Technology Grants

U.S. Mission to India

The U.S. Consulate General Mumbai invites proposals for a cooperative agreement to design and implement a high-impact public diplomacy initiative Solutions for Energy Security A U.S. India Energy Technology Partnership. This program will convene key Indian government officials, industry, academia, and media stakeholders to position U.S. energy technologies as the preferred solution to address India s energy security challenges. Through a series of regional conferences, a virtual mentorship program, and a national-level conference, the initiative will foster new commercial partnerships, increase awareness of U.S. energy tech solutions, and drive tangible business and policy outcomes that advance U.S. economic and strategic interests in India and the Indo-Pacific.

NAVAIR

The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) is interested in receiving white papers for Research and Development projects which offer potential for advancement and improvement of NAWCAD operations. See attachment, FY25 NAWCAD Office-Wide N00421-25-S-0001, for further details.

Engineer Research and Development Center

The primary purpose of this study is to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of Muskellunge stocking effectiveness and efficiency within Iowa's lakes and reservoirs, including those managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). This research directly addresses the USACE's interest in optimizing the management of recreational fisheries within their projects. By identifying and refining Muskellunge culture methods and stocking policies, this study aims to enhance the efficacy and efficiency of state agency stocking programs, ensuring that valuable resources are utilized to maximize angler success. The comprehensive understanding of Muskellunge survival, movement, and habitat use gained from this study will directly inform optimized stocking strategies, leading to more robust and sustainable Muskellunge populations. This, in turn, is anticipated to increase angler success rates and overall recreational satisfaction, thereby enhancing the economic and social benefits derived from recreational fishing on USACE reservoirs and similar water bodies across the state and potentially nationwide. The findings will directly inform the revision of Iowa s Muskellunge Management Plan (Meerbeek, 2014), and, critically, will establish a transferable framework for improving stocking outcomes and increasing recreational fishing opportunities in USACE reservoirs and similar water bodies across the nation. Furthermore, this study will investigate the broader implications of its outcomes for the strategic adoption and advancement of Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS). As conventional hatchery systems increasingly face challenges from extreme weather events, water shortages, aquatic invasive species, and growing demand for stocked fish due to habitat degradation (Hanson and Ostrand 2011), RAS offers a resilient solution. This research will demonstrate how RAS can enable state and Federal hatcheries, including those supporting USACE-managed waters, to meet production goals more efficiently and sustainably, thereby securing the future of recreational fisheries and enhancing the public benefits derived from USACE projects. Tasks to be Completed: Task 1: Population Dynamics. Prior to stocking, all Muskellunge intended for Iowa s lake and reservoirs will be tagged with passive integrated transponder (PIT) Tags, and some will also receive acoustic or radio transmitters. The initial treatment group will include Muskellunge raised traditionally (overwintered in ponds and fed live forage), musky raised in recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS) and fed pellets and RAS Musky fed live forage for about 14 days prior to stocking. Post-stocking survival rate will be monitored using acoustic receiver arrays and manual tracking of radio tagged fish in various reservoirs and lakes. Mortality will be inferred from movement patterns of tagged fish. This survival data will support adaptive management allowing for the refining of culture and stocking methods (e.g., on-shore ramp stocking or off-shore stocking) to improve survival rates. Each subsequent refinement will be evaluated and used to implement further improvements the next year, ultimately building stronger Muskellunge populations and enhancing recreational fishing experiences. Additionally, the movement, behavior, and habitat use of Muskellunge from different treatment groups will be studied post-stocking using acoustic receivers and manual trackers. This will help identify optimal stocking locations and potential habitat enchantments. Furthermore, this study will also examine escapement (fish leaving stocked areas) using various tag types in systems of different size and outlet designs. Findings will guide recommendations for barrier installations, developed with the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), to improve fish retention in reservoirs. These measures aim to increase the number of trophy-sized Muskellunge available to anglers, boosting recreational and economic benefits of these fisheries. Task 2: System-Specific Criteria for Optimized Muskellunge Fisheries to Revise Iowa Muskellunge Management Plan and Stocking Policy. This task will involve habitat sampling and fisheries surveys across Iowa lakes and reservoirs, including USACE-managed sites, to identify environmental and ecological factors affecting Muskellunge populations, such as water quality, habitat structure, and prey availability. The data collected will help create tailored stocking and management plans to optimize Musky fisheries in different aquatic systems. Additionally, the feasibility of installing barriers to reduce fish escapement will be assessed for current and future Musky fisheries. This evaluation will consider environmental, hydrological, and operational factors to improve fish retention. By understanding system specific impacts and factors for successful Muskellunge establishment, resources can be allocated more effectively, enhancing angling success, recreational participation, and visitor satisfaction at Iowa water bodies. The Iowa DNR will lead habitat sampling and surveys to ensure a comprehensive planning effort. The information gathered will form the basis for a Comprehensive Plan for Muskellunge stocking in Iowa, which will update the Iowa Muskellunge Management Plan (Meerbeek, 2014). USACE will provide planning guidance to align the plan with federal conservation and recreational goals for USACE reservoirs. The Comprehensive Plan will analyze project data and offer actionable recommendations for the Iowa DNR to improve Muskellunge fisheries. These updates will guide best practices for stocking and management, enhance recreational fish quality, increase angler success, and provide economic benefit to communities near Iowa water bodies. The findings will also serve as a model for improved fisheries management nationwide. Task 3: Project Management & Cooperative Ecosystem Studies (CESU) Management. The USACE will manage this project under the Planning Assistance to States Program guidelines. Stakeholder meetings will be held to discuss technical elements and to review progress, manage budgetary aspects, and discuss study developments. The study evaluation will be jointly conducted by the Iowa DNR and CESU Contract Awardee. This PAS project facilitates the utilization of the CESU program to provide resources that would otherwise be unavailable to the IADNR. In addition to providing expertise in biology and planning, utilizing the CESU agreement extends the expertise of the USACE (Tasks 1, 2 and 3) to include the expertise of the CESU Contract Awardee. The IADNR will document match contributions such as in-kind labor, as per USACE guidance, and submit an annual report to the Corps by October 15th each year, covering the period from July through June. The USACE and the IADNR will jointly develop appropriate quality control plans and information as required by USACE standards for this study.

DOC NOAA - ERA Production

The Rural Business Center Program will provide awards to support technical assistance, capacity building, and entrepreneurial development services to rural business enterprises at all stages, from ideation to maturity.

Geological Survey

The USGS is offering a funding opportunity to a CESU partner for research in invasive Grass Carp spawning and early life history in Great Lakes tributaries.Grass Carp are an invasive species in North America, which threaten native species through the destruction of habitats provided by aquatic vegetation, which are important for production of waterfowl and sportfish. Grass Carp spawn in riverine habitats during specific environmental conditions (i.e., high streamflow events). Consequently, Grass Carp spawning can be surveyed using nets and the collected eggs and larvae have provided crucial information to identify where adult Grass Carp can be targeted for removal efforts. Further, control efforts implemented during spawning may disrupt spawning behavior. Understanding when and where Grass Carp reproduction occurs has been identified by management partners as an important component of responding to the threat of Grass Carp in the Great Lakes. A Presidential Memorandum titled Protecting the Great Lakes from Invasive Carp was issued May 9, 2025, which directed "research and management concerning the prevention, removal, and management of aquatic invasive species in the Great Lakes, including invasive carp."

Geological Survey

The USGS is offering a funding opportunity to a CESU partner to develop an Innovation Landscape in the Southern Great Plains for the purpose of accelerating the transfer of new land management technologies to military installations in the region. The partner will possess both military and natural resource expertise, experience, and established relationships to be able to accurately identify innovation needs and scalable solutions in the natural resource focus area to support the military mission, increase regulatory flexibility for Department of War (DoW), and facilitate military use of the land.

Geological Survey

The USGS is offering a funding opportunity to a CESU partner for research in the following area: detecting plant species habitat to inform management. The research will be used to investigate phenology informed detection models, model transferability across broad regions, analyze spatial patterns of model uncertainty, and optimize the development and delivery of model results to practitioners charged with the management of species. Being able to detect invasive species and habitats helps to prevent the spread of, eradicate or control invasive species by helping practitioners know what species are problematic where. Thus, the research help make land management agencies work more efficient.Many longstanding challenges remain regarding detection of plant species across broad geographic extents related to transferability, uncertainty, and interpretation. For example, multiple methods have been used at local scales to detect plant species. Leveraging satellite data at fine resolutions may allow us to improve accuracy across geographic scales. We can better understand the limits of model prediction and build model credibility among practitioners using models to augment management actions and policies. These approaches must be viewed as accurate by practitioners at a local scale for uptake and be based on the best available science (EO 14303 - Restoring Gold Standard Science, May 23, 2025). An important focus is detection of fire promoting invasive species to inform risk and mitigation activities (EO 14308 - Empowering Commonsense Wildfire Prevention and Response, June 12, 2025).The U.S. Geological Survey"s (USGS) Fort Collins Science Center is offering a cooperative-agreement opportunity to universities having capability to conduct research to conduct studies related to improving the methodologies and analytic approaches for plant species habitat detection using satellite information. This project will function to leverage collaborations to incorporate expertise in plant ecology, statistical programming, and remote sensing into a large existing project on the geographic distribution of manager requested plant species habitat in the United States.Current USGS research interests include (but are not limited to) (1) the improvement of existing code related to data production pipelines and decision support frameworks/tools, (2) assessing geographic model transferability using field data across geographic regions, (3) synthesizing spatial predictors. The outcome of a successful agreement will be research products (data and code) that help DOI and other land-management partners produce and understand the current geographic distribution of plants and the limits of model predictions. Through this CESU agreement, the federal and state university partners will cooperate fully in development of a research program that will produce final products to be used in support of plant species management decisions. The cooperation of the USGS and its CESU partner brings a combination of expertise to address this objective that is greater than that possessed by either partner on its own.