Book Description

"Since 1980, the Office of Exploratory Research within ORD has operated a competitive, peer-reviewed, extramural investigator-initiated research grants program to promote close cooperation with the scientific community and support basic research on environmental issues. Funding for the program has fluctuated between $5 million and $25 million per year, and funding in FY 1994 was $21 million. Applications for FY 1994 research grants were received in response to an annual General Solicitation for Applications, which focuses on broad environmental fields such as biology, chemistry, physics, engineering, and socioeconomics. This document provides a summary of the 1994 research grants within this program. Over the next three years, ORD plans to expand its extramural grants program. The funding level for the program will be an estimated $44 million in FY 1995 and is expected to grow further in subsequent years with the goal of achieving an annual funding level of $100 million. If fully implemented, such an expanded program would enable funding of about 200 new grants every year, with a typical grant lasting three years. Through special solicitations called Requests for Applications (RFA's), EPA will solicit proposals in well-defined, high priority research areas. For FY 1995 these RFA's will focus on areas where risk assessors are most in need of new concepts, data, and methods, as well as socioeconomic projects related to pollution prevention."--Introd.