GRRI CESU: Partnership to Increase Recreation Opportunitites and Access- RTCA | NPS NOIP20AC00423

Opportunity Information: Apply for NPS NOIP20AC00423

The grant opportunity titled "GRRI CESU: Partnership to Increase Recreation Opportunities and Access - RTCA" (Funding Opportunity Number NPS NOIP20AC00423) is a National Park Service (NPS) cooperative agreement designed to strengthen and speed up community recreation planning and trail development work across the Great Rivers Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) region. At its core, the project sets up a practical working channel between the NPS Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance Program (RTCA) and an eligible university partner so that technical support can be delivered more efficiently to communities that need help planning recreation and access improvements. Rather than funding construction directly, the emphasis is on providing the upfront expertise communities often lack: planning, conceptual design, technical assistance, and research that can turn local ideas into implementable plans.

A major focus of the agreement is to "streamline" how assistance is delivered by putting the partnership structure and funding in place before individual community projects begin. With that foundation established, the university partner can mobilize faculty, students, and staff quickly when a community is selected for assistance. This is meant to reduce administrative delays and allow project teams to engage earlier and more intensively, which is particularly valuable for smaller communities that may not have dedicated planning staff, specialized design capacity, or the budget to hire consultants.

The first highlighted project for FY 2020 centers on the City of Princeton. Under this initial effort, RTCA and Iowa State University's Landscape Architecture program planned to consult with Princeton's Sidewalk and Trail Committee and local Parks and Recreation staff to initiate development of a Community Recreation Plan. The plan is intended to cover both active and passive recreation opportunities, improve local trail amenities, and address city parks and recreation areas alongside longer-term planning objectives. The stated deliverable is a final "5 Year Community Recreation Plan," giving local partners a concrete, time-bounded roadmap rather than a general vision statement.

The public purpose is framed clearly: provide professional-grade technical, planning, and design services to communities that otherwise would not have the funding or expertise to do this work well. The logic is that a solid plan, including a clear vision, cost planning, and cost estimates, helps communities move faster into the phases where they seek project funding and begin construction. Without that foundation, communities may struggle to compete for grants, justify investments, or coordinate stakeholders, which can stall trail systems and recreation improvements indefinitely. The opportunity also ties recreation planning to broader benefits, arguing that better outdoor recreation access supports regional economic viability and public health, and that coordinated recreation and trail planning can improve sustainability and resiliency by building stronger relationships among the university recipient, local communities, nearby regional partners, and relevant local, state, and federal natural resource organizations.

Administratively, this was a discretionary funding opportunity using a cooperative agreement instrument, meaning NPS expects to be actively involved rather than simply issuing a pass-through grant. The eligible applicants were public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, consistent with the CESU model that relies on university-based capacity to support applied conservation and community projects. The opportunity listed an award ceiling of $77,050 with one expected award. It was posted by the Department of the Interior, National Park Service, with a creation date of March 30, 2020 and an original closing date of April 9, 2020. Overall, the opportunity is best understood as a targeted partnership mechanism: NPS RTCA plus a university landscape architecture and planning capacity, working together to help communities create actionable recreation and trail plans that can unlock future funding and on-the-ground improvements.

• The Department of the Interior, National Park Service in the community development, education, employment, labor and training, energy, environment, natural resources, science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "GRRI CESU: Partnership to Increase Recreation Opportunitites and Access- RTCA" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.945.
• This funding opportunity was created on Mar 30, 2020.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Apr 09, 2020. (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 $77,050.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education.

Apply for NPS NOIP20AC00423

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