Chesapeake Bay Program Office Fiscal Year 2023 Request for Applications for: Technical Analysis and Programmatic Evaluation Support to the Chesapeake Bay Program Partnership | EPA R3 CBP 23 08

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1) What is this EPA funding opportunity for?

This Fiscal Year 2023 Request for Applications (RFA) from the EPA Chesapeake Bay Program Office is to fund one cooperative agreement that will provide technical analysis and programmatic evaluation support to the Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) partnership. The purpose is to deliver high-quality, practical, and cost-effective analytical and evaluation services that help the partnership track progress, interpret monitoring results, and make better decisions to restore and protect the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

2) How many awards does EPA expect to make under this RFA?

EPA anticipated making one award.

3) What is the maximum amount of funding available?

The maximum funding level (award ceiling) is $2,100,000.

4) What type of award is this?

This is a discretionary EPA funding opportunity offered through a cooperative agreement (CFDA 66.466).

5) What does it mean that the award is a cooperative agreement?

A cooperative agreement typically implies substantial federal involvement or collaboration during the project rather than a hands-off grant. In this opportunity, the recipient should expect coordination with EPA as part of carrying out the work.

6) Who is supposed to benefit from the work funded by this award?

The RFA is explicit that the work supported with these grant funds must benefit only the non-federal CBP partners (and, by extension, the broader public). While coordination with federal agencies can occur when necessary, the purpose and outcomes of any coordination must still be directed toward supporting non-federal partners rather than federal operations.

7) Can the awardee coordinate with federal agencies?

Yes. The selected recipient can coordinate with federal agencies when necessary, but the work and outcomes must remain directed toward supporting non-federal CBP partners, not federal operations.

8) What is the overall technical focus of the work?

The technical mission centers on expanding and accelerating implementation of nutrient and sediment load reduction practices and technologies across the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The recipient contributes primarily by supporting monitoring data collection, management, evaluation, analysis, interpretation, and dissemination related to water quality and living resources.

9) What kinds of data are included in the monitoring work?

The funded work spans monitoring data related to both water quality and living resources, covering tidal waters and watershed conditions.

10) What does “jurisdiction-based monitoring” mean in this RFA?

The RFA describes maintaining and improving the CBP partnership’s jurisdiction-based monitoring data network for tidal and watershed water quality and living resources. Based on the RFA text, this refers to monitoring data organized and supported across the jurisdictions participating in the CBP partnership, and used to understand trends and measure progress over time.

11) What are the main tasks the recipient is expected to perform?

The RFA emphasizes responsibilities such as: collecting, managing, evaluating, analyzing, interpreting, and disseminating monitoring data; maintaining and improving the CBP partnership’s monitoring data network; coordinating with a wide range of data providers; analyzing trends to support decision-making; helping partners reach consensus on what monitoring results mean; and integrating monitoring data with CBP modeling and decision-support tools.

12) What entities might provide data or coordinate on monitoring data under this work?

The RFA anticipates coordination with a wide range of data providers, including federal, state, regional, and local government entities, as well as non-governmental organizations.

13) How is decision-making supported through this grant?

The opportunity highlights supporting better decision-making across the watershed by analyzing monitoring data trends and helping partners reach consensus around what the monitoring results mean for restoration strategies.

14) How does this work connect to CBP modeling and decision-support tools?

The RFA stresses integrating monitoring data with CBP partnership modeling and decision-support infrastructure, including airshed, watershed, and estuarine models, along with other tools used to forecast outcomes and evaluate management scenarios.

15) What is the expected approach to long-term ecosystem understanding and accountability?

The recipient is expected to use sustained monitoring records to help partners interpret how the Bay and its watershed have responded in the past, how they are responding now, and how they may respond in the future to restoration actions and policy choices. The RFA also calls for improving acquisition and upkeep of datasets, strengthening analytical approaches, and expanding distribution of data products and information important for partner planning, reporting, and implementation.

16) Will the awardee set the technical priorities and direction for the work?

No. The RFA indicates the awardee will take programmatic direction from the CBP partnership governance structure and should be prepared to work in a multi-jurisdiction, consensus-driven partnership setting.

17) Which CBP groups provide guidance and priorities to the recipient?

Guidance and priorities will come through established CBP groups including the Water Quality Goal Implementation Team (GIT) and its workgroups, the Habitat GIT and its workgroups, the Fisheries GIT and its workgroups, the Scientific, Technical, Assessment and Reporting (STAR) Team and its workgroups, other CBP GITs, and the CBP Management Board.

18) What does it mean to work within a “multi-jurisdiction, consensus-driven partnership setting”?

In practical terms, the RFA indicates the recipient should be ready to respond to shared priorities, timelines, and technical standards established by non-federal partners and CBP coordinating bodies across multiple jurisdictions.

19) What is the intended outcome of the analytical and evaluation services?

The intended outcome is to help the CBP partnership track progress, interpret monitoring results, and make better restoration and protection decisions for the Chesapeake Bay watershed, using evidence from long-term and jurisdiction-based monitoring to understand trends, measure progress, and adjust management strategies over time.

20) When was the opportunity posted and what was the deadline?

The opportunity was posted on May 9, 2023. The original application deadline was June 23, 2023.

21) What is the assistance listing / CFDA number for this opportunity?

The RFA identifies the program as CFDA 66.466.

22) Who is eligible to apply?

Eligibility is listed broadly as "Others," with additional clarification expected in the full eligibility text of the announcement. The RFA notes that applicants should carefully confirm organizational eligibility requirements and any constraints described in the complete RFA package.

23) What should applicants pay special attention to regarding eligibility?

Because the eligibility category is broadly stated as "Others" and the RFA indicates additional clarification is expected in the full text, applicants should closely review the full eligibility section of the announcement to confirm whether their organization qualifies and whether any limits or conditions apply.

24) Is the work mainly about implementing on-the-ground practices, or about analysis and evaluation?

The RFA frames the technical mission as expanding and accelerating implementation of nutrient and sediment load reduction practices and technologies, but the recipient’s role is described primarily as providing technical analysis and programmatic evaluation support through monitoring data management, analysis, interpretation, dissemination, and integration with modeling and decision-support tools.

25) What kinds of deliverables are implied by the RFA?

While the RFA text does not list specific deliverables in the information provided, it implies outputs such as improved monitoring datasets and upkeep processes, strengthened analytical methods, data interpretations that support partner consensus, and expanded distribution of data products and information for partner planning, reporting, and implementation.

26) What capacity is this RFA trying to build within the CBP partnership?

The RFA is oriented toward building and enhancing the capacity of environmental professionals working within the CBP’s partnership-based and implementation-focused structure, emphasizing technically rigorous work that also supports real-world program management needs across multiple jurisdictions.