Managing Your Grant

Please contact Melissa Boyce with any questions.

Students
The current names and contact information for students involved with the project must be provided to Wisconsin Sea Grant in the required annual reports.

Presentations
Please acknowledge Wisconsin Sea Grant’s support when presentations are made. This visibility is increasingly important to us and a courtesy we take seriously. PIs must also keep track of the presentations given related to this project and the number of people at the presentation for reporting purposes; this includes presentations made by students on the projects. The NOAA emblem and Sea Grant logo (or the Wisconsin Sea Grant logo) must be placed on all print and digital media funded by Sea Grant, including presentations. Please see section below about requirements for the use of the Wisconsin Sea Grant logo and NOAA emblem.

There may be opportunities during your project for presentations at Wisconsin Sea Grant-sponsored events. We will contact you directly with specific requests.

Publications
Wisconsin Sea Grant expects that you will publish the progress and results of your Sea Grant-funded work through technical journals, proceedings, trade press, etc. Wisconsin Sea Grant must receive a PDF of all publications resulting from this project. These materials will be submitted to NOAA’s Institutional Repository and included in Wisconsin Sea Grant’s online catalog, as appropriate. Please see the expanded guidance in the section below: “Publishing Work Supported by Wisconsin Sea Grant.”

Patents
All potentially patentable ideas, inventions, discoveries or improvements made during the grant terms must be disclosed promptly to your institution’s grants administration office, which will be able to provide instructions. Researchers should also contact Jennifer Hauxwell to report the patent.

Data Management
Data and information collected and/or created under NOAA grants and cooperative agreements must be made visible, accessible, and independently understandable to general users, free of charge or at minimal cost, in a timely manner (typically no later than two years after the data are collected or created), except where limited by law, regulation, policy or security requirements. The requirement has two basic parts: (1) environmental data generated by a grant project must be made available after a reasonable period of exclusive use, and (2) the grant application must describe the plan to make the data available (Principal Investigators are expected to execute the plan).

If your project produces environmental data, it must conform to NOAA’s Data Sharing Directive for Grants, Cooperative Agreements, and Contracts. For detailed guidance, you can view the current version of the policy, including a definition of environmental data (which can include socioeconomic and model data). Download any updates and access additional implementation resources from the following permanent URL (Appendix B outlines requirements):

https://nosc.noaa.gov/EDMC/documents/Data_Sharing_Directive_v3.0.pdf. If a Data Management Plan (DMP) was included in your approved project proposal, the DMP must be followed. If you fail to share your data as you proposed in your DMP, you could be subject to a number of sanctions, including denial of future grant awards, freezing of funds in your current award, or in extreme cases even being forced to repay the grant award to the government. If you are unable to follow through with the DMP, contact Jennifer Hauxwell to explore what options may be available.

Reporting
Each project is required to submit interim progress reports (by request) and a technical completion report on the project’s end date. These reports are required by NOAA, and Wisconsin Sea Grant has the responsibility of collecting the reports from PIs and submitting them to NOAA. Both Wisconsin Sea Grant and the individual PIs are evaluated on the basis of productivity, which in turn affects future funding. Report due dates are specified in your project Award Letter and Conditions. Please review the reporting template available on eDrop (contact Tom Xiong to request access) to familiarize yourself with the information that needs to be collected to complete the report. Please note, however, that reporting requirements may change over time.

Wisconsin Sea Grant reserves the right to withhold the project funds if appropriate documentation or required reports are not provided by program deadlines; the interim progress reports serve as the basis for Sea Grant’s decision regarding the continuation of a multi-year project into its next year. Furthermore, continued or new funding of any Sea Grant project with which you are affiliated may be withheld until previous, outstanding progress reporting requirements are fulfilled. In addition, a PI’s failure to provide timely reports on a previous or existing grant will be included among decision criteria when reviewing new grant requests with which the PI is associated.

Wisconsin Sea Grant has an obligation to provide information to the public because projects are supported by federal and state funds. Wisconsin Sea Grant responds to inquiries from the public and news media about the funding of your project with the project number, title of the project, total funding approved, dates/duration of the project and the principal investigator(s). We routinely provide public updates on the progress of funded projects through news releases, web articles, and updates, etc. In the case of a specific inquiry, we will notify you and, if appropriate, encourage the inquirer to contact you directly.

Wisconsin Sea Grant Outreach and Communications specialists may also contact you. We encourage you to assist them as much as possible in carrying out their outreach and communication activities. We may also invite you to participate in workshops, seminars and other meetings conducted by the Wisconsin Sea Grant.

With the exception of peer-reviewed publications, the NOAA emblem and Wisconsin Sea Grant logo must be placed on all print and digital media funded by Sea Grant, including scientific posters and presentations, extension products, conference agendas and program websites. This logo placement is in addition to the acknowledgment of sponsorship statement that is required for videos and publications.

Wisconsin Sea Grant logo and NOAA emblem available for download

Download Wisconsin Sea Grant logo

Download NOAA emblem

Requirements for use 

• Use of the NOAA emblem or Sea Grant logo in an official press release/media advisory must first be approved by NOAA Research Public Affairs. Please contact our communications manager to help navigate this process.
• The NOAA emblem should not be used on merchandise/swag, such as t-shirts, jackets, and promotional items.
• The Wisconsin Sea Grant logo and NOAA emblem must be present in equal prominence and positioned aside one another, Wisconsin Sea Grant logo on the left and the NOAA emblem on the right.
• The Wisconsin Sea Grant logo must never be altered in any way.
• The NOAA emblem must never be altered in any way.
• Please contact our creative manager with any questions regarding the logo files.

Budget Revisions, including Transferring Dollars among Categories
You must request and receive approval from Wisconsin Sea Grant prior to executing any budget revision, including transfers among budget categories, or for contracting out any work, or sub-contracts, not specified in the grant application. Please note that budget changes are sometimes granted, but it is necessary for the PI to make a formal written request (an email will suffice) and provide clear justifications for the request. Some requests may require prior approval from NOAA as well; we recommend allowing 60 days for processing and response. Contact Melissa Boyce for budget revision questions and requests.

Allowable Changes in the Involvement of Project Personnel
Major changes in personnel structure or project direction must be approved in advance by Wisconsin Sea Grant and, in some instances, by NOAA. Items requiring approval include, but are not limited to, a change or relocation of principal investigator; sabbatical leaves for senior personnel, and substitution of graduate assistants with research associates. Prior approval is required for an absence of more than three months or a 25% reduction in time by the PI. Contact Melissa Boyce for personnel revision questions and changes.

Allowable Changes in Project Methodology or Direction
We realize that you may be unlikely to conduct the funded research exactly as proposed. However, any major changes in the scope, objectives, approach or methodology for any element of the project also require prior approval. An example of a “major change” is a change in water quality sampling methodology from x to y, due to unexpectedly low stream flows during the expected sampling period – a change in methodology required to achieve project objectives, due to unforeseen circumstances beyond the study team’s control. A major change may also include unanticipated equipment needs. Note that some changes in project methodology or scope will also require related budget revision. Please make every effort to allow at least 90 days for adequate discussion and Wisconsin Sea Grant/NOAA approval before you might need to implement a change; 60 days is a minimum requirement. Contact Jennifer Hauxwell if you are not sure whether your proposed adjustment constitutes a “major” change, or to request a change in project methodology or direction.

Project- and budget-related questions: Jennifer Hauxwell

Current Sea Grant research

Link to eDrop, Wisconsin Sea Grant’s online project management system. Contact Tom Xiong to request access.