Cooperative Agreement for CESU-affiliated Partner with North Atlantic Coast Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit | G23AS00380

Opportunity Information: Apply for G23AS00380

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is soliciting a discretionary cooperative agreement under the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) Program, specifically through the North Atlantic Coast CESU network. This opportunity supports applied research that helps Department of the Interior (DOI) management agencies respond to growing impacts from ticks and tick-borne diseases on DOI trust resources. In practical terms, the project is meant to strengthen how land and resource managers, along with agricultural and public health partners, make defensible decisions when facing complex tradeoffs, limited budgets, and significant uncertainty about disease risk, tick ecology, and the effectiveness of potential interventions.

A central purpose of the award is to apply decision analysis to real management questions tied to ticks and tick-borne diseases. The funded partner is expected to work directly with DOI management agencies to clearly define and structure the decision problems those agencies face, identify objectives and constraints, evaluate alternative actions, and explicitly account for uncertainty. The emphasis is on helping agencies navigate competing priorities, such as balancing conservation goals with visitor access, wildlife management, human health risk reduction, and operational feasibility. Decision analysis in this context generally means building transparent, repeatable approaches for comparing management options, clarifying what information matters most, and making it easier to justify choices to stakeholders.

In addition to supporting specific decision problems, the opportunity also calls for developing a generalizable framework that can be reused beyond a single site or case study. The intended outcome is a decision-support structure that could guide future tick surveillance, research investments, and management strategies across different jurisdictions or landscapes. Rather than producing only one-off recommendations, the deliverable should be broadly useful for directing where monitoring should occur, what data gaps are most critical, and which actions are most promising under various ecological and administrative conditions. The overall goal is to improve consistency and effectiveness in how agencies plan, prioritize, and evaluate tick and tick-borne disease efforts over time.

Funding is offered as a cooperative agreement, which typically implies substantial involvement by the federal agency during the project. The assistance listing is CFDA 15.808, and the activity area is categorized under science and technology and other research and development. The award ceiling listed is $117,699. The opportunity was created on 2023-05-23, with an original closing date of 2023-06-23, under funding opportunity number G23AS00380.

Eligibility is limited. Applicants must be an approved participating partner in the North Atlantic Coast Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) Program. CESUs are collaborative partnerships designed to connect federal agencies with universities, nonprofits, and other research organizations to deliver research, technical assistance, and education that directly supports resource management needs. Because this opportunity is issued under the CESU mechanism, only organizations formally affiliated with the North Atlantic Coast CESU are eligible to receive the award.

• The Geological Survey in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Cooperative Agreement for CESU-affiliated Partner with North Atlantic Coast Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.808.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2023-05-23.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2023-06-23. (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 $117,699.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for G23AS00380

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