Speciality Crop Funding Opportunity

by Rick Koelsch, March 26, 2014

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NIFA has released a call for proposals for the Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI) for  2014. Do we have any proposals originating from Nebraska? Who is interested in connecting to a proposal team?

The intent of the SCRI program is to solve the needs of the various specialty crop industries.  SCRI program offers the following five project types for both research and extension projects. A letter of intent is due April 11 and full proposals will be due June 20th. A quick summary follows: 

Standard Research and Extension Project

• Project Period – Up to five years
• Budget – Federal funds not less than $250,000 per project.
• Purpose – To support targeted problem-solving efforts that would not otherwise qualify in scope for support as a Coordinated Agriculture project.

Coordinated Agricultural Projects

• Project Period – Three to five years.
• Funding range – Normally, federal funds will not exceed a total of $10,000,000.
• Purpose – To address specific multiple components of a primary system or multiple components of areas where primary systems overlap (see diagram on page 6).

Regional Partnerships for Innovation

• Project Period – Two to three years.
• Budget – Normally, federal funds will not exceed $2,000,000 per project.
• Purpose – To form partnerships that provide the local or regional infrastructure needed to fully exploit future technology commercialization and adoption.

eXtension Projects

• Project Period – Three to five years.
• Budget – Normally, federal funds will not exceed $450,000 per project.
• Purpose – To develop Communities of Practice (COPs) for the eXtension system and to support existing COPs.

   Research and Extension Planning Projects

• Project Period – One year.
• Budget – Federal funds up to $50,000 per project.
• Purpose – To provide assistance to applicants in the development of quality future SREP, RPI, or CAP proposals (grant planning).  Funds may also be requested to provide assistance to consumer, producer, or industry groups for developing strategic research and extension plans—including goals, objectives, priorities, etc. (strategic planning).  The expectation is that developed plans could provide the relevance bases for future SCRI grant applications. 

The SCRI RFA can be found at http://www.nifa.usda.gov/funding/rfas/specialty_crop.html