Opportunity Information: Apply for W81EWF 21 SOI 0016
Design and Deployment of Engineering With Nature (EWN) Solutions for Western Resilience (Funding Opportunity Number W81EWF 21 SOI 0016) is a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) cooperative agreement opportunity focused on building practical, decision-ready science that helps the western United States become more resilient to water scarcity, flooding, and related landscape stresses. Structured as a CESU-funded effort, the project is envisioned as a multi-year collaboration where the first year sets up the program foundation and launches initial research and engagement activities, while optional years two and three would scale the work into a broader, more diverse portfolio of EWN research, applied demonstrations, and outreach. The opportunity sits in the science and technology and other research and development category (CFDA 12.630), offers an award ceiling of $1,500,000, and anticipates a single award.
The central purpose is to strengthen the design and real-world deployment of EWN solutions, which broadly means combining engineering objectives with natural processes and nature-based features so infrastructure projects deliver traditional performance (like flood risk reduction or water supply reliability) while also producing environmental and social co-benefits. The program is explicitly oriented toward usable outputs: models, decision analyses, scalable methods, and communication products that can move beyond academic results into tools and practices that USACE and partners can apply.
The first required objective is the development of decision-ready models that advance EWN and accelerate the deployment and use of natural infrastructure. This objective prioritizes building a suite of collaborative research and development projects that expand the existing EWN portfolio, with a strong emphasis on analytical approaches that can inform investment and operational choices. Example work includes developing models and decision analyses that quantify costs and benefits of natural infrastructure for balancing water supplies and improving flood control. The opportunity encourages research aimed at increasing storage and flood protection by leveraging natural systems and working lands, including wetlands and riparian areas, overdrawn aquifers (where recharge and storage strategies matter), and farmlands and forests across both public and private ownership. The solicitation signals a preference for multidisciplinary teams that can integrate methods and data into clearly defined, deliberate endpoints, such as transferable modeling frameworks, validated tools, or defensible benefit-cost approaches. In year one, USACE researchers and the selected team are expected to initiate roughly three to five EWN research and development projects, with an eye toward generating technology transfer opportunities later (meaning results that can be adopted by practitioners, incorporated into guidance, or adapted for project planning).
The second objective centers on identifying and proposing EWN techniques and natural infrastructure approaches that improve land use and water management, particularly in the high-demand context of the U.S. Southwest. The emphasis here is basin-scale thinking: looking across watersheds and land-use types to find where nature-based strategies can conserve water, support more equitable distribution, and improve water quality. This objective explicitly connects land management decisions (and associated practices) to water outcomes, encouraging innovative approaches that deliver environmental benefits alongside social value. A key element is cost-effectiveness and distributional impact: research should identify natural infrastructure options that are financially realistic and analyze how those solutions could be deployed in ways that deliver value to historically under-represented communities, rather than concentrating benefits only where capacity and resources are already strong. This objective also stresses expanding collaboration beyond the core award team and USACE EWN researchers by bringing in additional partners and perspectives. In the first year, the program expects about two to three projects to be identified and actively pursued under this objective.
The third objective is to launch and operate an EWN communication platform designed to improve public communication and accelerate information sharing across the EWN network. This is not treated as a minor add-on; the solicitation spells out tangible output expectations and positions communication as a core deliverable that helps translate research into practice. The platform is meant to enable timely delivery of informational products and engagement activities, using proven dissemination methods from the collaborating organizations while aligning with EWN strategic outcomes and public benefit goals. Example deliverables include workshops, symposia, news articles, videos or documentaries, graphics, case study reporting, technical notes, and peer-reviewed journal articles. In year one alone, the selected team is expected to produce at least two workshops or symposia, one video, two to three technical notes, and two journal articles, in close coordination with EWN leadership and researchers. These products are also intended to generate broader educational and outreach opportunities, effectively building a pipeline from research results to practitioner uptake and public understanding.
Across all objectives, the opportunity describes an ideal investigator team as broad and deeply technical, spanning hydrology and hydraulics, flood mitigation, water supply planning, reservoir operations, multi-objective optimization, watershed and sediment transport modeling, decision support tools, and forest fire and forest management. It also highlights experience that directly aligns with EWN implementation, such as developing and designing nature-based strategies and best management practices, addressing erosion and reservoir infilling, modeling restoration projects, incorporating human-use benefits into infrastructure planning, quantifying benefits from restoration, and modeling riverine and reservoir systems. Taken together, the grant is aimed at teams that can do rigorous applied research, translate it into actionable tools and guidance, and actively communicate results so EWN methods can be adopted more widely to strengthen western water and flood resilience.Apply for W81EWF 21 SOI 0016
- The Department of Defense, Dept. of the Army -- Corps of Engineers in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Design and Deployment of Engineering With Nature® (EWN) Solutions for Western Resilience" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 12.630.
- This funding opportunity was created on Apr 17, 2021.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 18, 2021. (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 $1,500,000.00 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).
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is this funding opportunity?
This is a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) cooperative agreement opportunity titled "Design and Deployment of Engineering With Nature (EWN) Solutions for Western Resilience" (Funding Opportunity Number W81EWF 21 SOI 0016). It supports applied research and development intended to strengthen western U.S. resilience to water scarcity, flooding, and related landscape stresses.
Which agency is offering the award?
The opportunity is offered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).
What type of award is expected?
The solicitation describes this as a cooperative agreement and notes it is structured as a CESU-funded effort. It is envisioned as a multi-year collaboration between the selected team and USACE researchers.
What is the program trying to accomplish overall?
The central purpose is to strengthen the design and real-world deployment of Engineering With Nature (EWN) solutions. The program is explicitly oriented toward usable outputs that can move beyond academic results into decision-ready tools and practices that USACE and partners can apply.
What does "Engineering With Nature (EWN)" mean in this context?
EWN broadly refers to combining engineering objectives with natural processes and nature-based features so that infrastructure projects deliver traditional performance (such as flood risk reduction or water supply reliability) while also producing environmental and social co-benefits.
What region is the opportunity focused on?
The work is focused on the western United States, with specific emphasis on the high-demand context of the U.S. Southwest for land use and water management under the second objective.
What is the funding category and CFDA number?
The opportunity sits in the science and technology and other research and development category and lists CFDA 12.630.
What is the maximum funding amount (award ceiling)?
The award ceiling is $1,500,000.
How many awards does USACE anticipate making?
The opportunity anticipates a single award.
Is this a multi-year project?
Yes. It is envisioned as a multi-year collaboration where year one establishes the program foundation and launches initial research and engagement activities. Optional years two and three would scale the work into a broader portfolio of EWN research, applied demonstrations, and outreach.
What is the focus of year one compared to later years?
Year one is intended to set up the program foundation and start initial research and engagement activities. Optional years two and three are described as scaling the effort into a broader, more diverse portfolio that includes additional EWN research, applied demonstrations, and expanded outreach.
What kinds of outputs is USACE looking for?
The solicitation emphasizes usable, decision-ready deliverables such as models, decision analyses, scalable methods, and communication products. The goal is to produce tools, frameworks, and products that can be adopted by practitioners and integrated into planning and implementation.
What are the main objectives of the program?
The opportunity describes three core objectives:
- Develop decision-ready models that advance EWN and accelerate deployment and use of natural infrastructure.
- Identify and propose EWN techniques and natural infrastructure approaches that improve land use and water management, particularly in the U.S. Southwest.
- Launch and operate an EWN communication platform to improve public communication and accelerate information sharing across the EWN network.
What is required under Objective 1 (decision-ready models)?
Objective 1 requires developing decision-ready models that advance EWN and accelerate deployment and use of natural infrastructure. The solicitation prioritizes collaborative R&D projects that expand the EWN portfolio and emphasizes analytical approaches that inform investment and operational decisions.
What are examples of work under Objective 1?
Examples include models and decision analyses that quantify costs and benefits of natural infrastructure for balancing water supplies and improving flood control. The solicitation also encourages work that increases storage and flood protection by leveraging natural systems and working lands.
What landscapes and systems are specifically mentioned as priorities for Objective 1 research?
The opportunity highlights natural systems and working lands including wetlands and riparian areas, overdrawn aquifers (where recharge and storage strategies matter), and farmlands and forests across both public and private ownership.
How many projects are expected under Objective 1 in year one?
In year one, USACE researchers and the selected team are expected to initiate roughly three to five EWN research and development projects under Objective 1.
What does the solicitation mean by "decision-ready" outputs?
The description indicates a preference for outputs with clearly defined, deliberate endpoints that can be used in real decisions, such as transferable modeling frameworks, validated tools, or defensible benefit-cost approaches that inform investment and operations.
What is meant by "technology transfer opportunities" in this opportunity?
The solicitation uses "technology transfer" to mean results that can be adopted by practitioners, incorporated into guidance, or adapted for project planning, rather than remaining only as academic findings.
What is the focus of Objective 2 (land use and water management techniques)?
Objective 2 centers on identifying and proposing EWN techniques and natural infrastructure approaches that improve land use and water management, with an emphasis on basin-scale thinking across watersheds and land-use types, particularly in the U.S. Southwest.
What outcomes does Objective 2 aim to improve?
The objective emphasizes finding nature-based strategies that conserve water, support more equitable distribution, and improve water quality by connecting land management decisions and practices to water outcomes.
How does Objective 2 address equity and community benefits?
Objective 2 explicitly calls for analyzing cost-effectiveness and distributional impacts, including how solutions could be deployed to deliver value to historically under-represented communities rather than concentrating benefits only in places with stronger capacity and resources.
How many projects are expected under Objective 2 in year one?
In the first year, the program expects about two to three projects to be identified and actively pursued under Objective 2.
Does the opportunity encourage partnerships beyond the core team?
Yes. Under Objective 2, the solicitation stresses expanding collaboration beyond the core award team and USACE EWN researchers by bringing in additional partners and perspectives.
What is the focus of Objective 3 (communication platform)?
Objective 3 is to launch and operate an EWN communication platform intended to improve public communication and accelerate information sharing across the EWN network. Communication is positioned as a core deliverable designed to translate research into practice.
What kinds of communication products are mentioned for the platform?
Examples include workshops, symposia, news articles, videos or documentaries, graphics, case study reporting, technical notes, and peer-reviewed journal articles.
What are the specific year-one deliverable expectations under Objective 3?
In year one, the selected team is expected to produce at least two workshops or symposia, one video, two to three technical notes, and two journal articles, in close coordination with EWN leadership and researchers.
Is the communication platform treated as optional or secondary?
No. The solicitation indicates this is not a minor add-on and spells out tangible output expectations, positioning communication as a core deliverable.
What disciplines and technical capabilities does the opportunity say are ideal for the investigator team?
The opportunity describes an ideal team as broad and deeply technical, spanning hydrology and hydraulics, flood mitigation, water supply planning, reservoir operations, multi-objective optimization, watershed and sediment transport modeling, decision support tools, and forest fire and forest management.
What kinds of EWN implementation experience are highlighted as especially relevant?
The solicitation highlights experience such as developing and designing nature-based strategies and best management practices; addressing erosion and reservoir infilling; modeling restoration projects; incorporating human-use benefits into infrastructure planning; quantifying benefits from restoration; and modeling riverine and reservoir systems.
What is meant by "natural infrastructure" in this opportunity?
Based on the description, natural infrastructure refers to nature-based features and strategies (for example wetlands and riparian areas, recharge and storage approaches in overdrawn aquifers, and land management on farmlands and forests) that can be leveraged to improve water supply reliability, flood control, and related resilience outcomes.
How does this program connect research to real-world deployment?
The solicitation repeatedly emphasizes practical, decision-ready science and usable outputs, including validated tools, benefit-cost approaches, and communication products. It also points to technology transfer opportunities and coordination with USACE researchers and EWN leadership to support adoption in planning and practice.
What kinds of decisions are the models and analyses expected to support?
The opportunity emphasizes analytical approaches that can inform investment and operational choices, including quantifying costs and benefits of natural infrastructure for balancing water supplies and improving flood control.
Does the opportunity emphasize basin-scale or project-scale thinking?
Both are implied, but Objective 2 explicitly emphasizes basin-scale thinking across watersheds and land-use types, while Objective 1 focuses on modeling and decision analyses that can accelerate deployment and inform specific investment and operational decisions.
What is the role of USACE researchers in this effort?
The solicitation describes a collaborative structure where USACE researchers and the selected team jointly initiate multiple research and development projects in year one and coordinate closely on communication products with EWN leadership and researchers.
What is the expected balance between research and outreach?
The opportunity calls for rigorous applied research (models, decision analyses, methods) and also makes outreach a core deliverable through the required communication platform, with concrete year-one production targets for workshops, a video, technical notes, and journal articles.
What is the overall theme tying the objectives together?
Across modeling, technique identification, and communications, the unifying theme is accelerating the real-world adoption of EWN and natural infrastructure approaches that improve western resilience to water scarcity and flooding while delivering environmental and social co-benefits.
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