California Air Resources Board

The California Air Resources Board’s (CARB) Sustainable Transportation and Communities Division has identified four priority projects for which it is seeking brief pre-proposals from California State University (CSU) and University of California (UC) academics. These four 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. Assessing Barriers to Clean Space and Water Heater Adoption and Strategies to Overcome Them | up to 350,000 | Detailed Statement of Work 
2. Water-Energy Quantification for California Climate Investments| up to $250,000 | Detailed Statement of Work
3. Improving Transit Methods to Maximize Climate and Equity Outcomes for California Climate Investments | up to $145,000 | Detailed Statement of Work
4. Assessing the Impacts of Transportation and Land Use Policies and Strategies on Vehicle Use, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Equity, and the Economy | up to $300,000 | Detailed Statement of Work

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 June 17, 2026.

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 preliminary budget using the included Budget Summary Template.
3. A one-page description of relevant experience of researchers including information on research that has been conducted or is currently underway by the applicant in areas related to this topic. (This can be in a separate attachment and does 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 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 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).

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 10, 2026. For selected investigators, an initial full proposal that meets CARB’s internal review requirements will be required by August 17, 2026. Funded projects are expected to begin in the spring of 2027.

Budget Summary Template

*Generally, private subcontracting (i.e., any paid non-government partners, 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. However, up to 50% of the total project budget can be subcontracted if there is a strong justification for why the expertise within the subcontract is not currently available within the UC or CSU system or if the prime contractor holds a competitively bid solicitation for the subcontracted portion of the work. In such cases, it is preferable if the subcontractor receives less funding than the prime contractor (i.e.<50%). 

Minimum Expectations and Scoring Criteria 

Refer to the minimum expectations and scoring criteria listed under each project.

Relevant Dates

• June 17, 2026 – Pre-proposals must be submitted by email to stcdivision@arb.ca.gov by 5:00 p.m. 
• July 10, 2026 – Winning applicants will be notified. 
• August 17, 2026 – Full proposals due to CARB staff for review by 5:00 p.m.