[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 47 (Tuesday, March 11, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11266-11268]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-5915]


      

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Part III





Department of Agriculture





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Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service



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Food and Agricultural Sciences National Needs Graduate Fellowship 
Grants Program; Notice

  Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 47 / Tuesday, March 11, 1997 / 
Notices  

[[Page 11266]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service


Food and Agricultural Sciences National Needs Graduate Fellowship 
Grants Program

AGENCY: Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, 
USDA.

ACTION: Notice of application.

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SUMMARY: The Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension 
Service (CSREES) is announcing the Food and Agricultural Sciences 
National Needs Graduate Fellowship Grants Program Solicitation of 
Proposals for Fiscal Years (FY) 1997 and 1998 and 1997 Supplemental 
Grants for Special International Study or Thesis/Dissertation Research 
Travel Allowances. Applications are invited for competitive grant 
awards to colleges and universities for doctoral fellowships to meet 
national needs for the development of professional and scientific 
expertise in the food and agricultural sciences for FYs 1997 and 1998. 
Additionally, CSREES seeks applications from recipients of presently 
active national needs fellowship grants for supplemental grants to 
support special international study or thesis/dissertation research 
experiences for current Fellows.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jeffrey L. Gilmore, USDA/Higher Education Programs, 202-720-1973, 
[email protected]

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Food and Agricultural Sciences National Needs Graduate 
Fellowship Grants

Authority

    The authority for this program is contained in Section 1417(b)(6) 
of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy 
Act of 1977, as amended (7 U.S.C. 3152(b)(6)). Under this program, 
subject to the availability of funds, the Secretary may make 
competitive grants, for periods not to exceed five years, to land-grant 
colleges and universities, colleges and universities having significant 
minority enrollments and a demonstrable capacity to carry out the 
teaching of food and agricultural sciences, and to other colleges and 
universities having a demonstrable capacity to carry out the teaching 
of food and agricultural sciences, to administer and conduct graduate 
fellowship programs to help meet the Nation's needs for development of 
scientific and professional expertise in the food and agricultural 
sciences.

Targeted Areas

    Food and agricultural sciences areas appropriate for fellowship 
applications are those in which shortages of expertise have been 
determined and targeted by CSREES for national needs graduate 
fellowship support. Beginning with FY 1997, CSREES will support six 
national needs areas on a biennial basis and combine appropriations 
from two fiscal years into one competition to be held during odd-
numbered years. The targeted national needs areas to be supported for 
the combined FY 1997/98 competition are: Biotechnology--Animal; 
Biotechnology--Plant; Engineering--Food, Forest Product, or 
Agricultural; Human Nutrition and/or Food Science; Marketing or 
Management--Food, Forest Products, or Agribusiness; and Water Science. 
In FY 1997/98, only the doctoral level of study will be supported.

Proposal Limitations

    For the FY 1997/98 program, a proposal may request funding in only 
one national needs area. A proposal may request a minimum of two 
fellowships and a maximum of four fellowships in the national needs 
area for which funding is requested. No limitation is placed on the 
number of proposals an institution may submit. However, the same 
college or equivalent administrative unit within an institution may 
only submit a maximum of six proposals, and no more that one proposal 
may be submitted in any one national needs area by the same college or 
equivalent administrative unit within an institution. While proposals 
must document institution willingness to recruit and train at least 
two, but not more than four, fellows in a national needs area, CSREES 
may fund fewer fellows than requested in a proposal.

Available Funding

    CSREES anticipates that approximately $5,800,000 will be available 
for fellowship grants for the FY 1997/98 combined competition, 
including $2.9 million from FY 1997 appropriations and $2.9 million in 
anticipated FY 1998 appropriations. Contingent on the availability of 
these funds, approximately $970,000 will be allocated to each of the 
six national needs areas. This program is highly competitive, and it is 
anticipated that available funding will support approximately 108 
doctoral fellows through approximately nine grants in each of the six 
targeted areas. No-year funds drawn from expired fellowship grants with 
unspent funds remaining may be used to fund additional fellows. Please 
note that Congress has not yet enacted a Fiscal Year 1998 
appropriations bill for the Department. Therefore, the $5.8 million 
cited for FY 1997/98 grants is only tentative and USDA is not bound by 
this estimate. If Congress appropriates other than the anticipated 
amount, these combined appropriated FYs 1997 and 1998 funds will be 
allocated equally among all six national needs areas.
    Each institution funded will receive $54,000 for each doctoral 
fellowship awarded. However, it is anticipated that total program funds 
available will not be evenly divisible by $54,000. Therefore, one 
fellowship may be supported on a partial basis with a lesser amount of 
funds, or one fellowship may be supported fully by a combination of FY 
1997/98 funds and unspent funds remaining from expired fellowship 
grants. Except in the case of a partially funded fellowship, fellowship 
monies must be used to: (1) support the same doctoral fellow for three 
years at $17,000 per year; and (2) provide for an institution annual 
cost-of-education allowance of $1,000, not to exceed a total of $3,000 
over the duration of the grant. Total funds awarded to an institution 
under the program in FY 1997/98 shall not exceed $648,000.

Application Information

    An application package is available that provides the forms, 
instructions, and other relevant information needed by institutions to 
apply to the Food and Agricultural Sciences National Needs Graduate 
Fellowship Grants Program described herein. Copies of the application 
package may be requested from the Proposal Services Unit; Grants 
Management Branch; Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension 
Service; U.S. Department of Agriculture; STOP 2245; Washington, D.C. 
20250-2245. The telephone number is 202-401-5048. These materials may 
also be requested via Internet by sending a message with your name, 
mailing address (not e-mail) and phone number to [email protected] which 
states that you want a copy of the application materials for the Fiscal 
Year 1997/98 Food and Agricultural Sciences National Needs Graduate 
Fellowship Grants Program. The materials will then be mailed to you 
(not e-mailed) as quickly as possible.
    The proposal narrative must be typed on one side of the page only, 
using a font no smaller than 12 point, and double-spaced. All margins 
must be at least one inch. The proposal should be

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paginated and a Table of Contents should be included preceding the 
proposal narrative. Applicants are cautioned to comply with the 20-page 
limitation for the narrative section of the proposal. Applicants also 
are cautioned to include summary faculty vitae through the use of Form 
CSREES-708.

When and Where to Submit Proposals

    An original plus six copies of a proposal and one copy of the 
institution's latest graduate catalog must be submitted. All proposals 
must be received by 3:30 p.m. eastern time May 15, 1997. Proposals 
submitted through the U.S. mail should be sent to the following 
address: Proposal Services Unit; Grants Management Branch; Cooperative 
State Research, Education, and Extension Service; U.S. Department of 
Agriculture; STOP 2245; Washington, DC 20250-2245. Hand-delivered 
proposals, including those submitted through an express mail or a 
courier service, should be sent to the following address: Proposal 
Services Unit; Grants Management Branch; Cooperative State Research, 
Education, and Extension Service; U.S. Department of Agriculture; Room 
303, Aerospace Center; 901 D Street, SW.; Washington, DC 20024. 
Proposals transmitted via a facsimile (FAX) machine will not be 
accepted.
    Submission of an Intent to Submit a Proposal form (Form CSREES-706) 
is neither required nor requested for the FY 1997/98 competition.

II. 1997 Special International Study or Thesis/Dissertation Research 
Travel Allowances

Authority

    Under the authority contained in Section 1417(b)(6) of the National 
Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977, as 
amended (7 U.S.C. 3152(b)(6)), and in accordance with the 
Administrative Provisions for the Food and Agricultural Sciences 
National Needs Graduate Fellowship Grants Program (7 CFR part 
3402.5(e)), CSREES will award supplement grants, on a competitive 
basis, for special international study or thesis/dissertation research 
travel allowances. Institutions eligible to receive supplemental grants 
are those that have active National Needs Graduate Fellowship Grants 
(awarded in FY 1996 or earlier). Please note that CSREES will solicit 
proposals for special international study or thesis/dissertation 
research travel allowances again in 1998.

Eligibility

    Eligibility for this opportunity is limited to any current Fellow 
with sufficient time to complete the international experience before 
the termination date of the fellowship grant under which he/she is 
supported. Before the international study or thesis/dissertation 
research travel may commence, a Fellow must have completed one academic 
year of full-time study, as defined by the institution, under the 
fellowship appointment and arrangements must have been formalized for 
the Fellow to study and/or conduct research in the foreign location(s). 
All national needs areas previously supported under the Food and 
Agricultural Sciences National Needs Graduate Fellowships Grants 
Program are eligible for the supplementary grants for special 
international study or thesis/dissertation research travel allowances.

Available Funding

    CSREES has determined that no FY 1997 appropriations will be 
targeted to supplemental grants supporting special international study 
or thesis/dissertation research travel allowances; rather, no-year 
funds drawn from expired fellowship grants with unspent funds remaining 
will be used to support such supplemental grants. Estimated funds for 
supplemental grants in FY 1997 are approximately $60,000.
    For each travel allowance, the institution may request up to 
$3,000. Travel allowance monies may be used only to pay travel and 
living expenses for the Fellow while the Fellow is on the specific 
international assignment as proposed in the application for the special 
international study or thesis/dissertation research travel allowances. 
No limitation is placed on the number of applications an institution 
may submit. Awards will be made to the extent possible based on 
availability of funds. To the extent possible, all applications 
associated with one CSREES grant number should be submitted at the same 
time in order to facilitate the award of these supplemental grants and 
minimize accounting activity at the grantee institution.

Application Information

    A separate application must be submitted by a fellowship grant 
project director at an eligible institution on behalf of each Fellow 
for which a special international study or thesis/dissertation research 
travel allowance is requested. Applications for the special 
international study or thesis/dissertation research travel allowance 
supplemental awards may be submitted at any time prior to 3:30 p.m. 
eastern time on October 15, 1997. However, to allow time for CSREES to 
process the applications, proposals should be submitted at least three 
months prior to the proposed beginning date of the international travel 
experience. Applicants are urged to submit their proposals early.

    (Note: Proposals for these special supplemental awards should 
not be submitted as part of the application for a FY 1997/98 
Graduate Fellowship grant.)

    Each application must include an ``Application for Funding,'' Form 
CSREES-661, and a ``Budget,'' Form CSREES-55. To provide the office of 
Higher Education Programs (HEP) with sufficient information upon which 
to evaluate the merits of the requests for a special international 
study or thesis/dissertation research travel allowance, each 
application for a supplemental grant must contain a narrative which 
provides the following: (1) the specific destination(s) and duration of 
the travel; (2) the specific study or thesis/dissertation research 
activities in which the Fellow will be engaged; (3) how the 
international experience will contribute to the Fellow's program of 
study; (4) a budget narrative specifying and justifying the dollar 
amount requested for the travel; (5) summary credentials of both the 
U.S. and international faculty or other professionals with whom the 
Fellow will be working during the international experience (summary 
credentials must not exceed three pages per person; ``Summary Vita--
Teaching Proposal,'' Form CSREES-708, may be used for this purpose); 
(6) a letter from the dean of the Fellow's college or equivalent 
administrative unit supporting the Fellow's travel request and 
certifying that the travel experience will not jeopardize the Fellow's 
satisfactory progress toward degree completion; and (7) a letter from 
the fellowship grant project director certifying the Fellow's 
eligibility, the accuracy of the Fellow's travel request, and the 
relevance of the travel to the Fellow's advanced degree objectives.
    The narrative portion of the application must not exceed 10 pages, 
excluding the summary vita/vitae. The narrative should be typed on one 
side of the page only, using a font no smaller than 12 point, and 
double-spaced. All margins must be at least one inch.
    An application package containing the forms, instructions, and 
other relevant information needed by institutions to apply for the 
special

[[Page 11268]]

international study or thesis/dissertation research travel allowances 
may be requested from the Proposal Services Unit; Grants Management 
Branch; Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service; 
U.S. Department of Agriculture; STOP 2245; Washington, D.C. 20250-2245. 
The telephone number is 202-401-5048. These materials may also be 
requested via Internet by sending a message with your name, mailing 
address (not e-mail) and phone number to [email protected] which states 
that you want a copy of the application materials for the Fiscal Year 
1997/98 Food and Agricultural Sciences National Needs Graduate 
Fellowship Grants Program. The materials will then be mailed to you 
(not e-mailed) as quickly as possible.

Evaluation of Applications

    Applications for the special international travel allowances will 
be evaluated as they are received until available funds for the 
supplemental grants are exhausted. Upon receipt of an application, 
CSREES staff will first determine the eligibility of the Fellow for 
whom the application was submitted for an international travel 
experience. Eligible and complete requests then will be reviewed, using 
the criteria and weights indicated below, by professional staff from 
USDA or other Federal agencies, as appropriate. Proposals judged to be 
worthy of funding will be eligible for supplemental awards. Since 
awards for supplemental grants will be made as reviews are completed, 
there is no assurance funds will be available late in the application 
period for every acceptable proposal.
    The evaluation criteria for special international study or thesis/
dissertation research travel allowance applications are indicated 
below. The points are provided as a guide to the relative importance of 
each criterion, but all criteria must be addressed satisfactorily.
    a. Destination and duration--the degree to which the destination 
and duration of the travel experience is appropriate for enhancing the 
Fellow's academic program--10 points.
    b. Travel experience activities--the degree to which the specific 
international experiences contribute to the Fellow's program of study--
30 points.
    c. Advance preparations--the degree to which the proposed study or 
research activities are well-planned, including the likelihood that 
these activities will come to fruition and that the participation of 
identified personnel will materialize--20 points.
    d. Budget--the degree to which the budget for the international 
experience is justified--10 points.
    e. Personnel--the degree to which the personnel, both U.S. and 
international, involved with the travel experience have the appropriate 
credentials and experience to direct the Fellow's international 
experience, and the likelihood that their participation as mentors, 
trainers, advisors, or teachers will contribute to the educational 
value of the travel experiences--20 points.
    f. Supporting documentation--the degree to which letters from the 
dean of the college (or equivalent administrative unit) and the 
fellowship grant project director support the application--10 points.

When and where to Submit Applications

    An original plus six copies of each application must be submitted. 
Each copy of the application should be stapled securely in the upper 
left-hand corner. Please do not bind the original or the copies of the 
application. All copies of the application must be mailed in one 
package. Applications transmitted via a facsimile (FAX) machine will 
not be accepted. Applications submitted through the U.S. mail should be 
sent to the following address: Proposal Services Unit; Grants 
Management Branch; Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension 
Service; U.S. Department of Agriculture; STOP 2245; Washington, D.C. 
20250-2245. hand-delivered proposals, including those submitted through 
an express mail or a courier service, should be brought to the 
following address: Proposal Services Unit; Grants Management Branch; 
Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service; U.S. 
Department of Agriculture; Room 303, Aerospace Center; 901 D Street, 
S.W.; Washington, D.C. 20024. The telephone number is 202-401-5048. 
Applications may be submitted at any time prior to 3:30 p.m. eastern 
time on October 15, 1997.

III. Applicable Regulations

    This program is subject to the administrative provisions found at 
CFR part 3402 (59 FR 68072, December 30, 1994) which set forth 
procedures to be followed when submitting grant proposals, rules 
governing the evaluation of proposals, the awarding of grants, and 
post-award administration of such grants.
    In addition, the USDA Uniform Administrative Requirements for 
Grants and Agreements With Institutions of Higher Education, Hospitals, 
and Other Nonprofit Organizations, 7 CFR part 3019 (60 FR 44122 (August 
24, 1995)), to this program. Other Federal statutes and regulations 
that apply to this program are identified in the administrative 
provisions.

IV. Supplementary Information

    This program is listed in the Catalog of Federal Domestic 
Assistance under No. 10.210. For the reasons set forth in the Final 
Rule-related notice to 7 CFF part 3015, subpart V, 48 FR 29115, June 
24,1983, when the authority to administer this program resided in the 
Agricultural Research Service, this program is excluded from the scope 
of Executive Order 12372 which requires intergovernmental consultation 
with State and local officials.
    Under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980 (44 
U.S.C. Chapter 35), the collection of information requirements for this 
program have been approved under OMB Document No. 0524-0022 and 0524-
0024.

V. Program Contact

    If you have questions concerning the submission of Food and 
Agricultural Sciences National Needs Graduate Fellowship Grants Program 
proposals, please contact Dr. Jeffrey Gilmore, Higher Education 
Programs, Science and Education Resources Development, CSREES, USDA, at 
202-720-1973 (voice), 202-720-2030 (fax), or [email protected] 
(Internet),

    Done at Washington, D.C., this 4th day of March, 1997.
B.H. Robinson,
Administrator, Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension 
Service.
[FR Doc. 97-5915 Filed 3-10-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3416-22-M