Maine Sea Grant Program Development Funds

The Maine Sea Grant Program Development Funds support small research projects and proof-of-concept initiatives that align with Maine Sea Grant's strategic goals. Funding ranges from $1,000 to $5,000, with larger budgets requiring discussion beforehand. Eligible applicants include individuals from Maine-based academic, research, and for-profit entities. The program prioritizes projects that enhance research, education, and outreach efforts, while also allowing for conference support under specific conditions.

Guidelines for Program Development Funding
Each year Maine Sea Grant allocates part of its budget for Program Development (PD) funds. The National Sea Grant Office allows state programs to award these funds to enhance their strategic plan goals. Typical awards are $1,000 – $5,000. Projects exceeding $5,000 should be discussed with Maine Sea Grant personnel prior to submission. Awards are generally for small research projects and proof-of-concept with the intent of seeding an idea for later development into larger funding proposals. Other credible uses of these funds include extension, education, communications, travel, graduate student support, and workshops or conferences. Applicants must express how the proposed project will add value to Maine Sea Grant’s research, extension, education, and outreach efforts in the program’s current strategic focus areas. Program Development awards do not fund PI salaries or indirect costs. The Maine Sea Grant management team will make decisions on Program Development awards two times per year.
Conference SupportRequests for conference support are scrutinized very closely. Maine Sea Grant may provide up to a maximum of $1,000 for conference support. Exceptions to this policy may occur if Maine Sea Grant plays a substantive role in the planning and/or implementation of the conference. As with other Program Development proposals, requests for conference support must show a clear linkage to Maine Sea Grant strategic focus areas. Support for faculty (and other full-time employee) conference travel is rarely provided, and must be justified strongly in terms of Maine Sea Grant’s areas of strategic focus. Limitations to the use of development funds for travel include
Travel by tenured university faculty members (or untenured associate or full professors) is not eligible for support. Travel for untenured assistant professors and non-tenure track staff may be supported in rare circumstances, and then only if clear linkages to Maine Sea strategic focus areas are demonstrated, and if no other sources of travel funds are available.Student travel may be supported if funds are justified in terms of active participation with clear benefits (e.g., presentation of research results that are clearly linked to Maine Sea Grant’s focus areas, and for which travel funds are otherwise unavailable).Similar limitations apply to non-university employees. Travel for senior-level, permanent employees will not be supported using Program Development funds. Travel for junior-level employees may be available under the same limitations that apply to non-tenure track university staff.

Eligibility

Requests may be submitted by individuals affiliated with any Maine-based formal or informal academic or educational institutions, research laboratories, extension/outreach facilities, state or local agencies, or for-profit institutions or companies.  Please note that any data, information, and/or technologies or other outputs resulting from such an award may not be considered proprietary. Maine Sea Grant requires active sharing, extension and educational efforts and outputs in conjunction with the award of program development funding and all results are subject to NOAA data sharing policies and must be made freely available to the public.