[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 164 (Thursday, August 25, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-20992]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: August 25, 1994]


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Part VI





Department of Agriculture





_______________________________________________________________________



Cooperative State Research Service



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National Research Initiative Competitive



Grants Program; Notice
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Cooperative State Research Service

 

National Research Initiative Competitive Grants Program

AGENCY: USDA, Cooperative State Research Service.

ACTION: Solicitation for applications for Fiscal Year 1995 National 
Research Initiative Competitive Grants Program (Competitive Research 
Grants Program).

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    Applications are invited for competitive grant awards in 
agricultural, forest, and related environmental sciences under the 
National Competitive Research Initiative Grants Program (NRICGP) 
administered by the Office of Grants and Program Systems, Cooperative 
State Research Service (CSRS), for fiscal year 1995.

Authority

    The authority for this program is contained in Section 2(b) of the 
Act of August 4, 1965, as amended (7 U.S.C. 450i(b)). Under this 
program, subject to the availability of funds, the Secretary may award 
competitive research grants, for periods not to exceed five years, for 
the support of research projects to further the programs of the 
Department of Agriculture (USDA). Proposals may be submitted by any 
State agricultural experiment station, college, university, other 
research institution or organization, Federal agency, private 
organization, corporation, or individual. Proposals from scientists at 
non-United States organizations will not be considered for support.
    It is expected that Congress, in the Agriculture, Rural 
Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies 
Appropriations Act, 1995, will prohibit CSRS from using the funds 
available for the NRICGP for fiscal year 1995 to pay indirect costs 
exceeding 14 per centum of the total Federal funds provided under each 
award on competitively-awarded research grants.

Applicable Regulations and Statutory Guidance

    Regulations applicable to this program include, but are not limited 
to, the following: (a) the regulations governing the NRICGP, 7 CFR Part 
3200, which set forth procedures to be followed when submitting grant 
proposals, rules governing the evaluation of proposals and the awarding 
of grants, and regulations relating to the post-award administration of 
grant projects; (b) the USDA Uniform Federal Assistance Regulations, 7 
CFR Part 3015; (c) the USDA Uniform Administrative Requirements for 
Grants and Cooperative Agreements to State and Local Governments, 7 CFR 
Part 3016; (d) Section 1402 of the National Agricultural Research, 
Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977, as amended by (7 U.S.C. 
3101), which sets forth purposes that research supported by the NRICGP 
should address; and (e) Section 1404 of the National Agricultural 
Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977, as amended by (7 
U.S.C. 3103), which defines ``sustainable agriculture.''

Project Types

    The project types for which proposals are solicited include:

I. Conventional Projects

    (a) Standard Research Grants: Research will be supported that is 
fundamental or mission-linked, conducted by individual investigators, 
co-investigators within the same discipline, or multidisciplinary 
teams. Any State agricultural experiment station, college, university, 
other research institution or organization, Federal agency, private 
organization, corporation, or individual may apply. Proposals from 
scientists at non-United States organizations will not be considered 
for support.
    (b) Conferences: Scientific meetings that bring together scientists 
to identify research needs, update information, or advance an area of 
research are recognized as integral parts of research efforts. Any 
State agricultural experiment station, college, university, other 
research institution or organization, Federal agency, private 
organization, corporation, or individual is an eligible applicant in 
this area. Proposals from scientists at non-United States organizations 
will not be considered for support.

II. Agricultural Research Enhancement Awards

    In order to contribute to the enhancement of research capabilities 
in the research program areas described herein, applications are 
solicited for Agricultural Research Enhancement Awards. Such 
applications may be submitted by any State agricultural experiment 
station, college, university, other research institution or 
organization, Federal agency, private organization, corporation, or 
individual. Applications from scientists at non-United States 
organizations will not be considered for support. Agricultural Research 
Enhancement Awards are available in the following categories:
    (a) Postdoctoral Fellowships: In accordance with Section 2(b)(3)(D) 
of the 1965 Act, as amended, for individuals who have received their 
doctoral degree after January 1, 1992, and no later than June 15, 1995.
    (b) New Investigator Awards: Pursuant to Section 2(b)(3)(E) of the 
1965 Act, as amended, for investigators or co-investigators who have 
completed graduate or post-doctoral training, and are beginning their 
independent research careers.
    (c) Strengthening Awards: Pursuant to Section 2(b)(3) (D) and (F) 
of the 1965 Act, as amended, proposals are solicited that request funds 
for Research Career Enhancement Awards, Equipment Grants, Seed Grants, 
or Strengthening Standard Research Project Awards.

Funding Categories for Fiscal Year 1995

    CSRS is soliciting proposals, subject to the availability of funds, 
for support of high priority research of importance to agriculture, 
forestry, and related environmental sciences, in the following research 
categories (anticipated FY 1995 funding follows in parentheses):
     Natural Resources and the Environment ($15.288 M)
     Nutrition, Food Quality, and Health ($6.797 M)
     Plant Systems ($33.962 M)
     Animal Systems ($21.238 M)
     Markets, Trade, and Policy ($3.386 M)
     New Products and Processes ($6.359 M)
     Water Quality ($4.311 M)
     Integrated Pest Management ($2.126 M)
     Pesticide Impact Assessment ($1.194 M)
    Support for research areas listed below may be derived from one or 
more of the above funding categories based on the nature of the 
scientific topic to be supported.
    Pursuant to the provisions of Section 2(b)(10) of the Act of August 
4, 1965, as amended by Section 1615 of the FACT Act, no less than 10 
percent (anticipated FY 1995 funding, $9.466 M) of the available funds 
listed above will be made available for Agricultural Research 
Enhancement Awards (excluding New Investigator Awards), and no more 
than 2 percent (anticipated FY 1995 funding, $1.893 M) of the available 
funds listed above will be made available for equipment grants. 
Further, no less than 30 percent (anticipated FY 1995 funding, $28.399 
M) of the funds listed above shall be made available for grants for 
research to be conducted by multidisciplinary teams, and no less than 
20 percent (anticipated FY 1995 funding, $18.933 M) of the funds listed 
above shall be made available for grants for mission-linked research.
    The funds appropriated as listed above will be used to support 
research grants in the following areas:

Natural Resources and the Environment

Plant Responses to the Environment
Forest/Range/Crop/Aquatic Ecosystems
Soils and Soil Biology
Water Resources Assessment and Protection

Nutrition, Food Safety, and Health

Improving Human Nutrition for Optimal Health
Ensuring Food Safety

Animals

Enhancing Animal Reproductive Efficiency
Improving Animal Growth and Development
Indentifying Animal Genetic Mechanisms and Gene Mapping
Sustaining Animal Health and Well-Being

Pest Biology, Biological Control, and Integrated Pest Management

Plant Pathology
Entomology
Nematology
Weed Science
Biological Control Research
Assessing Pest Control Strategies

Plants

Genomes, Genetics, and Diversity
    Plant Genome
    Plant Genetic Mechanisms
Plant Growth and Development
Energy and Metabolism
    Photosynthesis and Respiration
    Nitrogen Fixation/Nitrogen Metabolism

Markets, Trade, and Rural Development

Markets and Trade
Rural Development

Enhancing Value and Use of Agricultural and Forest Products

Value-Added Products Research
    Food Characterization/Process/Product Research
    Non-Food Characterization/Process/Product Research
Biofuels Research
Improved Utilization of Wood and Wood Fiber

Agricultural Systems

    The solicitation, which contains research topic descriptions, and 
the NRICGP Application Kit, which contains detailed instructions on how 
to apply and the requisite forms, may be obtained by writing or calling 
the office indicated below. Please note that applicants who submitted 
NRICGP proposals for fiscal year 1994 or who have recently requested 
placement on the list for fiscal year 1995 will automatically receive a 
copy of the fiscal year 1995 solicitation and any supplements.

Proposal Services Branch, Awards Management Division, Cooperative State 
Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Ag Box 2245, 
Washington, DC 20250-2245, telephone: (202) 401-5048.

    Requests for solicitations and application materials may also now 
be made via Internet by sending a message with your name, complete 
mailing address, phone number, and materials that you are requesting to 
[email protected]. Materials will be mailed as quickly as possible.

Materials Available on Internet Gopher

    The following materials are available on the USDA Extension Service 
Internet Gopher (courtesy of the USDA Extension Service). To reach 
these items using a gopher, starting with ``Gopher Servers in the 
USA,'' make the following selections:

``Washington, DC''
``Extension Service USDA Information''
``USDA and Other Federal Agency * * *''
NRICGP Program Description (``CSRS-NRI Program Description'')
    This document is available for the current fiscal year, and 
describes all of the NRICGP funding programs. To apply for a grant, it 
is also necessary to obtain the NRICGP Application Kit as described 
above (not available electronically).
NRICGP Abstracts of Funded Research (``CSRS-NRI Funded Research * * * 
Searchable'')
    The abstracts available on this searchable database are 
nontechnical abstracts written by the principal investigator of each 
individual grant, starting with Fiscal Year 1993. Each entry also 
includes the title, principal investigators, awardee institution, 
dollar amount, and proposal number for each grant. The first two digits 
of the proposal number indicate the fiscal year in which the proposal 
was submitted.
NRICGP Annual Reports (``CSRS-NRI Annual Reports'')
    The NRICGP Annual Reports starting with Fiscal Year 1993 are 
available. These reports include descriptions of the program concept, 
the authorization, policy, inputs to establish research needs, program 
execution, and outcomes, including relevant statistics. Also included 
are examples of recent research funded by the NRICGP.
The Extension Service USDA Gopher is on port 70 of zeus.esusda.gov.

    To be considered for funding during FY 1995, proposals must be 
shipped by the following dates (as indicated by postmark or date on 
courier bill of lading):

------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Postmarked dates              Program areas        Contacts (202) 
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nov. 14, 1994...............  Improving Human                   205-0250
                               Nutrition for Optimal                    
                               Health.                                  
                              Plant Genome............          401-1901
                              Plant Genetic Mechanisms          401-5042
Nov. 21, 1994...............  Plant Responses to the            401-4871
                               Environment.                             
Dec. 5, 1994................  Plant Pathology.........          401-4310
                              Photosynthesis and                401-6030
                               Respiration.                             
Dec. 12, 1994...............  Soils and Soil Biology..          401-4082
Dec. 19, 1994...............  Water Resources                   401-4504
                               Assessment and                           
                               Protection.                              
                              Biological Control                401-5114
                               Research.                                
Jan. 9, 1995................  Entomology..............          401-5114
                              Nematology..............          401-5114
                              Weed Science............          401-4310
                              Sustaining Animal Health          401-6303
                               and Well-Being.                          
Jan. 17, 1995...............  Food Characterization/            401-1952
                               Process/Product                          
                               Research.                                
                              Non-Food                          401-1952
                               Characterization/Proces                  
                               s/Product Research.                      
                              Biofuels Research.......          401-1952
                              Enhancing Animal                  401-6234
                               Reproductive Efficiency.                 
Jan. 23, 1995...............  Forest/Range/Crop/Aquati          401-4082
                               c Ecosystems.                            
                              Plant Growth and                  401-5042
                               Development.                             
Jan. 30, 1995...............  Ensuring Food Safety....          401-4399
                              Assessing Pest Control            401-5114
                               Strategies.                              
                              Agricultural Systems....          401-1901
                                                                401-6303
Feb. 6, 1995................  Nitrogen Fixation/                401-6030
                               Nitrogen Metabolism.                     
                              Markets and Trade.......          401-4772
                              Rural Development.......          401-4425
Feb. 13, 1995...............  Improved Utilization of           401-4871
                               Wood and Wood Fiber.                     
Feb. 21, 1995...............  Improving Animal Growth           205-0250
                               and Development.                         
                              Identifying Animal                401-4399
                               Genetic Mechanisms and                   
                               Gene Mapping.                            
Feb. 27, 1995...............  Research Career                   401-6234
                               Enhancement Awards.                      
                              Equipment Grants........          401-6234
                              Seed Grants.............          401-6234
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Done at Washington, DC, this 22 day of August 1994.
William D. Carlson,
Associate Administrator, Cooperative State Research Service.
[FR Doc. 94-20992 Filed 8-24-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-22-M