The Maryland Water Resources Research Center (MWRRC) invites pre-proposals for research expected to be funded September 1, 2025 through August 31, 2026. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Department of the Interior, will sponsor the research under the Water Resources Research Act Program. Awards are available only to Water Research Institutes or any investigator at an institution of higher learning who applies through the state Water Research Institute.
This year, the MWRRC is instituting a pre-proposal round. It is hoped that this approach will encourage applications by reducing the up-front submission requirements. MWRRC will work with selected investigators to complete full proposals following the USGS requirements.
Faculty from all Maryland colleges and universities are encouraged to submit pre-proposals.
Project funding is dependent upon the availability of funds. It is expected that 2-3 projects will be funded with a maximum funding request of $60,000 per proposal.
Eligibility Requirements
The USGS accepts applications only from Institutes or Centers established pursuant to the provisions of Section 104 of the Water Resources Research Act of 1984, as amended. The applicant may consider project proposals only from faculty members or affiliates at institutions of higher education in its State. Therefore, eligible applicants are faculty members or affiliates at universities, colleges, and community colleges in the State of Maryland.
Pre-Proposal
The pre-proposal to MWRRC does not require institutional signature or submission by an authorized official. For the selected projects, the full proposal will require institutional (university or college) approval.
This document provides further details on preparing the pre-proposal: MWRRCPreProposalRFP_104bFY25.pdf
Pre-Proposal Due
Pre-proposals under this announcement must be submitted to the MWRRC in PDF format to kbru@umd.edu by 11:59 PM on April 18, 2025. Please include “WRRA104b” in the subject line. Pre-proposal decisions and an invitation to submit a full proposal will be announced in late April. The anticipated deadline for submissions to USGS is May 2025
Inquiries
If you have any inquiries concerning this grant opportunity or wish to obtain the previous year’s Request for Proposals for guidance, please contact Dr. Kaye Brubaker (kbru@umd.edu). Updates to the timeline and RFP will be posted on this website.
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