National Institute of Food and Agriculture Competitive and Non-Competitive Grant Highlights Mark Poth and Duane Alphs

1. National Institute of Food and AgricultureCompetitive and Non-CompetitiveGrant HighlightsMark Poth and Duane Alphs

2. Changing Times! • President and Congress focused on the national debt and budget balancing • Congressional earmarks disappearing • Programs viewed by Congress as redundant in jeopardy • Programs viewed by Congress as parochial in jeopardy

3. Changing Times! • Importance of the Plan of Work to show focus, scale and impact • Plan of work linkages to NIFA Challenge Areas • Relation of state activities to national issues and problems (not difficult!). • Greater emphasis on competitive (like NSF and NIH… please note the over 100% growth in their budgets over the last 10 years)

4. Keys to Competitive Success • Understand NIFA mission • Explore the full range of programs AFRI & others • Many options (find your advantage!) • Communicate with the National Program Leader or Leaders in your area of interest • Participate • Ad hoc Reviewer to Panelist • Grantsmanship Workshops • Applicant to Awardee!

5. Panel Participation • Faculty from all levels (Assistant, Associate and Full Professor) • Faculty form all regions of the country • Looking for diversity • You will provide reviews on 10-20 applications • Participate in panel review of 50 to 100 applications • Panel Participation is the best way to understand what makes for a good application.

6. Grantsmanship Workshops • Provides overview of programs to applicants • Mock Peer Review Panel • “Face time” with National Program Leaders • Tips on grant-writing from NIFA experts • Travel fellowships for attendees from minority-serving institutions • Offered twice each year in Washington, D.C.

7. Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Five Challenge Area RFAs • Childhood Obesity Prevention: $25 M • Climate Change: $40 M • Global Food Security: $13 M • Food Safety: $20 M • Sustainable Bioenergy: $32 M

8. Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Foundational Program RFA: $65 M • Plant Health and Production and Plant Products • Animal Health and Production and Animal Products • Food Safety, Nutrition, and Health • Renewable Energy, Natural Resources, and Environment • Agriculture Systems and Technology • Agriculture Economics and Rural Communities

9. Agriculture and Food Research Initiative NIFA Fellowships Grant Program RFA: $6 M • Offer individual fellowships for pre- and postdoctoral students – NIFA Fellows • Focus on the broad Challenge Areas • Anticipated release in summer

10. Letters of Intent • Required for most program areas. • Take care to follow the guidelines. • Applications submitted without a prior Letter of Intent submission will not be reviewed.

11. AFRI Eligibility: Single-function projects • State agricultural experiment stations • Colleges and universities (including junior colleges offering associate degrees or higher) • University research foundations • Other research institutions and organizations • Federal agencies and national laboratories • Private organizations or corporations • U.S. Citizens, nationals, or permanent residents *Eligible institutions do not include foreign and international organizations

12. Integrated Eligibility: Integrated projects • Colleges and universities • 1994 Land-Grant Institutions • Hispanic-serving agricultural colleges and universities

13. FASE Grants: • Pre-doctoral Fellowship Grants – New • Postdoctoral Fellowship Grants • New Investigator Grants (Restricted eligibility) • Strengthening Grants (Restricted eligibility) • Sabbatical Grants • Equipment Grants • Seed Grants • Strengthening Standard and Strengthening CAP Grants

14. Understanding the level of competition in AFRI • Programs get about 100 proposals • Will fund about 20 • So my chances of getting funded are about 20%...right? • WRONG! Your chances are much higher if you are eligible for the AFRI Food and Agricultural Science Enhancement (FASE) Program!

15. Agriculture and Food Research Initiative: Strengthening Awards -Funded from 7.5% set aside from NRI appropriation ( that’s 7.5% of $262 million in FY2010! Or over &19 million) - Eligibility limited to EPSCoR states and small to mid sized institutions (<17,500 enrolled) and limited institutional success (not in the top 100) and Minority Serving Institutions.

16. Strengthening Award Types • Standard Strengthening (full research grant $300k to $30 million) • Career Enhancement Award (Sabbatical, “one year of salary plus travel and supplies”) • Seed grants • Equipment grants (match may be required)

17. Equipment Grants • Grant limit of $50k (equipment may cost $10-250k) • Match required (non-Federal.

18. Seed Grants • To support collection of preliminary data and develop methods and approach • Builds a stronger foundation for a standard research proposal • Award up to $150k

19. Career Enhancement Awards • Also called Sabbatical Awards • Includes one year of salary plus travel and supplies ($120k) • Can be structured and phased so that it is not a year away from your home university • Be creative!

20. Standard Strengthening • A regular research or Integrated proposal (includes CAPs) • The proposal has two chances to be funded • First chance if the proposal ranks high enough (top 10-15) it is funded out of the regular program funds • Second chance from strengthening funds (Awards made according to ranking but of eligible proposals. First eligible proposal may rank substantially below 20.)

21. Strengthening Eligibility AFRI • Now eligible in research and integrated programs! • Now eligible every year in research and integrated programs! • Now only the lead Project Director needs to be eligible in research and integrated programs!

22. Strengthening Strategy • Plan your work to link awards and leverage Capacity Building Grants • Evaluate where you are and what you need • Equipment? Training or a collaborator (sabbatical award)? Preliminary data (seed/sabbatical)? • What is you three year plan? (equipment>seed>standard or sabbatical>standard or other) • Institutional strategy… Do you have one?

23. Understanding the level of competition in AFRI • Programs is asking for just CAP awards? • Look closer…for your advantage. • All programs will take Strengthening Grant applications from those eligible • Includes Equipment, Seed, Sabbatical and Standard strengthening (including CAP) grants • Contact the NPL for your program of interest to discuss before submission of a LOI

24. Community Food Program Lower Eastside Girl’s Club ACEnet Shared-use kitchen East New York Farms • Meet the Food Needs of Low-income People by Increasing Self-reliance and Promoting A Comprehensive Response to Food, Farm, And Nutrition.

25. Biotechnology Risk Assessment Grants • Identify and Develop Management Practices to Minimize Potential Risks Associated with Genetically Engineered Animals, Plants, and Microorganisms. Researchers at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station Examine the Cross-fertilizations Between GM And Non-GM Corn Varieties in Conventional and Organic Ag. Systems Aylor et al, 2006

26. Explore Competitive Programs • Specialty Crop Research Initiative • Organic Research and Education Initiative • Biomass Research and Development Initiative • Small Business Innovation Research • National Integrated Food Safety Initiative • National Integrated Water Quality Initiative • And others!

27. Matching • Programs that require matching • AFRI equipment grants-100% • Beginning Farmers and Ranchers Development Grants-25% • Biomass Research and Development Initiative-20% for research and development grants; 50% for demonstration grants • Challenge Grants • Higher Education-100% • Secondary Education-100%

28. Matching (cont’d) • Community Food (regular)-100% • Food Security Learning Center-25% • Critical Ag Materials-100% • Rangeland-50% • Specialty Crop Research Initiative-100% • Women and Minorities in STEM Fields-100% may be waived

29. Indirect Costs • Most Competitive NIFA Grants are limited to 22% of Total Federal Funds Awarded by Federal Statute • A few grant programs are allowed the full negotiated rate, however, universities are usually not eligible to apply for them • Some programs are not allowed any indirect costs

30. Non-CompetitivePrograms • Special Research Grants • Federal Administration Grants • Formula Grants

31. Prospects for the Future ?

32. Questions? • Contact: Mark Poth • Sustainable Bioenergy • Division Director • 202-401-5244 • mpoth@nifa.usda.gov • Thank You!! • Duane Alphs • OGFM • 202-401-4326 • dalphs@nifa.usda.gov