Cooperative Agreement for CESU-affiliated Partner with Rocky Mountain Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit | G21AS00603

Opportunity Information: Apply for G21AS00603

This funding opportunity is a US Geological Survey (USGS) cooperative agreement aimed at supporting a Rocky Mountain Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) partner to carry out applied research and national-scale surveillance focused on pathogens in wild bat populations, with a particular emphasis on coronaviruses. The work is framed around understanding how pathogens circulate within bats, how they may move between bats and other wildlife (spillover), and how infection dynamics in wildlife and the environment could relate to human disease risks, including questions connected to SARS-CoV-2. A major part of the effort ties directly into the North American Bat Monitoring Program (NABat), using that established monitoring framework to help track bats and coronavirus occurrence at broad geographic scales.

The scientific scope centers on three connected goals. First, the award supports research on pathogen dynamics in wild bats, meaning studies that look at when, where, and why bats carry particular pathogens, how infection patterns vary by species, season, geography, or habitat, and what ecological factors influence transmission within bat populations. Second, it calls for analysis of spillover potential to other species, which typically involves evaluating pathways and conditions that could allow pathogens detected in bats to infect other wildlife, domestic animals, or humans, as well as assessing the likelihood and consequences of those events. Third, it supports a more intensive surveillance push, described as a national-scale wildlife coronavirus surveillance effort, conducted in coordination with a wide network of partners that can include federal and state agencies, tribal entities, and non-governmental organizations. The idea is to move beyond isolated studies and generate coordinated, comparable data that can be used for broader inference and decision support.

A key expected outcome is the collection and use of surveillance data from both bats and the environment. The opportunity highlights using these data to model potential SARS-CoV-2 spread within bat populations and to better understand the role wildlife and environmental reservoirs might play in human COVID-19 infection dynamics. In practical terms, that implies integrating field surveillance results with analytical and modeling approaches to estimate where risk may be elevated, how a virus might persist or move in wildlife systems, and what factors could increase or reduce the probability of transmission events. The resulting models and analyses are intended to feed into risk assessments that consider both spillover (from wildlife to humans) and spill-back (from humans to wildlife), with the broader public health and wildlife management goal of informing actions that could prevent or reduce the chance of similar outbreaks in the future.

Administratively, this is a discretionary financial assistance opportunity offered as a cooperative agreement rather than a standard grant, which generally signals that USGS expects to have substantial involvement during the project (for example, through collaboration on study design, data standards, coordination with partner networks, or joint interpretation and reporting). The opportunity is issued under the CESU Program, which is designed to link federal agencies with partner institutions to deliver research, technical assistance, and education addressing natural and cultural resource issues. Eligibility is limited: applicants must be participating partners in the Rocky Mountain CESU, and the listing identifies the eligible applicant category as "Others" to reflect that CESU partner status is the gating requirement rather than an open competition to all organizations.

The funding opportunity number is G21AS00603, and it falls under the Science and Technology and other Research and Development activity category, with CFDA number 15.808. The award ceiling is $425,000. The posting dates indicate it was created on July 31, 2021, with an original closing date of August 30, 2021. While the notice references expected awards, the provided source details do not specify a number. Overall, the opportunity is positioned as a targeted, partnership-driven award to strengthen coordinated bat and coronavirus surveillance through NABat while advancing research and modeling that support wildlife and public health risk evaluation.

• The Geological Survey in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Cooperative Agreement for CESU-affiliated Partner with Rocky Mountain Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 15.808.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2021-07-31.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-08-30. (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 $425,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for G21AS00603

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