Funding Opportunities

Funding for Water Resources 104G-General

Text summarized from the RFP: The U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the National Institutes for Water Resources supports an annual call for proposals to focus on water problems and issues that are of a regional or interstate nature or relate to a specific program priority identified by the Secretary of the Interior and the Institutes.

The program objectives of the National Competitive Grants program are to promote collaboration between the USGS and university scientists in research on significant national and regional water resources issues; promote the dissemination and results of the research funded under this program; and to assist in the training of scientists in water resources.

Funding for this 2024 program is 1.86 million dollars in federal funds per year that are required to be matched with non-federal dollars. Any investigator at an accredited institution of higher learning in the United States is eligible to apply for a grant through a Water Research Institute or Center established under the provisions of the Water Resources Research Act.

Proposals are sought on the topic of improving and enhancing the nation’s water supply and availability, and promoting the exploration of new ideas that address or expand our understanding of water problems, including the following specific areas of inquiry (levels of priority are not assigned, and the order of listing does not indicate the level of priority):

• National-scale evaluation of water budget: Retrospective or predictive analyses using hydroclimate-forcing data sets, with emphasis on CONUS404, which was developed in a USGS- NCAR collaboration. Additional guidance includes • Emphasis on prediction of water-budget components through a variety of interpretive approaches • Incorporation of how uncertainty in hydroclimate-forcing propagates to water budget components • Consideration of both retrospective and projected conditions.
  • Rasmussen, R.M., Liu, C., Ikeda, K., Chen, F., Kim, J., Schneider, T., Gochis, D., Dugger, A., and Viger, R., 2023, Four-kilometer long-term regional hydroclimate reanalysis over the conterminous United States (CONUS), 1979-2020: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9PHPK4F.
• Socioeconomics: Integrate ongoing USGS research and data collection in order to assess socioeconomic and ecological vulnerability to compounding extreme events and develop adaptation measures. This proposed project should undertake new research (e.g., Water Use and Social and Economic Drivers Program) to understand the vulnerability of urban (e.g., trans-basin diversions), agricultural (e.g., reservoir management), and ecological (e.g., endangered species) water-use sectors to drought and compounding hazards such as wildfire. Additional guidance includes:
  • Provide a quantifiable portfolio of risk for water-use sectors (including ecological and socio-economic)
  • Develop climate futures and planning scenarios for relevant institutions: management, communities, other institutions

For more information, please review the RFP below.

Full proposals must be submitted through IWRRC.

There are multiple deadlines for proposal submission: See submission guidelines for specific information
May 1, 2024 at 5:00PM Eastern – Intent to Submit notification
May 20, 2024 at 10:00AM Eastern – Budget submission
May 28, 2024 at 10:00AM Eastern – Remaining proposal documents

2024 Request for Proposal (.pdf) Closed for 2024

Budget justification (examples of good and bad budget justification)
104g budget sheet
104g budget instructions
Data management checklist
IWRRC Required Statements
WRRA Special Terms and Conditions (Attachment 1)
Focus Categories (Attachment 2)
DOI covered UAS assessment guide
USGS collaborators; Government Involvement Explanation example (Attachment 3)

The IWRRC has developed Submission Guidelines to provide assistance with the proposal process.

Funding for 104G Aquatic Invasive Species

Text provided from the RFP: The challenges and opportunities that link aquatic invasive species and water resources are poorly understood, despite the real and growing effect of numerous aquatic invasive species on water quality, water quantity, and aquatic ecosystems. Research is needed to better identify and understand these interactions and to guide management decisions that will help to improve invasive species management and thus reduce effects of invasive species on water resources and aquatic ecosystems at local, regional, and national scales.

Proposals are sought on the following specific areas of inquiry (levels of priority are not assigned, and the order of listing does not indicate the level of priority):

• Effects: Research that improves our understanding of the effects of aquatic invasive species on lakes, rivers, and associated tributaries in the upper Mississippi River basin, including changes to water quantity, water quality, and ecosystem dynamics.
• Characteristics: Research that identifies physical, biological, and chemical characteristics of water bodies that infer resistance and resilience to the distribution, establishment, and effects of aquatic invasive species in the upper Mississippi River basin. Research is needed to better understand these interactions to guide management decisions that will improve invasive species management and result in positive effects on aquatic ecosystems.
• Management: Research on assessment of the detection, spread, and management of aquatic invasive species in the upper Mississippi River basin and the connections to human dimensions, both socially and economically. Note that this does not include physical control of AIS.

For more information, please review the RFP below.

Full proposals must be submitted through IWRRC.

There are multiple deadlines for proposal submission: See submission guidelines for specific information
May 1, 2024 at 5:00PM Eastern – Intent to Submit notification
May 20, 2024 at 10:00AM Eastern – Budget submission
May 28, 2024 at 10:00AM Eastern – Remaining proposal documents

2024 Request for Proposal – Aquatic Invasive Species (.pdf) Closed for 2024

Budget justification (examples of good and bad budget justification)
104g budget sheet
104g budget instructions
Data management checklist
IWRRC Required Statements
WRRA Special Terms and Conditions (Attachment 1)
Focus Categories (Attachment 2)
DOI covered UAS assessment guide

The IWRRC has developed Submission Guidelines to provide assistance with the proposal process.

104G PFAS National Competitive Research Grants

Text from the RFP: The challenges and opportunities of understanding the impact of per-and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) substances on water resources are poorly understood, despite the real and growing effect of this group of man-made substances on water quality. Research is needed to better understand these interactions and guide management decisions that will improve water resources at the regional scale or national scale.

Proposals are sought on the following specific areas of inquiry (levels of priority are not assigned, and the order of listing does not indicate the level of priority):

• Media-specific methods: Enhanced methods for detection on specific media, with a clear indication of
  • new or different compounds,
  • new or different methodological approaches,
  • lower detection levels for specific media or compounds, especially with respect to EPA health guidelines for PFOA (Perfluorooctanoic Acid) and PFOS (Perfluorooctane Sulfonate). Media of interest include (in ranked order) (1) Tissues/plasma, (2) sediment, (3) air or interfaces, (4) water.
• Atmospheric sources: Improved understanding of atmospheric exchange in PFAS distribution and fate. This may include methods to determine transport of PFAS to the atmosphere and to subsequent receiving waters, such as a water method that determines “new” compounds based on their likelihood to occur in the atmosphere.
• Processes oriented at molecular level: Process-oriented research of PFAS fate, transport, and effects, with emphasis on molecular-level understanding of PFAS precursor transformation, sorption dynamics, or mechanisms of bioaccumulation and(or) biological/ecological effects.

For more information, please review the RFP below.

Full proposals must be submitted through IWRRC.

There are multiple deadlines for proposal submission: See submission guidelines for specific information
May 1, 2024 at 5:00PM Eastern – Intent to Submit notification
May 20, 2024 at 10:00AM Eastern – Budget submission
May 28, 2024 at 10:00AM Eastern – Remaining proposal documents

2024 Request for Proposal – PFAS (.pdf) Closed for 2024

Budget justification (examples of good and bad budget justification)
104g budget sheet
104g budget instructions
Data management checklist
IWRRC Required Statements
WRRA Special Terms and Conditions (Attachment 1)
Focus Categories (Attachment 2)
DOI covered UAS assessment guide

The IWRRC has developed Submission Guidelines to provide assistance with the proposal process.