GM-23-04: Cultural Heritage and Traditional Knowledge of Vulnerable Coastal Communities | M23AS00358

Opportunity Information: Apply for M23AS00358

GM-23-04: Cultural Heritage and Traditional Knowledge of Vulnerable Coastal Communities (Funding Opportunity Number M23AS00358) is a Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) discretionary cooperative agreement focused on how coastal land loss in Louisiana is impacting cultural heritage. The project is set up as a collaborative effort between BOEM and the State of Louisiana to document and better understand the consequences of shoreline change, sea-level rise, erosion, and subsidence on archaeological resources and Traditional Cultural Properties (TCPs), and on the people and communities connected to those places. A central aim is to build baseline information about specific affected groups so future decisions are grounded in a clearer understanding of what has already been lost, what is at risk next, and what those losses mean socially, culturally, and historically.

The work is explicitly people-centered and community-informed. Ethnographers and other community-oriented social scientists will gather perspectives directly from stakeholder communities about the loss and potential loss of archaeological sites and TCPs, including sites that are already submerged and those projected to become submerged. The study is designed to move beyond mapping physical impacts by also documenting lived experience, community priorities, and cultural meaning. In practice, that means listening to how communities describe the significance of places, what they see as the consequences of losing them, and what respectful, realistic options might exist for documenting, managing, or mitigating impacts. The project also seeks actionable input on what state and federal agencies should do when sites cannot be saved in place, including approaches to documentation, stewardship, and mitigation that communities view as appropriate.

BOEM will consult with federally recognized Tribes and will also engage a wide range of other stakeholder communities and organizations with historical and cultural ties to coastal Louisiana. The opportunity text highlights outreach to groups such as African American descendant communities, Southeast Asian communities, Isleños (descendants of colonial Spanish settlers from the Canary Islands), and self-identifying Creole and Cajun communities, among others. This emphasis signals that the study is meant to reflect the cultural diversity of Louisiana's coast and to capture multiple perspectives on heritage at risk, rather than treating cultural impacts as a single narrative.

Methodologically, the project combines qualitative field methods and structured analysis. Planned activities include ethnographic fieldwork, focus groups, community meetings, literature reviews, expert consultation, and research group conferencing, along with data analysis and coding. The mix of approaches is intended to produce both rich qualitative documentation (what people say, remember, value, and recommend) and organized findings that can be used by agencies in planning and compliance contexts. Because it is a cooperative agreement, BOEM will play an active role rather than acting only as a funder. The description notes BOEM technical oversight and participation throughout the effort, including helping assess analyses, addressing questions tied to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and ensuring the overall effort stays balanced and useful for state and federal end users. BOEM and outside experts will provide continuing input and may help adjust fieldwork as needed to ensure the final products have sufficient scope, scale, and detail.

Deliverables are intended to be practical for both agencies and communities and include several public-facing and internal products. Listed deliverables include project management team meeting reports, an ethnographic cultural heritage overview report, a community engagement resource, a PowerPoint presentation, and a public-facing story map hosted on BOEM's website. Taken together, these outputs point to two parallel goals: producing agency-ready documentation that supports planning, environmental review, and consultation, while also creating accessible materials that communicate what is happening to cultural heritage along the coast and how communities are experiencing those changes.

From a funding and administrative standpoint, the opportunity is administered by BOEM under CFDA 15.423, categorized under Environment, with an award ceiling of $925,000. The original closing date was 2023-06-26, and the opportunity was created on 2023-05-24. Cost sharing or match is not required, but it is strongly encouraged, suggesting BOEM would welcome additional leveraged resources even though applicants are not obligated to provide them. Eligibility for this specific project is effectively restricted: the only eligible applicant is the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (ULL) through the Gulf Coast Coastal Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU). This limitation indicates BOEM is pursuing the work through a targeted partnership structure rather than open competition among many institutions.

Overall, GM-23-04 is meant to give Louisiana and BOEM the data they need to make better-informed programmatic and project-level decisions as coastal change continues and as offshore energy development is considered or expanded. By documenting cultural impacts and community knowledge in a systematic way, the study is positioned to strengthen environmental analyses and reviews, improve resource management and planning, support BOEM outreach planning and Tribal consultation efforts, and more directly incorporate the voices of affected coastal stakeholders into government decision-making.

• The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management in the environment sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "GM-23-04: Cultural Heritage and Traditional Knowledge of Vulnerable Coastal Communities" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.423.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2023-05-24.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2023-06-26. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $925,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education, Others.

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