Program Development (PD) Funds

Each year Maine Sea Grant allocates part of its budget for Program Development (PD) funds. The National Sea Grant Office allows state programs to award these funds to enhance their strategic plan goals. Awards are generally for small research projects and proof-of-concept with the intent of seeding an idea for later development into larger funding proposals. Proposals for use of these funds may also include extension, education, communications, travel, and graduate student support, and support for workshops or conferences. 

Strategic Focus Areas:

• Healthy Coastal Ecosystems
  Goal: Maine people will understand the links between healthy ecosystems and resilient communities, and take action to ensure the long-term health of coastal resources.
• Resilient Communities and Economies
  Goal: Maine’s coastal communities will draw upon relevant science and their assets to recover from, adapt to, prepare for, and mitigate the environmental, economic, and social/cultural vulnerabilities they have identified and prioritized.
• Safe and Sustainable Seafood 
  Goal: Maine’s wild harvest and aquaculture sectors and the communities that depend on them are economically viable and environmentally sustainable.
• Communities Responding to a Changing Climate
  Goal: Maine communities, businesses, and individuals understand the risks and opportunities that result from a changing climate, and develop effective strategies that enhance preparedness for and resilience to uncertainty and change in environmental conditions.
• Environmental Literacy and Workforce Development 
  Goal 1: Maine’s environmentally literate public can use scientific knowledge to identify questions, draw evidence-based conclusions, and make decisions about issues that affect the ecological health, economic vitality, and resilience of Maine’s coastal communities and ocean-related resources.
  Goal 2: Maine will have a diverse workforce skilled in disciplines critical to the ecological health, economic vitality, and resilience of Maine’s coastal communities and marine-related resources.

Preference is given to projects for which Sea Grant has a vested interest and those which leverage other resources. Although these funds can be used for workshops, conferences, and travel support, less than 25% of the funds will be used in that manner with preference for research, extension, and education-related projects.

• Others (see text field entitled "Additional Eligibility Criteria" for clarification)