University of Wyoming

College of Agriculture

Agricultural Experiment Station

Competitive Grants Program

Request for Proposals

FY 2005

 

 

The mission of the College of Agriculture is to serve the educational and information needs of students, Wyoming citizens, and the global scientific community. This mission is carried out through the college’s tripartite functions: higher education (instruction), discovery of knowledge (research), and dissemination of knowledge (outreach). The college’s research and outreach programs are issue-oriented and focus on agricultural sustainability and profitability, natural resource management, and family and community resources.

 

The Wyoming Agricultural Experiment Station (AES) requests multi-departmental research and outreach proposals that address strategic issues facing Wyoming. The purpose of the AES Competitive Grants Program is to encourage research and outreach that discovers and disseminates knowledge that assists in achieving the long-term priorities listed below. Proposals should indicate which of the college’s three focus areas are addressed by the proposed project and how the results will assist in meeting these priorities:

 

$        Economic viability of farm/ranch operations, rural communities, and families while maintaining the natural resource base. This priority specifically includes marketing and resource management strategies for coping with change and stress associated with drought, development of novel crop and livestock products, and diversification through alternative enterprises.

$        Sustainability of natural resource systems with respect to sustainable economic use and long-term health of the system.

$        Implications of local, state, and federal regulations and policies on agriculture, natural resources, communities, and families.

$        Enhance nutrition, health, and food safety.

$        Improve animal nutrition, health, and diagnosis of animal and wildlife diseases.

 

Research and outreach proposals must clearly state the strategic issue being studied and which of the priorities are being addressed. Special consideration will be given to projects that are multi-departmental in effort and involvement of faculty from at least two colleges is encouraged. Proposals that include studies conducted at the Research and Extension Centers and have principal investigators who are untenured faculty will be given preference, but not to the exclusion of high quality research. This program is intended to enhance the competitiveness of AES research by providing seed grant funds to establish the validity of novel exploratory ideas as a basis for further funding. It is not intended to supplement funding of well-established projects. Principal investigators of funded projects are expected to seek external funding during the period of funding by the AES. Principal investigators who have been previously funded by AES must provide information on external funding received to continue the initial research supported by the AES.

Submitting a Proposal

 

The body of the proposal is to follow the specified format with one-inch margins and single spacing. Failure to follow the format and guidelines is grounds for rejection. Proofread your proposal carefully. Submit one original copy of the proposal as well as an electronic version, by 5:00 p.m., Friday, September 17, 2004.

 

For those investigators proposing research that may lead to patentable inventions please note the following instruction:  Each page of the proposal that contains potentially proprietary information should have the following header placed in BOLD and ALL CAPITAL LETTERS:

 

“THIS PAGE CONTAINS UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING CONFIDENTIAL/PROPRIETARY INFORMATION.”

 

In addition, it is the author’s responsibility to inform AES that the proposal may contain potentially confidential and proprietary information in the letter transmitting the grant application to the UW AES office.

 

Funding for this program is largely from federal funds, which require dollar for dollar matching funds from non-federal sources (use of salary funds for the match is preferred). Federal law does not permit these funds to be used for tuition, and tuition expenditures cannot be used as a match. All projects awarded funding must be approved at the federal level through the normal Experiment Station process. Annual reports and a termination presentation and report will be required for each approved project. Direct questions and submit proposals to:

           

Jim Jacobs, Director

Wyoming Agricultural Experiment Station

Ag C 151

Campus

postal address from off campus:       

Wyoming Agricultural Experiment Station

1000 E University Ave,
Dept 3354                                          

Laramie WY 82071-3354       

                                                                                                                                   

aes@uwyo.edu           
phone:  307.766.3667            
fax: 307.766.3379

Format for Competitive Grant Proposals

 

Title, Leadership, Duration, and Location of Study (1 page): Provide a clear, concise, and descriptive title, a list of principal investigators and departments, time required to complete the study, and where the research will be conducted.

 

Project Abstract, Funds Requested, Previous AES Competitive Grant Funding (1 page):  Provide an abstract of the entire research project, including total funds requested from the AES Competitive Grants program. If any principal investigator had previous AES Competitive Grant funding, list title, PIs, duration, and additional funding received to continue related research.

 

Objectives, Rationale, and Expected Significance (2-3 pages):  Provide a brief but thorough statement of the specific objectives of the research. Include reasons for undertaking the project with special emphasis on importance of the proposed project. The expected significance to agricultural, natural resource, family and community resource focus areas, and one or more of the identified priorities should be included in this section. Include a paragraph describing how additional funding will be pursued to continue research beyond the AES seed grant.

 

Review of Previous Work (2-3 pages):  Furnish a complete overview relating the present state of knowledge to the proposed objectives. Only information pertinent to the project objectives and rationale should be included. Preliminary data (results), if available, should be included in this section.

 

Methods (4-5 pages):  Give a detailed and complete description of the experimental methods and analysis related to the specific objectives of the proposal. Special attention should be given to potential pitfalls of the approach and to alternate methods that could address them. Specific plans to disseminate the information should be included in this section. This plan should include likely publications, how the technology/ information will be transferred to appropriate audiences and how the results will be used to address the strategic issue.

 

Cooperation (1 page):  For each principal investigator, specify the various roles and responsibilities and the amount of time (months) that will be devoted to this research project. This section should provide a clear statement of the interaction and collaboration of PIs during the project.

 

Budget Justification (1 page):  All equipment and salary items must be explained and justified in this section. If funds for graduate assistantships are requested, include the insurance expense as salary. Specify a budget for each year of requested funding. Submit a separate budget sheet for each year of funding using the attached budget format. The first year budget for proposed projects will be nine months (January-September 2005); budgets for other years will be October-September. It is recommended that summer salaries not exceed 25% of the budget. Funding for each project is limited to $20,000/year for a maximum of $60,000 for three years. Indirect costs cannot be used for matching funds.

 

Literature Cited:  Provide listing of references used.

 

Vitae (3 pages/investigator):  Provide a short vita (three pages) for each principal investigator. In addition to the normal summary data, a listing of relevant research publications and a summary of other external funding for the past three years for each PI must be included.

Evaluation Factors

 

 

  1. Importance of Research Topic – 20

1.   Rationale

2.   Significance

3.   Relevance to college’s focus areas and priorities

 

  1. Scientific Merit – 50

1.   Objectives

2.   Review of past work

3.   Validity and clarity of experimental/research design

4.      Understanding of possible pitfalls

5.      Originality and uniqueness

 

  1. Project Personnel and Budget – 15

1.   Training and demonstrated experience

2.   Time allocated for attainment of objectives

3.      Adequacy of budget

4.      Support of graduate students

 

  1. Plans for Technology/Information Transfer – 5

 

  1. Cooperative Nature of Project – 10

1.  Multi-disciplinary

2.  Multi-college or multi-state

3.  Untenured faculty

Annual Budget Request[1]

 

 

Project Title:  __________________________________________________________________

 

 

Budget Period:  October 1 – June 30

Items

Funds Requested

Matching Funds

A.  Salaries

 

 

     1.  Faculty

 

 

     2.  Research associates, etc.

 

 

     3.  Graduate students (include insurance)

 

 

     4.  Faculty summer salary

 

 

B.  Fringe benefits[2]

 

 

Total salaries + fringe

 

 

C.  Supplies

 

 

D.  Travel

 

 

E.  Publication/dissemination costs

 

 

F.  Other direct costs[3]

 

 

G.  Total (budget period Oct-June)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Budget Period:  July 1 – September 30

Items

Funds Requested

Matching Funds

A.  Salaries

 

 

     1.  Faculty

 

 

     2.  Research associates, etc.

 

 

     3.  Graduate students (include insurance)

 

 

     4.  Faculty summer salary

 

 

B.  Fringe benefits2

 

 

Total salaries + fringe

 

 

C.  Supplies

 

 

D.  Travel

 

 

E.  Publication/dissemination costs

 

 

F.  Other direct costs3

 

 

G.  Total (budget period Oct-June)

 

 

 

AES Competitive Grants Program Application

 

Signature Page

 

 

 

______________________________            _______________________  _______________

Principal Investigator                                      Department                             Date

 

______________________________            _______________________  _______________

Investigator                                                     Department                             Date

 

______________________________            _______________________  _______________

Investigator                                                     Department                             Date

______________________________            _______________________  _______________

Investigator                                                     Department                             Date

 

______________________________            _______________________  _______________

Investigator                                                     Department                             Date

 

______________________________            _______________________  _______________

Investigator                                                     Department                             Date

 

______________________________            _______________________  _______________

Investigator                                                     Department                             Date

 

______________________________            _______________________  _______________

Investigator                                                     Department                             Date

 

 

 

 

______________________________            _______________________  _______________

Department Head                                           Department                             Date

 

______________________________            _______________________  _______________

Department Head                                           Department                             Date

 

______________________________            _______________________  _______________

Department Head                                           Department                             Date

 

______________________________            _______________________  _______________

Department Head                                           Department                             Date


[1] Prepare one budget page for each year of requested funding. Note: The first year will be January-June and July-September 2005.

[2] Fringe benefits are paid from central administration and are not to be included with funds requested. However, fringe benefits may be included in the matching funds column.

[3] Please explain all “other” costs.