Funding opportunity open for 2024-25 research projects

Posted November 29th, 2022 in Aquaculture, Aquatic Invasive Species, Climate Ready Communities, Featured, Fisheries, Funded Research, Funding, Great Lakes Cleanup, Healthy Waters, News, Recreation & Tourism, Stormwater & Green Infrastructure, Sustainable Community Planning, Water Resource Economics
"funding opportunity" banner with IISG logo

The Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant College Program (IISG) anticipates having $800,000 to invest in promising research projects relevant to southern Lake Michigan and surrounding coastal communities in northeast Illinois and northwest Indiana. Work is to be completed in the 2024-25 biennium. Work can be conducted outside of the geographic area outlined above provided applicants make a compelling case for why their work is relevant to southern Lake Michigan and surrounding coastal communities.

For the 2024–25 cycle, IISG will prioritize funding projects with outcomes that demonstrate potential to benefit underserved communities in the southern Lake Michigan region. Benefits may include but are not limited to improved quality of life, job training and student opportunities, and increased access to beneficial services or information.

IISG encourages submissions by early career scientists and/or persons who have partnered with, or plan to mentor, early career scientists. IISG also encourages all applicants to make research plans such that their work will effectively center on underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, people with disabilities, and/or people from economically or educationally disadvantaged backgrounds that have limited their ability to pursue a career in STEM.

Eligibility

Investigators from educational or research institutions including universities, museums, and NGOs, are eligible to serve as PI for these funds. Priority will be given to Illinois- and Indiana-based researchers. Researchers from other states are welcome to apply but proposed work must demonstrate how it will benefit the mission of IISG and/or meet research priorities. 

Research Topics

Projects should propose to answer a clear research question or set of related questions, and should demonstrate fit with the IISG strategic plan. Five areas are of special interest for the 2024-25 funding cycle:

  • Improving water safety, with a goal of reducing the number of drownings in Lake
    Michigan.
  • Adapting to changing lake levels in the southern Lake Michigan region in support of
    healthy coastal ecosystems and resilient communities and economies.
  • Better understanding contaminant levels in fish or shellfish that are or can be used for food. These may include Lake Michigan or tributary fish caught for subsistence fishing or Illinois- or Indiana-farm raised fish and shellfish. Contaminants to explore include but are not limited to legacy contaminants, contaminants of emerging concern, and toxic cyanobacteria from algal blooms (e.g., in nearshore regions; in ponds where fish or shellfish are raised).
  • Addressing environmental justice concerns associated with restoration of degraded
    southern Lake Michigan coastal sites (e.g., decommissioned power plants, industrial
    parks).
  • Exploring economic or legal barriers to production of Illinois- and/or Indiana-grown
    fish or shellfish (e.g., processing of organisms to be sold at restaurants, permitting or
    acquisition of resources to expand facilities, access to skilled laborers).

Additional topic areas of interest include broader aquaculture research, aquatic invasive species, community climate readiness, fisheries, healthy waters and pollution prevention, recreation and tourism, stormwater and green infrastructure, shoreline erosion, sustainable community planning, and water supply. All research projects should fit at least one of these topic areas.

Preproposal Submission

Prospective PIs must submit a preproposal to be considered for funding. Applicants should submit materials via https://esg.iiseagrant.org/ by 11:59 p.m. Central time on February 6, 2023. Applications should be submitted to the “IL-IN SG 2023 2-Year Research Competition”. Late applications will not be accepted unless the applicant has contacted IISG staff members before the deadline to make them aware of potential issues, (e.g., computer, power, or internet issues). IISG reserves the right to refuse late applications if the program determines that individual circumstances do not warrant an extension. IISG staff members will only be available to answer questions until 5:00 pm Central time on February 6, 2023.

The full RFP can be found at https://iiseagrant.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/IISG-RFP-2022.pdf. Questions regarding eligibility or submission requirements may be directed to Carolyn Foley at cfoley@purdue.edu or by phone at 765-494-3601.

 

Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant is a partnership between NOAA, University of Illinois Extension, and Purdue University Forestry and Natural Resources, bringing science together with communities for solutions that work. Sea Grant is a network of 34 science, education and outreach programs located in every coastal and Great Lakes state, Lake Champlain, Puerto Rico and Guam.

IISG Instagram

Looking for a fun way to teach about marine debris? Check out Me and Debry, which is a whimsical, 30‑minute, audience‑participation play created for @UWiscSeaGrant. It helps students explore what marine debris is, why it matters, and how we can make a difference in the Great Lakes.

The full script (English) and participation scripts (English, Spanish, and Hmong) are free to use, along with marketing materials for performances.

Bring learning to life and start a conversation about litter in our waters!

Check it out at the link in bio.

#TeachingTuesday

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Open post by ilinseagrant with ID 18104492783310070
Looking for a fun way to teach about marine debris? Check out Me and Debry, which is a whimsical, 30‑minute, audience‑participation play created for @UWiscSeaGrant. It helps students explore what marine debris is, why it matters, and how we can make a difference in the Great Lakes.The full script (English) and participation scripts (English, Spanish, and Hmong) are free to use, along with marketing materials for performances.Bring learning to life and start a conversation about litter in our waters!Check it out at the link in bio.#TeachingTuesday

Do you work or live along the Great Lakes coasts? Watch our newly released video series collection, containing several short videos that overview the range of coastal protection options in the Great Lakes, including:

- Natural processes in the Great Lakes
- Hard coastal protection structures and how they interact with/alter natural processes
- Nature-based coastal solutions in the Great Lakes, ranging from green to gray approaches

Find our two new video series at the link in bio.

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Open post by ilinseagrant with ID 18075599984541727
Do you work or live along the Great Lakes coasts? Watch our newly released video series collection, containing several short videos that overview the range of coastal protection options in the Great Lakes, including:- Natural processes in the Great Lakes- Hard coastal protection structures and how they interact with/alter natural processes- Nature-based coastal solutions in the Great Lakes, ranging from green to gray approachesFind our two new video series at the link in bio.

Located in Washington, D.C., the Sea Grant Knauss Fellowship provides a unique educational and professional experience to graduate students who have an interest in ocean, coastal and Great Lakes resources, and in the national policy decisions affecting those resources. This is a one-year fellowship open to any student, regardless of citizenship, who is enrolled toward a degree in a graduate or professional program on the day of the deadline.

Students enrolled at an Illinois or Indiana university or college should submit their applications through Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant by emailing Angela Archer at amcbride@purdue.edu. Students in surrounding states without a Sea Grant program should contact the National Sea Grant College Program at oar.sg.fellows@noaa.gov for a referral.

Application deadline: June 3, 2026.

To learn more about the fellowship, visit the link in bio.

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Open post by ilinseagrant with ID 18136822375511465
Located in Washington, D.C., the Sea Grant Knauss Fellowship provides a unique educational and professional experience to graduate students who have an interest in ocean, coastal and Great Lakes resources, and in the national policy decisions affecting those resources. This is a one-year fellowship open to any student, regardless of citizenship, who is enrolled toward a degree in a graduate or professional program on the day of the deadline.Students enrolled at an Illinois or Indiana university or college should submit their applications through Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant by emailing Angela Archer at amcbride@purdue.edu. Students in surrounding states without a Sea Grant program should contact the National Sea Grant College Program at oar.sg.fellows@noaa.gov for a referral. Application deadline: June 3, 2026.To learn more about the fellowship, visit the link in bio.