California Air Resources Board

Introduction

This website contains all of the information needed by stakeholders interested in CARB’s Fiscal Year 2022-2023 Research Project Solicitation. This includes information on:

• Background information on the selection process for identifying the projects CARB intends to fund in fiscal year 2022-2023 and the process leading to the pre-proposal solicitation.
• Solicitation details, including relevant dates and details on individual projects.
• Registration link for the public meeting on the solicitation.  A recording of the meeting will be posted on this website after the meeting.
• Additional resources for prospective applicants, including a frequently asked questions document.

How can you get in contact with us if you have further questions?

• To receive an email notification on solicitation updates and all other research planning activities, sign up for the Research Activities listserv here: https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/CARB/subscriber/new.
• You may also email us directly at research@arb.ca.gov.

Background

The California Air Resources Board (CARB or Board) has identified its fiscal year 2022-2023 priority research projects. The proposed projects support CARB’s regulatory priorities related to health, environmental justice, economics, air pollution, and climate change. A research budget of $3.8 million is anticipated to fund eight new projects and one white paper.

The selection of these projects was guided by the research initiatives outlined in the Triennial Strategic Research Plan for Fiscal Years 2021-2024 (Plan), along with extensive coordination with other agencies, research institutions, stakeholders, and experts in these fields of research. The selection of these projects was also informed by the project concept and comment survey deployed in the Spring of 2021. Two public meetings were held to support this effort and extensive input was collected to inform this and future year research priorities. For more information on the comment and concept collection effort, please visit the research comment portal.

Solicitation Details

Who can apply?

In order to be eligible to apply for this solicitation, the principal investigator must be associated with the University of California or California State University (UC/CSU). UC/CSU researchers can partner with members of other public and private institutions, such as other universities, non-profit organizations, community-based organizations or private research institutes to submit a multidisciplinary pre-proposal. More information is available in the Frequently Asked Questions document available below.

Relevant Dates and Process Description

The proposed projects were presented to the Board on January 27, 2022. After Board approval, CARB staff initiated the pre-proposal solicitation process. Additional projects may be released for solicitation later in the fiscal year and any active solicitations are posted on this page. Once winning pre-proposals are identified for each project, staff will work with the research team to develop the research project into a complete proposal. These proposals will then be reviewed by the Research Screening Committee. If approved, the proposal will be submitted for contract preparation and execution. It is anticipated that projects will kick-off starting in August 2022. Results are anticipated in two to three years after the kickoff.

Resources available for prospective applicants

This page contains a pre-proposal template and a frequently asked questions document on CARB’s solicitation and contracting processes. Please see the documents linked at the bottom of this page.

Each year, CARB hosts the solicitation on the Empower Innovation website to foster the development of partnerships between university researchers and new research partners. Prospective researchers are encouraged to create a profile on Empower Innovation to find partners.

Virtual Public Meetings on CARB’s Research Pre-Proposal Solicitation

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) staff typically holds virtual public meetings to help interested parties learn more about the solicitation for research pre-proposals for each funding year. At solicitation meetings, CARB staff provide details on all projects included in the solicitation and the expectations for submitted pre-proposals. Slides for recent public meetings are available below. Please see the documents linked at the bottom of this page. A link to the recording of the recent public meeting presentation is available below. Any future solicitation meetings will be posted below.

Past Meeting Details

Date: Monday June 20, 4:30-5:30pm

Meeting recording

The slides presented at the meeting are available at the bottom of this page.

Current Solicitation Details

Relevant dates

1. Pre-proposals must be submitted by email to research@arb.ca.gov before 5pm, January 11, 2023
2. One pre-proposal will be selected to be developed into a full proposal on February 1, 2023
3. Full proposal and detailed budget will be due on February 22, 2023

Application Process

If your research team is interested in conducting projects currently in active solicitation, please submit a pre-proposal to research@arb.ca.gov by 5 p.m. on January 11, 2023

Responses to this solicitation should follow the pre-proposal template attached to this page. The main elements of the pre-proposal shall include the following:

• A pre-proposal that does not exceed five-pages and discusses your proposed approach for conducting the research project.
• A curriculum vitae or statement of qualifications for all major scientists, community members and/or non-academic researchers who would be involved in the study (does not count toward 5-page limit of pre-proposal).
• 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 that this include funding source and amount of research funds; does not count toward 5-page limit of pre-proposal).
• For projects that include an equity component and/or community engagement, it is required that research teams provide a cultural competency/humility statement not to exceed two pages in length (does not count toward 5-page limit of pre-proposal).
• A preliminary budget using the Budget Form found in the template (does not count toward 5-page limit of pre-proposal).

Summary of Project Deliverables

Various projects in this solicitation have equity components and deliverables. Each statement of work and scoring criteria provide guidance on these requirements. Some equity related deliverables common to all projects include:

• At Beginning of Contract
  • Work with CARB staff at the beginning of the project to create a 1-page plain-language outreach deliverable for public describing the project’s goals, process, and planned deliverables
• During Active Contract Period
  • Quarterly progress reports will include plain-language summaries that can be posted publicly
• Prior to Contract Close
  • Include plain-language summary and equity implications sections in draft final report
  • Work with CARB to create plain-language outreach deliverables for public summarizing results and impact of project (available in multiple languages)
  • Peer reviewed publications should be publicly available

A summary table of equity deliverables specific to select projects is provided in the table below:

Please reference the Scope of Work and Scoring Criteria information provided below for each project to get the full details on all pre-proposal requirements and project deliverables.

List of Projects

Below is a list of the individual projects in active solicitation with a paragraph description and a link to the individual project page where prospective researchers can find a detailed description of the project, or Scope of Work, and the Scoring Criteria, which is the basis upon which CARB staff will rank pre-proposals.

Currently Active

Progresses and Challenges on Indoor Air Quality in California
An update to “Report to the California Legislature: Indoor Air Pollution in California” $500,000 

• Project Description
  • Since the publication of CARB’s 2005 Indoor Air Pollution Report to the California Legislature, there have been advances in regulations, policies, and science to improve indoor air quality. However, there has also been the emergence of new challenges associated with building materials, designs and practices, consumer products, and home appliances since the initial report. The objective of this study is to update the 2005 Indoor Air Pollution Report to provide an up-to-date understanding of sources of air pollutants that impact indoor air in California. The project will include a comprehensive literature review, stakeholder interviews, synthesize of the progress on research findings, public perspectives, and policy development around indoor air since 2005, updated prioritization of indoor air pollutant sources based on health impacts, and recommendations on future research, program, and policy development to improve indoor air quality in California. The updated report will advance our understanding of indoor air quality concerns in California and support CARB and other agencies to prioritize their efforts for indoor air pollution control and public health enhancement.  
• Scope of Work and Scoring Criteria