Fisheries and Offshore Wind Interactions RFP - 2024
Awards Pending
FUNDING OPPORTUNITY
The Northeast Sea Grant Consortium, in partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center is seeking proposals to improve understanding of fishing community interactions with offshore wind development in the U.S. Northeast from the New York Bight through the Gulf of Maine.
Through this Request for Proposals (RFP), the NESGC and NEFSC are continuing to advance a regional approach and seek to enhance existing and catalyze new human dimensions research in the Northeast that will:
Further understanding of the interactions between fisheries and offshore wind development, including connections to fishing community resilience and economies;
Build actionable science that bridges research, fishing community, and management needs;
Build capacity for ongoing collaborative, inter- and transdisciplinary human dimensions research.
The focus is on advancing needed social, cultural, historical, and economic research to inform communities, developers, and other decision-makers with an emphasis on research that is conducted “with and by” affected communities and not “on and for.” Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches from across the social sciences and humanities are encouraged.
RESEARCH AREAS
Proposals that address one or more of the topical research areas below are encouraged. However, proposals are not limited to the topical examples as long as the research addresses identified RFP goals. Topical research area examples include, but are not limited to:
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1.1 Apply collaborative and/or regional social, cultural, historical, and economic research approaches and methods (e.g., structured surveys, case studies, predictive models) to identify, characterize, and find solutions to fishing community needs, concerns, opportunities and/or priorities when considering all aspects of offshore wind development, including but not limited to site selection, site characterization/ monitoring, construction, operations and maintenance (O&M), and decommissioning.
1.2 Develop and test fisheries specific applications of theoretical approaches to engagement, public participation, and trust in the context of fisheries science and management and OWD interactions with fisheries and fishing communities.
1.3 Develop and test approaches to increase capacity of fishing communities to engage in the development of community benefits agreements, compensatory mitigation, and other related programs as they pertain to fishing communities, including approaches to monitor and evaluate effectiveness in the future.
1.4 Develop new approaches to multi-criteria design, layout, and operational optimization of offshore wind facilities that account for social and human factors, with consideration of adaptive approaches for co-location, including access to fishing grounds.
1.5 Collaboratively develop tools to assist fishing communities to integrate local needs (e.g., infrastructure, business expansion, workforce development, and community engagement) with offshore wind planning and development.
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2.1 Characterize the potential benefits (positive), effects (neutral), and burdens (negative) of OWD on fisheries and fishing communities.
2.2 Develop protocols to measure benefits of and impacts on food and energy production at multiple scales, e.g., direct and opportunity, market and non-market, social and cultural.
2.3 Advance understanding of theories of justice, power dynamics, social well-being as they pertain to OWD interactions with fisheries and fishing communities.
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3.1 Develop and test frameworks for long-term monitoring of socio-cultural and socioeconomic data collection to inform multiple management pathways (longitudinal data needs) related to OWD interactions with fisheries and fishing communities.
3.2 Develop protocols for and evaluate changes in response to OWD, including, but not limited to changes to fishery operations, shoreside support services, port activity, employment, social demographics, etc.
DURATION AND FUNDING
Approximately $1 million will be available to support projects during the funding period September 1, 2024 and ending no later than August 31, 2027.
Budget requests may not exceed $400,000 in federal funds throughout the duration of the project (up to three years). Proposals requesting lower levels of support are strongly encouraged and will receive full consideration.
A 25% non-federal match is required for all proposals.
CONTACT
If you have any questions regarding proposal preparation, budgets or submission, please contact a member of the NH Sea Grant staff listed below:
Steve Jones
Research Program Coordinator
Stephen.Jones@unh.edu
Lindsey Williams
Research and Extension Integration Lead
Lindsey.Williams@unh.edu
Katy Bland
Extension and Regional Coordination Lead
Katy@neracoos.org