The Water Program of Excellence is a multidisciplinary water research program funded by the Water Exceptional Item and administered by the Texas Water Resources Institute (TWRI). The Water Exceptional Item was funded by state appropriations from U.S. Congress, and through this funding, the program has provided $2,880,000 in water research funding.
The purpose of this initiative is to invest in multidisciplinary teams, or Programs of Excellence, to position teams as leaders in emerging fields and successfully secure external resources to advance water management in Texas.
Representatives from AgriLife Research, AgriLife Extension and Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station (TEES) are required (minimum of one person per agency) in each project proposal, to bring multidisciplinary teams together and develop cohesive pilot projects that can be the basis for submitting larger proposals to external funding agencies.
Funding Workshop
Faculty from AgriLife Research, AgriLife Extension, and TEES are invited to participate in a funding workshop to help identify priorities for the upcoming request for proposals from the Water Programs of Excellence, funded by the state-appropriated Water Exceptional Item and managed by TWRI.
Attendees will connect with researchers from multiple disciplines, learn about new funding strategies and next steps, and prepare for proposal development. Through this program, $2,880,000 in funding has been provided in FY2022-2023.
Wednesday, February 22, 8:30 – 12:30
MSC Room 2406A
RSVP required by February 10: RSVP here
For those not on campus, we will provide a remote option link.
The goal of the workshop is to discuss state and national water issues and develop project and team frameworks to leverage external funding opportunities.
General categories of proposals likely to receive funding are:
- Water/wastewater treatment and reuse
- Agricultural water efficiency and climate adaptation
- Infrastructure and climate resilience
- Aquatic invasive species
- Others
For questions about this program, contact Danielle Kalisek at Danielle.Kalisek@ag.tamu.edu.
Add this event to your calendar here.
Request for Proposals
The 2021-2023 request for proposals is now closed.
The 2023-2025 request for proposals is anticipated to be released spring 2023.
Key requirements of the Water Program of Excellence are:
- Funding is for two years, running from Sep. 1 to Aug. 31 of the second year.
- Grants are for up to $310,000 per year of funding, not to exceed $620,000 per project, with the submission of competitive grant proposals totaling $2 requested through extramural sources to every $1 received through the program.
- Teams may have participants from other colleges within the Texas A&M University System if their involvement is deemed necessary. The Principal Investigator must hold an appointment in one of the three identified agencies.
- Submission includes the application and other required information, as described in the RFP.
Contacts
For general program and application info, contact Danielle Kalisek.
For technical matters, contact Allen Berthold.
Allen Berthold
TWRI Interim Director
Allen Berthold, Ph.D., is the interim director at the Texas Water Resources Institute, where he has worked since 2009. During his time at the institute, Allen has served in leadership roles for water-related projects in both agricultural and urban settings across Texas.
Danielle Kalisek
TWRI Assistant Director
Danielle Kalisek is the Assistant Director for Institute Operations for the Texas Water Resources Institute. In this role, she manages institute business, particularly the pre-award through account setup processes and state and designated accounts, she also coordinates communications and websites services and needs for the institute.
