Grant tracks and reports to the National Sea Grant Office. While your project does not have to incorporate all of these metrics, we encourage you to identify at least one metric associated with your project outcomes.
*Please review the full RFP for additional information and more detailed descriptions.
Informational Webinar
Thursday, October 10, 2024 from 12-1pm ET (Register)
Pre-Submittal Interest Form (Optional)
Dates
Deadline to request eSeagrant access: Monday, December 16, 2024 by 5pm ET
Deadline to submit full proposal: Tuesday, December 17, 2024 by 5pm ET
Funding
Grants up to $9,999 (50% match required)
Please contact us if you’d like to discuss in-kind/match options.
Eligibility
Open to a diversity of Massachusetts applicants, including P-12 educators, faculty and students from Massachusetts universities, individuals and artists working with museums/nonprofits. Students must apply with an eligible faculty member or educator but are encouraged to lead the proposal.
Contact
Email Mary Newton Lima (Research Coordinator) and Lily Keyes (Communications Specialist) at [email protected]
VISIT & CONTACT
12 Emily Street, NW98
Cambridge, MA 02139
[email protected]
(617) 253-7041
Accessibility
12 Emily Street, NW98
Cambridge, MA 02139
[email protected]
(617) 253-7041
Accessibility
MAILING ADDRESS
MIT Sea Grant College Program
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
77 Massachusetts Avenue, NW98-151
Cambridge, MA 02139
MIT Sea Grant College Program
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
77 Massachusetts Avenue, NW98-151
Cambridge, MA 02139
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