Dr. G. Padmanabhan

Director, ND WRRI

Professor of Civil Engineering

Proposals Invited for National Institute for Water Resources/USGS Competitive Grants Program

The Fiscal Year 2010 Request for Proposals is now available. Application due dates are 4:00 PM, Eastern Time, April 7, 2010 (Investigators).
https://niwr.net/competitive_grants/competitive_grants/2010RFP104G

The U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the National Institutes for Water Resources requests proposals for matching grants to support research on the topics of water supply and water availability, which are issues of importance nationwide. Proposals are requested on the topics of water supply and availability, including investigations of possible new sources of supply, improvement of impaired waters to usable quality, conservation of existing sources, and limiting growth in demand.

Proposals are sought in not only the physical dimensions of supply and demand, but also quality trends in raw water supplies; the role of economics and institutions in water supply and demand; institutional arrangements for tracking and reporting water supply and availability; and institutional arrangements for coping with extreme hydrologic conditions. Any investigator at an 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 of 1984, as amended. Proposals involving substantial collaboration between the USGS and university scientists are encouraged. Proposals may be for projects of 1 to 3 years in duration and may request up to $250,000 in federal funds. Successful applicants must match each dollar of the federal grant with one dollar from non-federal sources.

*Program Objectives*

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;
2. Promote the dissemination and application of the results of the
   research funded under this program; and
3. Assist in the training of scientists in relevant water resource
   fields. Proposals that include a strong educational component
   (student support) are encouraged, as are proposals from faculty
   beginning their careers.

*Applicant Eligibility and Proposal Approval*

Awards are available only to Water Research Institutes or Centers established pursuant to the provisions of section 104 of the Water Resources Research Act and listed at http://water.usgs.gov/wrri/institutes.html. However, any investigator at an institution of higher learning in the United States is eligible to apply for an award through a Water Research Institute or Center.