Opportunity Information: Apply for M24AS00363
MM-23-03: Accounting for Scale Bias in Marine Minerals Studies is a Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) grant opportunity focused on improving how marine minerals environmental studies are designed, analyzed, and interpreted when spatial and temporal scale issues can distort conclusions. BOEM notes that many past BOEM-funded Marine Minerals Program (MMP) field studies have relied on data collected within a limited, often ecologically arbitrary footprint such as a dredge track or lease area, and typically over short time windows (about 2 to 4 years). Those studies can be very useful for describing site-specific conditions before and after dredging, but they can be difficult to interpret beyond the immediate study area or time period. In practice, trying to “scale up” to regional questions or “scale down” to finer ecological patterns often requires integrating external datasets (for example, regional species distributions or oceanographic stratification), which past studies have not always been able to do because of scope, data access, and budget constraints. BOEM is using this moment, when multiple robust pre- and post-activity datasets now exist, to re-examine earlier work and set clearer expectations and methods for future studies.
The core problem the opportunity targets is scale bias: the risk that the scale built into study design, sampling strategy, and statistical analysis (whether explicitly planned or implicitly assumed) can influence results and lead to misinterpretation. BOEM wants a structured evaluation of how well the spatial and temporal scales of MMP research and BOEM-authorized dredging activities match, or mismatch, the real-world scales at which habitats and organisms are distributed and the scales at which natural processes operate (such as storms or other episodic events). The intent is practical: produce guidance that helps BOEM plan future studies at the appropriate scale, or at nested scales, so that environmental assessments and decisions are based on evidence that aligns with ecological reality rather than convenience boundaries like lease polygons or single survey footprints.
The work described in the opportunity includes several connected objectives. One major task is to define the spatial and temporal scales of dredging disturbance and the potential area and duration of impacts, ranging from the smallest unit (a single dredge pass) to broad regional extents like the entire Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf. BOEM also wants those dredging-related scales described alongside other common ocean uses and disturbances, such as fishing activity or storms, so the relative magnitude and frequency of dredging effects can be contextualized. Another task is to clarify key supporting concepts that are often used inconsistently across studies, including terms like disturbance, impact, response, and resilience, with the goal of making future study designs and interpretations more comparable and defensible.
The opportunity further calls for identifying the habitats, functional guilds, and organisms most relevant to marine minerals dredging, and determining the scales at which those ecological components are affected or not affected. This is tied to a more applied analytical component: resampling existing datasets or synthesizing broader regional datasets to demonstrate how different choices of analytical scale can change the story a study tells. For example, patterns that appear strong at the dredge-site footprint might weaken, disappear, or reverse when viewed across a larger spatial context, and short-term signals might look very different when evaluated over longer time frames that include natural variability. The expected outcome is not just critique, but actionable recommendations for future research methods and models that explicitly address scale.
A central deliverable is a methods paper that lays out the data requirements and a proposed workflow for identifying and accounting for scale bias in MMP studies. This methods paper is also expected to characterize the spatial and temporal scales at which BOEM-authorized dredging could plausibly produce impacts, which then becomes a framework for evaluating whether past and future monitoring designs are properly aligned. After developing the methods approach, the project would review existing fish and habitat datasets from relevant BOEM studies and consider complementary data sources from partners such as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the National Marine Fisheries Service, state agencies, and potentially local communities. If those datasets are sufficiently rich, the project would reanalyze them to explore spatial and temporal relationships at multiple scales and use those findings to refine best-practice recommendations for study design, sampling, and analysis going forward.
Administratively, this is a discretionary funding opportunity from BOEM under CFDA 15.423, using a Cooperative Agreement as the funding instrument and categorized under Environment. The opportunity number is M24AS00363, with an original closing date of 2024-07-25 and an award ceiling of $200,000. Eligible applicants are listed as public and state-controlled institutions of higher education and “others,” but the description specifies that it will be issued as a single-source cooperative agreement with Louisiana State University through the Gulf Coast Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (GC-CESU). In practical terms, that means BOEM has already identified the intended partner for this work and is using the cooperative agreement structure to support a collaborative project that directly informs how BOEM plans and evaluates marine minerals environmental studies in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico.Apply for M24AS00363
- The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management in the environment sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "MM-23-03: Accounting for Scale Bias in Marine Minerals Studies" 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 2024-06-04.
- Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-07-25. (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 $200,000.00 in funding.
- Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Others.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) - MM-23-03: Accounting for Scale Bias in Marine Minerals Studies (BOEM)
What is this grant opportunity?
This opportunity is a Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) discretionary funding effort focused on "Accounting for Scale Bias in Marine Minerals Studies." It supports work to improve how BOEM Marine Minerals Program (MMP) environmental studies are designed, analyzed, and interpreted when spatial and temporal scale issues can distort conclusions.
What problem is BOEM trying to solve with this project?
The project targets "scale bias," meaning the risk that the scale embedded in study design, sampling strategy, and statistical analysis can influence results and lead to misinterpretation. BOEM is concerned that many past studies were conducted within limited footprints (like a dredge track or lease area) and over short time windows (often about 2 to 4 years), which can make it hard to interpret results beyond the immediate area or timeframe studied.
Why does BOEM care about spatial and temporal scale in marine minerals studies?
BOEM wants study evidence to match ecological reality. Habitats and organisms operate at particular spatial and temporal scales, and natural processes (such as storms or other episodic events) can drive changes that may be mistaken for dredging effects if the study design does not account for them. This effort aims to align monitoring and analysis with the real-world scales at which impacts and recovery could occur.
What kinds of past study limitations is BOEM highlighting?
BOEM notes that many BOEM-funded MMP field studies collected data in limited and sometimes ecologically arbitrary areas (for example, within a lease polygon or along a dredge track) and typically over short study durations (about 2 to 4 years). While useful for site-specific before/after descriptions, those studies can be difficult to "scale up" to regional questions or "scale down" to finer ecological patterns without bringing in external datasets, which past studies have not always been able to do because of scope, data access, and budget constraints.
What does BOEM mean by "scale up" and "scale down" in this context?
"Scaling up" refers to interpreting site-specific results in a broader regional context (for example, across larger portions of the Atlantic or Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf). "Scaling down" refers to trying to resolve finer-scale ecological patterns within or near a study footprint. BOEM emphasizes that both types of inference can be problematic if the study design and datasets do not support the desired scale of interpretation.
What is the main goal or intent of the work?
The intent is practical: produce guidance that helps BOEM plan future marine minerals environmental studies at the appropriate scale (or at nested scales). The goal is to support environmental assessments and decisions using evidence aligned with ecological and process-driven scales rather than convenience boundaries such as lease polygons or a single survey footprint.
What are the major objectives described for the project?
The opportunity describes several connected objectives, including: defining the spatial and temporal scales of dredging disturbance and potential impact area/duration; contextualizing dredging-related scales against other common ocean uses and disturbances (such as fishing activity and storms); clarifying key concepts that are used inconsistently across studies; identifying habitats, functional guilds, and organisms most relevant to dredging; and demonstrating (through reanalysis/resampling/synthesis) how analytical scale choices can change conclusions.
What scales does BOEM want characterized for dredging disturbance and impacts?
BOEM wants scales described from the smallest unit (a single dredge pass) up to broad regional extents such as the entire Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf. The project is expected to define the disturbance scales and the plausible area and duration of impacts at these different levels.
Why compare dredging scales to fishing activity, storms, or other disturbances?
BOEM wants dredging impacts contextualized relative to other disturbances and ocean uses. By describing dredging-related scales alongside disturbances like storms (episodic events) or human uses like fishing, the work can help interpret the relative magnitude, frequency, and spatial/temporal patterns of dredging effects.
What concepts is BOEM asking the project to clarify?
The opportunity calls for clarifying key supporting concepts that are often used inconsistently across studies, specifically including: disturbance, impact, response, and resilience. The purpose is to make future study designs and interpretations more comparable and defensible.
What ecological components does BOEM want included?
BOEM wants the project to identify habitats, functional guilds, and organisms most relevant to marine minerals dredging, and determine the scales at which those ecological components are affected or not affected.
What kind of analysis or demonstration does BOEM want using existing data?
The opportunity includes an applied analytical component: resampling existing datasets or synthesizing broader regional datasets to demonstrate how different analytical scale choices can change study conclusions. BOEM notes that patterns that look strong within a dredge-site footprint may weaken, disappear, or reverse when assessed over larger areas, and short-term signals may look different when evaluated over longer periods that include natural variability.
Is the expected outcome mainly a critique of past studies?
No. While the work involves re-examining earlier work and identifying mismatches between study scales and ecological/process scales, BOEM emphasizes actionable outcomes. The project is expected to produce recommendations for future research methods and models that explicitly address scale, and guidance to improve study design, sampling, and analysis.
What is the central deliverable?
A central deliverable is a methods paper describing data requirements and a proposed workflow for identifying and accounting for scale bias in MMP studies. This paper is also expected to characterize the spatial and temporal scales at which BOEM-authorized dredging could plausibly produce impacts, providing a framework for evaluating whether monitoring designs are properly aligned.
What data sources might be used or reviewed?
After developing the methods approach, the project would review existing fish and habitat datasets from relevant BOEM studies and consider complementary sources from partners such as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the National Marine Fisheries Service, and state agencies. The opportunity also notes that data could potentially come from local communities.
Will the project definitely reanalyze existing datasets?
The opportunity indicates reanalysis would occur if the datasets are sufficiently rich. If so, the project would reanalyze them to explore spatial and temporal relationships at multiple scales and use findings to refine best-practice recommendations for future study design, sampling, and analysis.
What is the opportunity number associated with this funding?
The opportunity number provided is M24AS00363.
What is the original closing date listed?
The original closing date is 2024-07-25.
What is the maximum award amount (award ceiling)?
The award ceiling listed is $200,000.
What is the funding instrument for this opportunity?
The funding instrument is a Cooperative Agreement.
Is this a discretionary funding opportunity?
Yes. The description states it is a discretionary funding opportunity from BOEM.
What CFDA number is associated with this program?
The CFDA number listed is 15.423.
How is this opportunity categorized?
The opportunity is categorized under Environment.
Who is eligible to apply based on the eligibility listing?
Eligible applicants are listed as public and state-controlled institutions of higher education and "others."
Is this opportunity open competition, or is there a designated awardee?
The description specifies it will be issued as a single-source cooperative agreement with Louisiana State University through the Gulf Coast Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (GC-CESU). In practical terms, BOEM has already identified the intended partner for this work.
Which organization is BOEM planning to issue the cooperative agreement to?
BOEM indicates the agreement will be issued as a single-source cooperative agreement with Louisiana State University through the GC-CESU.
What geographic scope is emphasized for the work?
The work is intended to inform how BOEM plans and evaluates marine minerals environmental studies in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, including broad regional extents like the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf.
Why is BOEM doing this work now?
BOEM describes this as a moment when multiple robust pre- and post-activity datasets now exist. BOEM wants to use this to re-examine earlier work and set clearer expectations and methods for future studies, particularly around scale.
How will the results be used by BOEM?
The intended use is to provide a framework and guidance that BOEM can apply when planning future environmental studies, setting data requirements, choosing sampling designs, and interpreting results in environmental assessments and decisions.
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