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Dr. Sarah Lyons slyons@foundationfar.org Grants Team grants@foundationfar.org
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Pre-applications due December 11, 2024
The Efficient Fertilizer Consortium (EFC) is accepting applications for field trials to evaluate the agronomic performance and environmental impact of enhanced efficiency fertilizers (EEFs) across a range of geographic locations, cropping systems, climates and soil types.
Topics that are in-scope include:
In addition to information captured in the body text of this webpage, proposals must include:
Applicants are encouraged to address the following elements in submitted applications:
The EFC will not consider applications including:
The EFC welcomes applications from all domestic and international higher education institutions, non-profit and for-profit organizations, and government-affiliated research agencies. Multiple applications are allowed.
Any individual(s) with the skills, knowledge and resources necessary to perform the proposed research as Program Director(s)/Principal Investigator(s) may apply through their home institution or organization.
A maximum request of up to USD$1,000,000 are available for all proposed projects, however smaller projects will be considered and are welcome. Projects from two (2) to five (5) years in length are eligible for funding and may be expected to follow federal government funding guidelines. Successful projects will receive semiannual or annual disbursements contingent upon meeting reporting requirements (see Section VIII).
Key budget considerations are noted below, and additional budgetary guidelines can be found on FFAR’s website. Applicants are encouraged to contact FFAR’s Grants Team to discuss any concerns.
Match is optional but accepted for this RFA. If matching funds are included in your project, it must meet FFAR’s guidelines. Matching funds must come from a non-U.S. Federal Government entity.
Matching funds cannot supplement or supplant preexisting funds for projects initiated before or during 2024. Matching funds must correspond to project costs in the budget justification.
Pre-Application Components
Full Application Components
Failure to provide these attachments will result in the application’s disqualification.
All proposals must be submitted by the deadline date through FFAR’s online application Grant Management System. Applications submitted outside of this System will not be considered. To start a new Efficient Fertilizer Consortium application, please click here. If you are a new user, register for an account by clicking “Create Account” button located under the email address field on the left side of the home page.
Once you log in, you may begin working on your application. Please be sure to save your work often by clicking on “Save and Finish Later.” To access a saved application, please do so through your Grant Management Account.
Only pre-applications and invited full proposals submitted by the deadline through FFAR’s Grant Management System will be accepted and considered eligible for evaluation. To be fair to all our applicants, FFAR will not grant extensions to applicants who missed the deadlines posted in the Key Dates section.
All applications will be screened for relevance, accuracy, completeness and compliance with EFC guidelines stated in this RFA. Pre-applications must demonstrate the potential to meet the evaluation criteria. Full applications then will be evaluated on the following criteria:
Pre-Application Review: Submitted pre-applications undergo an internal review by the EFC Executive Committee to assess if the project is relevant to the RFA and that the application demonstrates the potential to meet the evaluation criteria. Those applications deemed to have significant potential for advancing the EFC’s objective will be invited by the EFC Executive Committee to submit a full application. Applicants must submit a pre-application to be eligible to submit a full application.
Full Application Review: Full applications undergo a peer-review process. First, each submission is assigned to an external technical review by at least three subject experts. In the second stage, the EFC Executive Committee will provide funding recommendations based on the external peer reviews and a comparative evaluation of how well submissions meet the EFC’s objectives. The EFC Executive Committee will then review positive funding recommendations and make final selection decisions.
All external reviewers must agree and adhere to the terms outlined in FFAR’s Conflict of Interest Policy and Non-Disclosure Agreement. The EFC Executive Committee makes reasonable efforts to ensure that applications are not assigned to reviewers with a real or apparent conflict with the applicant, institution, or project personnel. Reviewers with a conflict of interest are recused from evaluating or participating in related discussions. Each stage of the review is conducted confidentially, and as such, the EFC Executive Committee is responsible for protecting the confidentiality of the contents of the applications.
Selection Notice: Following the full application review process, the Principal Investigator and the Authorized Organization Representative listed on the project will be officially notified by email of the status of the application. If an application is selected for funding, the EFC reserves the right to request additional or clarifying information for any reason deemed necessary. Potential grantees are free to accept or reject the Grant Agreement as offered.
Intent to Fund Notification: The EFC (through FFAR) notifies applicants of their application status by email. The notice does not constitute an award or obligate funding from the EFC until there is a fully executed Grant Agreement.
Requirement to Demonstrate Matching Funds: Matching funds are optional but accepted for this funding opportunity. If the applicant provides matching funds, the applicant agrees to identify and certify matching funds annually before disbursement of award funds. The match share is intended to supplement, not supplant existing funding for the Principal Investigator. The applicant will abide by FFAR’s Matching Funds Guidelines to meet FFAR’s matching requirements. To constitute a valid match, all matching funds on a FFAR grant must be expended during the grant period.
Semi -Annual Reporting Requirements: After the EFC confers a grant, the grantee must provide semi- annual update presentations to the EFC Executive Committee, as well as scientific and financial progress reports. The semi-annual reports should include activities performed under the grant, highlighting project accomplishments, and an account of all expenditures to date.
Final Report Requirements: Within 90 days of completing the project, the grantee shall provide a final project report. This report should address the project objectives outlined in the original grant application, describe any modifications to the project objectives and scope, describe the final project accomplishments, and include a final project accounting of all grant funds.
Scientific Integrity: The EFC strives to advance knowledge and the application of science to address challenges related to sustainable agriculture. The EFC’s ability to pursue its objective depends on the integrity of the funded science projects. All EFC grants must be conducted with the highest standards of scientific integrity.
For questions related to the online submission system, please contact FFAR’s Grants Management team at grants@foundationfar.org.
For questions related to the Efficient Fertilizer Consortium, please contact Dr. Sarah Lyons, Scientific Project Manager, at slyons@foundationfar.org.
FFAR strives to respond to inquiries within two business days, but our response time depends on the volume of questions received and the complexity of the questions asked. Please note that we do not monitor mailboxes on evenings, weekends, or federal holidays.
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