What are Innovative Projects? What are Innovative Projects? Each year, OSWER sets aside money to fund creative approaches to land and cleanup programs, such as waste minimization, energy recovery, recycling, land revitalization, and homeland security, which may be replicated across various sectors, industries, communities, and regions. Regions and Program offices are encouraged to submit innovative proposals to receive contractor assistance to turn their ideas into reality. To date, more than 75 projects have been funded with over $3.5 million awarded. Projects can be funded up to $50 thousand. OSWER is looking for office and regional personnel to think creatively and compose proposals that will develop new approaches, practices, and technologies that can make environmental protection more practical, more effective, and less costly. Projects can be risky, making them difficult to support from the home office or region. It is OSWER's hope that once implemented, each proposal's outcome will be a positive impact towards addressing our greatest environmental challenges. Whv were Innovative Projects initiated bv OSWER? EPA's Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER) initiated innovations projects to encourage the development of creative solutions to environmental problems such as improving the rate of recycled municipal waste and reused industrial materials, cleaning up and revitalizing contaminated lands, responding to an increasing number of natural disaster, and global climate change. How Does OSWER Select a Proposal? Proposals are selected by the Innovations Work Group (IWG) made up of representatives from HQ offices and regions. Each proposal is evaluated and scored both at an individual level and through group discussions. The IWG then meets for an intense two-day meeting to discuss the strongest proposals and rank the top proposals for funding. What Makes an Excellent Proposal? • Creating an innovative idea to address environmental challenges • Using a comprehensive approach to achieve desired outcomes • Identifying robust partnerships that will provide matching funds or services • Clearly outlining outcomes, outputs, deliverables and expected completion dates • Proving evaluation of transparency and transferability How Can I AppIv? • IPCO will contact OSWER Innovation Workgroup (IWG) members to request proposals • This internal process will be communicated by IWG members through e-mails to their respective offices and regional managers • ONLY IWG members may submit proposals When Are Proposals Due? The initial call to announce the availability of innovation money varies from year to year, but typically starts in the late spring. Proposals are due around six weeks after the call. Projects are selected towards the end of July. ------- |