Call for Applications: Climate Resilience Metrics for Water Supply Planning

The Water Research Foundation (WRF) is seeking research proposals to advance actionable climate resilience metrics that water utilities can use for planning, operational decision-making, and long-term water supply management under changing climate conditions. The project will evaluate existing performance metrics, determine how climate change affects their usefulness, and develop practical guidance for integrating resilience metrics into utility planning.

Applicants can request up to $250,000 in WRF funding, with an anticipated project duration of 18 months from the contract start date. Both U.S. and non-U.S. organizations are eligible to apply, including universities, research institutions, government agencies, consultants, and for-profit entities.

What Is the Climate Resilience Metrics Research Project?

The Water Research Foundation is supporting research to help water utilities make more informed decisions as climate conditions become increasingly uncertain.

Traditional water supply planning often relies on performance indicators and metrics designed around historical climate and operating conditions. Climate change can alter the assumptions behind these metrics, potentially affecting their reliability and usefulness.

This research project will examine how existing water utility performance metrics can be adapted to support climate-resilient planning and decision-making.

Why Does Climate Resilience Measurement Matter?

Water utilities face increasing challenges from changing climate conditions, including:

• Changes in precipitation patterns.
• Increasing drought risk.
• Extreme weather events.
• Changes in water availability.
• Greater uncertainty in future water demand and supply.
• Increasing pressure on water infrastructure.
• Changing operational conditions.

Reliable climate resilience metrics can help utilities understand whether their plans and systems can continue performing effectively under different future conditions.

The project therefore focuses on making climate resilience measurement practical, actionable, and relevant to utility decisions.

What Are the Main Objectives?

The research will focus on several interconnected objectives.

Catalog Existing Performance Metrics

Researchers will identify and document existing metrics used by water utilities for:

• Water supply planning.
• System performance.
• Reliability.
• Resilience.
• Risk assessment.
• Operational decision-making.

Assess Metrics Under Changing Climate Conditions

Existing metrics will be evaluated to determine whether they remain appropriate when climate conditions change.

The research should consider:

• Metric sensitivity to climate variables.
• Changes in underlying assumptions.
• Applicability under future climate scenarios.
• Limitations of historical performance measures.
• Potential need for modified or alternative metrics.

Determine the Appropriate Level of Analysis

The project will examine how much climate resilience analysis is appropriate for different situations.

This may depend on:

• The sensitivity of a metric.
• The type of planning decision.
• Utility characteristics.
• Local climate risks.
• System complexity.
• Available data.
• Planning timescales.

The goal is to avoid both insufficient climate analysis and unnecessarily complex analysis.

Develop Practical Guidance

The research should produce guidance that water utilities can use to incorporate climate resilience metrics into:

• Water supply planning.
• Capital planning.
• Operational planning.
• Risk management.
• Infrastructure decision-making.
• Long-term resilience strategies.

What Is an Actionable Climate Resilience Metric?

An actionable climate resilience metric is a measurable indicator that helps a water utility understand how effectively its system, plan, or strategy can perform under changing climate conditions.

Rather than simply describing climate risk, an actionable metric should help utilities answer practical questions such as:

• How vulnerable is the water supply system?
• How reliable will the system remain under future conditions?
• Which risks require additional investment?
• Which planning alternatives perform best?
• When should a utility change its operating strategy?
• How much resilience is appropriate for a particular decision?

How Will the Research Support Water Utilities?

The project is expected to bridge the gap between climate science, resilience assessment, and practical utility planning.

The resulting research could help utilities:

• Identify useful resilience indicators.
• Understand limitations of existing metrics.
• Select appropriate metrics for specific decisions.
• Account for climate uncertainty.
• Improve water supply planning.
• Integrate resilience into operational processes.
• Make more informed infrastructure investments.

Who Is Eligible to Apply?

The opportunity is open to both U.S.-based and non-U.S.-based entities.

Eligible applicants may include:

• Educational institutions.
• Universities.
• Research organizations.
• Governmental agencies.
• Consultants.
• For-profit organizations.
• Other qualified research entities.

Applicants should have the technical expertise and organizational capacity necessary to conduct the proposed research.

Who Is Not Eligible to Participate?

Researchers who are late on ongoing WRF-sponsored studies without an approved no-cost extension are not eligible to be named as participants in proposals.

Applicants should therefore confirm their compliance with WRF’s requirements concerning existing sponsored research before submitting a proposal.

Funding Available

Applicants may request up to:

$250,000 in WRF funding

The requested amount should be appropriate for the proposed research scope, methodology, personnel, timeline, and deliverables.

Applicants should follow WRF’s applicable budget and cost requirements when preparing their proposal.

Project Duration

The anticipated period of performance is:

18 months from the contract start date.

Applicants should develop a realistic research schedule that allows sufficient time for:

How to Prepare a Strong Proposal

Step 1: Define the Climate Resilience Challenge

Clearly explain the challenge facing water utilities and why existing metrics may not adequately support decision-making under changing climate conditions.

Step 2: Review Existing Metrics

Identify relevant performance and resilience metrics currently used in water supply planning and assess their strengths and limitations.

Step 3: Assess Climate Sensitivity

Explain how the proposed research will determine whether individual metrics are sensitive to changing climate conditions.

Step 4: Consider Different Utility Contexts

The research should recognize that water utilities differ in:

• Size.
• Geography.
• Water sources.
• Infrastructure.
• Climate exposure.
• Operational characteristics.
• Planning needs.

Step 5: Develop a Practical Framework

Proposals should explain how the research will help utilities determine:

• Which metrics to use.
• When climate analysis is necessary.
• How much analysis is appropriate.
• How metrics should be adjusted.
• How results can support actual decisions.

Step 6: Produce Utility-Friendly Guidance

The final outputs should be practical and accessible to water utility professionals rather than limited to theoretical research findings.

What Should the Research Address?

A strong research approach should consider the relationship between:

• Climate change.
• Water supply reliability.
• Resilience metrics.
• Utility planning.
• Risk management.
• Decision-making.
• Operational performance.
• Infrastructure investment.

The research should ultimately help utilities move from simply measuring climate risk toward using climate information to make better planning and operational decisions.

Common Proposal Mistakes to Avoid

Applicants should avoid:

• Treating climate resilience as purely a climate modelling exercise.
• Developing metrics without explaining how utilities will use them.
• Ignoring differences between utility types.
• Focusing only on historical performance.
• Failing to assess metric sensitivity to climate conditions.
• Proposing overly complex analytical approaches without practical value.
• Providing insufficient explanation of how research findings will influence decisions.
• Underestimating stakeholder engagement with water utilities.

Key Facts About the WRF Climate Resilience Metrics Research Opportunity

• Funder: Water Research Foundation (WRF)
• Research focus: Actionable climate resilience metrics
• Sector: Water supply and water utilities
• Purpose: Improve climate-resilient planning and decision-making
• Maximum WRF funding: $250,000
• Project duration: 18 months
• Eligible applicants: U.S. and non-U.S. entities
• Eligible organizations: Universities, educational institutions, research organizations, government agencies, consultants, and for-profit entities
• Key research areas: Performance metrics, climate sensitivity, resilience analysis, water supply planning, operational decision-making, utility guidance
• Important restriction: Researchers late on existing WRF-sponsored studies without approved no-cost extensions cannot participate

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the WRF Climate Resilience Metrics research project?

It is a Water Research Foundation research opportunity focused on developing practical climate resilience metrics that water utilities can use to improve planning and decision-making under changing climate conditions.

How much funding is available?

Applicants may request up to $250,000 in WRF funding for the research project.

How long will the project last?

The anticipated period of performance is 18 months from the contract start date.

Can organizations outside the United States apply?

Yes. Proposals are accepted from both U.S.-based and non-U.S.-based entities.

What types of organizations are eligible?

Eligible applicants can include educational institutions, research organizations, governmental agencies, consultants, and other for-profit entities, subject to WRF requirements.

What will the research examine?

The project will catalog existing performance metrics, assess their usefulness under changing climate conditions, determine appropriate levels of climate resilience analysis, and develop guidance for integrating metrics into water utility planning and operations.

Can researchers with ongoing WRF projects apply?

Researchers who are late on ongoing WRF-sponsored studies without an approved no-cost extension cannot be named as participants in proposals.

Conclusion

The Water Research Foundation’s Climate Resilience Metrics research opportunity aims to help water utilities translate climate risk information into practical planning and operational decisions. By evaluating existing metrics, identifying climate-sensitive measures, and developing utility-focused guidance, the project will support more reliable and resilient water supply planning.

Eligible research organizations, universities, government agencies, consultants, and other qualified entities can seek up to $250,000 for an 18-month research project focused on advancing actionable climate resilience measurement in the water sector.