Climate Resilience Centers | DE FOA 0002915

Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0002915

The Climate Resilience Centers (CRC) funding opportunity (DE-FOA-0002915) is a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science program run through the Biological and Environmental Research (BER) office that aims to close a major gap in climate science: understanding climate change impacts at fine, local scales, especially where community-level decisions are made. A central theme is equity. BER highlights that disadvantaged communities are often hit harder by climate hazards because of greater exposure and vulnerability, so the program is designed to produce climate resilience research that is not only technically strong but also directly useful to communities that have historically been underrepresented in federal research portfolios.

At its core, the program funds the creation of place-based Climate Resilience Centers anchored at institutions that are often under-resourced in large federal R&D ecosystems: Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) that are not classified as R1 research institutions, and emerging research institutions. These centers are meant to become long-term regional hubs that connect DOE-supported climate science with the real-world needs of local stakeholders. The model is deliberately two-way: communities help shape the research questions, data needs, and practical constraints, while researchers translate DOE tools, models, and findings into information that can actually support local planning and resilience actions.

The opportunity frames climate resilience as a community or region's ability to recover from climate-driven stresses and damages while minimizing harm to natural systems, local economies, infrastructure, and financial stability. BER emphasizes that achieving resilience depends heavily on better prediction of climate stressors and impacts using high-fidelity models, along with a clearer process for evaluating adaptation strategies and choosing solutions that are equitable. The program is aimed at helping decision-makers deal with questions such as when and where sea level rise will overwhelm coastal protections, how rising heat affects energy system reliability and security, and how changing wildfire or hurricane patterns may disrupt ecosystems and communities. In practice, CRCs are expected to integrate time-evolving hazards, exposure, vulnerability, and adaptive capacity into analyses that help communities understand risks and prepare effectively.

CRCs are expected to develop research agendas that align with BER priorities while advancing new fine-scale studies grounded in local context. Each center is expected to conduct place-based climate change analyses that examine potential societal and/or environmental impacts of current and future risks, as well as the implications of different response options. The solicitation highlights multidisciplinary approaches and expects centers to focus on a set of local or regional challenges, using DOE strengths in modeling, data, observations, and analysis. Example research directions include developing locally meaningful definitions and measurable metrics of resilience (so progress can be tracked in ways communities recognize), creating improved prediction tools and using them in stress-testing to compare adaptation strategies over relevant time horizons, and building or expanding observational capabilities to collect the data needed to support new predictions or improve accuracy.

A major emphasis is science translation and participatory engagement. The program is not just asking for academic papers; it is asking for usable, accessible outputs that link resilience science to local resilience needs and help speed the deployment of equitable solutions. This includes making climate information more understandable and actionable for local users, and building feedback loops so stakeholder experiences and priorities influence future BER research directions. The centers are positioned as embedded resources in their regions, intended to strengthen trust, improve the relevance of federal climate research, and bring local perspectives into DOE climate research planning.

Another defining requirement is that each CRC must leverage DOE national laboratory capabilities and scientific products. That can include direct collaborations with BER-supported lab teams, using national lab datasets and model outputs, or accessing specialized instrumentation and resources at DOE user facilities. BER also allows centers to build research infrastructure that increases institutional capacity, such as high-performance computing resources for modeling or new and expanded observational and analytical systems for environmental data collection. Beyond research outputs, CRCs are expected to help develop the next generation of multidisciplinary climate scientists and strengthen skills in stakeholder engagement through education, training, outreach, and public engagement activities.

Eligibility is restricted and designed to concentrate capacity-building where it is most needed. Applicants must be domestic and must be either (1) an MSI that is not listed as an R1 research institution, or (2) an emerging research institution defined as an institution of higher education with established undergraduate or graduate programs and less than $50 million in annual federal research expenditures. The DOE provides a reference list of eligible institutions through its designation resource page. The FOA also notes restrictions tied to 501(c)(4) nonprofits that have engaged in lobbying after December 31, 1995. A stated program goal is to increase participation of underrepresented groups in BER research and to strengthen a diverse, equitable, and inclusive climate research community.

From the funding details provided, this is a discretionary grant opportunity under CFDA 81.049 (Office of Science), with an award ceiling of $1,000,000. The funding activity category is science and technology and other R&D. The FOA was created on December 2, 2022, and the listed closing date is March 30, 2023. Overall, the opportunity is structured as both a climate science initiative and a capacity-building initiative: it aims to improve the quality and usefulness of fine-scale climate resilience research while growing local institutional expertise, infrastructure, and community-engaged research practice in regions and communities that most need actionable resilience support.

• The Office of Science in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Climate Resilience Centers" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 81.049.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2022-12-02.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2023-03-30. (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 $1,000,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for DE FOA 0002915

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