Sea Grant's university-based research is of high quality and chosen to take an unbiased look at priority questions. It has the scientific rigor of work funded by the National Science Foundation with the additional requirement of real-world stakeholder review. New York Sea Grant’s research is expected to “make a difference” by providing useful results to the public, businesses, and managers. Given the variety of marine, aquatic, and coastal topics covered by our grants to top-notch physical oceanographers, food scientists, benthic ecologists, aquatic toxicologists, fisheries modelers, geochemists, and others, NYSG serves as an important resource for New Yorkers with many different interests and information needs. NYSG research also sets benchmarks within the scientific community, advancing the state of knowledge in many fields.
With more than $1 million of core funds per year dedicated to it, research is the single largest component of NYSG’s state and federal base budget. Competition for grant funds is high, and the selection of projects for NYSG’s portfolio is a science in itself. It includes programmatic screening of preproposals submitted in response to a priority-driven Call for Proposals, peer review and Technical Review Panel evaluation of full proposals, and input from stakeholders. Final selection depends on technical soundness and anticipated usefulness of the results. Even if a proposal addresses a crucially important topic, if the science or methods are questionable or subpar, New York Sea Grant will not fund it. The rigor of our technical review process is highly praised and provides the foundation for NYSG’s scientific credibility.
New York has tremendous research talent in its many universities and research-capable institutions. NYSG’s Calls are sent to more than 300 individuals in nearly 100 institutions, usually attracting about four times as many applications as can be funded. New faculty names are continually being added to our mailing list and roster of funded investigators. Occasionally we must look beyond New York’s borders to find expertise for certain topics, but funding NY faculty helps to reinforce and build their interests in addressing the state’s coastal problems and opportunities.
Focus on ...
Research
Photomicrograph of Listeria, courtesy of Martin Wiedmann
Coastal Communities,
Habitat Restoration &
Water Quality
Coastal Economies,
Marinas, Tourism &
Other Coastal Businesses