Opportunity Information: Apply for EPA G2021 P3 Q1
The 18th Annual P3 Awards is a discretionary grant opportunity run by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under its People, Prosperity and the Planet (P3) Award Program. It is structured as a national student design competition that funds projects focused on researching, developing, designing, and demonstrating practical solutions to real-world environmental and human health challenges. The central idea of the P3 program is that strong proposals should use sound scientific and engineering principles to create innovative, technology-based approaches that do more than just solve an environmental problem in isolation. Instead, each project is expected to advance three goals at the same time: improving quality of life for people, supporting economic prosperity, and protecting the environment.
A major emphasis of this competition is usefulness and relevance to communities across the United States, particularly places that often face higher barriers to environmental protection and public health resources. The announcement specifically calls out the needs of small, rural, tribal, and/or disadvantaged communities, signaling that the EPA is looking for solutions that are not only technically interesting but also feasible, appropriate to real constraints, and capable of making a tangible difference where it is most needed. In that sense, the competition pushes teams to think about real deployment conditions, costs, maintenance, community fit, and measurable benefits, rather than limiting projects to laboratory concepts.
The funding instrument is a grant, and the activity area is environment, with CFDA number 66.516. The opportunity number is EPA-G2021-P3-Q1. The posted timeline shows the opportunity was created on November 13, 2020, with an original closing date of February 9, 2021, and applicants are directed to the full announcement (especially Section IV) for the official submission requirements, methods, and any detailed deadline instructions. The EPA anticipated making about 25 awards, with an award ceiling of $25,000 per award, which aligns with the program's role as an early-stage or prototype-focused funding source intended to help student teams move from an idea to a demonstrated concept.
Eligibility is listed broadly as "Others," with a note to consult the announcement's additional eligibility information for specifics. In practice, this reflects that the program is oriented around student design teams and their institutions, and the details typically matter (such as who may serve as the applicant organization, what role faculty advisors play, and what types of academic institutions or team structures qualify). Overall, this opportunity is best understood as seed funding plus national recognition for student-led, science-driven designs that can credibly deliver simultaneous social, economic, and environmental gains under the P3 framework.Apply for EPA G2021 P3 Q1
- The Environmental Protection Agency in the environment sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "18th Annual P3 Awards: A National Student Design Competition Focusing on People, Prosperity and the Planet" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 66.516.
- This funding opportunity was created on Nov 13, 2020.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Feb 09, 2021 Please refer to the announcement, including Section IV, for additional information on submission methods and due dates.. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $25,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 25 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).
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FAQs: 18th Annual P3 Awards (EPA People, Prosperity and the Planet Program)
What is the 18th Annual P3 Awards opportunity?
The 18th Annual P3 Awards is a discretionary grant opportunity run by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under its People, Prosperity and the Planet (P3) Award Program. It is structured as a national student design competition that funds projects focused on researching, developing, designing, and demonstrating practical solutions to real-world environmental and human health challenges.
What is the main purpose of the EPA P3 program?
The central idea of the P3 program is to support proposals that use sound scientific and engineering principles to create innovative, technology-based approaches. Projects are expected to go beyond solving an environmental problem in isolation and instead deliver a solution that advances three goals at the same time: improving quality of life for people, supporting economic prosperity, and protecting the environment.
What kinds of projects does this competition fund?
The competition funds student-driven projects that research, develop, design, and demonstrate practical solutions to environmental and human health challenges. The emphasis is on solutions that can be credibly demonstrated and that consider real deployment conditions rather than remaining as purely laboratory concepts.
What does "P3" stand for in this program?
P3 refers to "People, Prosperity and the Planet." In this competition, that means a project should simultaneously improve quality of life (People), support economic prosperity (Prosperity), and protect the environment (Planet).
Is the program focused only on environmental outcomes?
No. While the activity area is environment, the program explicitly expects designs to address environmental and human health challenges and to deliver benefits across people, prosperity, and the planet at the same time.
What is especially emphasized in the competition?
A major emphasis is on usefulness and relevance to communities across the United States, especially communities that often face higher barriers to environmental protection and public health resources. The announcement specifically highlights the needs of small, rural, tribal, and/or disadvantaged communities.
What types of communities are explicitly called out as priorities?
The opportunity description specifically calls out small, rural, tribal, and/or disadvantaged communities, signaling a preference for solutions that are feasible and appropriate under real constraints and can make a tangible difference where needs are greatest.
What does the EPA mean by solutions that are "feasible" and "appropriate to real constraints"?
Based on the description, teams are pushed to think through real deployment conditions such as cost, maintenance, community fit, and measurable benefits. The goal is to support designs that can work in real-world settings, not just as lab concepts.
What is the funding instrument for this opportunity?
The funding instrument is a grant.
What is the activity area for the opportunity?
The activity area is environment.
What is the CFDA number for this opportunity?
The CFDA number listed is 66.516.
What is the opportunity number?
The opportunity number is EPA-G2021-P3-Q1.
How much funding is available per award?
The award ceiling is $25,000 per award.
How many awards does the EPA anticipate making?
The EPA anticipated making about 25 awards.
What does the award size suggest about the stage of projects being funded?
The description indicates the program functions as early-stage or prototype-focused funding, intended to help student teams move from an idea to a demonstrated concept.
Who is eligible to apply?
Eligibility is listed broadly as "Others," with a note to consult the announcement's additional eligibility information for specifics. The description also indicates the program is oriented around student design teams and their institutions, and that eligibility details may depend on factors like who serves as the applicant organization, the role of faculty advisors, and what kinds of academic institutions or team structures qualify.
Does the opportunity specify whether students apply directly or through an institution?
The provided information does not specify the application mechanism, but it notes that the program is oriented around student teams and their institutions and that details (such as who may serve as the applicant organization) typically matter. Applicants are directed to the full announcement for official requirements.
Where are the official submission requirements and methods described?
Applicants are directed to the full announcement, especially Section IV, for the official submission requirements, methods, and any detailed deadline instructions.
When was this opportunity created?
The posted timeline shows the opportunity was created on November 13, 2020.
What was the original closing date?
The original closing date shown is February 9, 2021.
What is the overall goal of participating in this program beyond funding?
Based on the description, the opportunity offers seed funding plus national recognition for student-led, science-driven designs that can credibly deliver simultaneous social, economic, and environmental gains under the P3 framework.
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