Cooperative Agreement for affiliated Partner of the Great Basin Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) | G21AS00556

Opportunity Information: Apply for G21AS00556

The US Geological Survey (USGS) released a discretionary funding opportunity, numbered G21AS00556, to support a cooperative agreement focused on advanced research and development related to deer movement and chronic wasting disease (CWD). The project sits within the Science and Technology and other Research and Development activity category (CFDA 15.808) and is designed to build a rigorous mathematical framework that can explain and predict the patterns and mechanisms behind deer dispersal and other movement behaviors. The central purpose is to create modeling foundations that can later be used to assess and quantify the risk of CWD spread that is directly tied to how deer move across landscapes, interact, and disperse.

This opportunity is issued under the Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU) Program, which is a partnership-based framework intended to connect federal agencies with academic and other qualified partners to deliver research, technical assistance, and education. In practical terms, that means the award is structured as a cooperative agreement rather than a standard grant, signaling that USGS is likely to have substantial involvement during the project period (for example, coordination on scientific direction, integration with USGS data needs, or collaboration with agency scientists). The award is explicitly restricted to an affiliated partner within the Great Basin CESU network, so eligibility is not open to all institutions broadly; applicants must already be participating partners of the Great Basin CESU.

Beyond CESU membership, the solicitation is highly specific about the type of expertise the applicant must bring. The recipient must have a recognized mathematics or statistics department with documented strength in mathematical modeling of ecological datasets, reflecting that this is not simply a wildlife biology or epidemiology project, but a mathematically intensive effort. The required technical background includes demonstrated experience in partial differential equation (PDE) methods for dynamical systems, along with the development and application of homogenization techniques. The emphasis on homogenization points to the need to translate complex, fine-scale landscape heterogeneity (such as patchy habitat features, barriers, corridors, or varying resource distributions) into mathematically tractable models that still retain the essential effects of that complexity on movement and disease spread. The notice also highlights a particular interest in prior or relevant application of these methods to CWD in deer, indicating that proposals are expected to connect mathematical innovation directly to this disease system rather than remaining purely theoretical.

Conceptually, the funded work aims to strengthen the scientific basis for representing dispersal, movement, and demographic processes of wildlife (and potentially other organisms) in complex landscapes, and for linking those processes to spatial disease dynamics. That includes experience applying mathematical models to movement ecology and population demographics, as well as to the spatial spread of diseases or invasive species. In the context of CWD, these capabilities matter because disease risk is shaped not only by infection biology but also by host behavior: seasonal movements, dispersal of young animals, shifting ranges due to habitat or human pressures, and other movement-driven contacts that can create pathways for transmission and geographic expansion.

The funding opportunity was created on June 9, 2021, with an original closing date of July 9, 2021. The maximum award amount (award ceiling) is listed as $300,000. While the notice indicates expected awards, it does not specify a number in the provided source text, but the structure and ceiling suggest a focused, potentially single-project effort intended to deliver a foundational modeling framework rather than a large multi-award program.

Overall, this opportunity targets a narrow set of qualified Great Basin CESU partners capable of high-level applied mathematics and statistics, with the goal of producing advanced movement-and-disease modeling tools that USGS and collaborators can use to better understand and manage the risk of CWD spread driven by deer dispersal and movement behaviors.

• The Geological Survey in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Cooperative Agreement for affiliated Partner of the Great Basin Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit (CESU)" 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 2021-06-09.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2021-07-09. (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 $300,000.00 in funding.
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for G21AS00556

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