Climate Program Office FY 2027 - Super Intelligence/Machine Learning Innovation to Advance NOAA's Earth System Science and Support Hazard

Through this Notice of Federal Funding Opportunity, the NOAA Climate Program Office ( https://cpo.noaa.gov/funding-opportunities/ ) is soliciting proposals for a FY 2027 grants competition focused on Super Intelligence/Machine Learning Innovation to Advance NOAA's Earth System Science and Support Hazard Resilience.

The NOAA Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR), or "NOAA Research," provides the research foundation for understanding the complex systems that support our planet. Through cutting-edge research and innovation, OAR is the engine that drives the next-generation science and technology that NOAA depends upon in order to produce operational products, tools, and services. Working in partnership with other organizational units of NOAA, a bureau of the Department of Commerce, OAR enables better forecasts, earlier warnings for natural hazards, improved monitoring of Earth systems, and a greater understanding of those systems. The mission of OAR is to conduct research to understand and predict the Earth system; develop technology to improve NOAA science, service, and stewardship; and transition the results into use to help meet challenges faced by society.

As part of OAR, the Climate Program Office (CPO) supports mission-driven research to advance understanding of climate and to deliver actionable information to society to help Americans plan and respond. This FY 2027 Notice of Federal Funding Opportunity (NOFO) aligns with one of CPO's core functions, to advance extramural research through a competitive process for continued innovation across NOAA. Key aspects of CPO's work include:

- Advancing foundational and applied, cross-disciplinary climate and Earth system sciences, capacity building, tool development, and engagement.

- Collaborating closely with partners within NOAA and with the broader community to advance knowledge and support decisions.

- Building networks, partnerships, and collaborations, converging around the best ideas, and providing support to accelerate emerging innovation.

- Empowering communities across the Nation to be safer, healthier, and more prosperous in the face of climate-relevant hazards, including supporting preparedness for and protection against extreme weather, heat, floods, wildfire, and related air quality issues; managing for precipitation and drought; addressing coastal change and inundation; and sustaining marine and freshwater ecosystems.

In FY 2027, the CPO Modeling, Analysis, Predictions and Projections (MAPP) Program, the Adaptation Sciences (AdSci) Program, and the National Integrated Heat Health Information System (NIHHIS) Program are jointly soliciting proposals to accelerate innovation in NOAA's Earth system science and to inform hazard resilience decision making through the application of Super Intelligence/Machine Learning (SI/ML). Proposals will focus on examining the application of SI/ML to advance NOAA's capabilities across the following three Priority Areas: 1) multi-annual to decadal prediction, 2) hazard resilience decision-support information, and 3) extreme heat predictions and preparedness.

Eligible applicants are:Institutions of higher educationOther nonprofitsCommercial organizationsLocal and federally recognized Tribal governments. Federal agencies that possess the statutory authority to receive transfers of funds. The funding instrument for a selected application from a non-NOAA Federal applicant will be through an inter-agency transfer of funds, provided:1. Legal authority exists for the Federal applicant to receive funds from another agency.2. PLEASE NOTE: Before non-NOAA Federal applicants may be funded, they must demonstrate that they have applicable legal authority for an interagency transfer of funds.3. Because this announcement is not proposing to procure goods or services from applicants, the Economy Act (31 USC 1535) is not an appropriate legal basis See “special instructions for federal applicants” on the CPO website; https://cpo.noaa.gov/funding-opportunities/. Foreign or international institutions are not eligible to apply.