The DOE SC program in Biological and Environmental Research (BER) hereby announces its interest in applications from the scientific community for Climate Resilience Centers (CRCs) that will improve the availability and utility of BER research, data, models, and capabilities to address climate resiliency, particularly by underrepresented or vulnerable communities.
Donor Name: Office of Science
State: All States
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 02/20/2025
Size of the Grant: $500,000 to $1 million
Grant Duration: 3 Years
Details:
BER’s mission is to support transformative science and scientific user facilities to achieve a predictive understanding of complex biological, Earth, and environmental systems for energy and infrastructure security, independence, and prosperity. BER research furthermore advances the fundamental understanding of dynamic, physical, and biogeochemical processes required to systematically develop Earth system models that integrate across the atmosphere, land masses, oceans, sea ice, subsurface, and human systems. These science-based predictive tools and methods are critically needed to inform policies and plans for strengthening the security and resilience of critical infrastructure and natural resources.
First launched as a program in FY 2023, CRCs extend DOE climate science and research capacity by supporting non-R1 Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) and non-R1 Emerging Research Institutions (ERIs) to address the needs for regional resilience; including new science to describe climate change induced impacts and recovery in natural, socioeconomic, and/or built systems and their intersections. CRCs also aim to foster capacity at regional and local scales by connecting with affected communities and stakeholders to translate basic research into actionable science to enhance climate resilience, as well as to identify research priorities for future DOE investments. CRCs form a nucleus for building and empowering a future pool of local talent and expertise, including young scientists, engineers, and technicians, to address local resilience challenges and inform equitable solutions. CRCs will leverage ongoing DOE climate science and capabilities that exist at currently supported DOE national laboratories and universities, and build two-way engagement between DOE funded research and community stakeholders for improved climate resilience responses.
Program Objective
Understanding fine-scale, local and community impacts of climate change across this nation is a critical gap in climate research and analysis. Further, climate change is known to disproportionately impact people in disadvantaged communities due to increased exposure and vulnerability. BER seeks to establish CRCs at non-R1 MSIs and non-R1 emerging research institutions to address critical research questions in support of the needs of stakeholders and communities in the pursuit of equitable climate solutions. The CRCs will facilitate two-way engagement between BER sponsored research and regional communities, enhancing accessibility and translation of DOE research to inform and build climate resilience. Efforts focused at local levels are expected to identify data sets, technical and process information, tailored models, and community contexts that will aid in the new investigations as well as bring critically needed community and local perspectives more centrally within DOE’s climate research planning. CRCs will build upon and enhance the talent and capabilities at local institutions, providing valuable resources to advance climate research, identify local resilience challenges, and develop equitable solutions. These Climate Resilience Centers will be expected to have the potential to catalyze additional research activities in climate and energy sciences, the development of future technological innovations, and new jobs in communities across the country.
Funding Information
- Estimated Total Program Funding: $10,000,000
- Award Ceiling: $1,000,000
- Award Floor: $100,000
Period of Performance
Up to 3 years.
Eligibility Criteria
To advance programmatic objectives, in accordance with 2 CFR 910.126, Competition, eligibility for award is restricted to domestic applicants except nonprofit organizations described in section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 that engaged in lobbying activities after December 31, 1995, that must be either:
- Classified as an MSI and NOT listed as an R1 Research Institution, or
- An emerging research institution, defined as an institution of higher education with an established undergraduate or graduate program that has less than $50,000,000 in annual Federal research expenditures3 and NOT listed as an R1 Research Institution.
For more information, visit Grants.gov.
