Cooperative Institute in the Northern Gulf of America (CINGA)
Supports a Gulf of America regional cooperative institute with sustained collaborative marine science.
⚠This may reflect a past cycle — verify the current call on the funder's site.
NOAA-OAR-CIAO-2026-32786 is the competition to establish the Cooperative Institute in the Northern Gulf of America (CINGA), replacing the Northern Gulf Institute (NGI) that was previously hosted by Mississippi State University. The award is a single five-year cooperative agreement under CFDA Assistance Listing 11.432 (NOAA Cooperative Institutes) to one lead consortium institution, with a total funding ceiling of $100,000,000. The posting opened April 2, 2026 and closed May 18, 2026. NOAA's Cooperative Institutes Administration Office (CIAO) within the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research manages the competition; contact is cipo.oar@noaa.gov.
Eligibility is restricted to non-federal public or private non-profit universities and colleges that offer accredited graduate-level science programs in NOAA-related fields and are geographically located within the Gulf of America region. Federal laboratories and agencies cannot receive funds but may participate as uncompensated partners. Cost sharing is required. The lead institution must be capable of anchoring a regional consortium and hosting continuous follow-on project proposals across NOAA research themes — fisheries, coastal hazards, ocean and atmospheric sciences, and climate — submitted non-competitively under the umbrella agreement after selection.
The CINGA model mirrors the 15 other active NOAA Cooperative Institutes nationwide, where the host university receives a long-term cooperative agreement and then executes an evolving portfolio of NOAA-aligned projects without competing for each individually. Winning proposals will demonstrate a research faculty and infrastructure that spans the Gulf region's fisheries, physical oceanography, coastal resilience, and weather science priorities. The recompete signal — displacing an incumbent at Mississippi State — indicates NOAA is open to new host institutions with stronger regional reach and scientific breadth.
Oceanic, atmospheric, and coastal research relevant to the Northern Gulf of America region; NOAA mission areas including fisheries, climate, weather, and coastal hazards.
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