NC Sea Grant Extends Deadline for Proposals for Community Collaborations
UPDATE: DEADLINE EXTENDED TO MARCH 5
Contact:
John Fear, 919-515-9104, jmfear@ncsu.edu
Katie Mosher, 919-515-9069, katie_mosher@ncsu.edu
North Carolina Sea Grant’s Community Collaborative Research Grant program is accepting proposals now through March 5, 2021. The program brings communities and university researchers together to study high-priority environmental and economic issues in North Carolina.
CCRG projects bring significant returns on investment, deepening the connections of communities with researchers at our state’s universities, explains John Fear, North Carolina Sea Grant’s deputy director.
“The CCRG Program provides opportunities for new partnerships that sustain themselves well after the end of individual projects, allowing momentum that produces ongoing benefits,” Fear says. “This program is an effective and efficient process to continually address community priorities that can change year to year.”
North Carolina Sea Grant strongly encourages proposals from applicants at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Minority Serving Institutions, and/or from traditionally underserved and underrepresented communities, as well as proposals that demonstrate how projects and related outreach will benefit underserved and underrepresented communities.
In 2020, the program funded projects that addressed the safety of shellfish harvests, efficient shoreline restoration, and youth leadership training.
The CCRG program partners with NC State University’s William R. Kenan Jr. Institute for Engineering, Technology and Science (KIETS) and North Carolina’s Water Resources Research Institute (WRRI). CCRG funding opportunities can address watersheds and water resource issues, as well as key coastal urgencies.
“Drawing on expertise from WRRI enables us to look at a wide range of proposed CCRG projects,” Fear says. “CCRG can benefit communities from the coast to the mountains of North Carolina.”
New grants will range from $5,000 to $25,000 for projects that take place over one year.
According to Raj Narayan, KIETS associate director, authentic community engagement and innovative collaboration remain defining elements of the CCRG program.
“The CCRG program empowers both technical and adaptive leadership enabling thoughtful collaborations between community, academic, government, industry and non-profit partners,” Narayan says. “The projects supported through the CCRG have been very diverse and creative — and they address important issues and relevant opportunities for communities across the state to work together in order to develop and implement ideas and solutions that enhance the environmental and economic vitality of North Carolina.”
The deadline for proposals is March 5, 2021.
Access the 2021 CCRG Request for Proposals and the application form with instructions for online submission:
go.ncsu.edu/CCRG
Read more about the CCRG program.
