Current Funding Opportunities

Advancing Technologies and Methods to Improve Marine Mammal Stock Assessments and Mitigate Impacts

1. Purpose

The Marine Mammal Commission invites proposals that develop or apply technologies, tools, analytical methods, and community-based approaches that contribute to:

1. Understanding of the status of marine mammal stocks; and/or
2. Mitigation or better characterization of human-caused impacts.

2. Background & Rationale

The mission of the Marine Mammal Commission is to further the goals of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), 16 U.S.C. § 1361 et seq., which include restoring and maintaining marine mammal populations as functioning elements of healthy marine ecosystems. Section 117 mandates science-based stock assessments that rely on estimates of minimum population size (N_min), human-caused mortality and serious injury (M/SI), and certain population parameters. Many stocks are inadequately characterized; emerging technologies and analytical approaches, such as satellite and UAS platforms, environmental DNA, and AI-based image or sound processing, as well as community-based science, offer opportunities to improve stock assessment and threat mitigation.

The Commission’s 2025 Annual Meeting highlighted three interconnected priorities for advancing technologies and methods to improve marine mammal stock assessments: 1) data collection, 2) data integration and analysis, and 3) application of new tools and technologies to address assessment and conservation challenges. The Commission is seeking project proposals that advance these priorities and provide clear pathways to better understand population status or to reduce threats. Proposals for projects that demonstrate measurable conservation benefits are especially welcome.

3. Priority Topic Areas

Applicants may propose projects under one or both of the following topic areas focused on the development and application of new technologies and approaches to improve understanding of the status of marine mammal stocks and to mitigate or better characterize stressors:

A. Improving Stock Assessments

Projects should improve estimation of key elements of marine mammal stock assessments. Approaches may include the development of new technologies, innovative applications of existing methods, new analytical approaches, or community-based science.

B. Mitigating Stressors

Projects should either (a) develop, adapt, or apply tools, methods, or practices that reduce human-caused mortality and serious injury, or (b) support the development of forecasting tools to anticipate and manage conservation challenges associated with environmental change, human activities, or the combined effects of both.  Proposals should demonstrate potential for measurable individual and population-level benefits and have clear conservation value. Project products should be designed for integration with marine mammal management mechanisms, including but not limited to stock assessments, take reduction plans, ESA consultations, or implementation of risk-reduction measures.

Eligibility

Eligible applicants include:

1. U.S.-based organizations and individuals, including academic institutions, non-profit organizations, for-profit entities, Tribal organizations, Alaska Native Organizations and co-management bodies, and community groups;
2. Federal agencies may participate as collaborators but are not eligible to receive funds directly;
3. Non-U.S. individuals and organizations may apply if they can demonstrate that proposed projects have clear and substantial relevance to U.S. marine mammal stocks.

Proposal Requirements and Submission Process

Requirements

Information on pre-proposal and full proposal requirements is available on the proposal requirements page. Please review and follow the information carefully.

Submission Process

Pre-proposals can only be submitted using the following link:

https://mmc.app.box.com/f/94c3dee5ec8849b98f4ad6ec998fe19e

Pre-proposals submitted after the deadline, do not meet the requirements, or are submitted via email, will not be evaluated. Applicants invited to submit a full proposal will receive a separate link in their invitation.

Proposal Evaluation

Pre-proposals will be evaluated based on relevance to the current funding opportunity.

Full proposals will be evaluated with respect to: the importance or significance of the type of project proposed,¹ its relevance to the current funding opportunity, priority topic areas, and the Commission’s mission and goals,² the technical and resource adequacy of the proposal,³ and the likelihood that the project will achieve its stated objectives or outcomes. The project timeline and budget will be evaluated to ensure milestones are realistic for meeting project objectives and costs are reasonable for the work being proposed. Review and selection of applications will be based on a detailed evaluation of these criteria and recommendations for funding.  Awards are subject to the availability of funds.

Potential applicants may contact Dee Allen, Scientific Program Officer by e-mail (RPO@mmc.gov) or telephone (301-504-0087) with any questions about pre-proposal requirements, the evaluation process, out-of-cycle funding, or suitability of a topic for Commission funding. The Commission will assign reviewers for invited full proposals based on their expertise and assurance that they have no conflict of interest with the proposed activities. The Commission will maintain the confidentiality of all proposals.

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¹For example, would such a project significantly advance critical scientific understanding, contribute to the development of an innovative method or technology, lead to groundbreaking policy ideas, or catalyze critical thinking through a meeting, workshop or symposium?

²Mission: Provide independent, science-based oversight of domestic and international policies and actions, thereby promoting effective implementation of the MMPA and its goals of protecting and conserving marine mammals and their habitat. Strategic Goal:  Improve Population Assessment and Health Surveillance. Our goal is to improve the availability and quality of data, scientific assessments, and information necessary for marine mammal conservation and management programs, especially in the face of climate change.

³For example, are the elements described in the proposal (e.g., project plan, field and lab procedures, sample sizes, proposed statistical analyses, equipment, research platforms) internally consistent and are they sufficient to achieve the project’s goals, objectives, and outcomes?

About the Commission

The Marine Mammal Commission is an independent government agency charged by the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) to further the conservation of marine mammals and their environment. We work to ensure that marine mammal populations are restored and maintained as functioning elements of healthy marine ecosystems in the world’s oceans. We provide science-based oversight of domestic and international policies and actions of federal agencies with mandates to address human impacts on marine mammals and their ecosystems. Our role is unique—we are the only U.S. government agency that provides comprehensive oversight of all science, policy, and management actions affecting marine mammals.

Who We Are

The Commission consists of three Commissioners appointed by the President, a nine-member Committee of Scientific Advisors, and 14 employees.

To learn more, meet our Commissioners, Scientific Advisors, and staff.

What We Do

As an independent oversight agency, we are positioned to affect the evolution of policy decisions and help develop consensus among competing interests on controversial issues surrounding marine mammal science and conservation. We review proposed actions by federal agencies and others and provide recommendations to minimize the impacts of such actions on marine mammals and their environment.

Multiple human-related risk factors affect marine mammals, including direct and indirect effects of fisheries, underwater sound, contaminants and disease, harmful algal blooms and dead zones, vessel strikes, and impacts of climate change. We regularly consult with other federal agencies to understand, monitor, and mitigate these risk factors. Our work is centered on five strategic goals outlined in our FY2022–2026 Strategic Plan, and we pay special attention to species considered to be most vulnerable to human-related activities.

We carry out several activities to help ensure that the protection and conservation of marine mammals is reflected in a wide array of actions. Such activities include:

• reviewing permit and incidental take authorization applications, proposed regulations, National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) documents (e.g., draft environmental assessments and impact statements), and Endangered Species Act (ESA) listing proposals;
• developing and/or reviewing marine mammal policy and guidance documents;
• producing periodic reports of particular importance to the conservation of marine mammals and maintenance of healthy ecosystems for Congress and relevant agencies;
• reviewing results of research, providing funding for research, and identifying significant gaps in research and seeking ways to close such gaps;
• participating in scientific and policy organizations and meetings, both domestic and international; and
• conducting the Commission’s Annual Meeting and producing reports on an annual basis highlighting the Commission’s performance and accomplishments.

We provide comments and recommendations regarding marine mammal protection and conservation to federal agencies and others through regular contact and meetings, as well as through formal letters. In these letters, we identify actions that agencies could take to conserve and manage marine mammals.

We are also periodically called upon to brief Capitol Hill staff and, less frequently, to present testimony to Congress regarding marine mammal protection and conservation issues.

Cross-Agency Collaborations

The Commission helps develop and coordinate multi-agency research and management initiatives to facilitate marine mammal protection and conservation, working closely with those agencies most directly carrying out the mandate of the MMPA. Key partners include the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and National Ocean Service (NOS), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) of the Department of Interior, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), and the National Science Foundation (NSF). We also work closely with the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, and other branches of the military on their activities that may impact marine mammals and their habitats.

Collaboration regularly involves support and coordination on basic research. Through our grants and research program, we seek to identify key research priorities and help coordinate this work to eliminate duplication and ensure effective use of scarce research funds. We also work to ensure that scientific results are rigorously reviewed and used in management to develop, improve, or evaluate mitigation measures to benefit marine mammals.

Research Program – Proposal Requirements

Pre-Proposal Requirements

Pre-proposals will be accepted from all applicants. Pre-proposals do not have a required format, but they must be limited to two pages and each must include the following information:

1. The name of the Principal Investigator (PI), as well as any co-PIs. Please include an email address and affiliation for the primary PI.
2. The goals and objectives of the proposed work.
3. How the proposed work addresses the funding opportunity topic.
4. An estimated total budget, not to exceed $75,000. A detailed breakdown of project costs is not needed for the pre-proposal, but if you are invited to submit a full proposal, we request that your final budget be within 10% of your estimated budget (not to exceed $75,000).
5. Include a two-page CV for the PI and each Co-PI. The CVs are not included within the two-page pre-proposal limit.

Full Proposal Requirements

***Full proposals will only be accepted from applicants invited to submit after the pre-proposal review period. Any full proposal submitted without invitation will not be reviewed.

Proposed projects must fit within our current funding opportunity and adhere to all proposal requirements.  The body of the proposal must not exceed five pages using 12-point font, exclusive of cover page, references, budget, curricula vitae, and supporting materials.

Cover Page (limit 1 page)

• Title: The full title of the proposal. A shorter running title is optional.
• Principal Investigator (PI): Please list only one (corresponding) principal investigator even if your proposal team consists of two or more co-equal investigators and institutions (also see instructions for Curricula Vitae).
• PI Contact Information: Address, phone, website, and e-mail for the principal investigator.
• Financial Point of Contact (POC): An individual (with or without institutional affiliation, as appropriate) who will be responsible for contractual and fiscal matters. This may or may not be the same individual and institution listed as principal investigator.
• Financial POC Information: Address, phone, and e-mail.

Proposal Body (limit 5 pages)

• Abstract: Provide an abstract summarizing the project objective(s), and how the project will focus on advancing technologies and methods to 1) improve marine mammal stock assessments, and/or 2) mitigate human-caused mortality and serious injury or develop tools that forecast the impacts of stressors. Include a summary of how the proposed work would contribute to science-based management and policy including, but not limited to, the U.S. stock assessment process. Please limit the abstract to 300 words.
• Introduction, Background, or Problem Statement: Introduce and provide background on the topic of the proposed project. Provide a brief review of prior related efforts by the research team or others. Indicate knowledge gaps, shortfalls of previous efforts, or challenges to further progress and describe how the proposed effort will address these issues.  Describe the importance of the proposed work, and how it addresses the funding opportunity topic. Be sure to include any background information on the current knowledge of population parameters, sources of M/SI for the species, and geographic area the project will address.
• Goals and Objectives:  Provide statements of both the general or broad goal of the proposed project and the specific objectives that will be addressed within the scope of this proposal to make progress toward that goal.  Provide your view of the importance or significance of the project, and how it relates to the Commission’s mission and goals.
• Methods/Approach: Provide a detailed description of the approach and methods, including methods for data analysis, so that the reviewer can understand how you will address the specific objectives of the project. Describe any new methods or tools that will be developed, and any long-term data or time series samples to be used or contributed to. If your proposed project includes a workshop, review panel, or other activity; describe the nature of the activity, the planned agenda or working format, likely attendees/participants, tentative dates and location of the planned activity, and how success of the activity will be measured.
• Anticipated Outcomes: Describe the short-term products and outcomes, those anticipated to occur within the scope of the effort and time span of the proposed project (e.g. one or more peer-reviewed journal articles, development of a model or method, an equipment prototype and report, completion of a workshop report).
• Research and Management Utility or Plans for Continuity of Newly Established Approaches: Describe the anticipated long-term utility of the project, any implications for future research and how it will contribute to future marine mammal population assessment, management, or conservation. Describe in more detail how the proposed work would contribute to science-based management and policy including, but not limited to, the U.S. stock assessment process. For projects addressing stocks that occur outside U.S. waters, summarize how this proposed project is applicable to marine mammal stocks that occur in U.S. waters.
• Research Permits: Specify whether permits, authorizations, and/or approvals (e.g., Animal Care and Use, Institutional Review Board for research involving humans participating as subjects) are necessary. If necessary to conduct the proposed research, provide details regarding whether permits or authorizations and/or Animal Care and Use approvals have been obtained. If required permits, authorizations, and approvals are pending, provide the status for obtaining them and when they are expected to be issued.
• Data management and accessibility: The Commission is committed to ensuring that the results of federally funded scientific research are made available to and useful for the public, industry, and the scientific community. Briefly describe how and when results and supporting data from the proposed project are expected to be shared. This should include plans for making publications or final documents accessible for the public free of charge, and for sharing of digital data and metadata resulting from research through an accessible data platform.

Budget and Time Line (limit 2 pages)

This section should provide sufficient detail to inform the reviewer of expenses or costs by general category (salary, equipment, supplies, travel, publication fees, overhead costs, miscellaneous) and by subtasks within the proposed effort, as appropriate. Include information on other sources of funding for the project, if applicable. For multi-year or multi-stage projects, include a timetable for completion of each phase as a means of gauging progress toward completion of the full proposed effort.

Curricula Vitae, Research Team Qualifications (limit 3 pages each CV)

Provide a curriculum vitae or short biography of no more than three pages for all key members of the proposal team (those individuals whose background and experience are essential to completion of the project), including their experience or expertise related to the subject proposal. Although there can be only one corresponding principal investigator (see Title Page guidance), multiple co-investigators can be included in this portion of the proposal, if desired.

Supporting Materials (Optional)

Supporting materials such as recent publications, short descriptions of relevant work in progress or recently completed, organization charts or timelines will be accepted but should be limited to information essential to understanding the significance, approach, and context of the proposed work. It is highly recommended that supporting materials be limited to fewer than 15 pages; the more material provided, the more difficult it will be for the reviewers to focus their attention on relevant matters in developing their evaluations. Only include supporting materials that are directly relevant to understanding and evaluating the proposed project.

Submission Procedure

Please read the current funding opportunities and proposal requirements pages in full before applying. Instructions for submitting pre-proposals are available on the current funding opportunities page.

Proposals must adhere to the instructions and requirements described above. Proposals should be submitted electronically in MS Word or Adobe PDF format. All applicants are required to have a current registration and a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) in the System for Award Management (SAM) prior to submitting an application. Note: as of April 4, 2022, the UEI has replaced the DUNS number as the official unique identifier for entities doing business with the U.S. government.

Policy on Indirect Costs

The Commission recognizes the significant costs associated with the maintenance of research programs and the institutions that support them. However, due to the limited funding available for research and conservation awards and the nature of the Commission’s goals and responsibilities, the Commission limits indirect costs for research grants and contracts awarded by the Commission to ten percent (10%) of the direct costs unless the submitting entity already has a federally negotiated indirect cost rate. Indirect costs, or overhead, include, but are not limited to, operation and maintenance of facilities, general and departmental administration, and library expenses.

Our Mission

The Marine Mammal Commission provides independent, science-based oversight of domestic and international policies and actions of federal agencies addressing human impacts on marine mammals and their ecosystems. Our mission is largely driven by the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). The MMPA was enacted in October 1972 in partial response to growing concerns among scientists and the general public that certain species and populations of marine mammals were in danger of extinction or depletion as a result of human activities. The MMPA set forth a national policy to prevent marine mammal species and population stocks from diminishing beyond the point at which they cease to be significant functioning elements of the ecosystems of which they are a part.

Duties under the MMPA

The Commission is charged with the following seven duties, as defined under section 202 of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA):

1. undertake a review and study of the activities of the United States pursuant to existing laws and international conventions relating to marine mammals including, but not limited to, the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling, the Whaling Convention Act of 1949, the Interim Convention on the Conservation of North Pacific Fur Seals, and the Fur Seal Act of 1966;
2. conduct a continuing review of the condition of the stocks of marine mammals, of methods for their protection and conservation, of humane means of taking marine mammals, of research programs conducted or proposed to be conducted under the authority of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and of all applications for permits for scientific research, public display, or enhancing the survival or recovery of a species or stock;
3. undertake or cause to be undertaken such other studies as it deems necessary or desirable in connection with its assigned duties as to the protection and conservation of marine mammals;
4. recommend to the Secretary [of Commerce or the Interior] and other federal officials such steps as it deems necessary or desirable for the protection and conservation of marine mammals;
5. recommend to the Secretary of State appropriate policies regarding existing international arrangements for the protection and conservation of marine mammals, and suggest appropriate international arrangements for the protection and conservation of marine mammals;
6. recommend to the Secretary [of Commerce or the Interior] such revisions of the endangered species list and threatened species list published pursuant to section 4(c)(1) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 as may be appropriate with regard to marine mammals; and
7. recommend to the Secretary [of Commerce or the Interior], other appropriate federal officials, and Congress such additional measures as it deems necessary or desirable to further the policies of the Act, including provisions for the protection of the Indians, Eskimos, and Aleuts whose livelihood may be adversely affected by actions taken pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

In addition to the MMPA, other important legislation has been enacted to protect and conserve marine mammals and their ecosystems.