Request for Research Proposals: Social & Economic Impacts of PFAS in Great Lakes & Lake Champlain Regions

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a suite of hundreds-to-thousands of manufactured “forever chemicals” persistent in nature and toxic to many organisms. Additional chemical precursors, metabolites, or degradates to PFAS and related substances exist in nature and have potential to be toxic to many organisms. While much remains to be learned about the fate and transport of PFAS and related compounds in the environment, people and communities are currently impacted by the ubiquitous nature of these compounds, for example, in drinking water, food, packaging, personal care products, and building materials.

With support from the National Sea Grant Office, the Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant College Program has $400,000 to invest in promising research projects relevant to social and economic impacts of PFAS exposure, mitigation, and remediation in the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain regions. For purposes of this competition, “PFAS” refers to any component of the suite of per- and polyfluoralkyl substances and related compounds, including precursors.

Work is to be conducted between October 1, 2023 and March 31, 2025 anywhere in the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain regions as long as it supports priorities identified in the Request for Proposals (PDF). Priorities were identified via scoping activities in early 2023. A full report of the scoping effort, which includes details on key demographic groups and research needs for the regions, can be found on the PFAS Scoping and Competitive Research webpage.

Projects should propose to answer a clear research question or set of related questions; focus on one or more groups that live, work, and/or recreate in the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain regions; and demonstrate fit with one or more of the following research priorities:

  • Understanding exposure to PFAS
  • Communicating risks and actions for PFAS
  • Economic impacts of PFAS
  • Policies and regulations for PFAS

Proposals also must include a letter of support from the regional Sea Grant Program (i.e., Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois-Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Lake Champlain, New York) explaining how the applicant and Sea Grant Program will work together to extend the findings of the research.

Request for Proposals and Submission Timeline

  • Request for Proposals: Social and Economic Impacts of PFAS in the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain Regions (PDF)
  • Email letters of intent to iisg [at] purdue.edu by July 3, 2023. Please specify a Sea Grant partnering program in the letter, and cc seagrant [at] uvm.edu if partnering with Lake Champlain Sea Grant.
  • Applicants who provided a letter of intent on time should submit all proposal materials via https://esg.iiseagrant.org/ by 11:59 a.m. central time on July 31, 2023. Applications should be submitted to the "Regional PFAS Research Competition." The full proposal must include a letter of support from the regional Sea Grant Program (i.e., Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois-Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Lake Champlain, New York) . 

Questions about this opportunity should be directed to BOTH Amanpreet Kohli (kohli19 [at] purdue.edu) and Carolyn Foley (cfoley [at] purdue.edu). If Lake Champlain Sea Grant is the Sea Grant partner, please cc seagrant [at] uvm.edu on correspondence. Lake Champlain Sea Grant contact is Julianna White (julianna.m.white [at] uvm.edu).