April 27, 2023 — The following was released by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation:
NFWF is excited to share that our New England Gear Innovation Fund Request for Proposals (RFP) is now available here and accepting pre-proposals through May 22, 2023. The program seeks to promote the development and adoption of innovative gear technologies in New England fisheries, including fixed gear fisheries like lobster and Jonah crab. We encourage you to share this funding opportunity with colleagues or constituents who may be interested. Please note that work with fisheries, like NE Mobile Gear fisheries, to address innovative gear marking or other issues would be eligible for funding.
Full information on the funding priorities of the New England Gear Innovation Fund is available in the RFP, but high level priorities include:
- Develop, test, or deploy innovative gear technologies that meet fishery participants’ needs in a viable and economically feasible way and that reduce entanglement risk posed by vertical lines on lobster traps and other fixed gear fisheries.
- Conduct outreach with fishermen to encourage participation in the process of developing, testing, and voluntarily adopting innovative gear.
The program is assessing the funding need of the region and NFWF will award grants towards that need, providing up to $18 million in grants. Awards are anticipated to range between $250,000 and $2,000,000, but applicants seeking grants larger or smaller than that are still encouraged to apply and are eligible.
Short (2 page) pre-proposals must be submitted through NFWF’s Easygrants system no later than May 22, 2023. This RFP is also accepting early pre-proposals, with all pre-proposals reviewed as they are submitted on a rolling basis. If you feel that you have a project concept that is well developed and would benefit from earlier access to funds, please contact Gray Redding (gray.redding@nfwf.org) immediately for information on these early submission deadlines. All interested applicants must submit a pre-proposal in order to be invited to the full proposal process. Full proposals will be due July 13, 2023, with an earlier full proposal deadline for those seeking the early submission process.
NFWF is hosting a webinar on May 2nd, at 3 PM (Eastern). The webinar will include information about the application process and funding priorities. To register, please follow this link: Webinar Registration. Applicants are strongly encouraged to participate, but if you are unable to attend live, the webinar will be recorded and posted on the RFP page. In addition to the webinar, interested parties can schedule time to speak with NFWF staff regarding their pre-proposal at this link: Schedule Pre-Proposal Appointment.