2025 Delta Research Awards: Proposal Solicitation

**Solicitation webpage updated 6/14/24 with the proposal webinar recording and SLIDES PDF**

**Solicitation webpage updated 5/13/24 with the new LOI Deadline, revised Solicitation, informational webinar recording, faq document, and information on collaborator message board**

IMPORTANT DATES

April 19, 2024 10:00AM PDT: RFP Informational Webinar (Optional)

May 28, 2024 5:00PM PDT: Letter of Intent due to eSeaGrant [deadline has been extended]

June 14, 2024 10:00AM PDT: Proposal Preparation Webinar (Optional)

August 26, 2024 5:00PM PDT: Full proposals due to eSeaGrant 

December 2024: Intent to Award issued

April 1, 2025: Expected project start date

Proposals will only be accepted from applicants whose Letters of Intent have been approved and who have received an invitation to submit a full proposal. 

Table of Contents

1. Background
2. What's new about this Solicitation? 
3. Schedule
4. Where to Find Help
5. Award Information and Project Categories
6. Submittal Requirements
7. Eligibility Requirements
8. Solicitation Focus
9. Proposal Requirements
10. Proposal Review Procedure
11. Resources for Applicants
12. Appendices

1. Background

The Delta Stewardship Council (Council) is pleased to announce the 2025 Delta Research Awards Proposal Solicitation. This proposal solicitation for Delta research projects (Solicitation) is funded by the Council, led by the Council’s Delta Science Program (DSP), and administered in partnership with the University of California San Diego, California Sea Grant (Sea Grant). The Solicitation will further the DSP’s legislatively mandated mission to: 

… provide the best possible unbiased scientific information to inform water and environmental decision-making in the Delta … through funding research, synthesizing and communicating scientific information to policy-makers and decision-makers… 
-Delta Reform Act 2009, Water Code Section 85280(b)(4).

Through this Solicitation, the DSP seeks to identify and fund research that will promote an integrated understanding of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and Suisun Marsh, particularly to support the science and natural resource management community’s ability to measure, anticipate, and plan for a rapidly changing climate. Proposals must advance one or more of the Science Actions in the 2022-2026 Science Action Agenda (SAA). The SAA prioritizes science actions to fill gaps in knowledge and aligns them with management needs. For more information about the Solicitation focus and the SAA, see Section 8. 

Eligible entities that wish to submit a proposal must first submit a Letter of Intent by the deadline set forth in the Solicitation as a prerequisite to be considered for an invitation to submit a full proposal. Letters of Intent will be evaluated based on the requirements in Section 6.1 of the Solicitation and successful applicants will receive a notification to submit a proposal. All proposals will be evaluated by independent experts with the appropriate specialized knowledge, based on requirements and criteria in Sections 9 and 10 of the Solicitation. The Council will select proposals for final awards. Selected applicants will receive an “intent to award” letter and will be required to enter into a contract agreement (agreement) to be negotiated with Sea Grant. If additional funding is available from external partners, successful proposals may receive an “intent to award” letter from the Council and/or external funding partners such as the Bureau of Reclamation and State Water Contractors, as applicable. There is a total of approximately $6 million available for awards. Sea Grant will collaborate closely with the Council in administering the Solicitation as well as for external and expert review of submitted proposals, award agreements, and communication of funded work with key interested parties. 

2. What's new about this solicitation?

• There are separate award categories for large projects ($200,001 to $1,500,000) and small projects ($90,000 to $200,000). The category for small projects was added following public input on the 2021 Solicitation. 
• Projects must directly advance at least one science action from the 2022-2026 SAA.
• In recognition of the importance of SAA actions related to the human dimensions of the Delta, projects with a substantial social science component will be eligible for additional points during the review process (Section 10). Data from the 2023 Delta Residents Survey may be relevant to researchers (Section 11.2).
• Letters of Intent will be assessed based on whether the proposed project aligns with science actions identified in the 2022-2026 Science Action Agenda, meets eligibility criteria, and falls within the geographic scope of the Delta (Section 6.1).
• Large projects are required to have one or more Letter(s) of Support from a Delta community partner, resource manager, or decision-maker (Section 9.6).
• All awards will be administered as formal agreements with Sea Grant. All collaborating entities will also be required to enter into sub-agreements with the primary applicant or may be required to enter into a separate agreement with Sea Grant.
• For optional assistance identifying tribal and/or community partners, please submit a Partnership Survey response here by May 1, 2024: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/N7X8S9F

3. Schedule

Table 1. Schedule in Pacific Daylight Time (PDT) 

Schedule is subject to change. Updates will be sent to applicants who have submitted a Letter of Intent via the eSeaGrant online portal.

4. Where to Find Help

Please see this website for the most updated copy of the Solicitation, answers to questions, and other information about the Solicitation and proposal process. For important resources and links, reference Section 11, Resources for Applicants.

For technical assistance and questions about the Solicitation, please contact SGProposal@ucsd.edu.

Communications with Council or Sea Grant staff related to the Solicitation, other than as specified and allowed in the Solicitation, may disqualify a potential proposal from being considered. To ensure that your questions will be answered in a timely manner, we recommend sending questions relating to proposal preparation and submission prior to August 19, 2024. 

Two optional virtual webinars will be held to provide technical assistance and other guidance for proposals (see Section 3, Schedule). Additional virtual webinars and/or workshops may be held on topics relevant to this Solicitation. Applicants registered on eSeaGrant will be notified of workshop details. The information will also be posted on the Council’s events calendar web page. Workshops will be recorded, and the recordings will be made available on the Solicitation website. Council and Sea Grant staff will also maintain a frequently asked questions (FAQ) document to address common or important questions about the solicitation (see link below). 

We encourage applicants seeking collaborators to use the "2025 Delta Research Awards Collaborator Message Board" to share what types of collaborators you are looking for and find contact information for new potential collaborators. If you did not register for the informational webinar but would like to participate in the collaborator spreadsheet, please email sgproposal@ucsd.edu to request access. 
 

2025 Delta Research Awards Informational Webinar (April 19, 2024)

FAQ Document

2025 Delta Research Awards Proposal Webinar (June 14, 2024)

Webinar Slides (PDF)

5. Award Information and Project Categories

There is a total of approximately $6 million available for awards. Projects must directly advance at least one science action from the 2022-2026 SAA. Availability of funding is dependent upon State and Federal budget appropriations for the specified fiscal year and is subject to change. All awards selected by the Council will be administered as formal agreements with Sea Grant. In some cases, additional awards may be selected by, and administered as formal agreements with, external partners.

Project categories (dollar amount limits include all eligible costs including indirect costs): 

• Small Projects: Awards between $90,000 and $200,000 
• Large Projects: Awards between $200,001 and $1,500,000

The project duration may be up to a maximum of three years (36 months). 

Applicants may submit more than one Letter of Intent and proposal (subject to receiving an invitation to submit a proposal), but a maximum of one proposal per individual lead Principal Investigator (PI) can be selected for an award. However, lead PIs may be listed as co-PIs on other awarded projects if the total combined effort of awarded projects is less than or equal to 100% of their time. 

Budget Contingency Clause for State-Funded Contract Agreements

If the Budget Act of the current year and/or any subsequent years covered under the ensuing agreement does not appropriate sufficient funds for the program, the agreement shall be of no further force and effect. In this event, the Council will have no liability to pay any funds whatsoever or to furnish any other considerations under the agreement and the contractor shall not be obligated to perform any provisions of the agreement.

If funding for any fiscal year is reduced or deleted by the Budget Act for purposes of this program, the Council will have the option to either: cancel the agreement with no liability occurring to the Council or offer an agreement amendment to the contractor to reflect the reduced amount. The contractor shall be reimbursed for any completed work or work in progress at the time of termination of an executed agreement if approved by the Council.

Recognition of Funding Source

Successful applicants must acknowledge funding from the Delta Stewardship Council and its Delta Science Program, and any partner organizations providing project funds, as specified in the agreement language, for any publication (including online webpages) of any material based on or developed under a project funded through this Solicitation. Support must also be orally acknowledged during all news media interviews, including radio, television, and news magazines.

6. Submittal Requirements

Letter of Intent (LOI)

Letters of Intent (LOI) are required and must be submitted by the deadline in Section 3 (Schedule) using eSeaGrant: http://eseagrant2.ucsd.edu/. If you have never used California Sea Grant's eSeaGrant portal before, you will need to register for an account. You can change the randomly-generated password once you log in successfully into the website. Contact sgproposal@ucsd.edu with any access issues related to eSeaGrant. NOTE: We advise not to wait until the last minute to submit your LOI; when eSeaGrant experiences high user traffic, you may experience page loading delays. It is the applicant’s responsibility to get all required materials submitted before the deadline, and the submission deadline will not be extended.

All interested applicants must submit a Letter of Intent (LOI), which contains a brief description of their project, using eSeaGrant by the deadline specified in the Solicitation (see Section 3, Schedule). For projects with multiple collaborating entities requesting funds, one lead PI should submit a single LOI on behalf of all collaborating entities. LOIs will be used to screen for eligibility and relevance to the Science Action Agenda, to enable the timely selection of reviewers, and to help avoid potential conflicts of interest in the review process. Interested applicants may submit more than one LOI, but an individual may only be the Primary Investigator for a single submitted project.

LOIs will be screened based on the requirements below. An invitation to submit a proposal will be issued to each applicant whose LOI passes the screening process. LOIs received after the deadline will not be considered. 

If there are any proposed changes to the scope of the successful LOIs, applicants must notify California Sea Grant via sgproposal@ucsd.edu as soon as possible and no later than July 15th, 2024. The name of lead PI must not change from LOI to proposal submission. Applicants will be notified by email no later than July 23rd, 2024 regarding whether the changes to their LOI are accepted, including an invitation to submit a proposal (if applicable) with the accepted revision(s).

LOIs will be assigned a pass/fail score based on their relevance to the science actions identified in the 2022-2026 Science Action Agenda (Section 8, Solicitation Focus), eligibility (Section 7, Eligibility Requirements), and whether they fall within the geographic scope of the Delta. Projects are not required to be physically located within the Delta; however, project activities must provide a demonstrable link(s) to the Delta. A link to the Delta could include hydrologic connection, tribal ancestral/spiritual connection, social/cultural connection, etc. The ‘Delta’ means the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta as defined in Water Code Section 12220 and the Suisun Marsh as defined in Public Resources Code Section 29101 (Water Code Section 85058).

Applicants will be notified electronically in writing if their LOIs were or were not successful. Applicants with successful LOIs will receive an electronic invitation to submit a full proposal. Applicants that did not receive an invitation to submit will not be considered.

The page limit for the LOI is two (2) pages, Arial font size 12, single spacing, and standard margins, including header, footer, labeling, and address information. If the LOI exceeds two pages, only information in the first two pages will be considered.

LOIs must include the following information submitted through forms in eSeaGrant: 

• Name of lead PI, affiliation, and contact information (name of lead PI must not change from LOI to proposal submission).
• Name of Co-PI(s) with affiliation(s), if applicable.
• Title of project.
• Indication of award type sought (Large Project or Small Project, see Section 5, Award Information and Project Categories) and which SAA Science Action(s) will be addressed.
• Geographic scope of the project.
• Brief discussion of the topic and approach, including how the specified science action(s) will be addressed.
• Approximate total budget and a list of all the collaborating entities who will receive funds as part of the award.

Project proposal

Proposals will only be accepted from applicants whose Letters of Intent have been approved and who have received an invitation to submit a full proposal. Applicants who do not receive an invitation to submit a proposal will not be considered. 

All proposals must present clear hypotheses or cogent research questions that can be addressed using a scientifically-sound research design. Research may invoke disciplines within, for example, the biophysical sciences, social sciences, integrated social-ecological disciplines, traditional knowledge, and/or local place-based knowledge.

Proposals are encouraged to:

• Include substantial roles for undergraduate, graduate, and/or postdoctoral students, particularly those from underrepresented groups and a diversity of lived experiences;
• Have a plan for meaningful, early, and sustained engagement with community members or community organizations;
• Be based on or thoughtfully and respectfully incorporate tribal, traditional, and/or local knowledges, as applicable.
• Proposals must meet all the requirements in Section 9 (Proposal Requirements) and must be submitted by the deadline in Section 3 (Schedule) using eSeaGrant: http://eseagrant2.ucsd.edu/. If you have never used California Sea Grant's eSeaGrant portal before, you will need to register for an account. You can change the randomly-generated password once you log in successfully into the website. Contact sgproposal@ucsd.edu with any access issues related to eSeaGrant. NOTE: We advise not to wait until the last minute to submit your proposal; when eSeaGrant experiences high user traffic, you may experience page loading delays. It is the applicant’s responsibility to get all required materials submitted before the deadline, and the submission deadline will not be extended.

7. Eligibility Requirements

Eligible Entities

All entities will be required to fulfill the award conditions of the University Terms & Conditions (UTC-220) and all pass-through terms and conditions from the Council unless otherwise agreed upon by the parties.

Eligible entities for agreements are entities that are in good standing and eligible to do business in California, including but not limited to:

• A California Native American Tribe; 
• A California State agency, State college, or State university, including an auxiliary organization of the California State University (CSU);
• A State agency, State college, or State university from another state;
• A local governmental entity, including those created as a Joint Powers Authority and local government entities from other states;
• California community colleges including an auxiliary organization or foundation organized to support the Board of Governors of the California Community Colleges;
• The Federal government including National Laboratories;
• An auxiliary organization of the Student Aid Commission established under Education Code;
• A corporation (both domestic and foreign), partnership, limited partnership, or limited liability company, or other such similar organization that meets the requirements for doing business in California, including tax-exempt organizations such as 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations;
• A private independent business, including sole proprietors;
• A domestic or foreign private college, university, or educational or research entity.

For proposals involving multiple entities, a single entity must be identified as the primary lead entity, and a single proposal describing the entire project must be submitted by that entity. The budgets of those participating entities must be clearly identified in the comprehensive project budget submitted by the lead entity and not exceed the total project budget.

Eligible activities include, but are not limited to:

• Research and data collection, analysis, synthesis, management, and delivery;
• Development of resource management tools and technologies;
• Development of conceptual or quantitative models;
• Production of peer-reviewed journal articles, conference presentations, and communications for the scientific/management community;
• Science communication for broader audiences and/or community engagement;
• Project management and coordination of a multidisciplinary team;
• Institutional Review Board (IRB) review;
• Document/report preparation. 

Ineligible Activities

Funds shall not be expended to pay:

• the design, construction, operation, mitigation, or maintenance of restoration projects or any Delta Plan covered actions, or 
• implementation activities (e.g., construction or improvement of a capital asset), or 
• land acquisition or easement purchase, or
• information technology (IT) services (e.g., hardware, software, web services) as defined: https://www.dgs.ca.gov/PD/Resources/SCM/TOC/10/10-2

See Proposal Requirements Section for Ineligible Costs.

8. Solicitation Focus

Proposals must directly address one or more of the 25 priority science actions described in the 2022-2026 SAA and must either be physically located in the Delta or provide a demonstrable link to the Delta. The ‘Delta’ means the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta as defined in Water Code Section 12220 and the Suisun Marsh as defined in Public Resources Code Section 29101 (Water Code Section 85058). A link to the Delta could include hydrologic connection, tribal ancestral/spiritual connection, social/cultural connection, etc.

In the Solicitation Notice, the section, “Solicitation Focus,” provides a high-level summary of the SAA, listing actions under thematic management needs. The management needs and the science actions are of equal priority and not listed in order of importance and are cross-cutting and integrative and unlikely to be addressed by only one project. More points will be awarded to projects that address multiple components of a science action or multiple science actions, where appropriate. For more information about the 25 priority science actions that are the focus of this Solicitation, please review the full SAA document. 

Management Need 1: Improve coordination and integration of large-scale experiments, data collection, and evaluation across regions and institutions.

Science Actions:

1. Establish publicly accessible repositories, interactive platforms, and protocols for sharing information, products, and tools associated with monitoring and modeling efforts, in support of forecast and scenario development, timely decision-making, and collaborative efforts.
2. Evaluate the individual and institutional factors that enable or present barriers to coordination, learning, trusting, and using scientific information to inform decision-making and resource sharing within and among organizations.
3. Identify and implement large-scale experiments that can address uncertainties in the outcomes of management actions for water supply, ecosystem function, and socioeconomic conditions in the Delta.

Management Need 2: Enhance monitoring and model interoperability, integration, and forecasting. 

Science Actions: 

1. Evaluate and update monitoring programs to ensure their ability to track and inform the management of climate change impacts, emerging stressors, and changes in species distributions.
2. Develop a framework for monitoring, modeling, and information dissemination in support of operational forecasting and near real-time visualization of the extent, toxicity, and health impacts of Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs).
3. Enhance flood risk models through a co-production process with Delta communities to quantify and consider tradeoffs among flood risk management, water supply and water quality management, habitat restoration, and climate adaptation.
4. Iteratively develop, update, and make widely available forecasts of climatological, hydrological, social-ecological, and water quality conditions at various spatial and temporal scales that consider climate change scenarios.

Management Need 3: Expand multi-benefit approaches to managing the Delta as a social-ecological system. 

Science Actions: 

1. Conduct studies to inform restoration and approaches to protecting human communities that are resilient to interannual hydrologic variation and climate change impacts.
2. Develop integrated frameworks, data visualization tools, and models of the Delta social-ecological system that evaluate the distribution of environmental benefits and burdens of management actions alongside anticipated climate change impacts.
3. Identify how ecosystem restoration projects, in comparison to existing water management strategies, benefit and burden human communities, with an emphasis on environmental justice.
4. Test and monitor the ability of tidal, nontidal, and managed wetlands and inundated floodplains to achieve multiple benefits over a range of spatial scales, including potential management costs, tradeoffs, and unintended consequences.
5. Synthesize existing knowledge and conduct applied, interdisciplinary research to evaluate the costs and benefits of different strategies for minimizing the introduction and spread of invasive species, and to inform early detection and rapid response strategies.

Management Need 4: Build and integrate knowledge on social process and behavior of Delta communities and residents to support effective and equitable management.

Science Actions:

1. Use multi-method approaches (e.g., surveys, interviews, oral histories, and/or observations) to develop an understanding of how human communities’ values, and uses of cultural, recreational, agricultural, and natural resources vary across geography, demographics, and time.
2. Synthesize existing data and collaboratively develop additional long-term data collection and monitoring strategies to address knowledge gaps on human communities within the Delta and those reliant on the Delta, with the goal of tracking and modeling metrics of resilience, equity, and well-being over time.
3. Measure and evaluate the effects of using co-production or community science approaches (in management and planning processes) on communities' perceptions of governance and on institutional outcomes, such as implementation or innovation.

Management Need 5: Acquire new knowledge and synthesize existing knowledge of interacting stressors to support species recovery and ecosystem health.

Science Actions:

1. Identify and test innovative methods for effective control or management of invasive aquatic vegetation in tidal portions of the Delta under current and projected climate conditions.
2. Identify thresholds in the survival and health of managed fish and wildlife species with respect to environmental variables (e.g., flow, temperature, dissolved oxygen) and location-specific survival probabilities to develop strategies that will support species recovery.
3. Determine how environmental drivers (e.g., nutrients, temperatures, water residence time) interact to cause HABs in the Delta, identify impacts on human and ecosystem health and well-being, and test possible mitigation strategies.
4. Integrate and expand on existing models of hydrodynamics, nutrients, and other food web drivers to allow for the forecasting of the effects of interacting stressors on primary production and listed species.
5. Quantify spatial and temporal patterns and trends of chemical contaminants and evaluate ecosystem effects through monitoring, modeling, and laboratory studies.

Management Need 6: Assess and anticipate impacts of climate change and extreme events to support successful adaptation strategies.

Science Actions:

1. Evaluate how climate change, sea level rise, and more frequent extremes will impact habitats, water supply, water quality, sediment supply, long-term species persistence, primary productivity, and food webs.
2. Evaluate individual and cumulative impacts and tradeoffs of drought management actions on ecological and human communities over multiple timescales.
3. Evaluate the possible multi-benefits of management actions that promote groundwater recharge for ecological functions and water resilience under climate change (e.g., multiple dry year scenarios).
4. Identify how human communities connected to the Delta watershed are adapting to climate change, what opportunities and tradeoffs exist for climate adaptation approaches (i.e., agricultural practices, carbon sequestration, nature-based solutions/green infrastructure), and how behaviors vary with adaptive capacity.
5. Predict and test how water allocation and supply decisions, and ecological flow scenarios should change under projected climate change to maintain habitat conditions, access of target species to critical habitat, and interactions among native and invasive species.

9. Proposal Requirements

Eligible entities that wish to submit a proposal must first submit a LOI by the deadline set forth in the Solicitation as a prerequisite to be considered for an invitation to submit a full proposal (See Section 3, Schedule).

Applicants with successful Letters of Intent will receive an electronic invitation to submit a full proposal. The invitation to submit must be included with the proposal submittal. 

Listed below are the requirements for a complete proposal package; for full details on each component, please refer to the Proposal Solicitation Notice. For lead PIs affiliated with academic institutions, final proposals must be submitted by the institution’s sponsored research office. For deadlines, see Section 3 (Schedule). For instructions on how to submit a proposal via eSeaGrant, see Section 6.2 (Project Proposal). For award information, see Section 5 (Award Information and Project Categories).

10. Proposal Review Procedure

Each proposal submitted by the deadline specified in Section 3 will undergo several steps in the review and selection process:

1. Proposals will be screened in an administrative review by Sea Grant; 
2. Proposals that pass the administrative review will be advanced to a technical review by subject matter experts (individual expert technical reviews); 
3. Individual expert technical reviews will be considered during one or more technical evaluation panel(s) during which the proposals will be reviewed, discussed and ranked;
4. The Council, in consultation with the Delta Lead Scientist, will make funding decisions based on consideration of the technical reviews, rankings, and factors described in Section 10.4, Funding Decisions. 

Further details on each of these steps are below.

Administrative Review

Administrative review determines if the proposal meets the following criteria:

1. The applicant and project are eligible. See Section 7, Eligibility Requirements, for eligibility requirements.
2. The proposal is complete. The proposal has all required sections: see Section 9, Proposal Requirements.

Proposals that do not meet both criteria may not be considered eligible under this Solicitation.

Individual Expert Technical Reviews

All proposals that advance past administrative review will go through independent technical review by at least two external experts. Technical reviewers will be professionals in fields relevant to the proposed project and screened to avoid any potential conflicts of interest. Technical reviewers will evaluate each proposal in accordance with the Technical Review Criteria (Table 2) and may submit narrative comments that support their scores.

Table 2. Technical Review Criteria

The following is a list of questions that will be provided as guidance for proposal reviewers:

• Scientific Merit 
  • Will the work address key scientific uncertainties and fill important information gaps? The proposed research does not have to be hypothesis-driven but must, at a minimum, include a clear statement of research questions.
  • Is the underlying scientific basis or underlying knowledge base for the proposed work clearly explained, the need for the project justified, and is it based on the best possible information, such as current scientific literature, Tribal expertise, traditional knowledge, and local knowledge?
  • Are the methods, including data analysis and reporting, clearly linked to and appropriate for the objectives and research questions?
• Relevance to the SAA
  • How is the project responsive to the 2022-2026 SAA? Which science action(s) will be addressed? Does the project address more than one science action? How comprehensively does the project address the science action(s)?
  • Large Projects Only: Does the letter of support demonstrate an effective connection with management needs and meaningful engagement with practitioners, Delta communities, and/or resource managers?
  • Is the proposed work significant on the landscape and regional scale?
  • Will the information produced contribute to effective adaptive management or co-production (i.e., participatory knowledge development) of science for the Delta?
  • If applicable: Will the project leverage existing datasets or tools?
• Broader Impacts and Equitable Engagement. Small projects will be scored on addressing at least one component of community engagement, positive impact on vulnerable (i.e., environmental justice (EJ)) communities, or outreach and training, as described below. Large projects will be scored on the extent to which all three components are addressed.
  • Community and/or Tribal engagement 
    • Is there evidence that the project team has made good faith efforts to engage with community groups or Tribes?
    • How well does the proposed project incorporate realistic and ample opportunities for community partnership, participation, and/or input? 
    • How will feedback from engagement be incorporated into or influence the proposed work?
    • Will there be any co-production of knowledge or participatory research with tribal experts or community groups?
  • Positive impact on vulnerable communities 
    • Will the research process and/or products have the potential for a meaningful positive impact on underrepresented groups or to promote EJ?
    • Will the process and /or products promote principles of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion?
  • Outreach and Training
    • Does the Engagement and Communication Plan explain how the information will be made directly available to the entities that will most benefit from it, including scientists, managers, and the public? 
    • Does the proposed work include training and mentoring for students (K-12, undergraduate, graduate), post-doctoral scholars, and/or educators (e.g., curriculum development), particularly those from underrepresented groups and with a diversity of lived experiences?
    • Is there a plan for policy engagement, such as presentations to decision-makers?
    • Will the proposed work include partnerships among academic, industry, and/or non-governmental organizations?
• Project has a substantial social science component. This criterion includes interdisciplinary projects with a substantial social science component.
  • Does the proposed project employ methods, theories, or data from any of the social science disciplines, including but not limited to political science, sociology, economics, anthropology, geography, or psychology? 
  • Does the project meaningfully integrate information on social and natural dimensions of the Delta?
• Feasibility
  • Is there an adequate description of how each element of the project will be implemented (e.g., methods, materials, equipment, responsible parties)? 
  • Does the schedule demonstrate a logical sequence and timing of project tasks? Is it feasible to complete the proposed work within the proposed time frame? Are potential pitfalls and contingencies described in sufficient detail?
  • Are the necessary facilities, equipment, and administrative capacity available to successfully perform and manage the proposed tasks?
• Reasonableness of budget
  • Is there justification for all costs in the budget?
  • Are all costs well justified and realistic for the work being proposed?
• Team qualifications. The DSP is committed to funding researchers from a broad range of institutions and career stages, including those who have not received prior funding from the DSP.
  • Does the project team have adequate expertise to complete the proposed work?
  • What is the project team’s record of publication, productivity, management, engagement, training, and outreach?
• Data management plan (DMP)
  • Does the DMP address all sections described in the Solicitation, including best practices for open science?

Technical Evaluation Panel(s)

The Review Panel(s) will consider the individual reviews by technical experts and rank projects according to the review criteria listed in the Individual Expert Technical Reviews Section. Members of the review panel(s) will be professionals in fields relevant to the proposed projects and screened to avoid any potential conflicts of interest.

Funding Decisions

The Council will select proposals for awards in consultation with the Delta Lead Scientist (or if the Delta Lead Scientist Position is vacant, the Deputy Executive Officer for Science or the Deputy Executive Officer for Science’s designee). Funding decisions will be made with consideration of the following: 

• Review Panel feedback and rankings
• Distribution of projects across SAA science actions
• Budget requests relative to available funds
• Management relevance to the Delta
• Distribution of applicants’ institutions and career stages 

Any funding partners will select proposals in coordination with the Council and issue intent to award letters separately. 

The intent to award does not guarantee an ensuing agreement. For proposals recommended for funding, intent to award letters will be distributed to the primary applicant and will include any requested changes to the proposal and/or budget in response to proposal review feedback. The Council reserves the right to revise funding decisions. To proceed to an executed agreement, successful applicants must provide any revisions and additional documentation as requested by Sea Grant in a timely manner.

11. Resources for Applicants

Please see the funding solicitation PDF for a full list of resources relating to:

• Science Action Agenda
• Delta Residents Survey Data
• Environmental Justice
• Community Engagement
• Data Management
• More About the Delta Stewardship Council
• State and Regional Resources
• Acronyms
• Definitions 

We encourage applicants seeking collaborators to use the "2025 Delta Research Awards Collaborator Message Board" to share what types of collaborators you are looking for and find contact information for new potential collaborators. If you did not register for the informational webinar but would like to participate in the collaborator spreadsheet, please email sgproposal@ucsd.edu to request access

Appendices

Appendix A: Award Reporting Template

Appendix B: Budget Template

Appendix C: Engagement and Communication Template

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