Higher Education Partnership for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (HEP-DRI) Activity Addendum under HELIX APS | 72038623RFA00006

Opportunity Information: Apply for 72038623RFA00006

The Higher Education Partnership for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (HEP-DRI) Activity Addendum under the HELIX APS is a USAID/India funding opportunity designed to strengthen how infrastructure systems in India (and connected partners) anticipate, withstand, and recover from disasters and climate-related shocks. The core idea is to use higher education as a practical engine for resilience: universities and other higher education institutions are treated not just as classrooms, but as long-term capacity builders that can shape the skills, research, standards, and professional networks that influence real-world infrastructure decisions. USAID frames this under its New Partnerships Initiative (NPI), with an emphasis on bringing in new, nontraditional, and local actors, and on creating partnerships that lead to sustainable, resilient outcomes rather than one-off projects.

At the center of the activity is the creation of a network of selected Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) from the United States and India. This network is expected to work collaboratively with additional stakeholders, which can include government bodies, infrastructure operators, private sector firms, technical experts, and other education and training organizations. The purpose of organizing a network rather than isolated projects is to close persistent gaps in the infrastructure resilience ecosystem: gaps in curriculum and degree programs, gaps in short-course and professional training, and gaps in knowledge management (meaning how research, data, case studies, and lessons learned are captured, shared, and turned into usable guidance). The network approach also signals that USAID is looking for coordinated, scalable change across institutions and sectors, not just improved capacity in a single university.

Programmatically, HEP-DRI is focused on “systemic resilience” of infrastructure against disaster and climate risks. In practical terms, this typically means improving the ability of infrastructure systems (such as transportation, energy, water, sanitation, public facilities, and interconnected urban systems) to continue functioning under stress, to fail safely when necessary, and to recover quickly. The activity description highlights education, training, and knowledge management as the main levers for change. That suggests likely emphasis on developing or modernizing academic content related to risk-informed infrastructure planning and design, creating hands-on learning opportunities, building faculty and trainer capability, and ensuring that knowledge products are accessible and applied by practitioners. The activity also aims to strengthen the capacity of “stakeholders” broadly, which implies that the benefits are intended to reach beyond academia to the wider community of engineers, planners, policy professionals, emergency managers, and infrastructure decision-makers.

From a funding and administrative standpoint, this is a discretionary grant opportunity from USAID/India (USAID-New Delhi) with a Cooperative Agreement as the funding instrument. A cooperative agreement usually indicates that USAID expects to have substantial involvement during implementation, such as collaboration on planning, coordination with other initiatives, and iterative review of progress. The opportunity is categorized under Disaster Prevention and Relief and carries CFDA number 98.001. The award ceiling is listed as USD 5,000,000, with an expectation of making one award, which points to a single lead implementer coordinating a larger partnership or consortium structure.

Eligibility is listed as “Unrestricted,” meaning it is open to any type of entity, subject to any additional eligibility clarifications that may exist in the full announcement text. This openness aligns with the stated goal of attracting new and nontraditional partners, including local organizations and actors that may not typically compete for USAID higher education or resilience programming. The opportunity number is 72038623RFA00006, the opportunity was created on August 18, 2023, and the original closing date was October 3, 2023, which is relevant for understanding timing even if the window has already passed.

Overall, HEP-DRI is best understood as an effort to build a durable higher education ecosystem around disaster- and climate-resilient infrastructure by linking U.S. and Indian HEIs into a working network, aligning them with practitioner needs, and improving the pipeline of knowledge and skilled professionals. The intent is not just academic collaboration for its own sake, but measurable improvements in training, institutional capacity, and practical know-how that can influence how infrastructure is planned, designed, managed, and maintained under increasing disaster and climate risk.

• The Agency for International Development, India USAID-New Delhi in the disaster prevention and relief sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Higher Education Partnership for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (HEP-DRI) Activity Addendum under HELIX APS" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 98.001.
• This funding opportunity was created on Aug 18, 2023.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Oct 03, 2023. (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 $5,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 1 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.

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