Commercial Fishing Occupational Safety Research Cooperative Agreement (U01)

The Fishing Safety Research Grant Program established by The Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-281), as amended by the Howard Coble Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2014 (P.L. 113-281), is intended to provide funding to individuals in academia, members of non-profit organizations and businesses involved in fishing and maritime matters, and other persons with expertise in commercial fishing safety. The funding will be used to support research on improving the occupational safety of workers in the commercial fishing industry. This includes: improving vessel design; developing and improving emergency and survival equipment; enhancing vessel monitoring systems; improving communication devices, de-icing technology, and severe weather detection. In order to support and administer the grant program, the Coast Guard and NIOSH signed a Memorandum of Understanding on May 17, 2018. While the Coast Guard, along with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), provides regulatory oversight for safety and health matters within the commercial fishing industry, NIOSH is an agency operating under the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) with the mission of generating new knowledge in occupational safety and health and transferring that knowledge into practice to prevent worker injury, illness and death. NIOSH conducts and funds scientific research, develops methods to prevent occupational hazards, develops guidance and authoritative recommendations, translates scientific knowledge into products and services, disseminates information, identifies factors underlying work-related disease and injury and responds to requests for workplace health hazard evaluations. NIOSH has an extensive history of conducting research to understand and to reduce hazards in the commercial fishing industry. This research has largely been conducted in close collaboration with crews, industry and the US Coast Guard. To learn more about NIOSH’s work in commercial fishing safety and health, visit https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/fishing/default.html. Research objectives supported by NIOSH include, but are not limited to, the following: identification and investigation of the relationships between hazardous working conditions and associated occupational injuries and fatalities; development of more sensitive means of evaluating hazards at work...

Entities involved in fishing and maritime matters, and those with expertise in commercial fishing safety.

The major elements in evaluating proposals include assessments of: (1) the scientific merit and general significance of the proposed study and its objectives; (2) the technical adequacy of the experimental design and approach; (3) the competency of the proposed investigator or group to successfully pursue the project; (4) the adequacy of the available and proposed facilities and resources; (5) the necessity of the budget components requested in relation to the proposed project; and (6) the relevance and importance to stated program objectives. Training Grants: Criteria used in evaluating training proposals include: (1) Overall potential contribution of the project toward meeting program objectives; (2) the need for training in the areas outlined in the application; (3) curriculum content and design; (4) previous record of training; (5) evaluation methods; (6) experience and training of the project director and staff; (7) institutional commitment; (8) academic and physical environment; (9) past performance; and (10) appropriateness of budget. The following criteria will be used in considering the scientific and technical merit of SBIR Phase I grant applications: (1) The soundness and technical merit of the proposed approach; (2) the qualifications of the proposed principal investigator, supporting staff, and consultants; (3) the technological innovation of the proposed research; (4) the potential of the proposed research for commercial application; (5) the appropriateness...

This program has no statutory formula. Matching requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing. MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing.

Not Applicable.