California Air Resources Board

Introduction

This website contains information needed to apply for CARB’s Fiscal Year 2026-2027 Research Project Solicitation. This includes information on:

• Background information on the selection process.
• 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 2026-2027 research project priorities. The selection of these projects was guided by the research initiatives outlined in the Five-Year Strategic Research Plan (Five-Year Plan) and in coordination with other agencies, research institutions, the public, and experts in these fields. The selection of these projects was also informed by the research priority survey made public on May 8, 2025, and was discussed during a public meeting on May 28, 2025. The research priority list and details of that engagement can be found on 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. There are limitations to funding amounts for partners. In addition, members of CARB advisory groups may not be signatories to the contract, be listed as completing tasks in the scope of work, or communicate with CARB regarding CARB’s decision on the proposed contracts. If an active CARB advisory group member makes a prohibited appearance or communication subject to Government Code section 87104 as described above, the application will not be eligible for an award. More information is available in the Frequently Asked Questions document available below.

Relevant Dates and Process Description

Proposed research priorities were presented at a public meeting on May 28, 2025, and then reviewed by the CARB Executive Office in August 2025. A pre-proposal solicitation is released once these concepts are developed into full proposals. Additional projects may be released for solicitation later in the fiscal year, and any active solicitations are posted on this page. In addition, some projects are released as Request for Proposal (RFP) and posted on the California E-Procure site (use department 3900 to find CARB RFPs). Once pre-proposals are selected for each project, the research team will be directed to develop a complete proposal. These proposals will then be reviewed by the Research Screening Committee (RSC). The proposal will be submitted for contract preparation and execution considering recommendations from the RSC. Projects kick-off after contract execution. Results are typically anticipated in two to three years after the kickoff. For additional information on the research planning process, go to the research planning “about” page.

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) hosts virtual public meetings to help interested parties learn more about the solicitation process. CARB staff provide details on projects and expectations for submitted pre-proposals. Please see the documents linked at the bottom of this page.

Solicitation Meeting Details

Date: Tuesday June 23, 4-5:30 PM

Virtual meeting (Zoom): Meeting Recording

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

Current Solicitation Details

Application Process

If your research team is interested in conducting projects currently in active solicitation, please submit a letter of interest to research@arb.ca.gov by June 30, 2026. The letter of interest can consist of a brief email including the contact information of the prospective principal investigator (name, email, UC/CSU affiliation) and the title of the project you intend to apply for. No further details are required.

Full pre-proposals must be submitted to research@arb.ca.gov. See individual due dates for projects listed below. A list of due dates is included on the scope of work website for each project. See the list of currently active projects below for more details.

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. Some projects may have different page limits. See details provided on the scope of work page linked for each project listed below.
• 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 the 5-page limit of the 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 includes funding source and amount of research funds; does not count toward the 5-page limit of the 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 the 5-page limit of the pre-proposal).
• A preliminary budget using the Budget Form found in the template (does not count toward 5-page limit of pre-proposal).

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 with Pre-Proposal Solicitation

Below is a list of the individual projects in active solicitation with a link to the paragraph description on the Empower Innovation site 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

Advancing The Application of Real-time Toxic Air Contaminant /Hazardous Air Pollutant (TAC/HAP) Measurement Technologies Through Long-term Monitoring

Pre-proposals due by 5pm on July 21, 2026

• Description

  • Air toxic and precursor VOC emissions are a critical concern in California. This project will assess the feasibility of the long-term deployment and operation of an advanced technology, namely PTR-ToF-MS, for monitoring air toxics and precursor VOCs in the Wilmington-Carson-Long Beach area. The PTR-ToF-MS operation will also be accompanied by seasonal deployment and operation of a CIMS technique for expanded measurements of TACs/HAPs. By comparing datasets collected with these advanced technologies with results obtained from techniques such as TD-GC-ToF-MS and GC-VUV, this project will generate high-quality data to evaluate the capabilities of these emerging technologies for chemically identifying a broad spectrum of air toxics and precursor VOCs. Additionally, the positive matrix factorization (PMF) source apportionment model will be applied to the datasets to better characterize the contribution of source-level emissions. These findings are expected to inform CARB on the reliability of these advanced technologies for accurately measuring air toxics and precursor VOCs, thereby improving understanding of their role in O₃ and PM formation, as well as for exposure assessments. The evaluation of advanced monitoring technologies through this pilot project will help establish a framework that could be used to expand into other areas or across the state.

  • Empower Innovation listing

• Scope of Work, Scoring Criteria, and relevant dates

• Maximum award amount: $900,000

Commercial Cooking Activity in California

Pre-proposals due by 5pm on July 21, 2026

• Description
  • CARB seeks to update and expand statewide data on commercial cooking activity through the design and implementation of a multilingual survey of commercial cooking operations. The project is expected to pursue a coordinated, consistent approach that aligns with the data collection and analysis methodologies used by the local air districts. The project will evaluate available research and collect information on cooking devices, cuisines, meat types, business categories, operation size, and operating patterns. Survey results will be integrated with external datasets to produce scalable statewide estimates of commercial cooking activity. The work will support emissions inventories, local air quality assessments, and air quality planning efforts. The project will also incorporate emerging and underrepresented restaurant categories and cooking practices that have become more prominent in recent years.
  • Empower Innovation listing
• Scope of Work, Scoring Criteria, and relevant dates
• Maximum award amount: $600,000

Community-driven Assessment of Warehouse Activities and Impacts

Pre-proposals due by 5pm on July 31, 2026

• Description
  • Warehouses and logistics centers have proliferated significantly throughout the United States and in multiple regions in California. Warehouse growth has contributed to increased and concentrated truck activity, traffic congestion, and air pollution, posing challenges for residents living nearby. Studies have also identified disparate patterns of warehouse development in marginalized and minoritized communities, raising important environmental justice concerns.[1]Warehouses and their air quality impacts are a growing area of interest for the public, local and state entities, and academics, yet significant research gaps remain. One major gap is the ability to accurately estimate and characterize warehouse related truck and on-site equipment activities and impacts on surrounding areas. This information is critical to developing targeted policy interventions or providing information for land use decisions that prioritize public health protections alongside economic development. The objective of this project is to characterize patterns of truck activities and other emission sources associated with warehouse operations. This objective will be achieved through a community science project focused on activity data collection in three or more distinct warehouse locations. The Contractor will use these data to recommend and or implement an efficient, transferable analytical framework for characterizing warehouse-related activities statewide. The results are expected to inform the development of a consistent, statewide approach for improving warehouse-related activity data collection. Project outcomes are expected to provide data that inform warehouse-related programs in California, including those related to indirect source rules (ISR), air pollution mitigation strategies, and incentive programs, as applicable.
  • Empower Innovation listing
• Scope of Work, Scoring Criteria, and relevant dates
• Maximum award amount: $700,000

Cumulative Health Impacts from Air Pollution in California

Pre-proposals due by 5pm on August 14, 2026

• Description
  • Environmental programs generally consider health impacts from exposure to individual chemicals despite the prevailing recognition that cumulative approaches that capture numerous pollutants from an array of sources are better representative of real-world exposures, particularly in overburdened communities. In response to this need, CARB seeks to improve quantitative and qualitative characterizations of health risks associated with 1) simultaneous exposure to multiple criteria air pollutants, including components of fine particulate matter, across California and 2) toxic air contaminants of elevated concern within overburdened communities. This research will inform CARB’s health impact analysis by developing California-specific, statewide multipollutant health impact functions as well as quantitative or qualitative health impact assessments of toxic air contaminants in communities with elevated exposures or health burdens. CARB expects the study results could help better understand the public impacts of simultaneous exposure to multiple air pollutants and improve evaluation of health benefits, particularly in overburdened and disadvantaged communities.
  • Empower Innovation listing
• Scope of Work, Scoring Criteria, and relevant dates
• Maximum award amount: $1,200,000

[1]Air pollution impacts from warehousing in the United States uncovered with satellite data | Nature Communications