North Carolina Water Resources Research Institute’s Community Collaborative Research Grant program is accepting proposals now through Feb. 4, 2022 for projects to start later in 2022. The program brings communities and researchers together to study high-priority environmental and economic issues in North Carolina.

“This program is an effective and efficient process to continually address community priorities that can change year to year,” explains John Fear, deputy director of the Water Resources Research Institute (WRRI).

“CCRG projects bring significant returns on investment,” Fear adds. “In our recent review of the first six years of the grant program, we have confirmed that new partnerships have sustained themselves well after the end of individual projects, allowing momentum that produces ongoing benefits.”

WRRI strongly encourages proposals from applicants from traditionally underserved and underrepresented communities, as well as proposals that demonstrate how projects and related outreach will benefit underserved and underrepresented communities. This includes encouraging proposals from researchers at Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority Serving Institutions.

New grants will range from $5,000 to $25,000 for projects that take place over one year. In 2021, the program funded projects including topics such as youth training regarding resilience, oysters, near-shore contaminants, shoreline erosion, sharks, wetlands and freshwater mussels.

The CCRG program partners WRRI with NC State University’s William R. Kenan Jr. Institute for Engineering, Technology and Science (KIETS) and North Carolina Sea Grant. CCRG funding opportunities can address watersheds and water resource issues, as well as key coastal urgencies, in line with the mission of North Carolina Sea Grant.

KIETS is pleased to continue its collaboration in funding CCRG. “Consistent with our mission to support innovative partnerships, the CCRG brings together academic, government, non-profit, and business partners across NC who work collaboratively towards solving relevant and important problems. The CCRG reflects and amplifies a collective and intentional focus enabling authentic community engagement that serves to support and nurture the creativity and resiliency of these communities,” notes Raj Narayan, KIETS associate director.

“This manifests itself through the projects the CCRG supports which vary from educational initiatives lifting up the voices of young climate leaders, enabling research that addresses environmental preservation, and informing strategies to empower the economic development and vitality of our state,” he adds.

WRRI adds a focus on watersheds and water’s vital role in communities. “Drawing on expertise from WRRI enables CCRG to benefit communities from the coast to the mountains of North Carolina,” adds Kaitlin Tucker, who joined WRRI this year as research and engagement coordinator.

The deadline for proposals is Feb. 4, 2022.

Access the full Request for Proposals with instructions for online submission at go.ncsu.edu/CCRG.

Contact:
John Fear, 919-515-9104, jmfear@ncsu.edu
Katie Mosher, 919-515-9069, kmosher@ncsu.edu

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