Purpose

• The general purpose of the cooperative agreement awarded under this announcement is to support the CBP partnership’s Chesapeake Center for Collaborative Computing (C4).
• C4 enables the CBP’s modeling and monitoring programs by providing the high-performance computing infrastructure and capacity to support specialized models, scientific decision-support tools, and data management systems. This includes collective work to advance restoration and protection of the Chesapeake Bay ecosystem and its watershed through goals, outcomes, and environmental indicators, most of which are time-bound, measurable targets that directly contribute to achieving individual goals.

Funding Information

• Estimated Total Program Funding: $ 7,750,000
• Award Ceiling: $7,750,000

Activities

• Priorities and Activities
  • Applicants must propose a plan for administering the C4 network that meets the needs and priorities of the Chesapeake Bay Program partnership through the following activities:
  • Perform administration, operations, and maintenance of existing C4 infrastructure
  • Fully develop the C4 data storage architecture to fully support the collaborative needs of the partnership
  • Monitor trends and emerging technologies in high-performance computing and cloud-based infrastructure and evaluate them for implementation in C4

Expected Results

• Outputs are an environmental activity, effort, and/or associated work product related to an environmental goal or objective that will be produced or provided over time or by a specified date.
• Outputs may be quantitative or qualitative but must be measurable during the project period. The expected outputs for the grants awarded under these guidelines may include but are not limited to:
  • Development of a transition plan for ensuring operations of the C4 network during the transition phase from the incumbent to the new recipient, if applicable.
  • Development of a multi-year capacity and implementation plan for meeting the current and future anticipated needs of the CBP partnership.
  • Regular review (at least quarterly) of the technical environment to identify opportunities for increased cost-efficiency, such as utilizing AWS’s Compute Savings Plans and exploring alternate purchasing methods to reduce overall spend.
  • Regular review (at least weekly) of the technical environment to ensure all infrastructure, environments, and/or platforms managed under this agreement meet the applicant’s security standards, via security scanning, auditing and implementing security controls.

Eligibility Criteria

• Only these types of organizations may apply:
  • Indian Tribe.
  • State & Local Governments.
  • Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs).
  • Nonprofit organizations.
• Applications must meet the following threshold criteria to be considered eligible:
  • All proposed activities included in the application must directly support the Chesapeake Bay watershed, which includes portions of Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia, and all the District of Columbia.
  • Applicants must not request more than $7,750,000.
  • Applications must include a minimum 5 percent cost share.

For more information, visit Grants.gov.