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Resident Instruction Grants Program for Institutions of Higher Education in Insular Areas (RIIA)

FY 2013 Request for Applications

Application Deadline: March 1, 2013

RIIA Program:

Telephone: 202-720-0384

Email: sfaamuli@nifa.usda.gov

Internet:

http://www.nifa.usda.gov/fo/residentinstructionforinsularareas.cfm

NIFA Funding Opportunity Number: USDA-NIFA-RIGP-004068

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number (CFDA): 10.308 Resident Instruction Grants Program for Institutions of Higher Education in Insular Areas.

U.S. Department of Agriculture

National Institute of Food and Agriculture http://www.nifa.usda.gov/fo/residentinstructionforinsularareas.cfm

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE; U.S. DEPARTMENT OF

AGRICULTURE

RESIDENT INSTRUCTION GRANTS PROGRAM FOR INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER

EDUCATION IN INSULAR AREAS

INITIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

CATALOG OF FEDERAL DOMESTIC ASSISTANCE: This program is listed in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance under 10.308, Resident Instruction Grants Program for Institutions of Higher Education in Insular Areas.

DATES: Applications must be received by Grants.gov by close of business (COB) on March 1, 2013 (5:00 p.m. Eastern Time). Applications received after this deadline will normally not be considered for funding. Comments regarding this request for applications (RFA) are requested within six months from the issuance of this notice. Comments received after that date will be considered to the extent practicable.

STAKEHOLDER INPUT: The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) is requesting comments regarding this RFA from any interested party. These comments will be considered in the development of the next RFA for the program, if applicable, and will be used to meet the requirements of section 103(c)(2) of the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 7613(c)(2)). This section requires the Secretary to solicit and consider input on a current RFA from persons who conduct or use agricultural research, education and extension for use in formulating future RFAs for competitive programs.

Written stakeholder comments on this RFA should be submitted in accordance with the deadline set forth in the DATES portion of this Notice.

Written stakeholder comments should be submitted by mail to: Policy and Oversight Division;

Office of Grants and Financial Management; National Institute of Food and Agriculture; USDA;

STOP 2299; 1400 Independence Avenue, SW; Washington, DC 20250-2299; or via e-mail to:

Policy@nifa.usda.gov. (This e-mail address is intended only for receiving comments regarding this RFA and not requesting information or forms.) In your comments, please state that you are responding to the Resident Instruction Grants Program for Institutions of Higher Education in Insular Areas (RIIA) RFA.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: NIFA announces the availability of grant funds and requests applications for the Resident Instruction Grants Program for Institutions of Higher Education in Insular Areas (RIIA) for fiscal year (FY) 2013. This program is designed to strengthen the capacity of Institutions of Higher Education in Insular Areas to carry out resident instruction, curriculum, and teaching programs in the food and agricultural sciences, and to improve their ability to meet their unique needs. The amount available for support of the RIIA program in FY 2013 is approximately $850,000. This RFA is being released prior to the passage of an Appropriations Act for FY 2013. Enactment of additional Continuing Resolutions or an Appropriations Act may affect the availability or level of funding for this program.

mailto:RFA-OGFM@nifa.usda.gov

This notice identifies the objectives for RIIA-funded projects, the eligibility criteria for projects and applicants, and the application forms and associated instructions needed to apply for this grant. Additionally, NIFA requests stakeholder input from any interested party for use in the development of the next RFA for this program.

Table of Contents

PART I-FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION

A. Legislative Authority and Background B. Purpose and Priorities C. Program Area Description

PART II-AWARD INFORMATION

A. Available Funding B. Types of Applications C. Project Types D. Project Duration E. Number and Size of Grant Awards F. Application Submission Limitations G. Award Limitations per Institution H. Funding Limitations per Institution I. Responsible and Ethical Conduct of Research

PART III-ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

A. Eligible Applicants B. Cost Sharing or Matching

PART IV-APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION

A. Electronic Application Package B. Content and Form of Application Submission C. Submission Dates and Times D. Funding Restrictions E. Other Submission Requirements

PART V-APPLICATION REVIEW REQUIREMENTS

A. General B. Evaluation Criteria C. Conflicts of Interest and Confidentiality D. Organizational Management Information

PART VI-AWARD ADMINISTRATION

A. General B. Award Notice C. Administrative and National Policy Requirements D. Expected Program Outputs and Reporting Requirements

PART VII-AGENCY CONTACT

PART VIII-OTHER INFORMATION

A. Access to Review Information B. Use of Funds; Changes C. Confidential Aspects of Applications and Awards D. Regulatory Information E. Definitions

PART I-FUNDING OPPORTUNITY DESCRIPTION

A. Legislative Authority and Background

The Resident Instruction Grants Program for Institutions of Higher Education in Insular Areas (RIIA) program is administered under the provisions of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 (Section 7501 of Public Law 107-171) as reauthorized in Section 7143 of Public Law 110-246, which amended the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.) by providing for a program of resident instruction grants for insular areas (7 U.S.C. 3363). Funds will be awarded to one or more individual, eligible institutions of higher education in Insular Areas (Insular Area Institutions) or consortia of such eligible institutions, to carry out teaching and education programs in the food and agricultural sciences.

The eight insular areas are the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Republic of Palau, and the Virgin Islands of the United States.

Background

In July 2008, the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, and Department of Energy asked the National Research Council’s Board on Life Sciences to convene a committee to “… examine the current state of biological research in the United States and recommend how best to capitalize on recent technological and scientific advances that have allowed biologists to integrate biological research findings, collect and interpret vastly increased amounts of data, and predict the behavior of complex biological systems.” The committee produced a report entitled “New Biology for the 21st Century: Ensuring the United States Leads the Coming Revolution,” and a set of recommendations that recognize the most effective leveraging of investments would come from a coordinated, interagency effort to encourage the emergence of a New Biology to address broad and challenging societal problems.

That committee outlined four broad societal challenges in food, environment, energy, and health that could be addressed by the New Biology. The four challenges are: (1) Generate food plants to adapt and grow sustainably in changing environments; (2) Understand and sustain ecosystem function and biodiversity in the face of rapid change; (3) Expand sustainable alternatives to fossil fuels; and (4)Understand individual health.

USDA – NIFA Response: Building upon the four “New Biology for the 21st Century” challenges, above, NIFA has refocused its mission to direct agricultural sciences research, education, and extension programs on addressing the following five Priority Areas:

1. Food Security and Hunger;

2. Climate Change;

3. Sustainable Bioenergy;

4. Childhood Obesity; and

5. Food Safety.

The RIIA is a NIFA-administered competitive grants program focused on improving formal, postsecondary agricultural sciences education. Guided by critical societal issues laid out in the “New Biology for the 21st Century” report, as well as the five compelling NIFA Priority Areas, RIIA-funded projects ensure a competent and qualified workforce to serve the food and agricultural sciences system. At the same time, funded projects improve the economic health and viability of rural communities through the development of degree programs emphasizing new and emerging employment opportunities in agriscience and agribusiness. Finally, funded projects are also focused on addressing the national challenge to increase the number and diversity of students entering other agriculture related science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines (i.e., having an agricultural sciences workforce representative of the Nation’s population).

The RIIA Competitive Grants Program aligns with the USDA Research, Education, and Economics Action Plan (http://www.ree.usda.gov/ree/news/USDA_REE_Action_Plan_02- 2012_2.pdf), and specifically addressees Goal 6 – Education and Science Literacy, by recruiting, cultivating, and developing the next generation of scientist, leaders, and highly-skilled workforce for food, agriculture, natural resources, forestry, environmental systems, and life sciences to out-educate our global competitors.

The RIIA addresses the following priorities within the 2008 Farm Bill: 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; Agricultural systems and technology; and Agriculture economics and rural communities.

Therefore, applications submitted to this grants program must state how the funded project will address the two RIIA Grant Program Goals:

1. To increase the number and diversity of students who will pursue and complete a 2- or 4-year postsecondary degree in the food and agricultural sciences, or other STEM fields closely related to the food and agricultural sciences, and for FY 2013, encourage study in areas that contribute to any of the stated priorities; and

2. To enhance the quality of postsecondary instruction and faculty development in order to help meet current and future national food and agricultural sciences workplace needs.

B. Purpose and Priorities

1. Applicants to the RIIA program are reminded of a closely related competitive grants program administered by NIFA for eligible Insular Area Institutions: The Distance Education Grants for Insular Areas (DEG) Grants Program. As separate programs under their respective authorization and appropriation, and Request for Applications (RFA), applicants are advised to coordinate RIIA and DEG project applications to ensure overall coordinated project objectives and to efficiently integrate proposed teaching and evaluation assessment practices for both projects.

http://www.ree.usda.gov/ree/news/USDA_REE_Action_Plan_02-2012_2.pdf http://www.ree.usda.gov/ree/news/USDA_REE_Action_Plan_02-2012_2.pdf

2. RIIA projects must now focus on any of the five NIFA Priority Areas listed above in Part I. A.

3. Focus: All RIIA-funded projects should focus on improving the quality of academic instruction within the postsecondary system in order to recruit and retain a greater number of qualified and diverse graduates who are either: (a) capable of entering the agricultural sciences workforce with occupational competencies expected by employers, or (b) encouraged to pursue an advanced degree in disciplines supporting the five NIFA Priority Areas. ‘Academic instruction’, as used in the previous sentence, includes improving curricula, faculty competencies, and interactions with other academic institutions or employers to increase student recruitment and retention levels in order to meet the demands of a changing U.S. agricultural sciences workforce. Educational Need Areas explained in Part I. C.2., provide further, specific project focus.

4. Scale: All RIIA-funded projects should seek to address a greater number of prospective students or qualified faculty, and demonstrate the potential for adoption by other academic institutions to address similar challenges. Projects should also maximize available educational resources, encourage partnerships, and reduce duplication of efforts among participating academic institutions, especially in areas of faculty expertise, course offerings, and transfer or articulation agreements between institutions, all to enhance students’ interests and abilities to pursue advanced degrees. Project Types explained in Part II. C., provide further, specific encouragement to scale up a funded project to create greater impact.

5. Impact: All RIIA-funded projects should seek to create measurable impacts. Impacts are defined as anticipated benefits to the target project audience. Impacts should be measurable. Measuring impacts begins with a comprehensive Project Evaluation Plan that includes developing assessment instruments. The Project Evaluation Plan explained in Part I.C.3., provides further, specific guidance on the importance of developing a compelling impact.

The purpose of the RIIA grants program is to promote and strengthen the ability of Insular Area Institutions (see definition in Part VIII, E.) to carry out education programming within the broadly defined food and agricultural sciences-related disciplines. For purposes of this program, the term “food and agricultural sciences” means basic, applied, and developmental research, extension, and teaching activities in the food and fiber, agricultural, renewable natural resources, forestry, and physical and social sciences, in the broadest sense of these terms, including but not limited to, activities relating to the production, processing, marketing, distribution, conservation, utilization, consumption, research, and development of food and agriculturally related products and services, and inclusive of programs in agriculture, natural resources, aquaculture, forestry, veterinary medicine, family and consumer sciences, rural human ecology, rural economic, community, or business development, and closely allied disciplines. RIIA-funded projects encourage academic institutions, organizations, and employers in Insular Areas to collectively identify and address Insular Area education opportunities with the potential to address any of the five NIFA Priority Areas. An application submitted to this grants program should propose comprehensive and coordinated activities to address that challenge or opportunity. RIIA-funded project activities should demonstrate an impact on increasing the number of students who pursue a higher degree within agriculture-related STEM disciplines, and should improve student learning and retention. These activities could include, but are not limited to, developing, evaluating, and disseminating:

• Educational materials for any postsecondary course, laboratory, or related curricula that encourage study in areas that contribute to any of the five NIFA Priority Areas;

• Instructional delivery methods to improve student retention of academic content; and/or

• Professional development approaches to improve the capacity of faculty and teaching assistants to provide effective and updated instruction.

RIIA-funded project activities should support the creation and adaptation of learning materials and teaching strategies to operationalize what we know about how students learn. Many of these concepts are identified in the National Research Council’s publication: How People Learn, available at http://books.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=9853. Projects should also promote faculty expertise and encourage widespread implementation of educational innovation. This solicitation especially encourages projects with the potential to transform classroom practices at the institutional level, to address current understanding of how students learn most effectively, and in response, how faculty adopt instructional approaches.

The intent of a RIIA-funded project is to make a significant impact on the challenge or opportunity being addressed, with the expectation that major portions of the impact will be sustained after NIFA funding ends. Project design should reflect an awareness of the diversity of the STEM education community, and the project should include mechanisms for impacting a significant proportion of this community. Projects are expected to encourage broad participation of students in agricultural STEM disciplines. All projects should be grounded by concepts documented in relevant background literature promoting innovations in education and student learning, and show an awareness of relevant prior experience and personnel adequacy in those areas.

Educational instrumentation and related equipment requests are appropriate expenses in this grants program. However, such purchases must directly support the specific student learning outcome proposed by this grant application. Convincing documentation and justification for such expenses are required in the grant application.

While research and extension activities may be included in a funded RIIA project, the primary focus must be to improve teaching within a degree-granting program.

By authorizing and funding this program, Congress expects RIIA projects to: (a) produce measurable impacts aligned with RIIA program goals and encourage study in areas that contribute to any of the NIFA Priority Areas, (b) promote innovative, educational practices within the food and agricultural sciences that improve how students learn, and (c) include a rigorous evaluation component to assess when project outcomes are met. Essentially, your application must convince a peer panel of a compelling educational challenge; clearly indicate how your methodology is both unique and with merit; offer significant promise of adoption by others; and the expectation that impacts will continue once grant funds end.

http://books.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=9853

Applicants are strongly encouraged to:

1. Engage a sponsoring private organization or State or Federal agency to leverage grant funds and/or contribute towards overall goals and objectives of the funded project. These may include opportunities for student internships, faculty mentoring, curriculum development, and other partnership activities. Potential USDA agencies may include the Farm Service Agency (FSA), Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Rural Development Agency (RD), the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), Economic Research Service (ERS), Forest Service (FS), Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyard Administration (GIPSA), Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), Risk Management Agency (RMA), Agricultural Research Service (ARS), and the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).

2. Refer to a 2009 white paper on Human Capacity Development prepared by the Academic

Programs Section of the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities. Copies of the white paper entitled “Human Capacity Development: The Road to Global Competitiveness and Leadership in Food, Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Related Sciences (FANRRS),” can be found at:

http://www.aplu.org/NetCommunity/Document.Doc?id=1639.

3. Submit a consortium project application (see definition in Part VIII, E.). While each institution comprising the consortium may have unique challenges and activities to address, the consortium project should focus on those challenges and activities common to all members of the consortium. The submitted consortium project should, therefore, describe how the consortium institutions will form partnerships to capitalize upon each other’s strengths, and share resources, to address common objectives. Consortium projects should build linkages among Insular Area Institutions and with other institutions (including other colleges and universities, units of State government, and private sector entities) having a significant, demonstrable commitment to higher education programs in the food and agricultural sciences and to each specific subject area where grant funds are requested: (1) to strengthen institutional education capacities (including libraries, curriculum, faculty, scientific instrumentation, instruction delivery systems, and student recruitment and retention strategies), in order to respond to State, regional, national, or international education needs in the food and agriculture sciences; (2) to attract and support undergraduate and graduate students in areas of national need in the food and agricultural sciences; (3) to conduct undergraduate scholarship programs to assist in meeting national needs for training food and agricultural scientists; and (4) to facilitate cooperative initiatives between two or more Insular Area Institutions, or between Insular Area Institutions and units of State Government or organizations in the private sector, to maximize the development and use of resources such as faculty, facilities, and equipment. These partnerships generate a critical mass of expertise and activity focused on increasing cost-effectiveness through achieving economies of scale, strengthening the scope and quality of a project’s impact, and promoting coalition building likely to transcend the project’s lifetime and lead to future ventures.

http://www.aplu.org/NetCommunity/Document.Doc?id=1639

NIFA encourages innovative proposals with the potential for national impact to serve as models for other institutions.

Project applications should be guided by the recommendations for change as reported in the National Academy of Science 2009 publication entitled, Transforming Agricultural Education for a Changing World. This report recommends that academic institutions with undergraduate programs in agriculture implement the following nine steps to better meet the needs of students, employers, and the broader society. For information on the full report, please refer to http://dels.nas.edu/ag_education/report.shtml and click on recommendations. The list of recommendations is as follows:

• Implement Strategic Planning;

• Broaden Treatment of Agriculture in the Overall Curriculum;

• Broaden the Student Experience;

• Prepare Faculty to Teach Effectively;

• Reward Exemplary Teaching;

• Build Stronger Connections among Institutions;

• Start Early K-12 Outreach;

• Build Strategic Partnerships; and

• Focus Reviews of Undergraduate Programs in Agriculture.

C. Program Area Description

1. Program Scope Funded projects in this year’s competition must enhance academic instruction that strengthens the capacity of Insular Area Institutions to carry out coordinated, multi-institutional delivery of teaching, learning, and faculty development (including distance education and articulation agreements, student and faculty exchanges, and expanded career planning activities) in the food and agricultural sciences. Consortium project applications are encouraged.

2. Educational Need Areas

(a) Projects must focus on an Educational Need Area listed below, and applications must demonstrate how the chosen Need Area will help achieve RIIA Program Goals from Part I, A, above. Consortium applications may address several Educational Need Areas, but each separate institution within the consortium should identify its own Need Area and provide a narrative response to Part IV.B.3. Field 8.

Applicants must address the following items within specified sections of the ‘R&R Other Project Information’ Form (Part IV, B.3.):

1. Within the Project Narrative (Part IV, B.3.Field 8.1.b.), identify and describe at least one Educational Need Area (Part I, C.2.) for each institution in the consortium, or for each institution submitting an application, and explain how this Educational Need Area supports the two RIIA Program Goals listed above.

http://dels.nas.edu/ag_education/report.shtml http://dels.nas.edu/ag_education/recommendations.shtml#plan http://dels.nas.edu/ag_education/recommendations.shtml#curr http://dels.nas.edu/ag_education/recommendations.shtml#stud http://dels.nas.edu/ag_education/recommendations.shtml#prep http://dels.nas.edu/ag_education/recommendations.shtml#teach http://dels.nas.edu/ag_education/recommendations.shtml#connect http://dels.nas.edu/ag_education/recommendations.shtml#early http://dels.nas.edu/ag_education/recommendations.shtml#partner http://dels.nas.edu/ag_education/recommendations.shtml#review

2. Within the project’s Evaluation Plan (Part IV, B.3.Field 8.2.d.), document how Project Accomplishments (products, results, impacts, etc.) will be published or otherwise disseminated to the broadest extent throughout the academic community. Applicants are encouraged to develop a project web page as part of their dissemination activities.

Applicants are also encouraged to develop a non-campus review committee to evaluate their progress and termination reports. This activity will help maximize the quality of the content within these reports.

Note: Applications must include an Evaluation Plan (Part IV, B. 3. Field 8, 2d.) for each Educational Need Area selected. This Plan should indicate how success in completing the program objectives within the chosen Need Area will be measured. Therefore, choose only the Need Areas that are relevant to and within the resources of the institution in order for a rigorous Evaluation Plan to be developed.

Educational Need Areas for the RIIA program are:

(1) Curricula Design, Materials Development, and Library Resources. The purpose of this initiative is to promote the development of courses of study and degree programs, new and improved curricula, and instructional materials and technology; to enable the acquisition of library resources including books and journals relating to the food and agricultural sciences; and to stimulate the use of new approaches to the study of traditional subjects, new research on teaching and learning theory, and new applications of knowledge. The overall objective is to increase the quality of, and continuously renew, the academic programs of Insular Area Institutions in the food and agricultural sciences.

(2) Faculty Preparation and Enhancement for Teaching. The purpose of this initiative is to advance faculty development in the areas of teaching competency and leadership, subject matter expertise, or student recruitment and advising skills. Applications may emphasize, but are not limited to: obtaining experience with recent developments and new applications in a field; expanding competence in innovative technologies and new methods to deliver instruction; developing new skills in a field of science or education including student advising skills; or pursuing graduate-level study in a field related to the food and agricultural sciences.

Each faculty recipient of support for developmental activities must be an “eligible participant” as defined in Part VIII, E. Definitions.

(3) Instruction Delivery Systems. The purpose of this initiative is to encourage the development and use of alternative methods of delivering instruction to enhance the quality, effectiveness, and cost efficiency of teaching programs, while simultaneously addressing the unique geographical challenges of Insular Area Institutions. Applications may emphasize, but are not limited to: conducting needs assessments of institutional academic and technological capacities; developing inter-institutional collaborations that deliver instruction in ways that maximize program quality and reduce unnecessary duplication; assisting faculty to incorporate alternative instructional methodologies and technologies that respond to differences in student learning styles; and helping institutions in the consideration and implementation of innovative instructional techniques, methodologies, and delivery systems in response to advances in knowledge and technology.

(4) Scientific Instrumentation for Teaching. The purpose of this initiative is to provide students and faculty in science-oriented courses with suitable, up-to-date equipment in order to involve them in work central to scientific understanding and progress. Applications may emphasize, but are not limited to: acquiring new, state-of-the-art instructional, laboratory, classroom, and research scientific equipment to help assure the achievement and maintenance of outstanding food and agricultural sciences education programs; and upgrading existing equipment, or replacing non-functional or clearly obsolete equipment.

(5) Student Experiential Learning. The purpose of this initiative is to further the development of student scientific and professional competencies through experiential learning programs that provide students with opportunities to solve complex problems in the context of real-world situations. Applications may emphasize, but are not limited to:

preparing future graduates to advance knowledge and technology that enhance quality of life, conserve resources, and address community and economic development issues. Projects should focus on advancing student problem-solving, decision-making and communication skills, and improving real-life technological expertise. Activities may include, but are not limited to: field-based internships; laboratory research; work-study practicum experiences;

study abroad opportunities; and participation with faculty in professional conferences.

(6) Student Recruitment, Retention, and Educational Equity (including the provision of student financial assistance). The purpose of this initiative is to enhance educational equity for students from under-represented groups, and to strengthen student recruitment and retention programs that ensure the future strength of the Nation's scientific, professional, and technical work force in the food and agricultural sciences. Applications may emphasize, but are not limited to: initiating new projects (or supplementing current efforts) in order to attract and increase the numbers of students from under-represented groups to attend college in order to prepare them for careers as food and agricultural scientists, professionals, and technicians; agricultural and science literacy programs at the high school level to attract students to college and careers in the food and agricultural sciences; mentoring programs and other initiatives for student retention; and the provision of student financial support to attend college.

(b) Note: NIFA has determined that grant funds awarded under these authorities to address any Need Area may not be used for the planning, repair, rehabilitation, acquisition, or construction of buildings or facilities (i.e., greenhouses, laboratories, or other structures).

(c) Projects must be innovative and promote and strengthen academic instruction or activities that lead to completion of a student’s formal degree. Your project should have broad-based applicability beyond a single course or an individual instructor. Projects are encouraged that include partnerships among several academic institutions to more efficiently deliver coordinated, academic instruction that reduces instructional duplication and costs. Equally valued are projects between an academic institution and employer(s) of that institution’s graduates to better prepare students to meet increasingly more scientific, technical and professional work force needs.

Academic instruction that can be coordinated by articulation agreements with the applicant and either secondary, or 2- or 4-year postsecondary colleges and universities to increase academic program quality are also strongly encouraged. Successful projects should also have a positive impact on large numbers of students and on activities that achieve cost-effective economies of scale in meeting the two Program Goals.

(d) Each student recipient of monetary support for education costs or developmental purposes must be enrolled at an eligible institution and must be a U.S. citizen or national as defined in Part VIII, E., Definitions for an “eligible participant”.

(e) Stipends to support students’ experiential, academic learning activities outside of the traditional classroom are permitted (as long as such activities are clearly related to a student’s degree program and not extracurricular). Stipends may be requested for materials or supplies to facilitate a student’s broad exposure to research/field techniques and methodologies, as well as for reasonable travel expenses and per diem related to student educational experiences (e.g., field trips, data collection, and scientific meetings) directly supporting this funded project. In order for the students to be provided a stipend, they must be currently matriculating in the institution(s) where the projects are being implemented.

(f) Project design should reflect an awareness of the diversity of the STEM education community, and the project should include mechanisms for impacting or including a significant proportion of this community. Projects are expected to encourage broad participation of students in agriculture-related STEM disciplines.

(g) Funded project outcomes are expected to continue after NIFA funding ends (See Dissemination and Continuation Plans section #4, below).

3. Evaluation Plan All projects, regardless of the scope or program component they address, must have an evaluation plan that includes both a strategy for monitoring the project as it evolves (to provide feedback to guide these efforts), as well as a strategy for evaluating the effectiveness of the project in achieving its goals and for identifying positive and negative findings when the project is completed.

For a consortium project, the Evaluation Plan should provide an assessment of how the combined institutional activities supported by the funded project contribute toward common project objective(s).

The complexity of the evaluation will depend on the scope of the project. Grantees are encouraged to obtain an independent evaluation to secure appropriate documentation of the project’s outcomes and impacts. Such efforts should be led by knowledgeable and experienced individuals. As a guide, up to 10 percent of grant funds may be used to support this purpose.

In addition to measuring progress toward achieving specific project outcomes, the Evaluation Plan (see Part IV, B.3. Field 8.2.d.) must also include a strategy for assessing how the project advances the two RIIA Program Goals. It should state the overall goal of the project, identify the measurable objectives, and indicate the outcome measures that will determine the success of the project and the relevance of these to the RIIA Program goals. At a minimum, project assessment should indicate a projected number of students or faculty impacted by the project as a result of the proposed activities as one assessment measure.

The following suggested evaluation examples are derived from the Department of Education’s Report of the Academic Competitiveness Council, May 2007, Federal STEM Goals and Metrics, Education Undergraduate National Goals and Metrics.

To demonstrate progress toward increasing the number of graduates, the following metric is suggested: first provide baseline data for the year preceding the grant award showing the number and/or percentage of students who declare and/or complete a major program of study of agriscience or agribusiness within your unit; and second, provide similar data for the final year of the grant and include an assessment of the impact of your project on changes from the baseline data. List the expected number of students benefiting from this project and their level of education, a table is recommended.

To demonstrate progress toward increasing the quality of instruction, the following metric is suggested: first provide baseline data for the year preceding the grant award showing the current number and/or percentage of graduates who either graduate and pursue a vocation in the food and agricultural sciences, or who pursue advanced degrees within the food and agricultural sciences; and second, provide similar data for the final year of the grant and include an assessment of the impact of your project on changes from the baseline data.

Suggested resources to obtain quantitative, baseline, student enrollment, degrees granted, and employment data for comparison purposes, postsecondary institutions may find appropriate information in the Food and Agricultural Education Information System (FAEIS) at:

http://faeis.ahnrit.vt.edu/ , and from the publication: Employment Opportunities for College Graduates in Food, Renewable Energy, and the Environment United States, 2010-2015 at:

http://www.ag.purdue.edu/usda/employment/pages/default.aspx. Other, similar source(s) may also be consulted.

Applications should include elements of a logic model detailing the activities, outputs, and outcomes of the proposed project. This information may be provided as a narrative or formatted into a logic model chart. The logic model planning process is a tool that should be used in developing projects before writing the proposal. Two additional pages are allowed for this information. See Part IV.B.3, b. (Field 12) for details on where to attach this information in the application. More information and resources related to the logic model planning process are provided at http://www.nifa.usda.gov/about/strat_plan_logic_models.html.

Additional Resources for Project Evaluation:

• NSF 02-057: The 2002 User-Friendly Handbook for Project Evaluation, a basic guide to quantitative and qualitative evaluation methods for educational projects http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2002/nsf02057/start.htm http://faeis.ahnrit.vt.edu/ http://www.ag.purdue.edu/usda/employment/pages/default.aspx http://www.nifa.usda.gov/about/strat_plan_logic_models.html http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2002/nsf02057/start.htm

• Field-Tested Learning Assessment Guide (FLAG): This Web site is designed for Science, Math, Engineering, and Technology Instructors who are interested in new approaches to evaluating student learning, attitudes, and performance. It has a primer on assessment and evaluation, classroom assessment techniques, discipline-specific tools, and resources – all in a searchable, downloadable database, http://www.flaguide.org/

• American Evaluation Association. Online Resources (http://www.eval.org/resources.asp)

4. Dissemination & Continuation Plans Include in the project’s Dissemination Plan (see Part IV, B.3. Field 8.2.e.) a description of how the applicant plans to communicate project accomplishments (products, results and impacts, etc.)

to the broadest extent throughout the academic community. This may include educational journals or other professional discipline publications and presentations at regional or national conferences and workshops, including any scheduled Project Director’s Conference (see Part VI, D).

Continuation Plan: Applicants are also expected to include a statement describing how project outcomes are expected to continue after NIFA funding ends. This Plan should include expected outputs and how these will become institutionalized in the curriculum. Also, describe any strategies for adapting or expanding these outputs for a larger audience. Provide details of these changes, what are the expected outcomes, and the targeted audience who benefits from this project.

http://www.nsf.gov/cgi-bin/good-bye?http://www.flaguide.org/ http://www.nsf.gov/cgi-bin/good-bye?http://www.eval.org/resources.asp

PART II-AWARD INFORMATION

A. Available Funding

There is no commitment by USDA to fund any particular application or to make a specific number of awards. Approximately $850,000 is available to fund applications in FY 2013. This RFA is being released prior to the passage of an Appropriations Act for FY 2013. Enactment of additional Continuing Resolutions or an Appropriations Act may affect the availability or level of funding for this program.

Awards issued as a result of this RFA will have designated the Automated Standard Applications for Payment System (ASAP), operated by the Department of Treasury’s Financial Management Service, as the payment system for funds. For more information see http://www.nifa.usda.gov/business/method_of_payment.html.

B. Types of Applications

The following three Application Types may be submitted to the RIIA program:

(1) New application. This is a project application that has not been previously submitted to the RIIA program. All new applications will be reviewed competitively using the selection process and evaluation criteria described in Part V—Application Review Requirements.

(2) Renewal application. This is a project application that requests additional funding for a project beyond the period that was approved in an original or amended award. Applications for renewed funding must contain the same information as required for new applications, and additionally must contain a Progress Report (see Project Narrative, Part IV). Renewal applications must be received by the relevant due dates, will be evaluated in competition with other pending applications in appropriate area to which they are assigned, and will be reviewed according to the same evaluation criteria as new applications.

(3) Resubmitted application. This is an application that had previously been submitted to the RIIA program only, but not funded. Project Directors (PDs) must respond to the previous review panel summary (use R&R Other Project Information. See Part IV, B.3, Field 12, Response to Previous Review). Resubmitted applications must be received by the relevant due dates, will be evaluated in competition with other pending applications in the appropriate area to which they are assigned, and will be reviewed according to the same evaluation criteria as new applications.

C. Project Types

NIFA encourages the submission of consortium project applications, and anticipates funding one consortium award to address RIIA program objectives in FY 2013. However, NIFA may fund one or more additional, non-consortia grants, and reserves the right to fund any mix of applications based on the number and merit of applications received.

The following two Project Types are accepted by this grants program:

http://www.nifa.usda.gov/business/method_of_payment.html

1. Regular Project An eligible institution may submit a regular project application for project activities undertaken principally on behalf of its own students or faculty, and managed primarily by its own personnel. In a Regular Project, the applicant executes the project without the requirement of sharing grant funds with other project partners. (See award size limit below in item E).

2. Consortium Project To facilitate inter-institutional cooperation and collaborative initiatives, two or more eligible, individual institutions may form a consortium, or use an existing consortium of which they are members, and submit a consortium project application. In such cases, one institution or fiscal agent is to be designated as the “lead institution.” The designated lead institution, fiscal agent, and PD, all situated on one campus or site, will receive the award on behalf of all the consortium members and will be responsible for managing the grant. Eligible consortium members may be sub-grantees of the primary award. Other entities not eligible to receive an award directly from NIFA under this program may, however, participate in fulfilling grant objectives and receive a sub-grant via the designated lead institution.

A consortium project application must contain an overall project plan of operation and overall budget from the lead institution, as well as a separate plan of operation and a separate budget (see Part IV, B.6 & 7.) for each consortium member receiving funds as a sub-grantee.

Sub-grantees may not normally receive less than 10 percent of total grant funds.

Applications proposing that sub-grantees receive less than 10 percent of total grant funds must be fully justified and approved by NIFA. Only in justified and exceptional instances will NIFA approve involvement by sub-grantees at a lower level (See award size limit below in item E).

D. Project Duration

A project application may request funding for a project period from 18 to 36 months duration.

The project start date should not occur prior to August 2013.

E. Number and Size of Grant Awards

The number of grants awarded will depend on the number and type of applications submitted in response to this notice. However, NIFA anticipates making only one consortium project award.

NIFA estimates that, if awarded in FY 2013, maximum funding for a Regular Project application will be no greater than $70,000.

NIFA estimates that awards for Consortium Project applications will be in the range of $790,000 to $850,000 for an RIIA project. This minimum amount may be lowered if one or more Regular Project(s) are funded.

Note that the amount of grant funds for eligible consortium members as sub-grantees does not have to be the same for each sub-grantee. However, a sub-grantee normally should not receive less than 10 percent -and the lead (applicant) institution normally should not receive less than 30 percent, or more than 70 percent, of the awarded funds. Requests for deviations from these restrictions must be fully justified and approved by NIFA in advance. Such approval will be made only under the most exceptional circumstances.

NIFA has determined that the dollar amounts awarded to eligible institutions, or made available to eligible institutions through sub-grants in consortium arrangements, may vary from institution to institution and from year to year, depending upon institutional educational capacity, project scope, and the level of involvement of each institution participating in grant activities. Grants will be made only to eligible institutions or consortia of eligible institutions as outlined below.

Based on the project scope and budget of all applications selected for awards, the actual, individual grant amounts awarded by NIFA under this Grants Program may differ from the funds requested by the applicant. In such cases, revised budgets and revised plans of work may be required by NIFA before an award is made.

F. Application Submission Limitations

In FY 2013, each eligible institution may submit (or be a party to) a maximum of one RIIA application for funding. If an institution (or its fiscal agent) submits, or is a party to, a Consortium Project application, that institution is not eligible to also submit a Regular Project application in the same year.

G. Award Limitations per Institution

An eligible institution may receive (or be a party to) a maximum of one grant award per competition. If submitting a Consortium Project application, an institution may only receive one award in any year. This ceiling includes sub-grant awards made under a consortium arrangement, i.e., an institution may participate, as either the lead institution or as a sub-grantee, in only one Consortium Project awarded in this year’s competition. Institutions receiving a grant under this program in any one competition are eligible to receive grants in subsequent years. Receiving a grant under any other authority does not affect eligibility for this RIIA grants program.

H. Funding Limitations per Institution

There are no limits on the total program funds that may be awarded to any one institution. The amount of funds awarded may vary from institution to institution depending on project goals and objectives.

I. Responsible and Ethical Conduct of Research

The responsible and ethical conduct of research (RCR) is critical for excellence, as well as public trust, in science and engineering. Consequently, education in RCR is considered essential in the preparation of future scientists. In accordance with sections 2, 3, and 8 of 7 CFR Part 3022, institutions that conduct extramural research funded by USDA must foster an atmosphere conducive to research integrity, bear primary responsibility for prevention and detection of research misconduct and are to maintain and effectively communicate and train their staff regarding policies and procedures. In the event an application to NIFA results in an award, the AOR assures, through acceptance of the award that the institution will comply with the above requirements. Per award terms and conditions, grant recipients shall, upon request, make available to NIFA the policies and procedures as well as documentation to support the conduct of the training.

Note that the training referred to herein shall be either on-campus or the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) program for RCR (https://www.citiprogram.org/rcrpage.asp). The general content of the ethics training, at a minimum, will emphasize three key areas of research ethics: authorship and plagiarism, data and research integration and reporting misconduct. Each institution will be responsible for developing its own training system, as schools will need flexibility to develop training tailored to their specific student needs. Typically RCR education addresses the topics of: Data Acquisition and Management - collection, accuracy, security, access; Authorship and Publication; Peer Review; Mentor/Trainee Responsibilities; Collaboration; Conflict of Interest; Research Misconduct; Human Subject Research; and Use of Animals in Research.

https://www.citiprogram.org/rcrpage.asp

PART III-ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION

A. Eligible Applicants

Applications may only be submitted by an Eligible Institution. For the purposes of the RIIA grants program, an eligible institution means an institution of higher education, as defined in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1995 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)), that is located in an Insular Area and that has a demonstrable capacity to carry out teaching and extension programs in the food and agricultural sciences.