agency's vision to create and sustain enhanced resilience in ecosystems, communities, and economies, as described in NOAA's Next Generation Strategic Plan (NGSP) . Fostering climate adaptation and mitigation, and, specifically, the development of an informed society anticipating and responding to climate and its impacts - is one of the primary pathways through which NOAA plans to advance its mission. The NGSP outlines NOAA's five-year climate objectives: 1) Improved scientific understanding of the changing climate system and its impacts; 2) Assessments of current and future states of the climate system that identify potential impacts and inform science, service, and stewardship decisions; 3) Mitigation and adaptation choices supported by sustained, reliable, and timely climate services; and 4) A climate-literate public that understands its vulnerabilities to a changing climate and makes informed decisions. NOAA works in partnership with Federal, academic, private, and international research entities, and places a substantial emphasis on productive partnerships and interactions with decision makers and other stakeholders.Within this context, NOAA's Climate Program Office (CPO) manages competitive research programs conducted in regions across the United States, at national and international scales, and globally. The CPO also provides strategic guidance and oversight for the agency's climate science and services programs and helps to integrate capabilities from across the agency to provide enhanced services to its constituents. Achieving the first of the NGSP climate objectives, an improved scientific understanding of the changing climate system and its impacts, requires a number of core capabilities be supported. These core capabilities can be broadly categorized to include: (a) understanding and modeling, (b) observing systems, data stewardship, and climate monitoring, (c) predictions and projections, and (d) integrated service development and decision support.These core capabilities, in turn, will focus initially on the following societal challenges identified in the NGSP as early evidence of progress to be made by NOAA in providing sustained, reliable, and timely climate services:* Climate Impacts on Water Resources* Coasts and Climate Resilience* Sustainability of Marine Ecosystems* Changes in Extremes of Weather and Climate* Information for Mitigating Climate ChangeEach of the Competitions announced in this Federal Funding Opportunity addresses one or more of these core capabilities or societal challenges. It is expected that applications submitted in response to this Opportunity will identify their relevance to NOAA's climate science and services by indicating which core capabilities and/or societal challenges will be addressed by the proposed work. Application abstracts must include a paragraph describing the work's relevance to the NGSP's long-term goal of climate adaptation and mitigation as well as to the Competition that is being targeted.In FY 2012, we estimate that $15.5 million will be available for approximately 60 new awards pending budget appropriations. It is anticipated that most awards will be at a funding level between $50,000 and $200,000 per year, with some exceptions for larger awards. Investigators are highly encouraged to visit the CPO website http://www.cpo.noaa.gov/index.jsp?pg=/opportunities/opp_index.jsp&opp=2012/program_elements.jsphttp://www.noaa.gov/ngsp