Funding Opportunities

The Water Resources Center (WRC) at the University of Minnesota, in cooperation with the Minnesota Stormwater Research Council (MSRC), is pleased to invite research proposals to advance urban stormwater pond science, technology, and management in Minnesota.

2023 Pond research request for proposals (PDF)

Resources and links for applicants

• Pre-proposal template (Word)
• Budget template (Excel) 
• Gantt Chart Example (optional format) (Excel)
• Presentation guidance (Word) 
• Submission portal for University of Minnesota affiliated researchers  
• Submission portal for all other applicants (agencies, institutions and organizations external to the U of M) 

The Water Resources Center (WRC), in cooperation with the College of Food, Agricultural, and Natural Resource Sciences, the Water Resources Research Institutes program at the U.S. Geological Survey, and the Midwest Big Data Innovation Hub, requests proposals to the Watershed Innovations (WINS) program.

The purpose of WINS is to catalyze lasting collaborations that are enhanced by WRC capabilities. The program seeks to support projects in which researchers: innovate to address important water resource concerns in Minnesota; collaborate to advance interdisciplinary inquiry; educate students and early-career researchers on team science skills; and sustain research efforts through extramural sources. 

This solicitation seeks proposals to support graduate research assistants enrolled in the Water Resources Science (WRS) program. Each award will support salary and tuition-inclusive fringe benefits for a 0.5 FTE WRS graduate research assistant for a duration of 24 months, plus up to $5,000 per year for student professional development and research-related costs. The principal investigator (PI) is expected to be the student’s academic advisor (or co-advisor) to supervise them on a research project to be described in the proposal.

• Request for proposals (PDF)
• Submission portal
• Frequently asked questions

Request for proposals

Proposals are sought on the topic of improving and enhancing the nation’s water supply and availability, as well as promoting the exploration of new ideas that address or expand our understanding of water problems. 

Proposals are sought on the following specific areas of inquiry (levels of priority are not assigned and the order of listing does not indicate the level of priority):

• National-scale evaluation of water budget: Retrospective or predictive analyses using hydroclimate-forcing data sets, with emphasis on CONUS404, which was developed in a USGS-NCAR collaboration. Additional guidance includes: 
  • Emphases on prediction of water-budget components through a variety of interpretive approaches
  • Incorporation of how uncertainty in hydroclimate-forcing propagates to water budget components
  • Consideration of both retrospective and projected conditions
• Socioeconomics: Integrate ongoing USGS research and data collection in order to assess socioeconomic and ecological vulnerability to compounding extreme events and develop adaptation measures. This proposal should undertake new research to understand the vulnerability of urban (e.g. trans-basin diversions), agricultural (e.g. reservoir management), and ecological (e.g. endangered species) water-use sectors to drought and compounding hazards such as wildfire. Additional guidance includes:
  • Provide a quantifiable portfolio of risk for water-use sectors (including ecological and socio-economic)
  • Develop climate futures and planning scenarios for relevant institutions: management, communities, other institutions

Request for proposals

The challenges and opportunities that link aquatic invasive species and water resources are poorly understood, despite the real and growing effect of numerous aquatic invasive species on water quality, water quantity, and aquatic ecosystems. Research is needed to better identify and understand these interactions and to guide management decisions that will help to improve invasive species management and thus reduce effects of invasive species on water resources and aquatic ecosystems at local, regional, and national scales. 

Proposals are sought on the following specific areas of inquiry (levels of priority are not assigned and the order of listing does not indicate the level of priority):

• Effects: Improve our understanding of the effects of aquatic invasive species on lakes, rivers, and associated tributaries in the upper Mississippi River basin, including changes to water quantity, water quality, and ecosystem dynamics.
• Characteristics: Identify physical, biological, and chemical characteristics of water bodies that infer resistance and resilience to the distribution, establishment, and effects of aquatic invasive species in the upper Mississippi River basin. Research is needed to better understand these interactions to guide management decisions that will improve invasive species management and result in positive effects on aquatic ecosystems.
• Management: Assessment of the detection, spread, and management of aquatic invasive species in the upper Mississippi River basin and the connections to human dimensions, both socially and economically. Note that this does not include physical control of AIS.

Request for proposals

The challenges and opportunities of understanding the impact of per-and polyfluoroalkyl (PFAS) substances on water resources are poorly understood, despite the real and growing effect of this group of man-made substances on water quality and the resultant exposure to humans, other organisms, and ecosystems. Research is needed to better understand these interactions and guide management decisions that will improve water resources at the regional scale or national scale. 

Proposals are sought on the following specific areas of inquiry (levels of priority are not assigned and the order of listing does not indicate the level of priority): 

• Media-specific methods: Enhanced methods for detection on specific media, with a clear indication of:
  • New or different compounds,
  • New or different methodological approaches,
  • Lower detection levels for specific media or compounds, especially with respect to EPA health guidelines for PFOA (Perfluoroctanoic Acid) and PFOS (Perfluorooctane Sulfonate).

Media of interest include (in ranked order):

1. tissues/plasma
2. sediment
3. air or interfaces
4. water

• Atmospheric sources: Improved understanding of atmospheric exchange in PFAS distribution and fate. This may include methods to determine transport of PFAS to the atmosphere and to subsequent receiving waters, such as a water method that determines “new” compounds based on their likelihood to occur in the atmosphere.
• Processes oriented at molecular level: Process-oriented research of PFAS fate, transport, and effects, with emphasis on molecular-level understanding of PFAS precursor transformation, sorption dynamics, or mechanisms of bioaccumulation and(or) biological/ecological effects.