Water Resources Research Institute seeking RFPs to address local water problems

DC Water Resources Research Institute (DCWRRI) Request for FY2016 Proposals

The Water Resources Research Institute at the University of the District of Columbia (DCWRRI) is accepting proposals under the Water Resources Research Act, Section 104 (b). The DCWRRI is requesting a proposal for research or information transfer that explores new ideas to address water problems in the District of Columbia, and expands understanding of innovative ways of managing urban waterways. Partly funded by the U.S. Geological Survey, the mission of the DCWRRI is to provide the District of Columbia with interdisciplinary research support to identify DC water resource problems and contribute to their solutions.

The deadline is 5:00 p.m., Friday, November 13, 2015. Download the application.

Submission Eligibility: Eligible proposals must have a Principal Investigator who is a faculty member or researcher affiliated with any DC-area university, including any of the schools within the DC University Consortium, including American, Catholic, George Washington, Georgetown, Howard, and UDC. Principal Investigators from any other universities should contact DCWRRI regarding eligibility.

Submission Requirements: Proposals must be submitted electronically in Microsoft Word to tdeksissa@udc.edu no later than 5:00 pm November 13, 2015. A proposal must follow the DCWRRI Seed Grant Proposal Guidelines (as shown in Attachments 1 and 2) and must include a completed Budget Breakdown Form (provided as Attachment 3). (The attachments can be found in the application.)

• The maximum amount of funds requested cannot exceed $10,000.
• A 1:2 federal to non-federal match must be provided. The total federal match includes funding from the USGS/DCWRRI Seed Grant program as well as any other federal funds, e.g. EPA, NSF, USDA etc.
• Non-federal match may include both cash and “in-kind”. University indirect costs are typically waived in this program. If the associated university allows waiver of indirect costs, these costs may be used as an in-kind match.
• Preference will be given to research proposals that include cash and/or in-kind matching by non-university District stakeholders, and research proposal that addresses issues identified by the DCWRRI Advisory Board shown in Attachment 3.
• All proposed research must demonstrate student training potential and identify proposed student involvement.
• All Seed Grant recipients must provide a report in the appropriate USGS format and must include a conference presentation, article, and/or journal publications on DCWRRI-supported research.
• Innovative and multidisciplinary research approaches are encouraged, as are projects involving multiple university collaboration within the District of Columbia.

Review Process, Award and Completion Dates: Proposals will be reviewed by a Technical Advisory Committee that includes DCWRRI Stakeholder Advisory Board. Selected research projects will be submitted by DCWRRI to the USGS in mid-January 2016 for the award announcement in February 2016. The funds are expected to be available in March 2016. Projects must be completed no later than February 28, 2017.

Please direct questions to DCWRRI Director, Dr. Tolessa Deksissa, at (202) 274-5273 or tdeksissa@udc.edu.