AFRI Integrated Programs

Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) Integrated Programs Mark A. Mirando, Ph.D. National Program Leader, AFRI Science Coordinator mmirando@nifa.usda.gov

Outline Brief Overview of NIFA Organization of AFRI Foundational Program Fellowship Grants Program Challenge Area Program FASE and EPSCOR Question and Answer Session

Overview of NIFA Organizational Structure: Office of the Director 4 Programmatic Institutes - Institute of… Food Production and Sustainability Food Safety and Nutrition Bioenergy, Climate, and the Environment Youth, Family, and Community

Overview of NIFA Organizational Structure: Office of Information Technology Office of Communications Budget Office Equal Opportunity Office

Overview of NIFA Organizational Structure: Center for International Programs Office of Grants and Financial Management Planning, Accountability, and Reporting

Organization of AFRI Aligned with the 6 Farm Bill priorities 8 Requests for Applications (RFAs) Food, Agriculture, Natural Resources and Human Sciences Education and Literacy Initiative (ELI) RFA Foundational Program RFA 6 Challenge Area RFAs

AFRI Foundational Program versus Challenge Areas Mostly single function research Mostly fundamental research Don’t change markedly from year to year Smaller grant size, $500,000 maximum Individual investigators or small teams

AFRI Foundational Program versus Challenge Areas Mostly integrated programs Research component is more applied Often change markedly from year to year Larger grant size, typically >$1 million Multiple investigators or large teams

Integrated Research, Education, and Extension What is “integration”? To bring the 3 components of the agricultural knowledge system (research, education, and extension) around a problem area or issue

Integrated Research, Education, and Extension What is “integration”? At least 2 of the 3 components required, sometimes all 3 components required Extension and/or education components are not simply and “add-on” Components are integrated, not easily separated Components complement one another and necessary for success of project

Integration in AFRI Often an extension component is required RFAs sometimes call for projects to be extension driven Frequently require social science Behavior modification or assessment Economic evaluation or modeling ≤ 67% of budget to one component with ≥ 33% to remaining component(s)

AFRI Foundational Program: Program Areas aligned with Farm Bill Priorities Plant health and production, plant products Animal health and production, animal products Food safety, nutrition, and health Bioenergy, natural resources, environment Agriculture systems and technology Agriculture economics and rural communities

AFRI Foundational Program: FY 2015 Program Area Priorities Agriculture economics and rural communities - 4 program area priorities: Economics, Markets and Trade Environmental and Natural Resource Economics Small and Medium-Sized Farms Innovation for Rural Entrepreneurship and Communities

Newer Program Area Initiatives Critical Agricultural Research and Extension (CARE) – local, regional, or national projects to yield solutions quickly that can be rapidly implemented by producers Exploratory – innovative ideas not addressed previously; focus on food security, climate change, environmental quality and natural resources, nutrition, obesity, and food safety

Food, Agriculture, Natural Resources and Human Sciences Education and Literacy Initiative (ELI) (formerly Fellowships Grant Program) Postdoctoral fellowships – individual applies Predoctoral fellowships – individual applies Undergraduate research and extension experiential learning fellowships – institution applies for a group of fellowships

AFRI Challenge Areas Childhood Obesity Prevention Agriculture and Natural Resources Science for Climate Variability and Change Food Safety Food Security Sustainable Bioenergy Water for Agriculture

FASE Food and Agricultural Science Enhancement; Help institutions develop competitive projects, and to attract new scientists and educators into careers in high-priority areas of agriculture, food, and environmental sciences. Pre- and Postdoctoral Fellowships, New Investigators, and Strengthening Grants have specific eligibility requirements, see RFAs for details.

General Advice to Applicants Read the RFA Program focus and priorities Project and grant types, eligibility restrictions Budget limitations Application format, submission guidelines Submission deadlines Evaluation (review) criteria Program contact information

General Advice to Applicants Communicate directly with the program contact with questions, as needed Program contact information listed in RFA Read the RFA first

Questions and Answers AFRI Coordinators Mark Mirando, 202-401-4336, mmirando@nifa.usda.gov and Effie Baldwin, 202-401-4891, ebaldwin@nifa.usda.gov;