Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Rocky Mountain CESU | G18AS00066

Opportunity Information: Apply for G18AS00066

The Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Rocky Mountain CESU funding opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number G18AS00066) is a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) award administered through the Department of the Interior and led by the USGS Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center. It is a discretionary cooperative agreement within the Science and Technology and other Research and Development category (CFDA 15.808). The opportunity was created on June 6, 2018, with an original closing date of June 20, 2018, and it anticipated a single award with a maximum (ceiling) amount of $168,500.

The core purpose of the award is to support a researcher with hydro-ecological expertise who can translate remote sensing science into practical water-use information products that resource managers can actually use. The work focuses on developing remote sensing-based landscape water use products and delivering them as applications on a cloud computing platform. In practice, this means designing workflows and producing tools that are not just research prototypes, but online-accessible, repeatable procedures that can be run and updated efficiently as new data arrives.

A central emphasis is operational usefulness for management decisions, especially in two high-value contexts: drought early warning and water resources management. The funded researcher is expected to create online-based tools and procedures that help managers monitor and assess how water is being used across landscapes over time. This implies an applied, decision-support orientation where the outputs should be timely, interpretable, and suitable for routine use by agencies and partners who need to track changing conditions and respond quickly.

Another key theme is reducing the lag between data collection and real-world decision-making. The opportunity highlights the need for a framework that better integrates geospatial datasets with decision procedures, so that the steps from acquiring remote sensing and other geospatial inputs, to processing and interpreting them, to acting on the results, happen faster and more smoothly. The intended outcome is to improve implementation and increase productivity by making it easier for managers to move from information to action, particularly when conditions are changing rapidly, as in drought development or shifting water demands.

Eligibility is listed broadly as "Others" with additional clarification referenced elsewhere in the full announcement (the text field titled Additional Information on Eligibility), which is typical for CESU opportunities that often involve specific partnership structures. Overall, this grant is aimed at bridging the gap between advanced hydro-ecological remote sensing capabilities and the day-to-day needs of resource managers by building cloud-enabled, accessible tools that support timely monitoring, assessment, and decision-making around landscape water use.

• The Department of the Interior, U. S. Geological Survey in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, Rocky Mountain CESU" 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 Jun 06, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 20, 2018. (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 $168,500.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for G18AS00066

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