Funding Opportunities

The National Sea Grant Law Center’s funding opportunities seek to promote the growth and development of Sea Grant legal programming and build the capacity of individual Sea Grant programs to address legal issues in their states.

2026 Contaminants of Emerging Concern Research-to-Application Partnership Competition

The National Sea Grant Law Center (Law Center) is accepting applications from eligible applicants to fund collaborative teams of researchers and decision makers. These teams will work to translate existing or emerging research into policy, with a focus on supporting the integration of contaminants of emerging concern (CEC) research into ongoing policy discussions in the following regions: Great Lakes (IL, IN, MI, MN, NY, OH, PA, WI) and Southeast (NC, SC, GA, FL). This funding opportunity aims to enhance the translation of research into policy to foster meaningful changes in local, state, or regional policy frameworks. The 2026 CEC Research-to-Application Partnership Competition grants have a recommended funding level of $75,000 per project, and the Law Center anticipates selecting up to two projects for funding (one in each region). Applicants can propose project timelines of up to 12-15 months. Matching funds will be required.

Timetable: Letters of Intent must be received by 5 p.m. Central Time on October 26, 2026. Full proposals must be received by 5 p.m. Central Time on November 20, 2026. The anticipated award start date is June 1, 2027.

Eligibility: The following entities are eligible and encouraged to participate in this funding opportunity: Sea Grant Programs, institutions of higher education, government agencies, and non-profit organizations that have the ability and capacity to conduct rigorous, non-partisan law and policy research. 

Only those applicants who submit a Letter of Intent (LOI) by the required deadline are subsequently eligible to submit full proposals.

2026 Contaminants of Emerging Concern Research-to-Application Partnership Competition

2025 Coastal Resilience Program Competition Results

The National Sea Law Grant Center awarded two institutions a two-year research grant through its 2025 Coastal Resilience Program competition. The Law Center received eleven full proposals that went through a rigorous evaluation process involving written peer reviewers and technical review panelists. Out of the eleven full proposals received, the following were awarded:

Institution: University of Virginia

Principal Investigator: Elizabeth Andrews

Project Title: Fighting the Good Fight: An Evaluation of the “Fight the Flood” Program’s Efficacy in Increasing Coastal Resilience for Property Owners and Businesses in Virginia’s Middle Peninsula

Project Description: This project will provide a retrospective, mixed-methods evaluation of the effectiveness of the Middle Peninsula Planning District Commission's "Fight the Flood" Program, with particular attention to participant outcomes, policy context, and public understanding of resilience practices. It will also explore the regulatory challenges that were overcome in building the program to better understand how legal constraints were navigated. The research team will conduct a retrospective policy analysis, economic evaluation, community survey, and stakeholder interviews to assess policy effectiveness and legal hurdles encountered in establishing the program. The evaluation will produce a publicly accessible summary report, policy briefs, and direct presentations to target audiences.

Institution: Cornell University

Principal Investigator: Brian Rahm

Project Title: Strengthening Flood Resilience Through Local Policy: Assessing Adoption and Barriers to Enhanced Floodplain Standards in Lake Ontario and Lake Erie Communities

Project Description: The project will assess how shoreline municipalities along Lake Ontario and Lake Erie are adopting and implementing the NYSDEC Model Local Law for Flood Damage Prevention, and evaluate the extent to which these laws incorporate enhanced flood resilience measures. Guided by two central research questions focused on adoption patterns and the factors influencing effectiveness, the project will establish a comprehensive baseline of floodplain management laws across approximately 70 municipalities, identifying strengths, gaps, and deviations. Using a two-phase approach, Phase I will apply a refined assessment framework to systematically evaluate local ordinances, while Phase II will conduct in-depth reviews and interviews in 10 selected communities to better understand implementation challenges, enabling factors, and real-world impacts. The project will also analyze related ordinances, such as stormwater and erosion control, and incorporate zoning data to provide a more holistic view of local flood resilience strategies. Findings will be synthesized into actionable insights, GIS-based visualizations, and practical tools to support state agencies and regional partners, while also contributing to academic research and policy guidance aimed at strengthening local flood risk reduction efforts.

2024-2027 Program Development Funds Results

The National Sea Law Grant Center awarded one institution a one-year research grant through its 2024-2027 Program Development Funds opportunity.

Institution: University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Principal Investigator: Melissa K. Scanlan

Project Title: Planning for Great Lakes Water Law Case Tracker

Project Description: This project addresses the increasingly complex water law and policy landscape of the Great Lakes region by exploring the creation of a free, user-friendly Great Lakes water law case tracker. Led by a partnership between the Center for Water Policy and Wisconsin Sea Grant, the initiative will first gauge regional needs, tool design, and potential use cases through an electronic survey and targeted stakeholder focus groups. Based on these findings, the project team will deliver final implementation recommendations and, if warranted, build a collaborative coalition to pursue long-term funding to implement, host, and maintain this capacity-building tool.

For More Information

General questions about NSGLC Competitions and the scope of projects considered should be directed to:

Stephanie Otts
Director of the National Sea Grant Law Center
sshowalt@olemiss.edu

General questions about the application process should be directed to:

Lauren Fremin
Project Coordinator for the National Sea Grant Law Center
lrfremin@olemiss.edu