Opportunity Information: Apply for W81EWF 24 SOI 0033
The Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ERDC) is soliciting one cooperative agreement under the opportunity titled "Risk Analysis of Biotechnology for the Protection of Environmental Resources" (Funding Opportunity Number W81EWF 24 SOI 0033). The program focuses on how to manage the environmental risks and rewards of rapidly advancing biotechnology, especially as new tools and AI-accelerated research make it easier to develop and deploy novel biological approaches. The central aim is to strengthen risk management and stewardship systems so they remain adaptive and resilient, meaning they can keep pace with innovation while still protecting environmental quality and human health. The work is framed around environmental stewardship as a shared responsibility, emphasizing governance approaches that generate public value by enabling beneficial uses of biotechnology while reducing or preventing harmful outcomes.
The research is organized into three linked objectives that move from understanding todays landscape, to building practical ways to measure resilience, to forecasting how stewardship systems may perform under plausible future conditions. Objective 1 is a comparative analysis of existing and emerging risk management frameworks and stewardship practices that regulate environmental biotechnology. Building on prior ERDC work and collaboration with scientific and social science experts in the United States and NATO partner countries, this objective asks applicants to first identify relevant regulatory and stewardship approaches currently used for fast-emerging environmental biotechnology applications, then compare them to determine what features they share and where they differ. A key deliverable embedded in Objective 1 is the creation of application-specific scenarios. These scenarios are not just illustrative; they are meant to help pinpoint what should be measured in the next objective, so that later evaluations are grounded in realistic use cases rather than abstract principles.
Objective 2 addresses a recognized bottleneck: the inability of existing governance and stewardship practices to keep up with biotechnology modernization, particularly when AI accelerates research, development, and iteration cycles. ERDC notes that few objective, comparable metrics currently exist to evaluate biotechnology risk management capacity across systems, which makes it difficult to understand whether different approaches are aligned, where they diverge, and how well they handle pathogenic risk, environmental risk, and biodiversity risk. Under this objective, the project would define key capacity or resilience metrics tied to risk management and stewardship practices, collect data on those metrics across the systems identified in Objective 1, and then assess the quality of the resulting dataset. In practical terms, this is about turning broad ideas like preparedness, responsiveness, oversight capability, coordination strength, and community partnership effectiveness into measurable indicators that can be compared across frameworks.
Objective 3 uses the groundwork from Objectives 1 and 2 to look forward. It is essentially a forecasting and stress-testing effort that examines how environmental stewardship relationships may evolve as biotechnology continues to modernize. The project would conduct network analysis to map inter-relationships among risk management components, then develop scenarios that explore how specific technology developments could change risk management and stewardship performance depending on whether certain components are present, absent, strong, weak, or overloaded. The capacity metrics created in Objective 2 are then used to evaluate how stewardship is likely to hold up under these different future conditions, with attention to expected outcomes for environmental protection and human health. The emphasis here is not on predicting a single future, but on characterizing multiple plausible futures and identifying which governance features most strongly influence safe and responsible outcomes.
The public benefit case for the program is straightforward: it seeks to improve how biotechnology is regulated and stewarded so that society can realize environmental gains (for example, improved remediation, monitoring, or ecosystem support applications) while limiting harms, misuse, or unintended consequences that could threaten ecosystems, biodiversity, or public health. By producing clearer comparisons across frameworks, establishing metrics that help decision-makers evaluate resilience, and developing scenario-based insights into how systems might perform under accelerating innovation, the work is intended to strengthen the practical ability of institutions and communities to manage biotechnology responsibly and at scale.
Administratively, this is a discretionary opportunity using a cooperative agreement, categorized under science and technology and other research and development (CFDA 12.630). The anticipated award is up to $100,000, with one expected award. The opportunity was created on 2024-07-08 and had an original closing date of 2024-08-28. Eligibility is limited: applicants must be non-federal partners of the Great Lakes-Northern Forest Cooperative Ecosystems Studies Unit (CESU), meaning only organizations that qualify under that CESU partnership structure can apply.Apply for W81EWF 24 SOI 0033
- 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 "Risk Analysis of Biotechnology for the Protection of Environmental Resources" 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 2024-07-08.
- Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-08-28. (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 $100,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Others.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is the title of this funding opportunity?
The opportunity is titled "Risk Analysis of Biotechnology for the Protection of Environmental Resources."
What is the Funding Opportunity Number (FON)?
The Funding Opportunity Number is W81EWF 24 SOI 0033.
Who is offering and administering this opportunity?
This opportunity is solicited by the Department of the Army, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ERDC).
What type of award is being offered?
The announcement solicits one cooperative agreement.
Is this a discretionary or mandatory funding opportunity?
This is a discretionary funding opportunity.
What is the CFDA number and program category?
The CFDA number is 12.630, and it is categorized under science and technology and other research and development.
How much funding is available?
The anticipated award amount is up to $100,000.
How many awards does ERDC expect to make?
ERDC expects to make one award.
When was the opportunity created?
The opportunity was created on 2024-07-08.
What was the original closing date?
The original closing date was 2024-08-28.
What is the main purpose of this program?
The program focuses on managing the environmental risks and rewards of rapidly advancing biotechnology. The central aim is to strengthen risk management and stewardship systems so they remain adaptive and resilient, keeping pace with innovation while protecting environmental quality and human health.
Why does the opportunity emphasize biotechnology modernization and AI-accelerated research?
ERDC highlights that new tools and AI-accelerated research can speed up research, development, and iteration cycles, making it easier to develop and deploy novel biological approaches. The opportunity is designed to help governance and stewardship practices keep up with that pace of change.
How does the program define its overall approach to environmental stewardship?
The work is framed around environmental stewardship as a shared responsibility, emphasizing governance approaches that generate public value by enabling beneficial uses of biotechnology while reducing or preventing harmful outcomes.
What are the major research objectives in this opportunity?
The research is organized into three linked objectives: (1) a comparative analysis of risk management frameworks and stewardship practices, (2) development and use of capacity/resilience metrics, and (3) scenario-based forecasting and stress-testing of stewardship systems under plausible future conditions.
What is Objective 1 focused on?
Objective 1 is a comparative analysis of existing and emerging risk management frameworks and stewardship practices that regulate environmental biotechnology. Applicants are asked to identify relevant approaches used for fast-emerging applications and compare them to determine shared features and differences.
What key deliverable is embedded in Objective 1?
A key deliverable in Objective 1 is the creation of application-specific scenarios. These scenarios are meant to pinpoint what should be measured in Objective 2 and to ensure later evaluations are grounded in realistic use cases rather than abstract principles.
What is Objective 2 focused on?
Objective 2 addresses the lack of objective, comparable metrics for evaluating biotechnology risk management capacity across systems. The project would define key capacity or resilience metrics tied to risk management and stewardship practices, collect data on those metrics across the systems identified in Objective 1, and assess the quality of the resulting dataset.
What kinds of risks are explicitly mentioned as part of Objective 2?
ERDC mentions the need to understand and compare how systems handle pathogenic risk, environmental risk, and biodiversity risk.
What does ERDC mean by "capacity" or "resilience" metrics in this context?
In practical terms, the opportunity describes turning broad concepts such as preparedness, responsiveness, oversight capability, coordination strength, and community partnership effectiveness into measurable indicators that can be compared across frameworks.
What is Objective 3 focused on?
Objective 3 looks forward by forecasting and stress-testing how environmental stewardship relationships may evolve as biotechnology modernizes. The project would conduct network analysis to map inter-relationships among risk management components and develop scenarios to examine how technology developments could change stewardship performance.
How are the metrics from Objective 2 used in Objective 3?
The capacity metrics created in Objective 2 are used to evaluate how stewardship is likely to hold up under different plausible future conditions, with attention to expected outcomes for environmental protection and human health.
Does Objective 3 aim to predict a single future?
No. The emphasis is on characterizing multiple plausible futures and identifying which governance features most strongly influence safe and responsible outcomes.
What is meant by "network analysis" in the scope of this project?
Within this opportunity, network analysis refers to mapping inter-relationships among risk management components so the project can examine how changes in one part of a stewardship system could affect performance elsewhere under different scenarios.
What public benefits does ERDC expect from this work?
The program seeks to improve how biotechnology is regulated and stewarded so society can realize environmental gains (such as improved remediation, monitoring, or ecosystem support applications) while limiting harms, misuse, or unintended consequences that could threaten ecosystems, biodiversity, or public health.
How does this project support decision-makers?
By producing clearer comparisons across frameworks, establishing metrics to evaluate resilience, and providing scenario-based insights into how systems might perform under accelerating innovation, the work is intended to strengthen the practical ability of institutions and communities to manage biotechnology responsibly and at scale.
Who is eligible to apply?
Eligibility is limited to non-federal partners of the Great Lakes-Northern Forest Cooperative Ecosystems Studies Unit (CESU). Only organizations that qualify under that CESU partnership structure can apply.
Are federal entities eligible to apply under the stated eligibility rules?
The eligibility statement limits applicants to non-federal partners of the Great Lakes-Northern Forest CESU.
Is the opportunity open to the general public or any organization?
No. The opportunity states that eligibility is limited to non-federal partners of the Great Lakes-Northern Forest CESU.
Is this opportunity international in scope?
The research described in Objective 1 references prior ERDC work and collaboration with scientific and social science experts in the United States and NATO partner countries, but eligibility is still limited to the specified CESU partners.
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