National Competitive Grants Request for Proposals [104(g)]

Illinois investigators, it’s time to think about proposals for the National Competitive Grants program!

The National Competitive Grants Program is funded through collaboration between the National Institutes of Water Resources and the U.S. Geological Survey. It provides 1 to 3 year grants of up to $250,000 to projects addressing: research on the topic of improving and enhancing the nation’s water supply, including evaluation of innovative approaches to water treatment, infrastructure design, retrofitting, maintenance, management, and replacement; evaluation of the dynamics of extreme hydrological events and associated costs; development of methods for better estimation of the physical and economic supply of water; alternative approaches and governance mechanisms for integrated management of ground and surface waters; and the evaluation and assessment of conservation practices.

•  Collaboration between USGS scientists and applicants is not only encouraged, but proposals showing extensive collaboration will be given more weight in evaluations.
• Investigators must have a match of non-federal dollars for any federal dollars requested in proposals. Investigator salary may be used as a match.
• Any investigator at an institution of higher learning can apply for the grant, but he or she must do so through the Water Center or Institute in his or her state. For example, Illinois researchers must submit their applications to the Illinois Water Resources Center, and should contact us before February 20^th to arrange that submission.  
• Applications are due by 3pm Central Time on February 20, 2014
• Funding for these grants depends on appropriations from the federal government. If money isn’t allocated to USGS for these awards, then grants may not be funded.
•  For the complete RFP, please visit NIWR’s website.

If you have any questions about this request for proposals or want to submit an application, please contact IWRC at iwrc@uiuc.edu. 

More Grants, Scholarships, and Awards

We posted a list of Illinois funding opportunities for students back in July, but since we are unable to offer our Annual Small Grants this year due to Sequester budget cuts, we hope this list of national and international opportunities can provide even more support ideas. If we missed your organizations’ scholarships, please contact us. In no particular order:

• Our colleagues over in Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant provide access for Illinois and Indiana students to the Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship, the Great Lakes Commission/Sea Grant Fellowship, NOAA Fisheries Services/Sea Grant Fellowships, and the CILER Great Lakes Summer Students Fellowships. While most of these awards provide research funding or experiences for current graduate student, there are some undergraduate opportunities available. Check their website regularly for open fellowships and advice on applications.       
• The Society of Freshwater Science makes several aquatic ecology awards to organization member graduate students. Award applications are due in February 2014 and range from support for taxonomic research to travel funds to attend annual meetings. 
• The Soil and Water Conservation Society provides scholarship to traditional students as well as working professionals who seek to add to their professional credentials. Applicants must be members of SWCS. Full information is available here.
• The Water Environment Federation (WEF) provides monetary awards to WEF members attending graduate school. Applicants must be members of WEF, pursing a career/degree in the water environment field, and use scholarship funds for tuition, board, or books, but not wages or a stipend.     
• Engineering firm Brown and Caldwell offers several scholarships to students in engineering or environmental science fields. The Minority Scholarship is for junior, senior, and graduate minority students with a GPA over 3.0 attending an accredited college or university. The Eckenfelder Scholarship is open to all students, but has similar requirements as the Minority Scholarship. Applications are due April 15^th of each year.       
• If you’re interested in a master’s degree in environmental engineering and are willing to promise to work for two years in the that field, you should consider applying to the Environmental Engineers of the Future program. Applicants must have a BS in engineering from an accredited university and have chosen, and been accepted into, a graduate program by spring of 2014. Applications are due December 1. 
• Even more engineering scholarships are listed on the American Society of Civil Engineers' webpage. While the requirements and deadlines differ among these opportunities, you do, generally, have to be pursing a degree in civil engineering.
• The Society of Women Geographers provides several fellowship opportunities to “women studying for advanced degrees in geography or its allied fields.” Pruitt National Fellowship applications are due in February of 2014.
• The American Geophysical Union awards several travel grants and scholarships to student members. While most of the scholarship applications are due in June, it is never too early to start planning and preparing your ideas.
• Don’t forget about the U.S. EPA’s Science to Achieve Results (STAR) Fellowships. For master’s and PhD students, the awards provide tuition, stipend, and expenses for several years for research. They’re not currently accepting scholarships for the 2014 school year, but keep an eye on their website for future updates.   
• And finally, the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program provides support to graduate students in many, many types of programs. While very competitive, these awards are still well worth pursuing and are due very soon!