The Maryland Water Resources Research Center (MWRRC) announces the release of the Request for Proposals (RFP) for the FY 2023 National Competitive Grant Program by the U.S. Geological Survey’s Water Resources Research Act Program in cooperation with the National Institutes for Water Resources.

Section 104(g) of the Water Resources Research Act of 1984 requires that this competitive grant program focus on: “water problems and issues of a regional or interstate nature beyond those of concern only to a single State and which relate to specific program priorities identified jointly by the Secretary (of the Interior) and the (water resources research) institutes.” Objectives of this program also include the following:

1. Promote collaboration between the USGS and university scientists in research on significant national and regional water-resources issues. Proposals exhibiting substantial collaboration between the USGS and the applicant are strongly encouraged. Collaborative proposals should describe in detail the respective roles of the USGS and the applicant in the proposed work. It is anticipated that in FY2023 the USGS will have internal funds available for modest support of USGS scientists on selected proposals.
2. Promote the dissemination and application of the results of the research funded under this program, both to the scientific community and to the general public.
3. Assist in the training of scientists in relevant water-resources fields. Proposals that include a strong educational component (student support) are encouraged, as are those from early-career faculty.

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.

• Socieoeconomics: 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

Any investigator at an institution of higher learning in Maryland is eligible to apply through the MWRRC. If a proposal from an institution other than the University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP) is selected for funding, the funds will be managed as a subcontract from UMCP. Projects will only be awarded if funds are appropriated to the USGS to support the program.

Proposals may be for projects of 1 to 3 years in duration, may request up to $310,000 in federal funds, and require a 1:1 (non-federal:federal) match. Federal funds may not be used to pay Indirect Costs (IDC); the foregone IDC may be included in the non-federal match. Proposals in PDF format must be emailed to the MWRRC Director Dr. Kaye Brubaker at kbru<at-symbol>umd.edu by 11:59 p.m., April 14, 2023 to allow adequate time for MWRRC to submit the proposals by the April 27, 2023, deadline for institutes. Only proposals submitted to MWRRC by April 14, 2023 will be transmitted to the National Grants Competition Proposal Peer Review Panel.

Additional information about research priorities, proposal content, format and review process are available in the RFP.

PIs who intend to submit proposals under this program are asked to notify the Center as soon as possible (kbru<at-symbol>umd.edu) so that we may prepare for and assist with proposal preparation and processing.