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Faculty Funding

Open Funding Opportunities

There are currently no open funding opportunities. Please check back later!

Closed Funding Opportunities

These opportunities are currently closed.

WRRI-USGS 104(b) Grants

WRRI issued its annual RFP for faculty pre-proposals for the FY 2025-2026 Competitive Grants Program. This RFP is sponsored by WRRI and the USGS 104(b) program. Faculty or university affiliates of any accredited college or university in North Carolina are eligible to apply.

Faculty may propose one- or two-year projects for the 2025-2026 cycle, with a maximum award of $60,000 per year. The anticipated start date for faculty projects is September 1, 2025. Start dates and award amounts are contingent upon receipt of federal funds.

A full description of research priorities for the 2025-2026 funding period are provided in the official Request for Proposals.

The deadline for preproposals is September 16, 2024 at 5pm.

For questions related to the RFP or submission process, contact John Fear (jmfear@ncsu.edu) or Kaitlin Tucker (ktucker@ncsu.edu).

Community Collaborative Research Grants (CCRG)

The CCRG program is an innovative funding opportunity that requires research approaches that couple local knowledge with scientific expertise. Learn more about CCRG.

USGS 104(g) Grants

North Carolina’s Water Resources Research Institute is accepting proposals for three separate 104(g) opportunities sponsored by the U.S. Geological Survey. Proposals will be submitted by NC WRRI on behalf of the researcher.

The National Institutes for Water Resources (NIWR) and U.S. Geological Survey award grants annually under the USGS Section 104(g) Competitive Grants Program. Any investigator at an institution of higher learning is eligible to apply for these grants with research that focuses on priorities of regional and national importance.

View more information and the 2024 USGS 104(g) RFPs on the USGS website.

For proposal questions, please contact John Fear at jmfear@ncsu.edu. For budget questions, please contact Mary Beth Barrow at mebarrow@ncsu.edu.

WRRI-Urban Water Consortium PFAS Request for Proposal

The Water Resources Research Institute (WRRI) and the Urban Water Consortium (UWC) has initiated a request for proposals (RFP) process for applied research to strengthen the UWC’s response to and treatment of per- and polyfluorinated substances (PFAS) contamination in drinking water and wastewater across North Carolina. A two-stage process involving a pre-proposal and full proposal will be utilized.

The main purpose of this funding opportunity is to support research that can improve utility operations and analytical methods in a cost-effective manner as North Carolina utilities strategically prepare to address the future of evolving regulations, scientific understanding, and public perception. There is a need for accurate data that can inform future treatment options/operations and near-term decisions related to management and removal of PFAS. This is a call for applied research that will strengthen the UWC’s response to and treatment of PFAS, focused on the areas identified below. The Urban Water Consortium has identified research areas of interest in the following categories: Methodology, Treatment, and Education. Specific research areas of interest are included in the RFP document (linked below).

Eligibility

Faculty and University Affiliates of any accredited college or university (public or private) in North Carolina may apply. Out of state collaborators are eligible to be involved in the project as a co-PI, but the PI must be based at a North Carolina college or university. Projects may be proposed for one or two year projects with a maximum award of $60,000 per year. Student and/or post-doctoral involvement in projects is encouraged.

Schedule

Pre-proposals are due June 28, 2024 at 5:00pm EST. Late proposals will not be accepted. The anticipated start date for projects is January 1, 2025.

Contact

Please reach out to Kaitlin Tucker by email at ktucker@ncsu.edu with any questions related to the RFP or submission process. Please reach out to Mary Beth Barrow by email at mebarrow@ncsu.edu for any budget related questions.

Application Resources

Mini-Grants

WRRI occasionally offers mini-grant opportunities, often in partnership with NC Sea Grant.

Explore previously-funded faculty research

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Learn how we plan to address our state’s priority water resource issues.

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