Texas Wildlife Research Program
Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act (Pittman-Robertson) Grants

Wildlife Restoration

Request for Proposals
November 2023

Project Scope

The Wildlife Research Program of Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) is requesting proposals from universities and non-profit organizations/agencies interested in partnering with TPWD to investigate important wildlife conservation and/or management questions through grant funded research opportunities. The source of this funding is the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act (WR) program, which is a federal assistance program for state wildlife conservation agencies. The purpose of the WR Grants program is to restore, conserve, manage and enhance wild birds and mammals and their habitats. During this funding cycle, TPWD plans to make well over $1,000,000 in funds available to support cooperative, cost-share projects specifically for the project topics listed below. Unsolicited proposals for topics other than those explicitly listed within this RFP will not be considered for funding. Additionally, proposals for law enforcement, education, recreation, non-birds or mammals and plant conservation activities are not eligible for WR Grant funding.

Background

The WR program is a federal cost-share program that supports proactive conservation and management activities that benefit native bird and mammal species and their habitat.

Because of the federal granting requirements that are passed along to TPWD, all grants must be administered as cost-share agreements through the grant applicant’s agency or institution. All grants require a non-federal (i.e. private, municipal or state funding) match of 25% of the total grant cost (funds are available on a 75:25 cost-share ratio). The grant applicant’s institution/organization must provide the matching funds (25% of the total project costs), and the source of these matching funds must be identified in the grant proposal. Grant funds will be provided to the grantee on a reimbursement basis; the grantee's institution or organization will receive reimbursement of up to 75% of their eligible invoiced expenses.

Statement of Work

This solicitation calls for proposals to address the specific research needs listed below which have been identified by TPWD Wildlife Division staff as research priorities for this funding cycle. These topics are listed in order of their relative priority for funding with the first topic having the highest priority for funding progressing down to the last having the lowest. All proposals submitted must directly address one of the following topics to be considered for funding. TPWD reserves the right not to select a proposal due to funding limitations, insufficient proposal quality, or any other factors deemed appropriate.

Research topics of interest for this funding cycle in order of priority for funding:

Principal Investigators (PIs) should first communicate with the RFP contact listed in the above research topic links before beginning their proposal writing process to ensure that their proposals will address the issues of interest to TPWD using methodologies of interest to the agency.

Use the following (5) guidelines and templates for submitting proposals. Proposals using older formats will be rejected.

  1. Proposal Specifications and Guidelines
  2. Appendix I: Proposal Format
  3. Appendix II: Example Budget
  4. Appendix III : Evaluation Criteria
  5. TPWD Pass-thru Budget Template Excel Workbook

For Americans with Disabilities Act assistance in accessing these documents for download, email wildlife.research@tpwd.texas.gov.

Eligibility

Research proposals on these topics are encouraged from university personnel and other qualified researchers from public (governmental) and nonprofit organizations. Primary applicants may include U.S. city, county, state, or federal government agencies, public institutions of higher education or nonprofit organizations. Primary applicants must be in good standing with the Texas Comptroller and TPWD Accounting, regarding business and contracting practices. Partners (secondary applicants, cooperators or collaborators) may include other universities, private individuals, corporations, organizations or foundations. Partners are considered subcontractors of the primary applicant. Contracts will not be awarded to performing agencies (or principal investigators) who are delinquent or deficient in providing deliverables for current or past contracts or an approved final report from a previously awarded research contract.

Proposal Submission Deadline and Contact

The deadline for the submission of proposals is the close of business (5:00:00 p.m. CST) on Friday, January 12, 2024. Proposals received after this date and time will not be considered for selection. No exceptions will be allowed.

Applicants must submit an electronic copy (Microsoft Word/Excel files) of their proposal in the format described in the attachments above to TPWD by this deadline. Email proposals to wildlife.research@tpwd.texas.gov.

Questions regarding the content of this RFP may be directed to wildlife.research@tpwd.texas.gov.

The solicitation and evaluation will follow the timeline below.

Approximate Timeline:

  • November 2023 — RFP issued.
  • January 12, 2024 — Proposals due to TPWD by 5:00 PM CST. Copies of proposals that followed all submission instructions will be distributed for review.
  • March 2024 — Wildlife Research Review Committee meets to assess, rank and choose final proposals for award.
  • On or about April 1, 2024 — Successful grant applicants will be notified, any needed revisions to their proposals will be requested of the PIs, and a TPWD lead biologist will be assigned to each project. The TPWD lead biologist, or Project Coordinator (PC), will work with TPWD's Federal Aid office to guide each proposal through the process of becoming a federal grant (i.e. creation of the grant's project statement using the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's online system, creation of required environmental compliance documentations, etc.). Each project is subject to final approval by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Once the federal award is received, TPWD will enter into a contractual agreement with the sub-recipient and ultimately issue a purchase order to fund the project.
  • Awardees (PIs) will have until May 1, 2024, to submit back to TPWD through their PC any changes to their proposals requested by the Wildlife Research Review Committee. Delays in return of these updates/edits will result in a delayed project starting date in the contract.
  • Due to the time requirements needed for full processing by both the TPWD and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, projects cannot have starting dates earlier than September 1, 2024.