New Innovator in Food & Agriculture Research Award

I. Eligible Institutions

• U.S. Institutions of Higher Education
  • Public/State-controlled institutions
  • Private institutions
• U.S. Nonprofit Research Institutions
• U.S. Department of Agriculture

In keeping with FFAR goals to reach a diverse and broad range of institutions and individuals who participate in its programs, the following types of higher education institutions are highly encouraged to apply for FFAR programs:

• Hispanic-serving Institutions
• 1890s Land-Grant Institutions and other Historically Black Colleges and Universities
• Tribal Colleges and Universities
• Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions
• Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions

Institutions may submit one nominee to the 2024 New Innovator Award program.

II. Eligible Individuals

Faculty members at eligible institutions with the creative ideas, skills, knowledge and resources necessary to carry out the proposed research program as principal investigator are invited to work with their institution to develop an application for support.

• The nominated faculty member must have been hired on or after August 1, 2020 for a tenure-track or equivalent position and may work in any discipline or any department within the institution.
• Preference will be given to individuals near the onset of their independent research career and who are within eight (8) years of receiving a Ph.D. or equivalent degree.
• Individuals with significant research experience prior to obtaining their faculty position will not be considered for this award. For the purpose of this funding opportunity, significant research experience is defined as a nominee that has been awarded a substantial research grant (three to five years of support) or has received project funding totaling over $1M within the time of their tenure position or has been awarded similar career development awards with similar budgetary scopes.
• This research concept must directly benefit U.S. agricultural interests.

FFAR recognizes that agriculture and food sciences are highly complex, requiring individuals from a variety of disciplines to realize the potential in each field or research area. Particularly for early-stage investigators, collaborators are often essential for success. While this award is made to an outstanding early career investigator, applicants should include information regarding any essential collaborators and include letters of support from those collaborators. In these letters, the collaborators should comment on the potential of the individual to achieve success.

• Anticipated Award Duration: Up to 36 months
• Amount per Award: Up to $150,000/year for up to three years (36 months). Matching funds are optional from the applicant, as that requirement is being met by FFAR. However, additional matching is always encouraged to broaden the scope of the program, and, if available, should be reflected in the budget. Lack of matching funds will not influence the review of the application.
  • Indirect costs are limited to 10% of the total award, including subcontracts, if applicable. Unrecovered indirect cost is not permitted. Construction and renovation costs are not allowed. Salaries of principal investigators are allowed for time not covered by institutional or other grant funds. Effort should be commensurate with the research proposed.
• Anticipated Number of Awards: Up to ten (10) awards. The actual number of awards will depend on the quality and budgets of successful proposals. FFAR reserves the right to negotiate all or none of the applications received for funding consideration under this opportunity.
• Anticipated Award Date: Winter 2024

Application Components

Nomination Application

• Nomination letter on institution letterhead, signed by Authorized Organizational Representative. The Nomination letter must be submitted by the nominee through FFAR’s Grants Portal. The letter should include the general information and justification outlined below.
  • General Information
    • Nominee’s Name
    • Nominee’s date of appointment to tenure-track or equivalent position (must be on or after August 1, 2020)
    • Nominee Contact Information
    • Nominator Contact Information
    • FFAR Research Priority Area to which the nominee’s proposed program of research aligns
    • Program Title
    • Geographic location where the proposed research will take place
  • Justification for the nomination must address all points below:
    • Explain how this individual is outstanding in their field (300-word limit)
    • Explain how this individual was selected for the nomination among, what is likely, many meritorious individuals (300-word limit)
    • Why should this nominee receive the FFAR New Innovator Award? (300-word limit)
    • How would the institution benefit from this nominee receiving the New Innovator Award? (300-word limit)
    • Explain how the institution is supporting and will continue to support the nominee. (300-word limit)
• General Information and Proposal Information to be completed on FFAR’s online application Grant Management System:
  • Organization Information
  • Nominator Contact Information
  • Nominee’s Name
  • Nominee’s date of appointment to tenure-track or equivalent position (must be on or after August 1, 2020)
  • Nominee Contact Information
  • Key Personnel
  • Program Title
  • Geographic location where the proposed research will be conducted
  • FFAR Research Priority Area to which the nominee’s proposed program of research aligns
  • Key topics or areas of research to be covered in the nominee’s program (50-word limit)
  • Nominee’s research program overview (400-word limit)
  • Preliminary budget and optional match information

Full Proposal

Required

• Organization Information
• Nominee Contact Information
• Key Personnel
• Program Title
• FFAR Research Priority Area
• Key topics or areas of research to be covered in the nominee’s program (50-word limit)
• Program Duration
• Public Abstract (500-word limit)
• Stakeholder groups to be served by this program (500-word limit)
• Research Program Description (2,000-word limit) – The description of the scientific plan should be written at a level appropriate for reviewers who are broadly knowledgeable but may not be directly involved in the proposed area of research. The application should focus on the overarching goals of the research program and address the Review Criteria. It is not necessary to provide the proposed research as a series of specific aims. Do not provide a detailed experimental plan. Preliminary data are allowed but not required. This section should include the following:
  • Program description: Describe the scientific challenge or opportunity that you propose to address, its importance, and how anticipated outreach and outcomes would have a major impact on a broad area of research relevant to the FFAR Research Priority Area and how it will impact U.S. Agriculture. Provide the scientific context by summarizing the current landscape of the field and how your research, if successful, would extend substantially beyond current boundaries. Describe the overall approach to be taken. A detailed experimental plan and extensive preliminary data are not required, but the applicant will need to clearly provide a description of the program being proposed. Applicants must also address how the research will be performed in a robust and rigorous manner, including addressing risks and challenges. If not providing a detailed experimental plan or extensive preliminary data, state prominently that this is done in compliance with the RFA. (1,000-word limit)
  • Innovation and Feasibility: State clearly and concisely what makes your project exceptionally innovative in the context of the current state-of-the-art of the field. Describe how this research has not been done elsewhere or how it accelerates a current research challenge or addresses it in a new or innovative manner. Since the approaches may be highly innovative, and hence risky, what will you do if these approaches are not successful? (500-word limit)
  • Investigator qualifications: Provide evidence to support your claim of innovativeness and creativity in your prior research. For example, what personal qualities and experiences demonstrate your inclination to question paradigms and work with intellectual uncertainties, develop unique collaborations, integrate diverse sources of information, or develop novel approaches when new challenges or opportunities arise? (500-word limit)
• Suitability for the New Innovator Award program: Why is the planned program fundamental to building your research career? (500-word limit)
• Data Management and Dissemination Plan (500-word limit)
• Facilities, Equipment and other Resources (500-word limit)
• Proposed Budget
• Budget Justification
• Optional Match Information
• Organizational Assurances for any type of research involving:
  • Human subjects
  • Vertebrate animals
  • Recombinant DNA
  • National Security implications
  • Hazardous materials
  • Human fetal tissue
  • NEPA review

1. Attachments
   • Required Attachments
     • Budget Form
     • Current and Pending Support
     • References Cited
     • PI and Key Personnel Biosketch: Five-page limit per individual listed as PI or key personnel in the program (see Biosketch Guidelines).
   • Optional attachments to support Research Program description – this section should not be used to circumvent the page limit for the Research Program Description Section.
     • Matching Funds Contribution Letters
     • Additional Key Personnel
     • Graphics, Figures, Equations and Tables – The textbox for the Research Program Description does not support equations, tables, graphics, and figures. Applicants may upload a PDF document with graphics, figures, tables, or a list of equations to support the research program description (5-page limit).
     • Letters of Support – Applicants may provide letters of institutional, collaborator or stakeholder support for the proposed program. Please combine all letters of support into a single PDF document before uploading as an attachment.

Applications must be submitted by the deadline date through FFAR’s online application Grant Management System. Nominations and applications submitted outside of this System will not be considered.

To start a new 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.

Nominators, please be prepared to write a letter on institutional letterhead with the nominee’s name, department, institution, title, start date of current position, date they received their Ph.D., and justification for the nomination addressing all points provided in the Application Components section.

FFAR will review nominations against eligibility criteria. Only those meeting these criteria will be invited to submit full applications. Email invitations will be sent to those eligible by February 28, 2024.

All Scientific and Grants questions must be emailed to grants@foundationfar.org.

FFAR only accepts scientific, programmatic and grants inquiries by email. We strive to respond to inquiries within two business days, but our response time depends on the volume of questions FFAR receives and the complexity of the questions asked. Please note that we do not monitor this mailbox on evenings, weekends or federal holidays.