The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has doubled its 2008 funding commitment for green-building-research grants to $2 million. Of the additional $1 million in grants, $500,000 has been allocated for K-12 school facility research related to occupant impacts.
The USGBC created The Green Building Research Fund to spur research designed to advance sustainable building practices and encourage market transformation. A formal request for pre-proposals has been released. The USGBC is accepting pre-proposal abstracts from Feb. 12 through March 6.
The USGBC believes the research will result in knowledge, policies, technologies and tools that can have an immediate and positive impact on sustainable building development, design, construction, and operation.
The USGBC research committee has established the need for increased research funding and activity through its publication of Green Building Research Funding: An Assessment of Current Activity in the United States. The committee also has sought input to create a National Green Building Research Agenda to focus attention on increasing research capacity and activity.
The USGBC will accept grant proposals from Feb. 12 through March 6. Questions about the research funds and the request for pre-proposals can be e-mailed to research@committees.usgbc.org.
