California Air Resources Board

The California Air Resources Board’s (CARB) Sustainable Transportation and Communities Division has identified twelve priority projects for which it is seeking brief pre-proposals from California State University (CSU) and University of California (UC) academics. These twelve projects will fill important data, information, and research gaps to support the division’s programs related to sustainable transportation, land use, housing, and buildings.

CARB is committed to increasing the equitable impact of our efforts agencywide, and as such, this solicitation contains several projects that will explore, address, and embody racial equity components. The goal of increasing the equity elements of projects, awareness of project opportunities, and diverse collaboration between academics of various backgrounds is to achieve equitable and healthy sustainable transportation and community strategies that meet California’s climate goals.

See answers to Frequently Asked Questions.

List of Projects

1. Developing an Auto Operating Cost Methodology by Incorporating Alternative Fuel Technologies | up to $350,000 | Detailed Statement of Work 
2. Assess the Effectiveness of California’s Parking Cash-Out Program | up to $300,000 | Detailed Statement of Work
3. Opportunities and Costs for Small-Diameter Forestry Residue and Slash in Manufactured Wood Products | up to $250,000 | Detailed Statement of Work
4. Ground Truth Building Stock and Attribute Data in Disadvantaged and Low-Income Communities | up to $550,000 | Detailed Statement of Work
5. Costs and GHG Emissions Reduction Opportunities for Building Materials | up to $500,000 | Detailed Statement of Work
6. Consultant and Engagement Administrator for California Climate Investment Quantification Methodologies | up to $450,000 | Detailed Statement of Work
7. Strategies to Uplift Job Quality in California Climate Investments | up to $375,000 | Detailed Statement of Work
8. California Climate Investments Outcomes Evaluation Framework and Implementation | up to $350,000 | Detailed Statement of Work
9. Assessing and Calibrating Data Sources for the California Climate Investments Quantification Methodology for Forest Restoration & Management | $450,000 | Detailed Statement of Work
10. Incorporating Delayed Forest Reestablishment into Forest Restoration Quantification Methodologies | up to $700,000 | Detailed Statement of Work
11. Quantification Methodology for Estimating the Benefits of Residential Building Decarbonization Projects | up to $200,000 | Detailed Statement of Work
12. Project Attributes of Non-Residential Projects Consistent with the Scoping Plan | up to $150,000 | Detailed Statement of Work

Solicitation Details

Application Process

If your team is interested in conducting any of these projects, please submit a pre-proposal by email to stcdivision@arb.ca.gov by 5 p.m. on July 15, 2024.

Responses to this solicitation should include the following:

1. A brief technical pre-proposal that does not exceed five pages and discusses your proposed approach for conducting the project.
2. A curriculum vitae or statement of qualifications for all key personnel who would be involved in the study (separate attachment, does not count toward five-page limit of pre-proposal).
3. A brief description of research that has been conducted or is currently underway by the applicant in areas related to this topic. (It is preferable, but not required, that this description include funding source and amount of research funds. This can be in a separate attachment and will not count toward the five-page limit of pre-proposal).
4. For projects that include an equity component and/or community engagement (as noted in the project description), it is required that teams provide a cultural competency/humility statement not to exceed one-page in length (to be included as a separate attachment that does not count toward the five-page limit of pre-proposal).
5. A preliminary budget using the included Budget Summary Template.

Please carefully read the statement of work and scoring criteria information provided for each project to understand detailed requirements unique to each project.

These submissions will be used to gauge the extent of interest and available expertise within the UC and CSU systems. If a pre-proposal is selected for further development, the applicant will be notified no later than July 31, 2024. For selected investigators, an initial full proposal that meets CARB’s internal review requirements will be required by September 6, 2024. Funded projects are expected to begin in the spring of 2025.

Budget Summary Template

*Private subcontracting (i.e., any paid partners outside of a CSU or UC including private universities, community-based organizations, nonprofit organizations, private companies, etc.) is limited to 25% of the total direct cost or $50,000, whichever is less. Private subcontracting can be up to 50% but an additional attestation memo describing why the expertise within the subcontract cannot be found within the UC or CSU systems is required.

Relevant Dates

• July 15, 2024 – Pre-proposals must be submitted by email to stcdivision@arb.ca.gov by 5:00 p.m. 
• July 31, 2024 – Winning applicants will be notified. 
• September 6, 2024 – Full proposals due to CARB staff for review by 5:00 p.m.