Grant Funding Available for Adaptation Planning and Implementation

There are a few grant opportunities currently available for research, planning, and implementation of climate adaptation projects. See below for more information:

• The California Ocean Protection Council is soliciting grant proposals for projects benefiting California’s ocean and coast, made possible with funding from Proposition 1. Proposed projects must have a minimum budget of $250,000, except for a limited number of projects that will be considered in a new Small Grants category with a minimum budget of $50,000. More information can be found here: https://www.opc.ca.gov/2015/05/prop1/. Applications are due February 23, 2018 and must be submitted online via the SOAR grant application system, though hard copies are also required (see the Solicitation and Application Instructions).

• Cal OES is administering Hazard Mitigation Grants for the recent disasters in California.  The announcement is here and the Notice of Interest is due March 15^th.   There are two kinds of grants: project grants and planning grants. Planning grants are available throughout the state and can support work on climate adaptation planning if the community is also updating its hazard mitigation plan. These grants can be used to assess risk and vulnerability and define strategies to reduce risk, including: incorporating climate adaptation, green building or smart growth principles.  The funds can also be used to integrate information from hazard mitigation plans with other planning efforts, such as: disaster recovery plans; land use plans, capital improvement plans and resource conservation or open space plans. More information is available here.

• In partnership with the state’s two Sea Grant Programs,  the University of Southern California Sea Grant Program (USC Sea Grant) and the California Sea Grant Program (CASG), the Ocean Protection Council is soliciting pre-proposals for a Proposition 84 competitive grant program to implement scientific research projects on a variety of focus areas including: sea-level rise adaptation and coastal resilience and coastal sediment management. Pre-proposals, which are intended to be brief and succinct statements of intent, are due by March 15^th. Eligible proposing institutions are welcome to propose research lasting up to three years in duration, and requesting a total budget from $80,000 to $250,000 (sum of total direct costs plus 25% indirect costs). More information is available here.