North Carolina Team Competition for Resilience Research
Deadline
September 28, 2026
5:00 PM ET
Open To
Teams of 2–4 NC students (PhD lead & undergrad required; additional grads & undergrads welcome)
Funding Amount
Up to $20,000 total per team ($10,000 per year for 2 years)
This funding opportunity, supported by North Carolina Sea Grant, provides awards to teams of North Carolina-based graduate and undergraduate students led by a PhD student. Winning teams will conduct hypothesis-based research projects that contribute to more resilient habitats and communities across North Carolina.
Eligibility Highlights
- Team Structure: 2 to 4 students attending accredited North Carolina colleges or universities, led by a PhD student and including at least one undergraduate participant.
- Citizenship: All team members must be U.S. citizens.
- Faculty Mentor: Teams must have a faculty advisor willing to sponsor the project and provide a letter of support. (Note: Faculty may sponsor only one team)
Research Focus Areas
Proposals must address at least one core aspect of resilience in North Carolina:
Ecosystem Resilience
- Impacts of changing environmental conditions (such as saltwater intrusion, pollutants) on species distribution, behavior, and overall ecosystem function across coastal, agricultural, and/or forested landscapes.
- Evaluation and performance of restoration efforts across NC (such as stream, wetland, oyster) in offsetting environmental and anthropogenic impacts.
Community Resilience
- Strategies and implementation frameworks for nature-based and other infrastructure solutions to address shifting precipitation patterns, stormwater runoff, and flood protection.
- Policy and regulatory frameworks for integrating local risk perceptions, disaster recovery strategies, and ecosystem services into community planning and policy decision-making.
Economic Resilience
- Strategies to buffer key regional sectors (including commercial and recreational fishing, aquaculture, agriculture, forestry, and small businesses) against changing environmental conditions and natural disasters.
- Impact assessments, cost-benefit analyses, and return-on-investment (ROI) evaluations of environmental risks (such as erosion or saltwater intrusion) on real estate, public infrastructure, property values, and long-term land or shoreline protection measures.
Key Dates
- RFP Released: August 10, 2026
- Proposals Due: September 28, 2026, at 5 p.m. ET
- Winner Notified: December 1, 2026 (estimated)
- Project Performance Period: February 1, 2027 – March 31, 2029
Contact
AK
JF
