13-secondary -final.pdf

Secondary Education, Two-Year Postsecondary Education, and Agriculture in the K-12 Classroom Challenge Grants Program (SPECA)

FY 2013 Request for Applications

Application Deadline: January 18, 2013

SPECA Program:

Telephone: 202-720-1973

Email: SPEC@nifa.usda.gov

Internet:

http://www.nifa.usda.gov/fo/educationchallengesecondaryhep.html

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number (CFDA):

10.226

NIFA Funding Opportunity Number:

USDA-NIFA-SAECP-003955

mailto:SPEC@nifa.usda.gov http://www.nifa.usda.gov/fo/educationchallengesecondaryhep.html

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF FOOD AND AGRICULTURE;

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

SECONDARY EDUCATION, TWO-YEAR POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION, AND

AGRICULTURE IN THE K-12 CLASSROOM CHALLENGE GRANTS PROGRAM

(SPECA)

INITIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

CATALOG OF FEDERAL DOMESTIC ASSISTANCE: This program is listed in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance under 10.226.

DATES: Applications must be received by close of business (COB) on January 18, 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) requests 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 Secondary Education, Two-Year Postsecondary Education, and Agriculture in the K-12 Classroom Challenge Grants Program RFA.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: NIFA requests applications for the Secondary Education, Two- Year Postsecondary Education, and Agriculture in the K-12 Classroom Challenge Grants Program (SPECA) for fiscal year (FY) 2013 to promote and strengthen agriscience and agribusiness education. NIFA anticipates the amount available for support of this program in FY 2013 will be approximately $900,000. This RFA is being released prior to the passage of an Appropriations Act for FY 2013. Enactment of an Appropriations Act may affect the availability or level of funding for this program.

mailto:Policy@nifa.usda.gov

This notice identifies the purpose and priorities for SPECA projects, the eligibility criteria for projects and applicants, and the application forms and associated instructions needed to apply for a SPECA grant. NIFA additionally 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 & Award Limitations G. Funding Limitations per Institution

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

Section 1405 of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977, as amended, (7 U.S.C. 3121) designates the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) as the lead Federal agency for agriculture research, extension and teaching in the food and agricultural sciences. Section 7109 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (P.L.

110-246) amends authority for this program contained in section 1417(j) of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3152(j)).

In accordance with statutory authority, subject to the availability of funds, the USDA Secretary, who has delegated the authority to the Director of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), the Secondary Education, Two-Year Postsecondary Education and Ag in the K-12 Classroom Challenge Grants Program (SPECA) will award grants to: (a) promote and strengthen secondary and 2-year postsecondary agriscience and agribusiness education and Agriculture in the K-12 Classroom in order to help ensure a qualified workforce to serve the U.S.

food and agricultural sciences system; and (b) promote complementary and synergistic linkages among secondary, 2-year postsecondary, and higher education programs in the food and agricultural sciences in order to attain excellence in education and to encourage more young Americans to pursue and complete a baccalaureate or higher degree in the food and agricultural sciences.

SPECA supports USDA’s Research, Education and Economics (REE) 2012 Strategic Goal #6: Education and Science Literacy to recruit, cultivate, and develop the next generation of scientists and leaders, and to produce a highly-skilled workforce for food, agriculture, natural resources, forestry, and environmental systems.

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, USDA-NIFA has refocused its mission to direct agricultural sciences research, education, and extension programs on addressing the following five Priority Areas:

1. Global Food Security and Hunger

2. Climate Change

3. Sustainable Energy

4. Childhood Obesity

5. Food Safety

The Secondary Education, Two-Year Postsecondary Education and Ag in the K-12 Classroom Challenge Grants Program is a NIFA-administered competitive grants program focused on improving formal, K-14 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, SPECA-funded projects ensure a competent and qualified workforce to serve the food and agricultural sciences system. At the same time, SPECA-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, SPECA projects are also focused to address the national challenge to increase the number and diversity (i.e., having an agricultural sciences workforce representative of the Nation’s population) of students entering agriculture related science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines.

Therefore, applications submitted to this grants program must state how the funded project will address the two SPECA 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 five NIFA Priority Areas listed above; and

2. To enhance the quality of secondary and two-year postsecondary instruction in order to help meet current and future national food and agricultural sciences workplace needs.

B. Purpose and Priorities

Reminders for the FY 2013 RFA:

1. Continued requirement for funded projects to address one of the five, NIFA Priority

Areas listed above in Part I. A.

2. Continue to encourage the submission of a Conference/Planning Proposal (Part II. C.1.)

Project Type, to fund strategic planning for Large-scale (state or region) Comprehensive Initiatives (LCI).

3. Continue to encourage the submission of a Large-scale (state or region) Comprehensive Initiatives (Part II. C.4.).

4. Focus: All SPECA-funded projects should focus on improving the quality of academic instruction within the K-14 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.

5. Scale: All SPECA-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 create greater impact.

6. Impact: All SPECA-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.

SPECA-funded projects encourage academic institutions, organizations, and employers to work collectively to identify and address a state or regional challenge facing the food and agricultural sciences education community. An application submitted to the SPECA grants program should propose comprehensive and coordinated activities to address that challenge or opportunity. At the same time, SPECA-funded project activities should also demonstrate a state or regional impact on increasing the number of K-14 level students who pursue a higher degree within agricultural sciences related STEM disciplines, and should improve student learning and retention.

SPECA-funded activities could include, but are not limited to, developing, evaluating, and disseminating:

• Educational materials for any K-14 level 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.

SPECA-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. SPECA-funded projects should also focus on imparting both technical discipline knowledge as well as ‘soft’ skills such as communication, team work, and problem solving, as these are abilities expected by employers of graduates entering the food and agricultural sciences workforce. These concepts may be found in the publication: Comparative Analysis of Soft Skills: What is Important for New Graduates?, available at: http://www.aplu.org/document.doc?id=3414.

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 SPECA-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 sciences 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 equipment requests are appropriate expenses in SPECA-funded projects. However, such purchases must directly support the specific student learning outcome proposed by the grant application. Convincing documentation and justification for such expenses are required in the grant application.

By authorizing and funding this program, Congress expects SPECA projects to: (a) produce measurable impacts aligned with SPECA 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.

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

1. Address one of the three Program Categories (below, Part I, C.1.);

2. Identify and describe at least one Educational Need Area (Part I, C.2.);

3. Within the project’s Evaluation Plan (Part I, C.3.), discuss how project activities will advance the two SPECA Program Goals (above); and http://books.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=9853 http://www.aplu.org/document.doc?id=3414

4. Document how project accomplishments (products, results and impacts, etc.) will be published or otherwise disseminated to the broadest extent throughout the academic community (Part I, C.4., Dissemination and Continuation Plans).

Note: Your project’s Program Category, Educational Need Area and primary NIFA Priority Area must appear on the required Project Summary/Abstract. The applicant must follow the format suggested in Part IV, B.3. Field 7, for completing this Project Summary/Abstract.

C. Program Area Description

1. Program Categories Your project must support for-credit, academic instruction with a primary focus in one of the following three, K-14 grade level Program Categories:

(a) Agriculture in the K-12 Classroom: Projects specifically developed by or for the state Agriculture in the Classroom program (Note: A letter of support from the relevant state AITC organization endorsing your project, clarifying the absence of duplication with existing materials or projects, and explaining its implementation process into the academic system must accompany applications submitted in this Program Category);

(b) Secondary School: Projects with a specific focus on any of the academic grades 9 through 12 that, for FY 2013, encourage study in areas that contribute to any of the five NIFA Priority Areas;

(c) Junior or Community College: Projects with a specific focus on associate degree-level (2-year postsecondary) activities that, for FY 2013, encourage study in areas that contribute to any of the five NIFA Priority Areas.

Remember, a SPECA-funded project must primarily focus on any of the K-14 grade levels. Projects with a target audience of baccalaureate or higher-level students or teachers should, instead, be referred to the Higher Education Challenge Grants Program offered through NIFA at:

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

2. Educational Need Areas

When preparing a SPECA-funded project, focus on activities contributing to a continuous pipeline of STEM students educated for the agricultural sciences workforce. The rationale for choosing a particular Educational Need Area must be explained in the context of how the project can contribute to the development of a cadre of students who will either pursue higher degrees or be prepared to enter the agricultural sciences workforce. Project activities must be planned with the students as the main beneficiaries, whether through developing or updating a new curriculum or course, establishing new instructional deliveries, pedagogical approaches, opportunities for experiential learning, faculty development, or partnerships with institutions or organizations.

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

(a) SPECA-funded projects must focus on one of the three Educational Need Areas listed below, and applications must demonstrate how this chosen Need Area will help achieve both SPECA Program Goals from Part I. A. Note: Your application must include a Project Evaluation Plan (Part I. C. 3.) for each Educational Need Area you select.

This Plan indicates how you will measure success in completing your objectives within your chosen Need Area. Therefore, choose only those Educational Need Areas for which you can commit to develop a rigorous Evaluation Plan.

Educational Need Areas for the SPECA program are:

(1) Curriculum Development, Instructional Delivery Systems and Expanding

Student Career Opportunities: This Need Area promotes K-14 focused activities aimed at encouraging students to: (a) enter the agricultural sciences workforce with occupational competencies expected by employers, and/or (b) pursue an advanced postsecondary degree in disciplines supporting the five NIFA Priority Areas.

The purpose of this Need Area is to promote new and improved curricula, instructional materials, and other learning resources within K-14 academic institutions to increase the quality of, and continuously renew, agribusiness or agriscience curricula in order to attract, recruit, and retain students in agricultural fields. The overall objective is to stimulate the development and use of exemplary education models and materials incorporating the most recent advances in subject matter, research on teaching and learning theory, particularly in STEM areas. Projects may emphasize, but are not limited to: the development of courses of study, degree programs, and instructional materials; incorporating alternative instructional methodologies that respond to differences in student learning styles; inter-institutional collaborations that deliver instruction in ways that maximize program quality and reduce unnecessary duplication; the use of new approaches to the study of traditional subjects; the introduction of new subjects, or new applications of knowledge pertaining to agriscience and agribusiness content supporting the five NIFA Priority Areas.

Examples of eligible projects in this Need Area may include, but are not limited to, the following strategies:

• Designing course content around overarching and unifying concepts, skills and competencies -including innovative ways to integrate scientific research experiences- in the secondary and 2-year postsecondary curricula;

• Creating model curricula, laboratory, or student research experiences, especially activities that expand students’ career interests in STEM fields through mentoring or professional shadowing activities, internships or practicum’s including international learning experiences, visiting lecturers, or other similar experiential learning activities;

• Forming partnerships involving a broad range of diverse institutions or organizations to better understand how students learn, how to sustain their interests, and how to acquire those skills and occupational competencies expected by employers in STEM disciplines;

• Establishing and promoting instructional methodologies to improve students’ retention of subject content, such as hands-on, remote, and virtual laboratories;

• Creating career placement or higher education academic counseling activities, with the expected outcome of encouraging graduates to pursue and complete postsecondary degrees;

• Developing Internet-based approaches and systems for multi-institutional delivery and sharing of curriculum content; or

• Other approaches to achieve SPECA program goals.

(2) Increasing Faculty Teaching Competencies. This Need Area promotes K-14 focused activities that improve faculty members’ teaching competency and subject matter expertise in order to address emerging student demographic composition and learning styles. Developmental activities may include both formal training and informal continuing education.

The purpose of this Need Area is to advance faculty development in the areas of teaching competency and leadership, subject matter expertise, or student recruitment and advising skills, in order for them to better advise and provide students the experience or knowledge that will encourage them to pursue higher degrees in STEM fields, or prepare them for the agriculture workforce. Training of targeted faculty recipients should be intentional and relevant to the identified educational needs of the students, who will be the beneficiaries of such faculty development. Proposals may emphasize, but are not limited to: obtaining experience with recent developments and new applications in a discipline supporting the five NIFA Priority Areas, expanding competence using innovative technologies and new methods of instructional delivery, or in improving student advising skills. Any individual recipient of federal funds must be an "eligible participant" as defined in the definitions section of this RFA (Part VIII, E.).

Examples of eligible projects in this Need Area may include, but are not limited to, the following strategies:

• Engaging graduate students enrolled in agricultural education degree program (and/or existing faculty in agricultural education) to more effectively interact with K-14 programs;

• Developing a self-sustaining model for faculty professional development that better prepares new faculty for teaching careers, or provides retraining for experienced faculty;

• Creating assessments that document student learning outcomes or identify conceptual areas or skills that are particularly challenging to students, followed by appropriate changes in instructional approaches to effectively address these issues;

• Establishing systems that improve student learning across a curriculum, and identifying ways to redesign curricula to meet goals for achieving improved student learning and competencies;

• Integrating current science and pedagogy into the teacher preparation curriculum or professional development program (this may involve actual hands-on research experiences for teachers);

• Exploring Internet-based approaches for faculty professional development; or

• Other approaches to achieve SPECA program goals.

(3) Facilitating Interaction with Other Academic Institutions. This Need Area promotes K-14 focused activities that promote linkages between secondary, 2-year postsecondary, and baccalaureate degree-granting institutions to maximize the development and use of resources supporting instruction within any the five NIFA Priority Areas. Although this Need Area emphasizes partnerships between institutions, any planned activities must revolve around student needs that will ensure completion of secondary degrees, enrollment into postsecondary programs and/or transfer to a 4-year institution. Emphasis between secondary and higher education institutions may focus on, but is not limited to, the development and use of articulation agreements, 2+2 or 2+2+2 arrangements, advanced placement credit transfer, or the sharing of faculty and facilities. Partnerships, collaborative arrangements and shared resources between institutions (including course credit sharing arrangements) are encouraged.

Projects should contribute to the community’s understanding about how new strategies are transferred to diverse settings and about how they impact student learning. Evaluation plans should explore opportunities for adapting new strategies in diverse educational settings. Projects that specifically address challenges to achieving widespread adoption of proven practice are especially welcome.

Examples of eligible projects in this Need Area may include the following strategies:

• A project that focuses on developing and implementing comprehensive, multi-institutional practices proven to recruit and retain K-14 level students, with a focus on cultivating those students to pursue a postsecondary degree (Note:

projects that directly recruit secondary school or 2-year postsecondary graduates into baccalaureate-level programs are not supported by this grants program, since those graduates are no longer in the K-14 system);

• A collaborative project between faculty from K-12, two-year postsecondary, and baccalaureate-level schools that develops a functional plan facilitating seamless transfer of course credit between institutions;

• A pilot project that explores the practical aspects of using remote laboratories or instruction among several institutions;

• A project that will result in establishing and implementing programs or procedures (faculty sharing, articulation agreements, electronic exchange of coursework, etc.) to disseminate curricula, instructional methods, or training practices to faculty across the state or region; or

• Other approaches to achieve SPECA program goals.

(b) Unallowable Costs: NIFA has determined that grant funds awarded under this authority to address any Need Area may not be used for student tuition remission, room and board, academic fees or other financial assistance (no scholarships or fellowships). Also, funds may not be used for the renovation or refurbishment of research, education, or extension space; the purchase or installation of fixed equipment in such space; or the planning, repair, rehabilitation, acquisition, or construction of buildings or facilities (i.e., no greenhouses, laboratories, barns, or other structures). Promotional items (e.g., T-shirts and other give-a-ways) and food functions (e.g., cookouts or other social meal gatherings) are considered ‘entertainment’ expenses, and are also not allowed under this grants program. Note: Under Federal cost principles, restricted items (like those mentioned directly above) are not permitted for use as an applicant’s contribution to meeting the matching funds requirement for this grants program.

(c) SPECA-funded projects should engage more than a single course or an individual instructor. Projects must promote and strengthen academic instruction that leads to completion of a student’s formal degree (non-credit or after-school instruction not contributing toward a student’s degree program is not supported by this grants program).

(d) 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. Stipends may not be used for tuition or scholarships.

(e) Note: Any individual (eligible participant) receiving Federal funds via any Need Area above must be a citizen or national of the United States, as defined in this RFA (see Part VIII, E.). Where eligibility is claimed under 8 U.S.C. 1101(a) (22), documentary evidence from the Immigration and Naturalization Service as to such eligibility must be made available to NIFA upon request.

(f) Project design should reflect an awareness of the diversity of the STEM education community in the United States, 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 STEM disciplines.

(g) Funded project outcomes are expected to continue after NIFA funding ends (See

Dissemination and Continuation Plans section #4, below).

3. Project 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.

Evaluation Information that Must Be in Your Grant Application:

a) The evaluation section of your application should briefly present from two to five main project goals that directly support the two SPECA Program Goals (Part I. A.).

Application reviewers and staff will be looking for an evaluation plan -and accompanying assessment measures- that focus on gains or changes in knowledge, skills, behaviors, and/or attitudes of the target audience(s). You may want to consider including the following information in your application:

1. A proposed measure of student knowledge/learning or interest in the food and agriculture sciences that you think will result from your proposed project. You may identify the measurement instrument or method that will be used, but selecting something that is valid and reliable is recommended.

Example: The purpose of the project is to develop new instructional materials in a course on human nutrition. At the conclusion of the project, the PD administers pre-and posttest surveys to students asking them to rate the degree to which the instructional materials influenced their interest in human nutrition.

2. The anticipated number and type of products created or anticipated number of students/faculty served based on the target area(s) proposed in the project.

Examples of numeric information by target area to include in your proposal are listed below. Please note that this list is not comprehensive; quantify the number of products created and students/faculty served when possible.

Curriculum Development, Instructional Delivery Systems, and Expanding Student Career Opportunities:

- # of students enrolled in course/program, using materials, participating in experiential learning opportunities

- # of courses or credits/credit hours developed

- Type of course, curriculum, or instructional methodology

- # of student experiential learning opportunities at businesses, organizations, non-profits, academic institutions, federal agencies

- # of internships, research opportunities, study abroad opportunities, or peer mentoring opportunities developed,

- Or other, similar indicators

Increasing Faculty Teaching Competency Opportunities:

- # of faculty served

- # of workshops, professional meetings, sabbaticals attended

- # of publications, presentations that resulted from opportunity

- Type of opportunity – workshop, professional meeting, sabbatical, etc.

- Or other, similar indicators

Facilitating Interaction with Other Institutions:

- # of collaborations between institutions

- Type of institutions involved in collaborations

- # and types of meaningful products resulting from planned interactions (e.g., curricula, faculty professional development opportunities, workshops, etc.)

- # of faculty served

- # students served

- Or other, similar indicators

The evaluation may also include assessment of other outcomes, particularly if the project aims to change organizational structures, create cost-efficiencies, or achieve other ends not specifically represented by learning. Explain the data gathering procedures to monitor and assess progress toward intended project goals. When describing the measurement instruments you plan to use (surveys, interviews, focus groups, assessments of e-portfolios or capstone projects, measures of class performance, scores on standardized tests, cost-benefit analyses, etc.), be sure to mention why they are appropriate to gauging success.

b) The evaluation plan section should make a convincing case to reviewers that -at the conclusion of the grant- the grantee could report the extent to which learning and engagement outcomes, professional development goals, and/or organizational outcomes have been achieved. Reviewers will be looking for evidence that the applicant thought about how to measure what worked, what did not work as planned, and what adjustments could be made to enhance program outcomes in the future.

Collection of this evidence is critical to achieving SPECA’s goal of making data about educational improvements and innovation available to the education community. An evaluation plan that only indicates a desire to develop assessment measures once the project is underway, and an eventual description of resulting project activities and outcomes, would be considered a poorly prepared and inadequate evaluation plan.

c) The project budget should contain funding to either hire an outside project evaluator, or to present convincing evidence that an appropriate evaluator is already on staff and available to provide assistance with assessment and evaluation throughout the life of the project. As a guide, up to 10 percent of grant funds may be used to support this purpose. The following activities are examples of items that may be included in the Evaluation Plan: project objectives that lend themselves most readily to measurement and evaluation, baseline assessment data and a planned collection process from a possible comparison or control group, possible measurement instruments ( surveys, student journals, standardized tests, interviews, focus groups, analysis of e-portfolios or capstone projects, cost-benefit analyses, etc.), a strategy for what assessment measures will be a part of the annual and final Project Performance Reports (Part VI.

D.) and how this information will eventually be disseminated to interested parties and to the public.

d) Finally, the Evaluation Plan itself should contain measures of 1. student learning or engagement and/or faculty professional development and 2. the number of students or faculty impacted by your project as a result of the proposed activities, either directly (through scholarships, experiential learning opportunities, workshops, teaching experiences, etc.) or indirectly (through taking a developed course or program, or participating in a recruitment or retention program). In addition, the PD should specify metrics summarizing who benefited the most (and the least) from your project, an explanation of what revisions, improvements, or enhancements you would make, funding permitting, to increase the value of this project in the future, and ideas about how to make projects like yours more cost-effective. These, and other funded project assessments determined by the project director and evaluation team should be reported both annually and in the final performance report (Part VI. D.).

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://faeis.ahnrit.vt.edu/ 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 (see sample at the end of this document) 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 to develop your project before writing your proposal. Two additional pages are allowed for this information. See Part IV.B.3.

(Field 12) for details on where to attach this information to your 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

• Field-Tested Learning Assessment Guide (FLAG): This website 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 data base, 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 the SPECA Project Director’s Conference (see Part VI, D.1.).

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 (See Part IV, B.3. Field 8.3.g).

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 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

NIFA anticipates approximately $900,000 will be available to fund applications in FY 2013, and has no commitment to fund any particular application or to make a specific number of awards.

This RFA is being released prior to the passage of an Appropriations Act for FY 2013.

Enactment of 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

For this grants program, applications may only be submitted as one of the following types of requests:

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

(2) Resubmitted application. This is a project application that had previously been submitted to the SPECA Program but not funded. Applicants must respond to the previous review panel summary (use R&R Other Project Information, (Field 12- Other Attachments) on the Form).

Resubmitted 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.

C. Project Types

Applicants may submit one of the following four types of projects:

1. Conference/Planning Proposal Applicants in this Project Type may request up to $25,000 (total conference, not per year) to facilitate strategic planning session(s) required of faculty, industry, professional association, community leaders, or other necessary participants for the specific purpose of developing a formal plan leading to a subsequent submission of a Large-scale (state or region) comprehensive initiatives (LCI), as described below in C.4. A Conference/Planning grant application may not be submitted in the same year for which a LCI application for the same project is also submitted.

2. Regular Project Proposal (Single Institution/Organization) Applicants may request up to $50,000 (total, not per year) for a Regular Project Proposal. In a Regular Project Proposal, the applicant executes the project without the requirement of sharing grant funds with other project partners.

3. Joint Project Proposal (Applicant + One or more Partners) Applicants may request up to $150,000 (total, not per year) for a Joint Project Proposal. In a Joint Project Proposal, the applicant executes the project with assistance from at least one additional partner. The partner(s) must share grant funds (see explanation of required funds distribution percentage among partners in the definition of a Joint Project Proposal in Part VIII, E.). [Note: This ‘Joint Project Proposal’ Project Type may be dropped entirely in future SPECA grant competitions and replaced by the new Large-scale (state or region) comprehensive initiatives (LCI) described directly below item C.4.]

Note: Joint Projects must include both the R&R Fed and Non-Fed Budget and the R&R Fed and Non-Fed Subaward Budget Attachment Forms. The forms should clearly identify the total grant funding anticipated for the applicant and each partner to demonstrate the required sharing percentage. All expenditures for the applicant and all partners should be further itemized in the Budget Justification. Funds do not have to be divided equally among project years.

4. Large-scale (state or region) comprehensive initiatives (LCI) (Applicant + Two or more

Partners) Applicants may request up to $300,000 (total, not per year) for a large-scale (state or region) comprehensive initiatives (LCI) Project Proposal. In a LCI Project Proposal, the applicant executes the project with assistance from at least two additional partners. The additional partners must share grant funds (see explanation of required funds distribution percentage among partners in the definition of a LCI Project Proposal in Part VIII, E.). An LCI project differs from a Joint Project Proposal in project scope and impact. LCI Project Proposals must support a multi-partner approach to solving a major state or regional challenge in agricultural sciences education at any of the K-14 grade levels. LCI Project Proposals are characterized by multiple partners (each providing a specific expertise) organized and led by a strong applicant with documented project management ability to organize and carry out the initiative. To be funded, in addition to meeting this grant program’s Evaluation Criteria, a LCI project application must specifically encourage study in areas that contribute to any of the five NIFA Priority Areas listed in Part I, A.

Note: LCI Projects must include both the R&R Fed and Non-Fed Budget and the R&R Fed and Non-Fed Subaward Budget Attachment Forms. The forms should clearly identify the total grant funding anticipated for the applicant and each partner to demonstrate the required sharing percentage. All expenditures for the applicant and all partners should be further itemized in the Budget Justification. Funds do not have to be divided equally among project years.

Impacts for all LCI Projects: In addition to addressing the Evaluation Plan section of this program (Part I. C.3.) expected impacts from a LCI Project must include, but are not limited to:

• An assessment of significant progress toward addressing the national challenge of increasing the number and diversity of STEM graduates, while addressing the specific state or regional opportunity defined in the grant application;

• Documented expansion of the number of students who enroll in postsecondary courses in STEM disciplines;

• Documented enhanced retention rates of students exposed to LCI Project activities;

• A comprehensive project evaluation, using the indicators and methods defined in this grants program, that informs the undergraduate STEM community and others about the effectiveness of this LCI Project;

• A description of ongoing activities supported by this LCI Project, and a description of those same activities that will be sustained once grant funds end; and

• A description of any related activities expected to occur as an outgrowth of this funded project.

In any of the four Project Types described above, a grant recipient must match 25% of the Federal funds awarded from non-Federal sources. See Part IV, B.6. R&R Fed and Non-Fed Budget, and Field K-Budget Justification, for details.

D. Project Duration

Project periods may range from twenty-four (24) to thirty-six (36) months. Projects should conclude no sooner than twenty-four (24) months after the award start date to allow sufficient time to evaluate project…