Cooperative Agreement for CESU-affiliated Partner with Rocky Mountain Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit | G23AS00340

Opportunity Information: Apply for G23AS00340

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), through its Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center, offered a discretionary financial assistance opportunity to support applied research and development focused on groundwater supply and demand in the context of drought and food security early warning. The award is structured as a cooperative agreement, which typically means USGS expects to be substantially involved in the project (for example, collaborating on technical direction, integration with USGS systems, data exchange, and coordination around deliverables), rather than simply providing funds with minimal interaction.

The core purpose of the project is to advance and integrate the Drought Resilience Impact Platform (DRIP) so that it can generate better predictions of groundwater supply and groundwater demand. The work is explicitly tied to supporting FEWS NET (the Famine Early Warning Systems Network) by improving the groundwater information used during FEWS NET's food security scenario development process. In practical terms, the opportunity is aimed at strengthening the analytical foundation for anticipating how drought conditions and water availability constraints may affect agricultural production and broader food security outcomes, particularly in places where groundwater plays a major role in irrigation, domestic water supply, or drought buffering.

A key requirement is that the funded effort must involve a researcher with strong expertise in groundwater demand and supply. This points to work that goes beyond general hydrology and emphasizes the coupled dynamics of human use and natural availability, such as understanding withdrawals, recharge, storage changes, and how demand responds to climate, cropping decisions, and drought conditions. Because the goal is "advancement and integration" of DRIP, the project likely centers on methods development and operationalization, such as improving models, data pipelines, assumptions, and parameterization for groundwater components, and ensuring those improvements can be incorporated into the DRIP environment in a way that is usable for FEWS NET analysts.

Eligibility is limited to partners within the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) network, specifically those affiliated with the Rocky Mountain Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit. CESUs are structured partnerships that connect federal agencies with universities, nonprofits, and other organizations to conduct research, provide technical assistance, and support education. In this case, only participating Rocky Mountain CESU partners can apply, which narrows competition to organizations already within that partnership framework and aligns the award with CESU goals and administrative mechanisms.

From the published opportunity details, the funding opportunity number is G23AS00340, and it is listed under CFDA 15.808 (USGS research and data-related assistance). The activity category is "Science and Technology and other Research and Development," which reinforces that the expected work is technical and research-driven rather than primarily programmatic or service delivery. The maximum anticipated federal funding (award ceiling) is $255,000. The posting indicates an original closing date of May 22, 2023, and a creation date of April 20, 2023. The notice does not specify the number of expected awards in the provided excerpt, but it is clearly framed as a targeted cooperative agreement supporting a defined technical need within USGS EROS and FEWS NET-related analytical workflows.

Overall, this opportunity is best understood as a focused, partner-restricted cooperative agreement to bring groundwater demand/supply expertise into the DRIP platform development effort, with the explicit end use of improving FEWS NET's capacity to build credible, data-informed food security scenarios under drought conditions.

• The Geological Survey in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Cooperative Agreement for CESU-affiliated Partner with Rocky Mountain Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.808.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2023-04-20.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2023-05-22. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $255,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for G23AS00340

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