USGS 104b Program (Annual Base Grants)
Under the provisions of section 104 of the Water Resources Research Act of 1984, annual base grants (104b) are awarded to the Institutes or Centers that have been established in each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam. The annual base grants help each Institute or Center to plan and conduct applied and peer-reviewed research on water resource issues specific to their state or territory.
The Rhode Island Water Resources Center encourages proposals from principal investigators from underrepresented or underserved groups and institutions (e.g., Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Minority Serving Institutions, Tribal Colleges and Universities, Hispanic Serving Institutions, and community colleges). Additionally, proposals with a strong component of diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice, which intersect with water research and those addressing issues in historically marginalized or underserved communities, are highly encouraged.
The Rhode Island Water Resources (RIWRC) uses the funds from the 104b Annual Base Grants Program to support freshwater and drinking water-related research related to the challenges Rhode Island is facing. Any University and College in Rhode Island are invited to submit a pre-proposal through our annual solicitation. The RIWRC uses a pre-proposal and invited full proposal process to select research projects for funding. The tentative schedule is as follows:
- Call for pre-proposals announced: December 1st, 2023
- Pre-proposals due to RIWRC: 5:00 PM on Jan 26th, 2024 (https://web.uri.edu/riwrc/pre-proposals/)
- Invitation to submit full proposals: March 1st, 2024
- Full proposals due: April 14th, 2024 – 5pm
- Final proposal package submitted to the USGS by RIWRC: May 1st, 2024
Pre-proposal instructions: https://web.uri.edu/riwrc/pre-proposals/
Full proposal instructions: https://water.usgs.gov/wrri/FY2020_104b_RFP.pdf