BREAD Workshop for Prospective PIs “ B asic R esearch to E nable A gricultural D evelopment”

1. BREAD Workshop for Prospective PIs“Basic Research to Enable Agricultural Development” The workshop will begin at 9:00 am EDT Welcome to our local participants Welcome to those participating via Webcast

2. Workshop Agenda • Welcome and Introductions • What is BREAD? • What are the key goals of BREAD? What kinds of research will BREAD support? Who may apply? • Information on Proposal Submission • Policy and Management Issues • Q&A Session

3. Welcome & Introductions • Deborah Delmer, BREAD Program Director and Workshop Moderator • Members of the BREAD Working Group • Jane Silverthorne, National Science Foundation • Katherine Kahn, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

4. Some Advice • This powerpoint presentation and Q&A transcripts will be posted on the BREAD website • We anticipate posting the Program Solicitation and addtional FAQs in late May or early June • There may be some changes to the details outlined today, so please pay careful attention to the Program Solicitation

5. What is BREAD? • BREAD is a new NSF Program supported through a partnership with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) • Addresses the BMGF focus on improving the lives of smallholder farmers in the developing world • Takes advantage of the NSF peer review process • Allows support for research of international partners at their home institutions • $48 million total over 5 years

6. Key Criteria for BREAD Projects • Scientific excellence with focus on research at the proof-of-concept  stage rather than application or redevelopment • Clear evidence of innovative approaches • Clear relevance to the constraints faced by small-holder farmers in the developing world • Partnerships must be meaningful and synergistic

7. International Collaborators • No specific countries or regions will be targeted by BREAD • BREAD encourages proposals that address problems of broad importance to large areas and/or populations where solutions could have broad impact • Proposals that address problems unique to one small location or population may be less desirable

8. What BREAD will not support • Purely basic research of the sort funded by other NSF programs and without developing country focus • Purely applied research that aims to deliver already proven approaches or technologies • Research in the fields of social science or economics

9. What BREAD will support • Some emphasis will be placed on crop improvement but… • BREAD aims to cast a fairly wide net and will also consider strong proposals involving work on relevant microbes, insects, or animals including fish; soil and water issues • BREAD will also consider innovative proposals beyond biology that involve other scientific and engineering disciplines

10. Some Examples of Potential Scope • Projects that seek to exploit new discoveries in the biological sciences • To create durable resistance to major diseases and pests that affect plants, animals or insects of agricultural importance • To enhance water-, nitrogen- or phosphate-use efficiency in crops • To enhance the ability of plant and animal products to delay ripening and/or withstand storage under less-than-ideal conditions prevalent in many parts of the developing world. • To exploit knowledge on genetic diversity to enhance the ability of small-scale farmers to adapt to emerging threats of global climate change, emerging diseases, and the rising costs of energy

11. Some Examples of Potential Scope • Projects that seek to exploit new discoveries beyond the biological sciences • Application of new advances in fields such as nanotechnology to the development of novel and more efficient ways to deliver fertilizers and this address poor soil fertility without negatively affecting the environment • Creation of low-cost, high throughput tools for use in breeding or disease diagnostics, especially suited to developing world agriculture • Development of new technologies or devices for local or remote monitoring of crops • Development of low-cost, efficient devices for energy production and storage appropriate to small-scale agriculture in remote settings

12. Who may apply? • All proposals must be submitted by an eligible US institution, and the PI must be from the submitting institution • A PI or co-PI may only be involved in one submitted project; no limit on number of proposals from submitting institutions • No proposals may be directly submitted by foreign institutions • Co-PIs and collaborators (US and international) may be funded via sub-awards

13. International Collaborations • Sub-awards may be requested for any eligible educational or research institution in any country of the world except those embargoed by the US government

14. International Collaborations • Collaborators are not required, but are encouraged it when it shows clear benefit to the project • Collaborators in developing countries are not required, but you are strongly encouraged to explore whether such a partnership might enhance the relevance and feasibility of your research • BREAD encourages training that will enhance capacity of developing country partners

15. Relationship with the Plant Genome Research Program • BREAD grew out of discussions between BMGF and PGRP, and BREAD is a program at NSF managed from within the PGRP • You do not need to have a PGRP award nor must you have a genomics approach to apply to BREAD • Developing Country Collaborations in Plant Genome Research (DCC-PGR) will continue; BREAD is not a replacement for this activity

16. Project Size and Duration • Support will likely be for up to 3 years • As many as 10-20 grants could be supported in the first year with tentative budgets in the range of: • Up to $150,000 per year per lab • With 3 or fewer sub-awards per project

17. Submission Guidelines • All Letters of Intent and Proposals will be submitted through FastLane • Anticipated due dates • Letters of Intent – early August 2009 • Proposal deadline – early September 2009 • Program Solicitation will contain details on proposal preparation – visit www.nsf.gov and sign up for NSF Updates by E-mail

18. Policy and Management Issues • The budget will be in US dollars • The awardee institution will manage all sub-awards and • It will be responsible for ensuring accurate and timely submission of all technical and financial reports • It will be expected to ensure ethical conduct of all research according to relevant country regulations • A workshop will be held in late June with more information and guidance for sponsored research officials at submitting institutions

19. Relevant NSF Websites Plant Genome Research Program (PGRP) http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5338 BREAD Program http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=503403

20. Questions & Answers • Submit questions via e-mail • Keep questions short, clear and to the point webcast@nsf.gov