Collaborative Science, Technology, and Applied Research (CSTAR) Program | NOAA NWS NWSPO 2022 2006968

Opportunity Information: Apply for NOAA NWS NWSPO 2022 2006968

The Collaborative Science, Technology, and Applied Research (CSTAR) Program is a National Weather Service (NWS) research and development funding opportunity run through the NWS Office of Science and Technology Integration (OSTI) within the U.S. Department of Commerce. It is offered as a discretionary cooperative agreement, meaning the work is intended to be carried out with active engagement from the federal program side rather than as a purely hands-off grant. The overall purpose of CSTAR is to speed up and simplify the path from research results to real-world operational use inside the NWS, so that promising ideas in science and technology can be turned into improved forecasting tools, services, and decision support without getting stuck in the gap that often exists between academic research and day-to-day operations.

A central feature of the program is collaboration between operational forecasters and academic institutions. The program is structured to connect the practical needs and constraints of NWS operations with university expertise, including not only atmospheric and environmental sciences but also social and behavioral sciences. In practice, that means proposed projects are expected to be applied and operationally relevant, with a clear plan for how the research will be tested, evaluated, and transitioned into NWS operations and services. The program also emphasizes workforce and training benefits by engaging university researchers and students in applied problems that matter to the operational meteorological community, helping develop experience that translates directly into public-sector weather service work.

For this particular announcement, the topical focus is on improving weather, water, and climate services for historically underserved and socially vulnerable communities. Proposals should therefore be aligned with equity-centered outcomes, such as making forecasts, warnings, communication methods, and service delivery more effective and accessible for populations that have been disproportionately impacted by hazards or have faced barriers to receiving or acting on weather information. Because the solicitation explicitly includes social and behavioral sciences, competitive projects may address not only technical forecast improvements but also communication, risk perception, warning response, and service design issues that influence real protective action and community resilience.

Funding under the announcement is organized as a single grant competition with an estimated total value of about $800,000, supporting roughly five to seven new projects. The expected number of awards is listed as seven, and the maximum award amount (award ceiling) is $150,000 per project. The opportunity is identified as NOAA NWS NWSPO 2022 2006968, with assistance listing CFDA 11.468, and it was created on September 7, 2021 with an original closing date of November 19, 2021. Eligibility is noted broadly as "Others," with additional eligibility specifics referenced in the full announcement text. Overall, CSTAR is positioned as a targeted, operations-oriented applied research program designed to produce practical, adoptable improvements to NWS services, with this cycle prioritizing benefits to communities that have historically been underserved and are at higher social vulnerability to weather, water, and climate risks.

• The Department of Commerce in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Collaborative Science, Technology, and Applied Research (CSTAR) Program" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 11.468.
• This funding opportunity was created on Sep 07, 2021.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Nov 19, 2021. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $150,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 7 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for NOAA NWS NWSPO 2022 2006968

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