Rural Health and Safety Education Competitive Grants Program

The Rural Health and Safety RHSE program addresses the health and well-being of rural America through supporting the development and/or implementation of projects focused on: (1) individual and family health education programs with specified contents

The Rural Health and Safety Education (RHSE) program empowers rural residents to make informed decisions about leading healthy lifestyles through research-based educational programs and approaches implemented in an Extension delivery model.

Applications may be submitted by 1862 and 1890 Land-grant Colleges and Universities that are eligible to receive funds under the Act of July 2, 1862 (7 U.S.C. 301 et seq.), and the Act of August 30, 1890 (7 U.S.C. 321 et seq.), including Central State University, Tuskegee University, West Virginia State University and the University of the District of Columbia. Applications also may be submitted by any of the Tribal colleges and universities designated as 1994 Land-grant Institutions under the Educational Land-Grant Status Act of 1994, as amended.

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 and approaches Grantees must use Cooperative Extension as the mode of program outreach and delivery.

NIFA has determined that grant funds awarded under this authority 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. NIFA has determined that grant funds awarded under this authority may not be used for: 1. General Purpose Equipment - Equipment which does not have a particular scientific, technical, or programmatic purpose. It includes passenger carrying vehicles, typewriters, furniture (tables, chairs, file cabinets, book cases, etc.), copy machines, fax machines, etc; 2. Entertainment - Banquets, awards ceremonies, and meals for persons not in a travel status, tickets to shows or sporting events, and alcoholic beverages; 3. Incentives - Federal funds may not be used to offer targeted program participants incentives (e.g., fast-food coupons, gift certificates, etc.) to entice participation. This is prohibited under the OMB Circulars; 4. Renovation or refurbishment of research, education, or extension space; 5. Purchase or installation of fixed equipment in such space 6. Planning, repair, rehabilitation, acquisition, or construction of buildings or facilities; and 7. Any expense that is not directly related to the program or project would be considered unallowable. Costs such as child-care services hired so a person can attend a meeting or kitchen help hired to prepare refreshments for a field day, promotional or thank-you gifts such as T-shirts, coffee mugs, or canvas carry-all bags are unallowable because they are not directly related to the project plan. Section 713 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016 (Pub. L. 114-113) limits indirect costs to 30 percent of the total Federal funds provided under each award.

In accordance with statutory time limits, project periods, including no-cost extensions of time, are not to exceed three (3) years.

Within guidelines established for the program as described in the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). The most current NOFOs are available via: https://www.nifa.usda.gov/grants/funding-opportunities/rural-health-safety-education-competitive-grants-program-rhse

Applications are subjected to a system of peer and merit review in accordance with section 103 of the Agricultural Research, Extension and Education Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 7613) by a panel of qualified scientists and other appropriate persons who are specialists in the field covered by the proposal. Within the limit of funds available for such purpose, the NIFA Authorized Departmental Officer (ADO) shall make grants to those responsible, eligible applicants whose applications are judged most meritorious under the procedures set forth in the NOFO. Reviewers will be selected based upon training and experience in relevant scientific, extension, or education fields, taking into account the following factors: (a) The level of relevant formal scientific, technical education, or extension experience of the individual, as well as the extent to which an individual is engaged in relevant research, education, or extension activities; (b) the need to include as reviewers experts from various areas of specialization within relevant scientific, education, or extension fields; (c) the need to include as reviewers other experts (e.g., producers, range or forest managers/operators, and consumers) who can assess relevance of the applications to targeted audiences and to program needs; (d) the need to include as reviewers experts from a variety of organizational types (e.g., colleges, universities, industry, state and Federal agencies, private profit and non-profit organizations) and geographic locations; (e) the need to maintain a balanced composition of reviewers with regard to minority and female representation and an equitable age distribution; and (f) the need to include reviewers who can judge the effective usefulness to producers and the general public of each application. Evaluation Criteria will be delineated in the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO).

Other. Specific details are provided in the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), which are generally published annually. The most current NOFO is available via: https://www.nifa.usda.gov/grants/funding-opportunities/rural-health-safety-education-competitive-grants-program-rhse