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FFAR » Contracted Work: Seeding Solutions Program Evaluation
Open Opportunity
Program Contact
Chris Gambino cgambino@foundationfar.org
Friday, February 21, 2025, 5:00 p.m.PT
FFAR seeks to evaluate the success of the Seeding Solutions program for 2017 to 2024 program cycles. The evaluator, in collaboration with FFAR, will define criteria and standards of success (i.e. metrics); FFAR has established relevant technology readiness levels (TRLs) that the evaluator will use to track innovation and compare projects. It is important for the evaluator to capture project outputs, outcomes and where available, impacts (including how project outputs have influenced the agriculture value chain and/or informed policy development).
We envision a dual formative and summative program evaluation to assess process and implementation (years 2017-2024), and to assess outcomes and impacts (years 2017 – 2023), as defined in the FFAR Program Evaluation FAQs. The Seeding Solutions program year refers to the year the RFA is released. Awards are typically made in the following year. Through the evaluation, we hope to better understand how efficiently and effectively the program is managed as well as uncover whether and how project deliverables are being used to date and contributing to the U.S. food and agriculture system. We foresee the evaluator conducting a cross-project comparative analysis for the 39 completed projects, using an agreed-upon set of metrics. Additionally, the evaluator will assess the operational aspects of funding for all 79 executed projects. Finally, we envision the evaluator creating 1-3 exemplar cases (i.e. detailed case studies) using a mixed methods approach, which includes quantitative analyses and qualitative analyses to calculate cost-effectiveness and counterfactuals. We expect all findings—and recommendations where applicable—to be evidence-based with references to supporting evaluation data (e.g., survey findings).
Launched in 2017, Seeding Solutions is our annual grant program that funds audacious research supporting FFAR’s Priority Areas, previously designated as Challenge Areas. This evaluation will consider awarded projects connected to FFAR’s former Challenge Areas (2017 – 2024 program years). The pioneering science funded through this program enables the convening of novel partnerships spanning the food and agriculture sector to collaboratively solve bold challenges across geographic scales. FFAR annually awards approximately 10 grants through the Seeding Solutions program, ranging from $300,000 to $1 million per award. Grantees must provide matching funds from non-federal partners. Since inception, $125M was awarded across 79 executed Seeding Solutions projects. Of those awarded funds, FFAR has provided $58.7M in funding with $66.5M in partner match funding.
Read the full RFP and requirements.
FFAR recognizes five domains of evaluation based on Rossi, Lipsey & Henry (2019), outlined below:
We ask the evaluator(s) to systematically collect and analyze data about the work we’ve funded in a specific program area to understand the effectiveness and efficiency of the program. We often ask for evaluators to assess the outcomes of programs with completed research grants. In these cases, we seek an understand the tangible results of research projects (i.e., deliverables) and how they have advanced fields of study and/or changed decision-maker attitudes or behavior (e.g., industry, farmers, producers, food supply chain actors, government, and/or consumers) and enhanced the scientific workforce’s skills. For programs or funding portfolios that have very mature research projects (~7 years from completion date), we seek an assessment of their impact on agriculture, the environment and society and the cost-effectiveness of their solutions. At times we may ask an evaluator to assess other aspects of a research funding program including assessments of the process and implementation.
Issue experts can play several roles in a program evaluation. While they may not have formal evaluative science training, issue experts are uniquely aware of the value of the research project deliverables under assessment. As such, experts can and should be part of evaluation team proposals. Another option is for an evaluation team to lean on an expert panel—in this case, the experts can provide expert opinion on deliverables without taking a larger role in the evaluation. For programs or portfolios with mature projects (~7 years or more since completion date) that have already been assessed for outcomes, experts like economists can play a key role in looking at the cost-benefit or cost-effectiveness of the outcomes.
In most cases, FFAR prefers evaluation teams that can meet all the requirements listed. However, if you bring the appropriate skills and experience to excel at a portion of what is requested in an RFP, we invite you to apply and share how you would be the best person or group to take on that part of the work. Once all proposals are received, FFAR may partner evaluators based on their proposals or fund multiple proposals addressing different parts of the RFP.
FFAR can contract with 1099s (independent contractors), for-profits and 501(c)(3) nonprofits. FFAR enters fixed priced contracts with payment based on deliverables. If necessary, based on the selected proposal’s requirements, FFAR may consider time and material costs.
No. Presently funds for program evaluations are made through FFAR’s operating budget. Only funds tied to research grants require FFAR’s 1:1 dollar match.
In short, yes, we will consider proposals with indirect costs. Evaluations at FFAR are fee-for-service work, not grants, and various entities apply. Our priority is to get an evaluation that meets our needs and provides the most value for the money. Some proposals from individuals or firms often contain expenses like indirect costs in a grant. While we will accept a proposal submitted by a university, high administrative costs may weaken the proposal’s competitiveness.
No. FFAR is a 501(c)(3) and program evaluation contracts are paid solely through FFAR from our operating budget.
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