Deadline: 22-Nov-22
The Water Research Foundation (WRF) is seeking applications for Incorporating Equity and Social Dimensions into Community Climate Adaptation Planning and Watershed Management.
This project is funded by The Water Research Foundation (WRF) as part of WRF’s Research Priority Program.
Project Objectives
- Identify appropriate metrics and measures for building resilient communities with equity and social considerations that blend lived experience of the community with technical expertise.
- Develop holistic mitigation strategies, including planning-level costs to reconcile the social inequities associated with community climate adaptation and watershed management.
- Develop or modify an easy-to-use supporting triple bottom line (TBL) tool and analysis framework that incorporates the ability to identify who receives the benefits and who pays for them so utilities can better assess equity implications of various options.
- Identify the leadership roles and engagement opportunities for communities when defining resilience and desired benefits for their communities (e.g., utilities and municipalities).
Research Approach
The research approach in this project includes three main components:
- inter-disciplinary literature and case study review of processes and practices for incorporating equity and social vulnerability considerations into utility climate adaption planning and watershed management;
- a national survey through a network of utilities and municipalities, as well as collaborating partners;
- preparation of a utility-facing guidance document including expanding TBL analysis framework from previous WRF efforts (e.g., WRF projects 3125, 4570, and 4852) to further incorporate social and equitable considerations into the quantification of community benefits.
Funding Information
- Applicants may request up to $150,000 in WRF funds for this project.
- The anticipated period of performance for this project is 24 months from the contract start date.
Expected Deliverables
- A stand-alone literature review synthesis document, including annotations for the list of publications and resources used.
- One invitation-only virtual workshop, along with workshop planning and all supporting materials (e.g., agenda, presentations, meeting notes, and workshop summary).
- An interactive utility-facing document
- This document will include case studies and a decision support framework that can identify major attributes of communities across different climate regions and how to measure success.
- In addition, this document will include a chapter and supporting technical appendix that summarizes the knowledge gaps, research needs, and preliminary project concepts for recommended research projects.
- Broader outreach:
- Webcast and public outreach materials (e.g., infographics that can help communicate research findings to utilities, municipalities, and general public).
- Submitting at least one open access peer-reviewed journal paper and additional outreach products as applicable.
Eligibility Criteria
Proposals will be accepted from domestic or international entities, including educational institutions, research organizations, governmental agencies, and consultants or other for-profit entities.
For more information, visit https://www.waterrf.org/open-rfps