CALFED Bay-Delta Program heading

2004 PSP Overview

Through the Authority, the Science Program invested in projects that are developing new knowledge about how water use and management activities interact with and affect key aquatic species and environmental processes across spatial and temporal scales. For details on the 2004 PSP topics and process please see our 2004 PSP Documents.

3.  Information about the Application Process

  1. Who May Apply

    Grants may be awarded to any public entity and nonprofit organizations formally incorporated and registered in accordance with State and federal regulations and guidelines. Public entities include (i.e., are not limited to)

    • local agencies,
    • public universities,
    • joint powers authorities,
    • State agencies,
    • tribes, and
    • federal agencies.

    Nonprofit organization means any nonprofit corporation as formed under and as defined pursuant to the California Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation Law (Division 2 [commencing with Section 5000] of Title 1 of the Corporations Code) and qualified under Section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. Eligible nonprofits include entities such as private universities.

    Principal investigators affiliated with any of these entities are welcome to apply. Multidisciplinary and multi-institutional teams must be represented by a lead principal investigator whose home institution is an eligible public entity or nonprofit organization and the primary grant recipient. Lead home institutions will be responsible for conducting open competitive bidding processes for any private subcontractors required to carry out the project; funding awards to teams will be subject to completion of subagreements between the primary grant recipient and collaborating entities.

    If you have any uncertainty regarding eligibility or funding aspects of your proposal, please call the helpline (see below).

  2. Funding

    1. Number and Type of Awards
      Up to 30 grants will be awarded.

    2. Available Funding
      Approximately $18-20 million are available to support proposals that address CALFED-wide and crossprogram science through this solicitation. These funds derive from a range of sources, including State of California Propositions 13, 204, and 50. Each fund source has different topical and administrative criteria, and because many of these categories are interrelated, applicants should focus on the research questions described in this solicitation and should not try to match a proposal to a specific fund source. The Science Program will take all proposals recommended for current funding and match them to appropriate sources as the final step in the selection process.

    3. Special Consideration for Collaborative, Multidisciplinary, Multi-Institutional Projects
      The Science Program has placed a high priority on catalyzing and supporting collaborative science efforts. Special consideration in funding will be given to high-quality, collaborative efforts. Proponents who wish to compete for these priority funds should submit the additional information regarding project management and integration across interpretive products described above in "Collaborative Proposals." This additional information will undergo a special review step, as outlined below in the section on proposal review in Attachment 2.

    4. Availability of Funds
      Projects are subject to the availability of funds, and selection of a project does not guarantee future funding from the Authority or other CALFED agencies. Additional efforts not included in the original proposal will require a new proposal for funds available through a subsequent competitive process. Proponents should be aware that award of grants may take up to 10 months after final approval by the Authority.

    5. Applicable Law for Grant Agreements
      All grant agreements funded with State bond funds are governed by California law. Applicants must be capable of entering into a grant agreement with the Authority to receive these State funds. In the event federal funds are available, the funds will be governed by a federal cooperative agreement with the U.S. Geological Survey. See Attachment 3.

    6. Timelines for Expenditure
      Projects may be multiyear projects, but the period of performance for any project should not exceed 3 years. Grantees cannot commence work until they have a fully executed grant agreement or cooperative agreement that has been signed by both the grantee and the funding agency.

    7. Limitations
      Proposals cannot use funds for, or replace existing funding sources for, ongoing programs, political advocacy, an applicant's litigation costs, or projects directly related to regulatory conditions or mitigation requirements.

  3. Submittal Requirements

    1. Electronic Submittal of Proposals
      Proposals to the 2004 Science Program PSP must be submitted electronically through the website (https://solicitation.calwater.ca.gov) provided for this service. Proposals will be accepted through this website until January 6, 2005. Hard copies of proposals will not be accepted. Applicants may be requested to submit additional materials throughout the proposal review and funding process.

  4. Helpline

    If you need personal assistance, please contact our helpline by e-mail at help@solicitation.calwater.ca.gov or by telephone/facsimile at 877-408-9310. Please leave a detailed message that includes your name, your phone number or an e-mail address where we can reach you, and your question or the problem you are experiencing, so that we can efficiently route your problem to the person most able to resolve it. If you are having a problem with a particular web page, please include the URL of that page along with the other information that appears at the bottom of that page.

    Between 9:00 AM and 4:30 PM Pacific Standard Time, we will strive to respond to your message within 30 minutes. Substantive inquiries may require extended research times. Help might be available at other times but is not guaranteed.

    1. Submittal Steps
      Your proposal will be considered for funding only if you have completed all four steps outlined below:

      1. Complete User Registration Online
        Prior to the submittal of a proposal, the individual responsible for submitting the proposal must complete a simple online registration process. Users may register starting September 15, 2004 on the website.

        As part of the registration process, users will choose a user ID and password, which will enable future database access (e.g., for proposal submittal). Registration will also facilitate communication between Authority staff and registered users. Registration does not obligate the registrant to submit a proposal, but applicants must be registered to submit their proposal.

      2. Complete Online Forms
        The following online forms must be completed before a proposal can be considered for funding. Detailed instructions for completing each form can be found on the forms themselves. Forms may be completed incrementally; you need not complete the process during a single session and may therefore provide information over multiple sessions, as needed.

        • Project Information Form. Provide key information and an executive summary for input into the CALFED proposal databases. In this form, prepare a concise, informative executive summary that is a stand alone description of the proposed project. These summaries will be posted on the Science Program web site immediately after this solicitation closes.
        • Budget Form. Provide detailed budget information by completing the Budget Form template for each task and subtask. The proposal budget must be commensurate with the broader goals of the effort described in the proposal as well as the individual tasks and subtasks presented in the Task Table by clearly presenting the expected benefit of the work and with the effort required to complete the work. Because funding may be awarded for only a portion of the proposal, the applicant should organize and indicate tasks and subtasks that may be funded separately.
        • Task Table. Prepare a Task Table for delineating the tasks identified in your project description. Each task must have a number, title, brief description of the task (detailed information should be provided in the project description), timeline, list of personnel providing services on each specific task, and list of anticipated deliverables (where appropriate). The Task Table will also be used to support the information provided in the Budget Form. For proposals involving multiple institutions (including subcontractors), the table must clearly state which institutions are performing which tasks and subtasks.
        • Personnel Form. Applicants must provide brief biographical sketches, title(s), and description of roles of the principal project participants by completing a Personnel Form. Qualifications must be no longer than five pages and should clearly identify the participants' previous and current qualifications (e.g., education, relevant experience) and contributions (e.g., completed projects, published reports on the same topic) consistent with their roles and responsibilities in the proposed project. Completion of this form includes referencing the use of any consultants, subcontractors and/or vendors. If a specific person has not yet been identified for a particular role, provide a description of the identified role(s) as well as the qualifications necessary to fill the(se) position(s) (e.g., Research Assistant 1, Research Assistant 2).
        • Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form. Provide information that will help those assigning reviewers to avoid conflicts of interest between applicants, coapplicants, subcontractors, and reviewers.

      3. Prepare, Upload, and Verify Proposal
        Proposals may be prepared using any word-processing software and must closely follow the instructions provided in Attachment 4 (Proposal Document Format Instructions) of this PSP. Proposal documents must be converted to Adobe PDF prior to uploading. Instructions for uploading are available on the upload form. Once the proposal document has been accepted into the Science Program proposal database, the registered user will be asked to verify the proposal by viewing it on the website and acknowledging that the document was submitted as intended by checking the "Proposal Complete" box.

      4. Fax Signature Page
        The signature page must be printed, signed, and faxed to 877-408-9310 by January 6, 2005.

  5. Confidentiality and Conflict of Interest

    Applicants should be aware that the titles and executive summaries of all abstracts will be available for viewing on the Science Program website (http://198.31.87.66/index.html) immediately after the solicitation has closed. After the Selection Panel's initial recommendation is made public, comments from all levels of the review process will also be posted on the website and distributed as part of the public comment process. After the Authority takes formal action on the Selection Panel's final funding recommendations, the complete text of all funded proposals will be posted on the Science Program website. By submitting a proposal, the applicant agrees to waive any right to confidentiality of the proposal6. For more information on confidentiality, please contact the PSP helpline.

    Both applicants and individuals who participate in reviews of submitted proposals are bound to State and federal conflict of interest laws. Any individual who has participated in planning or setting priorities for this PSP or who will participate in any part of the grant development and negotiation process on behalf of the public is ineligible to receive funds or personally benefit from funds awarded through this PSP. To help the Science Program manage potential conflicts, applicants should use the PSP Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form to fully disclose individuals who participated in writing or who will benefit from the project if funded. Individuals who have participated in development of this PSP should not submit proposals.7 Scientific reviewers and individuals participating in review panels are also subject to the same conflict of interest laws. Proposals may be reviewed and discussed by members of the public under public disclosure requirements. Applicants should also be aware that certain State and federal agencies may submit proposals that will compete for funding. Employees of State and federal agencies may participate in the review process as scientific/technical reviewers.

    For more information on Science Program policies on conflict of interest will be available on this website after October 1, 2004.

6 Although the Science Program will not post proposal documents for unfunded proposals on their website, all submitted proposals, whether funded or not, are considered public documents under California law and will be subject to public scrutiny under the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and the California Public Records Act. 7 Failure to comply with these laws, including business and financial disclosure provisions, will result in the proposal being rejected and/or any subsequent grant being declared void. Before submitting a proposal, applicants are urged to seek legal counsel regarding potential conflict of interest concerns that they may have and requirements for disclosure. Applicable California statutes include (i.e., are not limited to) Government Code Section 1090 and Public Contract Code Sections 10365.5, 10410, and 10411.