<style>/*! elementor - v3.5.5 - 03-02-2022 */
.elementor-heading-title{padding:0;margin:0;line-height:1}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title[class*=elementor-size-]>a{color:inherit;font-size:inherit;line-height:inherit}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-small{font-size:15px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-medium{font-size:19px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-large{font-size:29px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-xl{font-size:39px}.elementor-widget-heading .elementor-heading-title.elementor-size-xxl{font-size:59px}</style><h2>$1M Collaborative Research Challenge</h2>		
			<h1>rural coastal adaptation & resilience</h1>		
			<h2>FUNDING ANNOUNCEMENT</h2>		
			<h4>SUMMARY</h4>		
		<p>Virginia Sea Grant (VASG) is pleased to announce the availability of <b>$1M</b> for collaborative research on water adaptation and resilience-enhancing innovations. Leveraging funding from <b>GO Virginia</b> and VASG’s federal funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), we anticipate making approximately five awards. University teams will provide collaborative R&amp;D support (e.g., assessing the impact of adaptation and resilience interventions on coastal properties, product performance validation, product development) to business winners of an ongoing GO Virginia-funded coastal rural <strong>Resilience Challenge</strong> announcement concerning: <strong>Flood Management; Protection of Buildings and Property; and Water Quality Management.</strong></p><p><b><i>Important dates:</i></b></p><ul><li>Submit Statement of Interests &amp; Qualifications: <b>March 31, 2022</b> </li><li>Requests for additional information in order to match university capacity with business and water adaptation, resilience and innovation needs: <strong>April, 2022</strong></li><li>Submit requested information: <strong>late April/early May, 2022</strong></li><li>Project start dates: <strong>summer/fall, 2022</strong></li></ul><p><b><i>For more information :<br /></i></b>Contact Sabine Rogers, <b>sarogers@vaseasgrant.org</b>, or Troy Hartley, <b>thartley@vaseagrant.org. </b></p>		
			<h2><b>LEARN MORE:</b> INFORMATIONAL WEBINARS</h2>		
		<p>Virginia Sea Grant will host three webinars to present the funding opportunity, information about the waterfront property field stations, answer questions, and to solicit information about expanding Virginia’s collaborative R&amp;D capacity in water adaptation and resilience. In addition to the $1M for universities to participate in collaborative R&amp;D, VASG has funding to further scope and design the codification of the field stations into an R&amp;D network and the design of a collaborative R&amp;D hub facility in the coastal region. To further assess university needs and opportunities with this capacity, Clark Nexsen is assisting in the scoping exercise and the webinars. Dates for the webinars are:</p>		
			<a href="#" role="button">
						REGISTER
					</a>
			<h2>February 21, 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM</h2>		
			<a href="#" role="button">
						REGISTER
					</a>
			<h2>March 2, 10:00 AM - 12:00 NOON</h2>		
			<a href="#" role="button">
						REGISTER
					</a>
			<h2>March 15, 10:00 AM - 12:00 NOON</h2>		
			<h3>Businesses will design and build or implement their products, services and other innovative approaches to enhance resilience on the publicly-owned, waterfront properties on the PAA. Universities will be conducting their collaborative research with the private sector on these properties.</h3>		
			<h1>FUNDING AND ELIGIBILITY</h1>		
		<p>All institutions of higher education in the Commonwealth of Virginia are eligible</p><h4><strong>FUNDING</strong></h4><p>The Statements of Interests &amp; Qualifications (SIQ) is the first step in identifying Virginia universities’ interests and capacity to participate in collaborative research with the private sector to improve coastal adaptation and resilience products and services. The SIQ will be used to match capacity with needs and invite additional, more detailed information relative to the particular needs of business challenge grant winners. Sub-awards will be made from Virginia Sea Grant. While the final funding level will be dependent upon the specific business need, VASG anticipates awards of approximately <strong>$200,000-250,000</strong>. There is no match requirement.</p>		
			<h2>HOW TO APPLY</h2>		
		<h4><em><strong>Submit Statement of Interests &amp; Qualifications</strong></em></h4><p>By March 31, 2022 at 11:59 PM, upload and submit a statement of interests and qualifications as a single PDF, through your eSeaGrant account. There is no limit to the number of Statements an individual nor an institution can submit.</p><ol><li>Create an eSeaGrant account at <strong><a href="http://vaseagrant.ecsion.com">http://vaseagrant.ecsion.com</a></strong>. We strongly encourage you to create an eSeaGrant account several days prior to the deadline in order to trouble-shoot any problems with VASG staff and ensure smooth upload of the Statement of Interests &amp; Qualifications.</li><li>On the website, select the “Register” tab, and completing the required information – name, affiliation, email address.</li><li>If you do not receive a “welcome” email with login credentials shortly after creating an account, please check your junk mail folder. You can contact Sam Lake at VASG (<a href="mailto:sjlake@vaseagrant.org"><strong>sjlake@vaseagrant.org</strong></a>), if you have not received an email.</li></ol><h4><em><strong>Submit Project Narrative</strong></em></h4><p>Compiled into a single PDF, limited to 8-pages each, excluding the 2-page CVs or resumés of key personnel. Include hyperlinks to web-sites or other resources, as appropriate. <strong>No budgetary information is required at this time.</strong></p><p>Detailed narrative format instructions can be found on the <strong>Statement of Interest &amp; Qualifications Funding Announcement</strong>.</p>		
			<h2>Upgrading Virginia's Water Adaptation Workforce</h2>		
		<p>Addressing property adaptation from a holistic, systems approach requires collaborative skills and competencies to integrate diverse knowledge and perspectives into novel, innovative outcomes. Collectively, Virginia’s community college system, universities, and professional certification programs provide outstanding discipline-specific or skill-focused education. However, collaborative teamwork skills are less prevalent; e.g., architectural and engineering firms have partnered with VASG to co-sponsor workforce development initiatives in part to advance students’ teamwork, collaboration, and knowledge integration skills. Coupled with entrepreneurship, design thinking, and other creativity- and innovation-deriving curricula, Virginia could have the best-trained workforce for the emerging water adaptation economy. Options would include:</p><ul><li><strong>Offering <em>community college</em> Work-Based Learning, apprenticeships, and, as appropriate, associate degrees or certifications for technician-level training and partnerships with businesses.</strong></li><li><strong>Support for university <em>undergraduate and graduate</em> work on adaptation R&amp;D, including entrepreneurship training to accompany technical expertise and collaborative research with industry partners, p</strong><strong>roduct performance validation, and co-production of new knowledge.</strong></li><li><strong>Support for NGOs conducting certification training</strong></li></ul>