Applying Engineering With Nature® (EWN) Techniques, Approaches and Practice on a Regional Scale. | W81EWF 20 SOI 0013

Opportunity Information: Apply for W81EWF 20 SOI 0013

This grant opportunity, titled "Applying Engineering With Nature (EWN) Techniques, Approaches and Practice on a Regional Scale," is a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers funding effort aimed at expanding the real-world use of natural and nature-based features (NNBF) through coordinated research, demonstration, and outreach. The core idea behind EWN is to intentionally blend engineering goals with natural processes so that infrastructure and water-resources projects deliver traditional performance benefits while also improving environmental and social outcomes. In this context, NNBF are described in two buckets: natural features (such as existing wetland systems formed over long time periods through natural physical, biological, and chemical processes) and nature-based features (engineered, designed, and constructed projects that mimic natural systems and deliver comparable services).

The main purpose of the award is to establish an "EWN Regional Proving Ground" located in the Southeastern United States. A proving ground is essentially a regional hub where multiple partners coordinate, pool resources, and actively test and refine EWN principles in ongoing and future projects. Rather than being a purely academic research program, it is structured to move ideas into practice by creating a place-based network that can identify research needs, conduct applied research and development, and then translate results into actionable methods, guidance, and demonstrated projects that others can replicate.

The opportunity outlines several major components that the proving ground is expected to deliver. First is research and development (R and D) that builds on the existing EWN portfolio and directly supports stronger technology transfer, meaning that research outputs should be packaged and shared in ways that help practitioners adopt them. Second is the on-the-ground application of EWN methods through field-scale demonstration projects, which are meant to show how NNBF and EWN approaches perform in realistic settings. Third is education and outreach aimed at the public, indicating the program values visibility and broader understanding of these approaches, not just technical advancement. Fourth is a communication platform to push information across the EWN network quickly and consistently, producing materials such as workshops and symposia, news stories, videos or documentaries, graphics, case-study reports, technical notes, and peer-reviewed journal articles. The emphasis on a communication platform signals that dissemination is treated as a deliverable, not an afterthought.

A notable feature of the solicitation is its focus on leveraging institutional infrastructure to speed growth and long-term sustainability of the proving ground. Examples given include access to meeting and collaboration space, coordinated modeling and computing tools, synchronized or shared web presence, opportunities like sabbaticals tied to partner campuses, and shared research facilities and instrumentation. In practical terms, the Corps is looking for a partner (or partnership) that already has the capacity and assets to host a durable regional center and can integrate those resources into a coherent program of experimentation, demonstration, and outreach.

From an administrative standpoint, the award is offered as a cooperative agreement, which typically implies substantial involvement or collaboration with the federal agency during performance rather than a hands-off grant. It is categorized as discretionary funding and sits within the "Science and Technology and other Research and Development" activity area. The funding opportunity number is W81EWF 20 SOI 0013, and the CFDA number listed is 12.630. The awarding agency is the Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The ceiling amount is $2,500,000. The original closing date shown in the source data is 2020-05-11, and the posting was created on 2020-03-13.

Eligibility is restricted: applicants must be non-federal partners of the Piedmont-South Atlantic Coast Region Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU). That limitation means the competition is not open to the general public or all institutions nationwide; it is intended for organizations already participating as eligible CESU partners in that specific region. Overall, the opportunity is designed to create a Southeastern U.S. focal point for advancing EWN practice by combining applied R and D, real demonstration projects, strong stakeholder and public engagement, and deliberate, ongoing communication of results and lessons learned.

• The 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 "Applying Engineering With Nature® (EWN) Techniques, Approaches and Practice on a Regional Scale." 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 2020-03-13.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2020-05-11. (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 $2,500,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for W81EWF 20 SOI 0013

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