External Program Evaluation: Rapid Outcomes from Agricultural Research (ROAR): Request for Proposal

About ROAR

The Rapid Outcomes from Agricultural Research (ROAR) program deploys urgent funding to support research and outreach in response to emerging or unanticipated threats to the nation’s food supply or agricultural systems. Specifically, FFAR’s ROAR Program funds rapid research related to response, prevention or mitigation of new pests and pathogens. The ROAR program is open year-round to eligible applicants, providing one-year grants up to $150,000 that must be matched by non-federal funds. Funds are awarded for the development of diagnostics, monitoring and mitigation strategies. The one year of funding fills urgent research gaps until traditional, longer-term funding can be secured. Since its inception, the ROAR program has awarded $6.7 million in total funding across 25 grants, with 21 completed as of May 2024. Awarded projects have addressed issues like invasive weevils, lettuce wilt, swine viruses and cattle ticks, among other pests and pathogens.

Program Aims

1. Develop diagnostics, monitoring and mitigation strategies
2. Advance outreach, research and other efforts to mitigate, contain or prevent a pest or pathogen outbreak
3. Encourage swift grantmaking to spur a more effective, rapid field response
4. Fill urgent research needs until traditional, longer-term funding can be secured
5. Extend funding reach through matching requirement

Scope of Evaluation

FFAR seeks to evaluate the success of the ROAR program (i.e., program evaluation). The evaluator, in collaboration with FFAR, will define criteria and standards of success before finalizing the proposal and contract. In addition to evaluating the completed individual projects, the evaluation should also address the structure and FFAR’s management of the ROAR program, including program design, project selection criteria, timelines and award amounts.

We envision a high-level evaluation of the 21 completed projects and an in-depth evaluation of a subset (~7) of completed projects. We foresee the evaluator using a mixed-methods approach to include interviewing project grantees, project partners, matching funders and other project stakeholders, for example, a project’s target audience. Given the intended purpose of the ROAR program, the evaluator should also be qualified to quantify derived positive externalities of the work including avoided producer profit loss and/or avoided increase in consumer cost connected to some of the projects.

FFAR Will Provide

• Contact information for grantees and project partners
• Contact information for relevant FFAR staff
• High-level budget information for ROAR program projects
• Final reports submitted by grantees
• Project proposals for grants that are still in progress

Other necessary data will be collected by the evaluator.

Evaluation Questions

1. Is the ROAR program structure (e.g., type of research funded, funding amount, proposal turnaround time, match requirement, etc.) appropriate for addressing research and response needs for emerging or unanticipated agricultural threats?
2. To what extent did ROAR-funded projects develop viable diagnostic, monitoring and mitigation strategies to emerging or unanticipated agricultural threats?
3. To what extent has the ROAR program filled urgent research needs and allowed awardees to secure longer-term funding?
4. To what extent were project results/outputs adopted or deployed in the field and what impact did the projects have on crop and animal production systems and/or the U.S. food supply (e.g., avoided disease-related costs)?