AK-20-06-Subsistence Harvest and Iñupiaq Knowledge of Beluga Whales for Kaktovik, Alaska | M20AS00178

Opportunity Information: Apply for M20AS00178

AK-20-06, titled "Subsistence Harvest and Inupiaq Knowledge of Beluga Whales for Kaktovik, Alaska," is a Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) cooperative agreement (Funding Opportunity Number M20AS00178; CFDA 15.423) focused on sociocultural research tied to subsistence beluga whale hunting in Kaktovik, a community within the North Slope Borough. The project is designed to be cooperative and collaborative, meaning BOEM expects close coordination with the recipient and an approach that supports shared decision-making and knowledge production rather than a purely contractor-style study.

The central purpose is to document and better understand where, when, and how Kaktovik residents hunt beluga whales, and to capture the cultural value and community importance of beluga harvest. A key feature of the opportunity is the emphasis on co-production and sharing of knowledge, specifically historical, cultural, spatial, and temporal information related to subsistence beluga hunting. In practice, this points to research outputs that do more than summarize interviews: the work is meant to organize community knowledge in ways that can be communicated, mapped, and applied, while still respecting the context in which that knowledge is held and shared.

BOEM describes the primary reason for gathering this information as support for environmental impact analyses, which aligns with the agency's responsibilities connected to offshore energy and environmental review processes. At the same time, the announcement makes clear the project is also meant to strengthen community engagement and Tribal consultation, contribute to harvest monitoring, and support co-management of the beluga harvest. In other words, the work is intended to sit at the intersection of regulatory environmental analysis and community-based stewardship, with the expectation that the research will be useful both to decision-makers and to local partners involved in managing and monitoring subsistence practices.

This announcement is not an open solicitation. It is a targeted program announcement describing specific projects that may be awarded to a limited set of eligible entities, and all awards depend on BOEM receiving an acceptable proposal. Eligible applicants are the State of Alaska, public and state-controlled institutions of higher education in Alaska, and the North Slope Borough. The announcement also encourages cooperative research arrangements among interested organizations such as state agencies, public universities, and non-profits in affected states, but it requires that the applicant organization provide a staff member to serve as the Principal Investigator (PI), ensuring institutional responsibility for the work.

The financial structure includes a stated award ceiling of $350,000, with an original closing date of November 6, 2020 (and a creation date of August 25, 2020). While a cost share is not framed as strictly mandatory in the text provided, BOEM strongly encourages matching contributions, which can be cash or in-kind support such as staff time, equipment, or other resources. The rules around match follow federal assistance standards (2 CFR 200.306) and include several constraints: match cannot include the value of costs already incurred to collect samples previously collected; equipment match value must be prorated to the period of use on the project relative to the equipment's full life cycle; and matching funds cannot come from other federal funding sources. For eligibility or project questions, the announcement directs applicants to use only the program announcement materials and the designated agency point of contact listed in the announcement's Section G, and it notes that full instructions and required documents are provided in the "Related Documents" attached to the official posting.

• The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management in the environment sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "AK-20-06-Subsistence Harvest and Iñupiaq Knowledge of Beluga Whales for Kaktovik, Alaska" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.423.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2020-08-25.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2020-11-06. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $350,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: State governments, Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Others.

Apply for M20AS00178

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