Incorporating Engineering With Nature® (EWN) and Landscape Architecture (LA) Designs into Existing Infrastructure Projects | W81EWF 20 SOI 0021

Opportunity Information: Apply for W81EWF 20 SOI 0021

The grant opportunity titled "Incorporating Engineering With Nature (EWN) and Landscape Architecture (LA) Designs into Existing Infrastructure Projects" is a US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) research-focused cooperative agreement aimed at bringing landscape architecture expertise directly into the planning and redesign of water resources infrastructure. The central idea behind Engineering With Nature is to deliberately align natural processes with engineering approaches so infrastructure can deliver multiple benefits at once, not just the traditional performance goals like navigation or flood control. The program frames EWN as a practical, collaborative method for producing economic value, environmental gains, and social or community benefits, using advances in engineering, ecology, and design to make infrastructure more sustainable and cost-effective over its life cycle.

This opportunity is grounded in the scale and urgency of USACE infrastructure needs. USACE manages a very large portfolio of coastal and inland navigation assets, including thousands of miles of maintained channels, hundreds of navigation structures and bridges, and many lock chambers across major river systems. Many of these assets are aging and increasingly in need of repair, rehabilitation, or replacement. At the same time, USACE conducts many coastal storm risk management (CSRM) and flood risk management (FRM) studies each year across the United States. The funding announcement highlights that, where appropriate, EWN researchers are already looking for innovative strategies that prioritize natural and nature-based features (NNBF), either as standalone interventions or as part of integrated systems that blend NNBF with conventional "gray" infrastructure.

The purpose of the funding is to recruit investigators with strong landscape architecture credentials who can help integrate EWN thinking and LA methods into real USACE projects and studies. The government is not simply asking for conceptual discussion; it is looking for applied design contributions that can be inserted into existing or proposed Corps infrastructure and into ongoing CSRM/FRM investigations. The desired applicant profile emphasizes demonstrated, expert-level experience in landscape architecture combined with familiarity in areas that intersect directly with USACE work: coastal and riverine infrastructure types, siting and placement of natural infrastructure, nature-based solutions, beneficial use of dredged sediment, and the design and implementation of NNBF. A recurring theme is that designs should incorporate human-use and community benefits along with engineering and environmental outcomes, reflecting EWN's intent to produce projects that serve people while also supporting ecological function.

In terms of work scope, the cooperative agreement is structured as a multi-year collaboration with the USACE Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC). The announcement describes an objective to develop innovative designs that incorporate EWN and LA approaches into either existing infrastructure projects or newly proposed ones, and/or into CSRM and FRM studies and investigations. Over a five-year period, the program anticipates completing about 10 projects in total, with the initial objective describing up to two unique, stand-alone projects. The landscape architecture investigator(s) would work directly with ERDC researchers and is expected to produce the visual and design communication materials that make the concepts usable and publishable, including figures, photographs, and design renderings that clearly show how an infrastructure project can be improved through EWN and LA integration. If it makes more sense for the research goals, the announcement also allows for fully new designs and renderings rather than forcing integration into an existing structure, as long as the result advances the program's purpose and demonstrates viable alternatives to the originally proposed or existing approaches.

The expected outputs are explicitly tied to USACE knowledge products and the broader research literature. Designs developed under the award are intended to be incorporated into USACE technical notes and technical reports, and also into peer-reviewed journal articles. In other words, the work is meant to both influence real project planning and contribute to the evidence base and design playbook that USACE and partners can use in future navigation, coastal resilience, and flood risk projects.

Administratively, this is a discretionary funding opportunity from the Department of Defense, Department of the Army, Corps of Engineers, offered as a cooperative agreement under CFDA 12.630 (science and technology and other research and development). The posted award ceiling is $100,000 with one expected award. The original posting dates show a creation date of April 16, 2020 and an original closing date of June 15, 2020. Eligibility is listed broadly as "Others," with clarification referenced in the full eligibility section of the original notice. Overall, the opportunity is best understood as targeted research-and-design support to embed landscape architectural design thinking into USACE infrastructure work, with a strong emphasis on NNBF, beneficial use of dredged material where applicable, and design solutions that perform in engineering terms while improving ecological outcomes and public value.

• The Department of Defense, Dept. of the Army -- Corps of Engineers in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Incorporating Engineering With Nature® (EWN) and Landscape Architecture (LA) Designs into Existing Infrastructure Projects" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 12.630.
• This funding opportunity was created on Apr 16, 2020.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 15, 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 $100,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

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