PART 918—SEA GRANTS Authority: Sec. 207, National Sea Grant College Program Act, as amended (Pub. L. 94-461, 33 U.S.C. 1121, et seq. Source: 44 FR 75054, Dec. 18, 1979, unless otherwise noted. § 918.1 Introduction. Pursuant to section 207 of the National Sea Grant College Program Act, as amended (Pub. L. 94-461, 33 U.S.C. 1121 et seq. § 918.2 Definitions. (a) Marine environment. Marine Environment (b) Ocean, Great Lakes, and coastal resources. ocean, Great Lakes, and coastal resources (c) Person. Person (d) Sea Grant College. Sea Grant College (e) Sea Grant Program. Sea Grant Program (1) Is administered by a Sea Grant College, Sea Grant Regional Consortium, institution of higher education, institute, laboratory, or State or local agency; and (2) Includes two or more Sea Grant projects involving one or more of the following activities in fields related to ocean, Great Lakes, and coastal resources: (i) Research, (ii) Education and training, and (iii) Advisory services. (f) Sea Grant project. (g) Sea Grant Regional Consortium. Sea Grant Regional Consortium i.e. (h) Field related to Ocean, Great Lakes, and coastal resources. field related to Ocean, Great Lakes, and coastal resources § 918.3 Eligibility, qualifications, and responsibility of a Sea Grant College. (a) To be eligible for designation as a Sea Grant College, the institution of higher education or confederation of such institutions must have demonstrated a capability to maintain a high quality and balanced program of research, education, training, and advisory services in fields related to ocean, Great Lakes, and coastal resources for a minimum of three years, and have received financial assistance as an Institutional program under either section 205 of the National Sea Grant College Program Act or under section 204(c) of the earlier National Sea Grant College and Program Act of 1966. (b) To be eligible for designation as a Sea Grant College, the candidate institution or confederation of institutions must meet the qualifications set forth above as evaluated by a site review team composed of members of the Sea Grant Review Panel, NOAA's Office of Sea Grant, and other experts named by NOAA. As a result of this review, the candidate must be rated highly in all of the following qualifying areas: (1) Leadership. (2) Organization. (3) Relevance. (4) Programmed team approach. (5) Education and training. (6) Advisory services. (7) Relationships. (8) Productivity. (9) Support. (c) Finally, it must be found that the Sea Grant College candidate will act in accordance with the following standards relating to its continuing responsibilities if it should be designated a Sea Grant College: (1) Continue pursuit of excellence and high performance in marine research, education, training, and advisory services. (2) Provide leadership in marine activities including coordinated planning and cooperative work with local, state, regional, and Federal agencies, other Sea Grant Programs, and non-Sea Grant universities. (3) Maintain an effective management framework and application of institutional resources to the achievement of Sea Grant objectives. (4) Develop and implement long-term plans for research, education, training, and advisory services consistent with Sea Grant goals and objectives. (5) Advocate and further the Sea Grant concept and the full development of its potential within the institution and the state. (6) Provide adequate and stable matching financial support for the program from non-Federal sources. (7) Establish and operate an effective system to control the quality of its Sea Grant programs. § 918.4 Duration of Sea Grant College designation. Designation will be made on the basis of merit and the determination by the Secretary of Commerce that such a designation is consistent with the goals of the Act. Continuation of the Sea Grant College designation is contingent upon the institution's ability to maintain a high quality performance consistent with the requirements outlined above. The Secretary may, for cause and after an opportunity for hearing, suspend or terminate a designation as a Sea Grant College. § 918.5 Eligibility, qualifications, and responsibilities—Sea Grant Regional Consortia. (a) To be eligible for designation as a Sea Grant Regional Consortium, the candidate association or alliance of organizations must provide, in significant breadth and quality, one or more services in the areas of research, education, and training, or advisory service in fields related to ocean, Great Lakes, and coastal resources. Further, it is essential that the candidate Sea Grant Consortium be required to provide all three services as soon as possible after designation. Further, such association or alliance must demonstrate that: (1) It has been established for the purpose of sharing expertise, research, educational facilities, or training facilities, and other capabilities in order to facilitate research, education, training, and advisory services in any field related to ocean, Great Lakes, and coastal resources; and (2) It will encourage and follow a regional multi-State approach to solving problems or meeting needs relating to ocean, Great Lakes, and coastal resources, in cooperation with appropriate Sea Grant Colleges, Sea Grant Programs and other persons in the region. (b) Although it is recognized that the distribution of effort between research, education, training, and advisory services to achieve appropriate balance in a Sea Grant Regional Consortium may differ from a Sea Grant College, sustained effort in all of these areas is, nonetheless, an essential requirement for retention of such designation. To be eligible for designation as a Sea Grant Regional Consortium, the candidate association or alliance of organizations must meet the qualifications set forth above as evaluated by a site review team composed of members of the Sea Grant Review Panel, the Office of Sea Grant, and other experts. Further, the candidate must be rated highly in all of the following qualifying areas which are pertinent to the Consortium's program: (1) Leadership. (2) Organization. (3) Relevance. (4) Education and training. (5) Advisory services. (6) Relationships. (7) Productivity. (8) Support. (c) Finally, it must be found that the Sea Grant Regional Consortium candidate will act in accordance with the following standards relating to its continuing responsibilities as a Sea Grant Regional Consortium: (1) Continue pursuit of excellence and high performance in marine research education, training, and advisory services. (2) Provide regional leadership in marine activities including coordinated planning and cooperative work with local, State, regional, and Federal agencies, other Sea Grant Programs, and non-Sea Grant organizations. (3) Maintain an effective management framework and application of organizational resources to the achievement of Sea Grant objectives. (4) Develop and implement long-term plans for research, education, training, and advisory services consistent with Sea Grant goals and objectives. (5) Advocate and further the Sea Grant concept and the full development of its potential within the consortium and the region. (6) Provide adequate and stable matching financial support for the program from non-Federal sources. (7) Establish and operate an effective system to control the quality of its Sea Grant program. § 918.6 Duration of Sea Grant Regional Consortium designation. Designation will be made on the basis of merit and the determination by the Secretary of Commerce that such a designation is consistent with the goals of the Act. Continuation of the Sea Grant Regional Consortium designation is contingent upon the alliance's ability to maintain a high quality performance consistent with the standards outlined above. The Secretary may, for cause and after an opportunity for hearing, suspend or terminate the designation as a Sea Grant Regional Consortium. § 918.7 Application for designation. (a) All applications for initial designation as a Sea Grant College or a Regional Consortium should be addressed to the Secretary of Commerce and submitted to the Director, National Sea Grant College Program, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The application should contain an outline of the capabilities of the applicant and the reasons why the applicant believes that it merits designation under the guidelines contained in this regulation. Upon receipt of the application, the Director will present the institution's case to the Sea Grant Review Panel for evaluation. The Panel's recommendation will be forwarded to the Secretary for final action. (b) An existing Sea Grant College or Regional Consortium may also apply as in paragraph (a) of this section, for a change in the scope of designation to include or exclude other administrative entities of the institution or association. If approved by the Secretary such included (excluded) administrative entities shall share (lose) the full rights and responsibilities of a Sea Grant College or Regional Consortium.