• What is a Cooperative Institute?
• How is a Cooperative Institute established?
• Can Cooperative Institutes be renewed?
• How are activities at Cooperative Institutes structured and funded?

What is a Cooperative Institute?

Cooperative Institutes are non-federal organizations supported by NOAA that have outstanding research programs in one or more areas relevant to the NOAA mission. Cooperative Institutes provide mutual benefits. NOAA research benefits by establishing collaborations with outstanding academic and research institutions that provide resources and opportunities relevant to NOAA's mission but generally extend beyond the agency's own capacities. In exchange, the institutions that host Cooperative Institutes receive funding from NOAA that enables them to support and expand both their research and educational missions. NOAA and its related Cooperative Institutes have benefited from ongoing partnerships since 1967, when the Environmental Science Services Administration - NOAA's predecessor - began supporting the first Cooperative Institute. Currently, NOAA supports 21 Cooperative Institutes in 17 states.

How is a Cooperative Institute established?

NOAA establishes a Cooperative Institute when it determines that it will be beneficial to sponsor a long-term (5-10 years) collaborative partnership with one or more outstanding non-federal, non-profit research institutions. For NOAA, the purpose of this partnership is to promote research, education, training, and outreach aligned with NOAA's mission, to obtain research capabilities that do not exist internally, and/or to expand research capacity in NOAA-related sciences. New Cooperative Institutes may be proposed by one or more Line Offices, Goal Teams, and/or the Research Council according to the procedures for establishing Cooperative Institutes described in the Cooperative Institute Handbook. Only the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere (the Under Secretary) can approve the establishment of a new Cooperative Institute.


Can Cooperative Institutes be renewed?

NOAA will fulfill its responsibility to maintain a long-term relationship with a Cooperative Institute beyond the initial five-year period by providing an additional award to a Cooperative Institute for up to five additional years, based on the results of an extensive renewal review. This review will typically occur at the beginning of the fourth year of the first five-year cooperative agreement. The renewal review will evaluate both scientific and administrative performance using a panel of internal and external experts in areas of science, science management, and grants management that are relevant to the Cooperative Institute.

How are activities at Cooperative Institutes structured and funded?

Activities at Cooperative Institutes are usually organized into three tasks:

• Task I. Task I activities are related to the management of the Cooperative Institute, as well as general education and outreach activities. This task also includes support of postdoctoral and visiting scientists conducting research that is approved by the Cooperative Institute Director in consultation with NOAA, and is relevant to NOAA's mission goals.


• Task II. Task II research activities usually involve on-going direct collaboration with NOAA scientists. This collaboration typically is fostered by the collocation of federal and Cooperative Institute employees.


• Task III. Task III research activities require minimal collaboration with NOAA scientists and may include research funded by other NOAA competitive grant programs.

Base funding for Task I is provided annually by NOAA to the Cooperative Institute, pending the availability of funds. Throughout the award period, funding for additional Task I activities, as well as Task II and Task III (or other Tasks that are requested by a particular Cooperative Institute) activities is added to the Cooperative Institute award as proposals are submitted by the Cooperative Institute and approved by NOAA. Thus, the Cooperative Institute award functions as an administrative vehicle established jointly with a research institution to more closely link research in NOAA with research in the institution and partner institutions. Because the Cooperative Institute is established through a rigorous competitive process, funding for any proposal associated with one of the approved scientific themes is not required to undergo a competitive merit review process. NOAA still must review each proposal, however, to determine if the project description is scientifically sound and the budget is appropriate for the proposed research. Proposals that are outside of the approved themes are subject to prior approval by NOAA and must meet the DOC Manual requirements for merit/peer review and the noncompetitive exemptions.