Cooperative Ecosystems Studies Units (CESU) | F18AS00130

Opportunity Information: Apply for F18AS00130

The Cooperative Ecosystems Studies Units (CESU) opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number F18AS00130) is a U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service notice of intent to make a single-source award under a cooperative agreement. It is not a standard open competition and there is no full funding announcement attached. Even though the eligibility field is listed as "unrestricted," the text makes clear that the agency plans to award to one specific recipient: the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez. The notice was created on May 7, 2018, with an original closing date of May 14, 2018, and it anticipates one award with a funding cap of $100,000.

The purpose of the project is to provide science and technical support to help inform Department of the Interior hurricane recovery efforts in Puerto Rico, with a particular focus on coastal and shoreline issues. The work described centers on assessing shoreline change and identifying strategies to reduce or manage beach erosion. A key feature of the scope is that the project is meant to produce actionable recommendations that weigh different response options, including protecting vulnerable shorelines, adapting infrastructure and management practices to changing conditions, or retreating from areas where long-term protection is impractical. In other words, the project is geared toward decision support rather than purely academic research, aiming to translate coastal science into practical guidance for recovery planning and implementation.

Because the funding instrument is a cooperative agreement, the Fish and Wildlife Service expects to play a hands-on role rather than acting only as a funder. The notice states that the Service will be "substantially involved" through the CESU framework, working closely with the host university and any partner institutions. That involvement typically signals collaboration on project direction, data needs, methods, deliverables, and coordination with on-the-ground management priorities. The activity category is listed under Science and Technology and other Research and Development, and the CFDA number provided is 15.678, placing it within the Service's assistance programming.

In practical terms, this notice reads as a targeted partnership action using the CESU network to quickly mobilize university-based expertise for a specific recovery need. Rather than inviting proposals from many applicants, it communicates the agency's intent to proceed with a defined partner to deliver coastal erosion assessment and decision-ready recommendations that support hurricane recovery and longer-term resilience planning in Puerto Rico.

• The Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Cooperative Ecosystems Studies Units (CESU)" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.678.
• This funding opportunity was created on May 07, 2018.
• Applicants must submit their applications by May 14, 2018 THIS IS A NOTICE OF INTENT TO AWARD TO A SINGLE SOURCE ANNOUNCEMENT ASSOCIATED WITH THIS NOTICE.. (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: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.

Apply for F18AS00130

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