The Water Environment & Reuse Foundation (WE&RF; Alexandria, Va.) is seeking competitive proposals for research to quantify the multiple benefits of implementing green infrastructure (GI) and to evaluate its economic, environmental/ecological, and social merits at the community scale. This call for submissions is open until June 19, 2017.

This project, the Framework and Tools for Quantifying Green Infrastructure Co-Benefits and Linking with Triple Bottom Line Analysis (Project SIWM4T13), seeks to demonstrate the environmental and social benefits of GI that has been designed for efficient stormwater management. The analysis framework developed from this study should be able to address GI programs that involve public funding, private funding, and public-private partnerships (PPP or P3).

Communities are assessing their

  • aging water infrastructure systems,
  • rate-payer expectations,
  • need to maintain healthy waterways, and
  • interest in pursuing sustainable and livable communities.

GI often is seen as an emerging technology with the potential to assist many communities address the needs listed above.

Many GI projects provide aesthetic enhancement to communities, particularly when compared with expansion of the built environment. Successful GI projects can

  • make communities more attractive,
  • increase property values,
  • create green jobs, and
  • increase public safety.

Research is needed to assist communities in evaluating investments in GI. This research seeks to holistically evaluate the co-benefits to determine the most appropriate approaches to GI investments, taking costs and benefits into consideration.

Proposals must be received by WE&RF by 5:00 pm ET on June 19, 2017. Questions may be addressed to Program Director Harry Zhang via email at hzhang@werf.org.