Initial Grant Opportunity
The Commonwealth Homeland Security Foundation (CHSF), using an innovative public-private approach, desires to contribute to the development and implementation of solutions that significantly improve the security of the commercial and military maritime port facilities in Hampton Roads against manmade or natural disasters. In particular, the protection and sustainability of the critical supply chain, intermodal facilities, and the workforce associated with the port region are key concerns.
To this end, the CHSF plans to award a series of grants to its university consortium members—George Mason University, Old Dominion University, The College of William and Mary, The University of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, and Virginia Tech—to identify, develop, and implement effective and affordable solutions to enhance port security and the associated critical supply chain that will involve:
- An initial grant focused on the identification of optimal strategies;
- The selection of an ideal strategy for Hampton Roads by government, industry, and research university stakeholders;
- A follow-on series of multiple grants to focus on actual applications of best practices and technologies to implement the selected port strategy;
- Rigorous and realistic testing and evaluation (T&E) of proposed solutions; and
- The application of Federal and State funds to complement the significant private investment in affordable solutions, validated by T&E, which will result in the full implementation of the port strategy that best fits our region.
Future Grant Opportunities
Future grant opportunities and procedures will operate in a slightly different manner than the initial opportunity and may be available to a broader group of higher education institutions. The future grant procedure will be posted when new funding opportunities arise.
