Grants & Funding Opportunities

New York State Water Resources Institute coordinates several grants programs to support research and education on critical water resource issues facing New York.

New York State Water Resources Institute Grant Competition

Each fall, the New York State Water Resources Institute (WRI) and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) invite researchers from across the state to submit pre-proposals for applied research, outreach, and policy analysis to WRI in support of WRI’s statewide water resource research and outreach agenda, and the state’s watershed action agenda goals. The primary objective of this funding opportunity is to provide research and assessment support to watershed-based management, policy, outreach, and education.

2026 Request for Proposals 

WRI has established a Research and Outreach Agenda to address critical water resource issues in NYS. Proposals seeking funding through future Request for Proposals should address the items within the document here (2025-26 Request for Proposals document). Cornell faculty and affiliates should refer to the document here (2025-26 Request for Proposals - Cornell document). The 2026 pre-proposal submission deadline is November 24, 2025. 

If you would like to receive the RFP information when it's released, please use the email sign-up form here.