Assistance Listings Specialty Crop Research Initiative
Overview
Objectives
The purpose of the SCRI program is to address the critical needs of the specialty crop industry by awarding grants to support research and extension that address key challenges of national, regional, and multi-state importance in sustaining all components of food and agriculture, including conventional and organic food production systems. The program recognizes that for some specialty crops which are grown in a limited number of states, the multi-state nature of projects can be difficult to address. Except for Research and Extension Planning Projects, the SCRI program only considers projects that integrate research and extension activities. Applicants are strongly encouraged to propose a unique approach to solving problems facing the specialty crop industry using a systems approach.
Examples of Funded Projects
Fiscal Year 2024: Project example: Labor, Efficiency, Automation, and Production: LEAP Nursery Crops Toward Sustainability
Assistance Listing Description
Financial Information
| Obligation(s) | FY 23 | FY 24 (est.) | FY 25 (est.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Project Grants (Cooperative Agreements) Total | $76,000,000 | $75,440,000 | Estimate Not Available |
| SPECIAL NOTES: (1) The difference between the appropriation and obligation numbers reflects legislative authorized set-asides deducted as appropriate, and in some cases the availability of obligational authority from prior years. | $76,000,000 | $75,440,000 | Estimate Not Available |
| Totals | $76,000,000 | $75,440,000 | Estimate Not Available |
Range and Average of Financial Assistance
If minimum or maximum amounts of funding per competitive and/or capacity project grant, or cooperative agreement are established, these amounts will be announced in the annual Competitive Request for Application (RFA). The most current RFA is available via: https://nifa.usda.gov/funding-opportunity/specialty-crop-research-initiative-scri
Accomplishments
Fiscal Year 2024: FY 24 – 102 submitted; 22 funded.
Account Identification
12-1502-0-1-352
Criteria for Applying
Types of Assistance
B - Project Grants (Cooperative Agreements)
Credentials and Documentation
Applicants (unless excepted under 2 CFR § 25.110(b) or (c), or has an exception approved by the Federal awarding agency under 2 CFR § 25.110(d)) must (1): Have an active SAM registration prior to applying; (2) Provide a valid Unique Entity Identifier number in its application; and (3) Continue to maintain an active SAM registration with current information at all times during which it has an application under consideration or an active federal award. Applicants must furnish the information required in the Competitive Request for Applications (RFAs). Successful applicants recommended for funding must furnish the information and assurances requested during the award documentation process. 2 CFR 200, Subpart E - Cost Principles applies to this program.
Applicant Eligibility
Designations
Federal, State (includes District of Columbia, public institutions of higher education and hospitals), Public nonprofit institution/organization (includes institutions of higher education and hospitals), Specialized group (e.g. health professionals, students, veterans), Small business (less than 500 employees), Profit organization, Private nonprofit institution/organization (includes institutions of higher education and hospitals), Quasi-public nonprofit institution/organization, Anyone/general publicApplications may be submitted by Federal agencies, national laboratories, colleges and universities, research institutions and organizations, private organizations or corporations, State agricultural experiment stations, individuals, or groups consisting of two or more of these entities.
Beneficiary Eligibility
Designations
Federal, Specialized group (e.g. health professionals, students, veterans), Small business, Profit organization, Private nonprofit institution/organization, Quasi-public nonprofit organization, Anyone/general public, State, Public nonprofit institution/organizationApplications may be submitted by Federal agencies, national laboratories, colleges and universities, research institutions and organizations, private organizations or corporations, State agricultural experiment stations, individuals, or groups consisting of two or more of these entities.
Length and Time Phasing of Assistance
In accordance with statutory time limits, project periods, including no-cost extensions of time, are not to exceed five (5) years. Further details are provided in the Award document Form NIFA-2009 and the NIFA General Terms and Conditions Grants and Cooperative Agreements. Please refer to the Competitive Request for Applications (RFAs) for specific and pertinent details. Method of awarding/releasing assistance: NIFA utilizes the Automated Standard Application for Payments (ASAP), a secure, web-based electronic payment and information system that allows federal agencies to administer funds. Currently, ASAP is the only payment source for new NIFA grantees.
Use of Assistance
Designations
Higher Education (includes Research), Agriculture/Forestry/Fish and Game, Natural Resources (mineral, water, wildlife, land), Science and Technology, Business/CommerceGrant funds must be used for allowable costs necessary to conduct approved research and extension objectives. Funds shall not be used for the construction of a new building or facility or the acquisition, expansion, remodeling, or alteration of an existing building or facility (including site grading and improvement, and architect fees). Funds may not be used for any purposes other than those approved in the grant award documents.Section 1462(a) and (c) of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (NARETPA), 7 U.S.C. 3310 limits indirect costs for the overall award to 30 percent of Total Federal Funds Awarded (TFFA) under a research, education, or extension grant.
Applying for Assistance
Deadlines
Contact the headquarters or regional location, as appropriate for application deadlines
Preapplication Coordination
Preapplication coordination is required. Environmental impact information is not required for this program. This program is excluded from coverage under E.O. 12372. Notice of Intent to Submit an Application: Prospective applicants are asked to email a notification of intent to submit an application. The notification of intent to submit is not required and does not enter into the review of a subsequent application. The information it contains will be used to help program staff plan the review and estimate the potential review workload. This email should include the following information: • Descriptive (draft) title of proposed research; • Name of the Project Director and applicant name if applicable; • Names of other potential co-Project Directors and their affiliations, if applicable; • Focus area(s) addressed; • Likely type of proposal (Coordinated Agricultural Projects, Standard Research and Extension Projects, Regional Partnerships for Innovation Projects, Extension Projects, and Research and Extension Planning Projects); and • Subject line of email should read: SCRI – Intent to Submit. Emails should be sent to scri@csrees.usda.gov. All RFAs are published on the Agency’s website and Grants.gov. Applicants must complete the Grants.gov registration process must follow the instructions provided per Grants.Gov..
Application Procedures
2 CFR 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards applies to this program. Notice of Funding Opportunities (NOFO) for this listing will be posted on Grants.gov (opens in new window) (opens in new window). The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) only accepts electronic applications which are submitted via Grants.gov in response to specific Requests for Applications (RFA).
Applicants must complete the Grants.gov registration process. For information about the pre-award phase of the grant lifecycle application processes see: http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/learn-grants/grants-101/pre-award-phase.html.
Further, applicants must follow the instructions provided in the NIFA Grants.gov Application Guide.
Criteria for Selecting Proposals
SCRI has instituted a two-phase review process. The first phase of the review process is the Industry Relevance Review. Each Pre-Application containing an SRS will be evaluated in a two-part process. First, each SRS will be screened to ensure that it meets the administrative requirements as set forth in this RFPA. Administrative requirements include meeting the application deadline; meeting eligibility requirements; satisfying program intent; inclusion of all required sections of the SRS package; and adherence to guidelines. Second, an SRS that meets these requirements will be evaluated for relevance by a panel of industry reviewers representing closely allied crops. The panel will recommend which applications to invite for submission of a full application. Invited applicants will be sent instructions on how to access the full RFA via email once the relevance review is completed. NIFA will send copies of reviews, not including the identity of reviewers, and a summary of the panel comments to the PD after the review process has been completed. Specific details about the criteria for selecting proposals is included in the program RFA. See the RFA for more information.
Award Procedure
Applications are subjected to a system of peer and merit review in accordance with section 103 of the Agricultural Research, Extension and Education Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 7613) by a panel of qualified scientists and other appropriate persons who are specialists in the field covered by the proposal. Within the limit of funds available for such purpose, the NIFA Authorized Departmental Officer (ADO) shall make grants to those responsible, eligible applicants whose applications are judged most meritorious under the procedures set forth in the RFA. Reviewers will be selected based upon training and experience in relevant scientific, extension, or education fields, taking into account the following factors: (a) The level of relevant formal scientific, technical education, or extension experience of the individual, as well as the extent to which an individual is engaged in relevant research, education, or extension activities; (b) the need to include as reviewers experts from various areas of specialization within relevant scientific, education, or extension fields; (c) the need to include as reviewers other experts (e.g., producers, range or forest managers/operators, and consumers) who can assess relevance of the applications to targeted audiences and to program needs; (d) the need to include as reviewers experts from a variety of organizational types (e.g., colleges, universities, industry, state and Federal agencies, private profit and non-profit organizations) and geographic locations; (e) the need to maintain a balanced composition of reviewers with regard to minority and female representation and an equitable age distribution; and (f) the need to include reviewers who can judge the effective usefulness to producers and the general public of each application. Evaluation Criteria will be delineated in the Competitive Request for Applications (RFA). 2 CFR 200 – Subpart C and Appendix I and 2 CFR part 400 apply to this Program. SPECIAL NOTE: Please refer to the Competitive Request for Applications (RFAs) for further specific and pertinent details. The most current RFAs are available via: https://nifa.usda.gov/funding-opportunity/specialty-crop-research-initiative-scri RFAs are generally released annually. Hence, the RFAs provide the most current and accurate information available. Any specific instructions in the Competitive RFAs supersede the general information provided in the CFDA database.
Date Range for Approval/Disapproval
From 30 to 60 days. Contact the National Program Leader regarding dates for specific deadlines, start and end dates, and range of approval/disapproval time. Information is also available via our website and may be obtained via the Grants.gov website. NIFA’s respective links regarding general information are provided below: http://nifa.usda.gov/ http://www.grants.gov. SPECIAL NOTE: Please refer to the Competitive Request for Applications (RFAs) for further specific and pertinent details. The most current RFA is available via: https://nifa.usda.gov/funding-opportunity/specialty-crop-research-initiative-scri RFAs are generally released annually. Hence, the RFAs provide the most current and accurate information available. Any specific instructions in the Competitive RFAs supersede the general information provided in the CFDA database.
Renewals
Specific details are provided in the Request for Applications (RFA), which are generally published annually. The most current RFA is available via: https://nifa.usda.gov/funding-opportunity/specialty-crop-research-initiative-scri
Appeals
Compliance Requirements
Policy Requirements
Subpart B, General provisions
Subpart C, Pre-Federal Award Requirements and Contents of Federal Awards
Subpart D, Post Federal; Award Requirements
Subpart E, Cost Principles
Subpart F, Audit Requirements
Not Applicable
Additional Information:
Reports
Program Reports: All grant reporting must be completed using the Research, Education, and Extension project online reporting tool (REEport). The details of the reporting requirements are included in the NIFA General Terms and Conditions Grants and Cooperative Agreements.
An initial report, REEport Project Initiation is required upon project initiation for all new awards in REEport.
In addition to grant reporting in REEport, grantees must use the National Agricultural Library’s PubAg to report information on scholarly publications and/or Ag Data Commons for data assets. Certification of compliance with public access requirements may be required in REEport.
Details of reporting requirements are included in the NIFA General Terms and Conditions Grants and Cooperative Agreements. Cash Reports: “Federal Financial Report,” Form SF-425, is due on an annual basis no later than 90 days following the end of the award anniversary date (i.e., one year following the month and day when the project period begins and each year thereafter up until a final report is required). Annual reports cover the most recent one-year period.
A final “Federal Financial Report,” Form SF-425, is due no later than 120 days after the expiration date of this award. The report must be submitted to the Awards Management Division (AMD) as a pdf attachment to an email sent to awards@usda.gov. Progress Reports: Annual Progress reports are due annually 90 days after the award’s anniversary date (i.e., one year following the month and day of which the project period begins and each year thereafter up until a final report is required). An annual Progress Report covers the most recent one-year period and follows the format of the government-wide Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR) and includes a summary of participants, target audiences, products (outputs), accomplishments (outcomes/impacts), and changes/problems. Expenditure Reports: A Project Financial Report must be submitted through the REEport application for each year the project is active. It is due on an annual basis by February 1 of the fiscal year following the fiscal year of expenditures being reported.
The final REEport Project Financial Report covers only the last, most recent period of performance of the project; unlike the Final Report, it does not cover the life of the project from start to end date. Performance Reports: A Final Report is required within 90 calendar days after the expiration or termination of an award. The Final Report covers the entire period of performance of the award and must describe progress made during the entire timeframe of the project instead of covering accomplishments made only during the final reporting segment of the project.
Audits
https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200/subpart-F
Additional audit requirements:
Relation to other audit requirements, but records must be available for review or audit by appropriate officials of the Federal agency, pass-through entity, and Government Accountability Office (GAO). This program is also subject to audit by the cognizant Federal audit agency and the USDA Office of Inspector General.
Records
Grantees shall maintain separate records for each grant to ensure that funds are used for authorized purposes. Grant-related records are subject to inspection during the life of the grant and must be retained at least three (3) years. Records must be retained beyond the three (3) year period if litigation is pending or audit findings have not been resolved.
Regulations, Guidelines, and Literature
NIFA works in partnership with grantees to ensure responsible stewardship of federal funds. Grantees and partners are required to comply with all relevant rules and regulations. The following resources are provided to NIFA’s partners and award recipients to support their adherence to federal regulations governing program performance: 1.) NIFA Federal Regulations page: https://nifa.usda.gov/federal-regulations 2.) NIFA Regulations and Guidelines webpage: https://nifa.usda.gov/regulations-and-guidelines 3.) NIFA Policy Guide: https://nifa.usda.gov/policy-guide 4.) NIFA Award Terms and Conditions page: https://www.nifa.usda.gov/grants/regulations-and-guidelines/terms-conditions 5.) NIFA Grant Application Guide: https://www.nifa.usda.gov/nifa-22-001-nifa-grants-application-guide 6.) NIFA Certifications and Representations page: https://nifa.usda.gov/certifications-and-representations 7.) NIFA Acknowledgment of USDA Support page: https://nifa.usda.gov/acknowledgment-usda-support-nifa 8.) NIFA Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Page: https://nifa.usda.gov/foia 9.) National Environmental Policy Act Policy and Guidance page https://nifa.usda.gov/nepa-policy-and-guidance 10.) NIFA Research Misconduct page: https://nifa.usda.gov/research-misconduct 11.) 7 CFR Chapter 34: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-7/subtitle-B/chapter-XXXIV 12.) Capacity Program Distribution Schedules: https://www.nifa.usda.gov/capacity-program-distribution-schedules 13.) NIFA’s Competitive Peer-Review Process: https://www.nifa.usda.gov/nifa-peer-review-process-competitive-grant-applications
Formula and Matching Requirements
Contact Information
Regional or Local Locations:
See Regional Assistance Locations. U.S. Postal Mailing Address: National Institute of Food and Agriculture U.S. Department of Agriculture P.O. Box 419205, MS 10000 Kansas City, MO 64141-6205 Courier/Package Delivery Address: National Institute of Food and Agriculture U.S. Department of Agriculture 2312 East Bannister Road, MS 10000 Kansas City, MO 64141-3061Headquarters Office:
P.O. Box 419205, MS 10000,
Kansas City, MO 64141
tbewick@usda.gov
202-445-5392
History
- 2024Published
Specialty Crop Research Initiative
- 2023Published
Specialty Crop Research Initiative
- 2023Published
Specialty Crop Research Initiative
- 2022Published
Specialty Crop Research Initiative
- 2022Published
Specialty Crop Research Initiative
- 2021Published
Specialty Crop Research Initiative
- 2020Published
Specialty Crop Research Initiative
- 2019Published
Specialty Crop Research Initiative
- 2018Published
Specialty Crop Research Initiative
- 2008Published
Specialty Crop Research Initiative