ROSES 2025: A.8 Water Resources Applications

NASA’s Water Resources Applications program (ROSES-2025 Element A.8) invites proposals for developing decision-support tools for water resources management using NASA Earth observation data. This initiative supports NASA's Earth Action Water Resources Program and its Earth Science to Action (ES2A) strategy. The program’s primary goal is to help organizations, including public agencies and private stakeholders, integrate satellite data into water-related decision-making. It seeks solutions that address pressing challenges such as drought resilience, stormwater management, risk assessment, water efficiency across sectors, and transboundary water cooperation. Proposed projects must align with three core components: engagement and needs assessment, solution development and testing, and implementation and evaluation. All projects must involve a partnering end-user organization in water resources decision-making, such as water agencies, utilities, NGOs, or private firms. These end-users must be listed as Co-Investigators or Collaborators. At least one NASA Earth observation capability must be used, with preference for underutilized tools or datasets. Eligible Earth observation inputs include NASA satellite missions (e.g., ECOSTRESS, GRACE, Landsat, SMAP), simulated data for planned missions, airborne data, NASA-developed geospatial products, and even non-NASA datasets if used in conjunction with NASA sources. Proposals fall into two types based on Application Readiness Level (ARL). Type 1 projects, making up about 25% of selections, support early-stage concepts starting at ARL 2–3 and must advance one ARL per year. Type 2 projects, comprising about 75% of selections, focus on operational deployment and must start at ARL 5 or above and end at ARL 8–9. Step-1 proposals are short concept summaries and must be submitted to qualify for Step-2. Step-2 proposals undergo Dual-Anonymous Peer Review and must detail project management, technical approach, team expertise, and a transition plan (Type 2 only). Federal agencies other than NASA and non-JPL FFRDCs are not eligible to receive funds but may participate as unfunded collaborators. U.S.-based applicants may partner with non-U.S. organizations, though non-U.S. collaborators must secure their own funding. Projects focused on areas smaller than a U.S. state must demonstrate multi-site scalability or broader regional impacts. International efforts must involve globally mandated public or private entities. Applications must be submitted via NSPIRES. The Step-1 deadline is listed in Tables 2 and 3 of the ROSES-2025 NRA, and the expected start date is four months after the Step-2 deadline. All funded projects must follow quarterly and annual reporting requirements and conclude with a final assessment report. Additional support, including proposal preparation guides and FAQs, is available through the NSPIRES portal. A pre-proposal teleconference will be held about six weeks after ROSES-2025 is released, with details posted two weeks prior. For further guidance, prospective applicants may contact Erin Urquhart at erin.urquhart.jephson@nasa.gov or 202-909-9823.

Follow DAPR and anonymization rules closely. Involve end-user collaborators early and thoroughly.