The Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) is a university-based federal-state partnership which aims to enhance science and technology infrastructure in education, in the private sector, and in related government programs. EPSCoR operates on the principle that aiding researchers and institutions in securing federal R&D funding will develop a state's research infrastructure and advance economic growth. The core of every state-centered EPSCoR program is a partnership with the National Science Foundation (NSF). New Mexico received $12.95 million in National Science Foundation EPSCoR funds from 2001 to 2008.

In fall 2008, NM EPSCoR was awarded $15 million in NSF funding for its Research Infrastructure and Improvement Phase 3 proposal: “Climate Change Impacts on New Mexico’s Mountain Sources of Water”. The award began September 1, 2008 and continues for 5 years.

New Mexico faces a daunting challenge—the State’s demand for fresh water exceeds the supply from all sources. The problem will be exacerbated in the 21st Century by a combination of factors, including global climate change, increasing population, constraints associated with traditional water rights and interstate water compacts, and the general lack of scientific knowledge applicable and available to local and regional planners and policymakers. The largest source of surface water in NM is the Rio Grande, which derives between half and three-quarters of its dependable surface water supply from high elevation snowpack in its northern, mountainous headwaters region. Long-term climate change warming trends combined with the predicted climate impacts of extended droughts present an extreme challenge to water management in NM. It is critically important for NM to understand the effects of global climate changes on its mountain sources of water.

NM EPSCoR RII3 is designed to enhance research competitiveness through investment in three strategic areas: (1) critical Research Infrastructure, (2) Cyberinfrastructure, and (3) Human Infrastructure. The multi-disciplinary, multi-scale effort is envisioned to transform climate change science and policymaking in NM by providing the tools required for quantitative, science-driven discussion of difficult water policy options facing the State in the 21st Century.