DUE DATE: Thursday, 9 August 2007. 4 p.m.
The
Alabama Agricultural Initiatives program is aimed at ultimately providing
economic catalysts for industry and jobs-creation in the state of
- Water and Soil Resources;
- Rural Community Economic Development;
- Healthy Lifestyles;
- Nature-Based Enterprises;
- Food, Fiber and Agricultural Systems; and
- Energy Feedstocks and Improve Energy Efficiencies.
Submissions
(one electronic file and 1 hard copy) should be sent to K. Terry (terrykl@auburn.edu),
107 Comer Hall by above date.
Investigator Eligibility. Eligibility for application to this program requires that at least one of the principal investigators have a CSREES-approved Hatch project, hold a position in any participating colleges/schools of the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station (AAES), or is an employee of the Alabama Cooperative Extension System (ACES). Cross-disciplinary projects involving more than one departmental or other unit in AAES or ACES institutions are strongly encouraged and may include units not traditionally associated with these institutions. Requests with extension efforts must involve an ACES-employed person. Projects that integrate research with extension components will be prioritized for awards, however, projects that are exclusively research- or extension-based will be given full consideration.
Funding can be requested for three-year projects, but monies will be distributed annually, not as a total amount. Requests should be made for a research + extension budgets of $25,000 or more. Awarded funds must be spent by the end of the Fiscal Year, 30 September. Continuation of funding after the first year for multiyear projects will be contingent upon demonstration of efforts of satisfactory progress on the funded project.
Funding level for FY2008. The funding level for 2008 (to be distributed no earlier than 1 Oct. 2007) is approximately $1.5 million. Funds that are awarded must be spent by 30 Sept 2008, the end of the fiscal year. In future years, funding for the Ag Initiatives Program is dependent on continuation of the appropriation and potential increases (or decreases) for AAES and ACES. All projects will be reviewed annually for accomplishments as defined by impact (especially on local economies), leverage of funds, and publication.
I. Format
A. Margin - 1 inch: top, bottom, left, and right.
B. Minimum font size - 11 points.
C. Double spaced, single sided 8.5 x 11 inch pages.
D. Numbered pages.
II. Ag Initiatives Cover Form
http://www.ag.auburn.edu/adm/faculty-staff/exmurfund/Cover_08.htm with appropriate signatures.
III. Proposal Content
The proposal should follow general Hatch project guidelines as provided in the AAAES Handbook for Project Leaders@ or briefly outlined at http://www.ag.auburn.edu/adm/faculty-staff/exmurfund/hatchprocess.htm and contain information as described below. Continuing projects (i.e., requests for 2nd or 3rd yr awards) can be previously submitted content, with additions that highlight any project changes, progress on the project, and realized impact.
A. Project Form 1-- including Title, PI=s and Objectives not to exceed one (1) page (http://www.ag.auburn.edu/adm/faculty-staff/exmurfund/projoutl.htm). Signatures needed on hard copy only.
B. Project content - not to exceed ten (10) pages and contain the following sections:
1. Summary of CRIS retrieval to demonstrate that proposed work is unique and differs from other active projects in CRIS (can be accessed at http://cris.csrees.usda.gov/menu.html). Note: projects on CRIS include integrated extension and research projects, although extension components may be minimally described. For projects that are Extension efforts only, this section is optional.
2. Justification.
Explain how the proposed efforts fit the priority
areas of this RFP . Describe expected results in terms of the contribution
to science and impact on solving problems of and enhancing economies in the
state of
3. Literature Review. Summarize relevant past and current literature relating specifically to the project objectives as listed on the Project Form 1. The depth of the review should be sufficient to present the current state of knowledge in the subject area and identify pertinent, unanswered questions. Literature citations should be referenced in this section using journal format. (List of citations should follow #9, below and does not count in the 10-page limit.)
4. Procedures. Describe appropriate methodology. For efforts that involve substantial extension efforts, describe these efforts in terms of knowledge dessimination and feedback mechanisms between extension and research.
5. Expected Results / Outcomes. Describe expected results and possible outcomes from these results. Describe possible future endeavors and/or collaborations that can result from the project.
6. Role of personnel. Describe the role that each co-investigator, as well as support staff, has on the project.
7. Schedule. Present timelines or benchmarks for procedures and note dates of importance to project (e.g., presentations at meetings, anticipated deadlines of extramural grant proposals.)
8.
Impact of this grant (if funded). This section must demonstrate two types
of impact. Most important is the impact
the work will have on the economy of
9. Budget Justification. Provide brief justification for requests. Minimum request should be total (research + extension) $25,000. On accompanying budget pages (example linked below), provide separate budgets for research efforts versus extension efforts. Requests can be made for partial summer salary for PIs on 9-mo appointments (up to 11.11% of a 9-month salary but only when PIs have no other summer-salary funding from AAES or CoAg), up to 50% salary support for Research Fellows or Research-track professors; technical or post-doctorate salary support; 26% benefits for all salaries; graduate student stipends; payments for human subjects; materials and supplies; travel directly related to the project; publication costs; and/or equipment (up to $2500 per annum for research needs; no restriction for extension-related equipment requests). Funds cannot be requested for phones, cell phones or internet service, subscriptions, memberships, or office computers. Salary requests cannot be made for any support staff currently with 100% AAES or CoAg funding support. Note: Actual budget pages follow project content and are not included in 10 page limit.
D. Budget B provide a budget for each year, separated for Research and Extension efforts if appropriate. Use a format similar to (USDA standard):
http://www.ag.auburn.edu/adm/faculty-staff/exmurfund/standard%20forms.pdf. Funds can be requested for:
1. Salaries, Wages and/or Stipends (see restrictions, above);
2. Fringe Benefits. For FY 2008, 26% on estimated salaries;
3. Materials and Supplies, including payment to human subjects;
4. Travel directly relevant to proposed effort;
5. Equipment—research requests limited to $2500 per annum; no limits on extension-related equipment requests.
6. Publication Costs.
E. Curriculum Vitae. Provide a biosketch for each investigator, limited to one page in length, which includes current (within the last five years) publications and funding receipts that are most relevant to the proposed project.
F. Current and Pending Support Form for each PI. Template found with budget pages at: http://www.ag.auburn.edu/adm/faculty-staff/exmurfund/standard%20forms.pdf
G. Conflict of Interest List for each PI. Template found with budget pages at: http://www.ag.auburn.edu/adm/faculty-staff/exmurfund/standard%20forms.pdf
No additional materials, appendices or supplementary documentation will be accepted.
Only proposals adhering to guidelines (above) will be considered for funding. Proposals may be reviewed by external, anonymous persons. Deans and/or Dept. Heads of each School/College in AAES and/or ACES will be asked for recommendations for external reviewers. Each external reviewer will be required to uphold confidentiality in review of proposals, to have no conflict of interest, and to submit in writing the evaluation of each project. External reviewers will be asked to evaluate each proposal on the following:
A. Overall merit of the application, including comment on: novelty, uniqueness, and originality; conceptual adequacy of the hypothesis, research question or problem(s) to be addressed; clarity and delineation of objectives; adequacy of the description of the undertaking and suitability and feasibility of methodology; and probability of success of project.
B. Qualifications of proposed project personnel and adequacy of facilities: training and demonstrated awareness of previous and alternative approaches to the problem identified in the application, and performance record and/or potential for future accomplishments; time allocated for systematic attainment of objectives; institutional experience and competence in subject area; and adequacy of available or obtainable support personnel, facilities, and instrumentation.
C.
Relevance of the
project to agriculture and agriculturally-related industries and communities.
D. Strength of coordination between research and extension efforts.
E.
Merit of the proposed activities
as a means of enhancing the economies of the state of
External reviewers will be asked to comment on the above evaluation criteria for each proposal, and rate each criterion as excellent, good, fair, needs work, or unacceptable. In addition, each proposal received will be evaluated according to the probability of success, i.e., very high, high, medium, low or very low probability of success.
External reviews will be compiled and summarized by an internal evaluation committee comprised of representatives of AAES and ACES.
Requirements for approved
projects, for release of funds:
- CRIS submission and Documentation is
required for projects involving any AAES (research) funds. This includes
forms required by CRIS, found at http://cwf.uvm.edu/cris/ and these must be completed prior to the release of funds.
- Approvals for work with animals, human subjects (including those participating in surveys), hazardous materials (including biological agents and toxins), and recombinant DNA are required. Such approvals must be finalized and documented by completing the form CSREES-2008 Assurance Statement (available on CRIS home page, see above) prior to release of funds on approved projects. Information for each category is listed below.
1. Animals -- an approved Animal Subjects Review Form (ASRF) will be needed on approved project before funds are released. See http://www.auburn.edu/research/vpr/animals .
2. Recombinant DNA, Radioactive products,
Hazardous Materials and Biologicals - contact the
Office of Safety and Environmental Health,
3. Human Subjects - training and IRB approvals needed. For more information, go to www.auburn.edu/research/vpr/ohs/index.htm
Accounts
of funded projects will be monitored periodically for appropriate expenditures
and timeliness of expenditures in order to meet end of fiscal year
requirements. The Directors of AAES and
ACES reserve the right to redistribute or retract monies if problems arise
relative to timeliness of expenditures.
Annual progress reports and a termination report are also required by AAES, ACES, and CRIS. Federal deadline for CRIS reports is prior to 1 April, annually. Notification of the required annual reports will be sent to each PI yearly. All projects will be reviewed annually for merit and accomplishments. Nonproductive projects may not be funded for consecutive years if satisfactory progress is not documented.
Additional Information:
Applications containing proprietary information will be evaluated with due consideration for protection of this information to the extent permitted by law provided such information is clearly identified by inclusion of the Proprietary Information Disclosure Statement.
SUBMISSION DEADLINE AND NUMBER OF COPIES:
All projects must be received by 9 August 2007, 4 p.m. Proposals will be submitted as one hard copy to K. Terry, AAES, 107 Comer Hall, and one single electronic file (pdf format or Word document) to terrykl@auburn.edu.