Conservation and Urban Resources Extension

This program has two parts: 1.) Capacity Assistance - Urban Agriculture Conservation Extension Educator: Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is experiencing a large influx of small-scale and urban producers and needs additional capacity to

The purpose of the CURE program, Assistance Listing 10.342, is to support the hiring and administration of Urban Agriculture Extension Educators through Cooperative Extension programs at LGUs to deliver technical assistance and link producers to NRCS conservation planning and program opportunities. This program has two sections: 1. Capacity Assistance - Urban Agriculture Conservation Extension Educator 2. Project Planning Impact Collaborative - Scalable urban agriculture service strategy

This listing is directed to the Extension Foundation (ExF).

Grant funds must be used for allowable costs necessary to conduct approved fundamental and applied research, extension and education objectives to address food and agricultural sciences. Funds may not be used for any purposes other than those approved in the grant award documents. Funds shall not be used for tuition remission.

The annual Agriculture Appropriations Act limits indirect cost rates on cooperative agreements, such as used in the CURE program, to 10 percent of the total direct cost of the agreement when the purpose of such cooperative arrangements is to carry out programs of mutual interest between the two parties. Therefore, when preparing budgets, applicants should limit their requests for recovery of indirect costs to the lesser of their institution's official negotiated indirect cost rate or the equivalent of 10 percent of total direct costs of the agreement awarded. Federal per diem rate: Given that the primary source of funding for the CURE program is Federal funds, ExF should contract with hotels for lodging at or below the Federal per diem rate for the Impact Collaborative, workshops, and any other meetings that require travel. NIFA retains the right to disallow use of NIFA funds for any travel that does not meet these requirements.

This will be a three-year cooperative agreement.

Within the limit of funds authorized, the NIFA awarding official will make grants to eligible applicants whose applications are judged most meritorious under the procedures set forth in the NOFO. After the award is finalized, a formal notification in the form of a Notice of Award (NoA), signed by the Authorized Departmental Officer, will be provided to the applicant organization for successful applications. The NoA is the authorizing document and will be sent via email to the recipient's Authorized Representative. The NoA will provide pertinent instructions and information including, at a minimum, the information described in 2 CFR 200.211 (see NIFA's Terms and Conditions).