Fostering responsible pest management for a sustainable future.

Transcription

1 Dear Applicants, Fostering responsible pest management for a sustainable future. The Western IPM Center is pleased to release a Request for Applications (RFA) for Western IPM Center 2013 Competitive Grant Programs. Programs available in this RFA include: (A) IPM Work Groups; (B) Outreach and/or Publications; (C) Surveys/Crop Profiles; (D) Pest Management Strategic Plans; and (E) Addressing Western IPM Issues. Applications are due on Monday, March 11. This RFA may be accessed at Applications must be submitted electronically, and all components must be in portable document format (PDF). Applicants will have to register at the site prior to submitting a proposal to download the documents that applicants are required to use for submissions. The registration process is simple and should only take a minute. Please be sure to follow all directions on what to submit, format, length restrictions, due date, and other requirements. If you encounter any problems or have questions regarding this process or the RFAs, please contact Carla Thomas at (530) or cthomas@ucdavis.edu. Good luck with your submissions. Jim Farrar, Director, Western IPM Center and Kassim Al-Khatib, Paul Jepson and Peter Ellsworth Co-Directors, Western IPM Center

2 Fostering responsible pest management for a sustainable future. I. SUMMARY Western Integrated Pest Management Center 2013 Request for Applications Application Deadline: Monday, March 11 The mission of the Western IPM Center is to respond to the National Institute of Food and Agriculture s (NIFA) Global Food Security priority area, supporting new science to boost agricultural production and improving the capacity to meet global food demand. The Center supports the National Roadmap for Integrated Pest Management and is dedicated to improving the economic benefits of adopting IPM practices and reducing potential risks to human health and the environment. WIPMC programs address pest management needs for agricultural, natural, or community (urban) settings. The Western IPM Center Grants provide the base funds to complement other funding sources such as EPA, RIPM and AFRI grant programs (Figure 1). Figure 1. The IPM Center grants are represented in purple diamonds. We encourage projects that extend integrated pest management (IPM) information to audiences who will use this knowledge to decrease the risks associated with pest management. 1

3 Available funds. The Center has approximately $300,000 available to fund projects that identify IPM priorities, extend IPM information, assess IPM adoption, impacts, and metrics, or develop IPM methods. Who may apply. Public and private institutions or organizations, businesses, commodity groups, and private individuals are eligible to receive these funds. The primary project director (PD) for a WIPMC project grant must reside in the western region, but co-pds may be from outside the region. Applications are limited to the following states and territories: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming, American Samoa, the Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands. Proposal submission. All applications will be submitted through a secure online system in PDF at projects.ipmcenters.org/western. Proposal submission must be completed by Monday, March 11. II. GENERAL INFORMATION The WIPMC is supported by the U. S. Department of Agriculture s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). The WIPMC is a focal point for regional IPM team-building efforts, communication, and stakeholder participation. The WIPMC helps people and institutions to set priorities for IPM research, extension, and education. NIFA must award funds for this competitive grants program to the University of California prior to subcontract approval. In the unlikely event that funding is not transferred to the University of California in any year of a project, sub-contracts will not be awarded. Projects may be funded for either one or two years as specified in the descriptions of types below, to start March 1, All funds must be expended by February 28, 2014 (one-year projects) or February 28, 2015 (two-year projects). Stakeholder Involvement Applications must address relevancy in their applications. The WIPMC is committed to addressing the pest management needs expressed by stakeholders. All applications must demonstrate relevance to the West by citing specific stakeholder-identified needs addressed by the proposed project. Sources of stakeholder-identified needs include, but are not limited to: (a) Needs identified in Pest Management Strategic Plans (available online at (b) Recommendations or reports from program advisory committees; (c) Recommendations from stakeholder groups; (d) Recommendations from WERA groups ( (e) Needs and issues from Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (WSARE) sub-regional conferences ( and 2

4 (f) Other documented needs assessment evaluations. Explicitly citing such sources is valuable in establishing both the importance of the project and that the Project Directors (PDs) and the grants program are engaged with in the stakeholder community. General letters of support that do not indicate the nature of the relationship of the stakeholders to the project DO NOT fulfill the requirement for demonstrating stakeholder involvement. III. MULTISTATE/ ISLAND INVOLVEMENT A goal of the WIPMC grants program is to encourage collaborations among states/ /islands for purposes of efficiency, economy, and synergy. To fulfill this goal, we strongly encourage projects to have benefits to more than one state/island. IPM Work Group and Addressing IPM Issues projects must be multistate/ island unless the crop/topic impacts a minor crop only grown in one state. IV. MATCHING FUNDS While PDs are encouraged to seek matching funds, there are no cost-sharing or matching requirements associated with the WIPMC grants program. Matching resources will not be factored into the review point system. V. LEVERAGING RESOURCES The WIPMC encourages applications to utilize other existing resources in accomplishing proposed projects. These resources include data and products from prior NIFA or WIPMC projects, including WIPMC signature programs, and WERA multistate coordination groups. Use of WERA Groups Multistate projects supported by the Western Association of Agriculture Experiment Station Directors (WERA projects sometimes known as Hatch Projects) were formed to interdependently collaborate in projects that two or more states share as a priority, but for which no one state could address singularly. Many applicants are engaged in the WERA 1017 IPM group, but WIPMC-funded projects are strongly encouraged to leverage resources from other multistate resources such as the WERA groups for weeds, resistance management or biocontrol to effectively synergize USDA funds, particularly those projects that are national in scope. Visit for descriptions and membership of WERA projects. Use of Regional Signature Program Resources WIPMC signature programs provide infrastructure support to foster collaborations. The WIPMC encourages applications to use signature program resources in the Climate- and Weather-based Decision Support Tools Signature Program or the Crop Pest Loss and Impact Assessment Signature Program. A letter of collaboration from the WIPMC Signature Program Co-Director Paul Jepson 3

5 must be included if planning to make use of the WIPMC Climate- and Weather-based Decision Support Tools Signature Program. A letter of collaboration from the WIPMC Signature Program Co-Director Peter Ellsworth peterell@cals.arizona.edu, must be included if planning to make use of the WIPMC crop loss assessment signature program. For more information on signature programs, please see the WIPMC October 2012 Western Front Newsletter ( 12.pdf ). VI. STRONG EVALUATION PLANS FOR ADOPTION AND IMPACT ASSESSMENT The WIPMC strongly encourages applicants to utilize social scientists and/or the WIPMC to develop concrete adoption and impact assessment plans. VII. TYPES OF PROJECTS The types of projects that may be funded through the WIPMC grants program are: (A) IPM Work Groups; (B) Outreach and/or Publications; (C) Surveys/Crop Profiles; (D) Pest Management Strategic Plans; and (E) Addressing Western IPM Issues. If you wish to submit applications for more than one project or project type, you must submit separate applications. A. IPM Work Groups (IWGs) Must be multistate/island Work groups are intended to build and enhance communication and collaborations within the region about an IPM topic area that addresses information, resource, and research needs in region-wide or broad-area categories. (For information about former and current WIPMC work groups, see Work groups must have multistate participation, and while a work group may not duplicate similar existing groups such as WERA research extension projects, applications are encouraged to involve experts from related WERA committees as appropriate. Priority will be given to work groups that focus on (1) IPM Impact assessment and metrics or (2) IPM for underserved populations Work group activities include the following: Identification of western region research and extension priorities that include stakeholder input. These priorities must clearly demonstrate needs in agricultural, natural, or community (urban) settings. Topics that are complex and interdisciplinary which require multistate/multiorganizational collaboration to properly address management, for example: site specific/precision IPM, IPM in schools / urban IPM, invasive species, resistance management/transgenic crops, IPM impact/adoption assessment. Such groups may include industry, government, extension and research groups. Developing applications to address western region priorities for submission to funding entities. Identification of IPM resource and information needs, and leverage of existing resources. 4

6 IPM Work Groups are funded for up to $15,000 each. B. Outreach and/or Publications Single or multistate/island projects The WIPMC supports outreach activities and the development and printing of IPM publications to encourage the adoption of IPM practices in agricultural, community (urban), or natural settings. Projects that provide extension with developed information and/or that create or add to Communities of Practice are encouraged; Applicants are also encouraged to prepare publications or other products so that they can be broadly applicable across the West whenever possible. A distribution plan for project products, target audience and evaluation plan must be clearly articulated. These projects can be funded up to $20,000 each, dependent on the complexity of the task and the number of states involved. Single-state projects typically will not be funded for more than $10,000. C. Surveys/Crop Profiles Single or multistate/island projects The WIPMC supports: Tactics surveys. These are typically sent to growers or other audiences to gather information about the pest management methods being used in a region on a particular crop or in a particular setting. This category also includes advanced sociological analysis (economic/adoption /impact assessment) of existing survey data collected from a past survey or a follow up survey to assess change in practices/behavior. Clearly identify how this survey will address WIPMC goals (see I. SUMMARY). The expected range for funding is $5,000 20,000 each, depending on complexity. Crop Profiles. These documents identify the current status of the methods used to manage pests in a given crop and have been useful for EPA analyses. Crop profiles catalog production information, insect pests, diseases, weeds, and the methods used to manage these. Priority will be given to updating past Crop Profiles that are more than 5 years old, particularly those that will provide input for materials on the EPA docket for review ( Crop profiles must conform to the guidelines found at and are not considered complete until they are approved by the WIPMC leadership and are included in the National IPM Centers database. These projects will be funded from $1,000 4,000 per crop. D. Pest Management Strategic Plans Multistate/island projects These documents are developed by a multistate/island group of growers and other stakeholders to identify the pest management needs and priorities of a particular commodity or site. The plans identify the current management practices (chemical and non-chemical) and those under development, and also indicate priorities for research, regulatory activity, and education/training programs needed for transition to alternative pest management practices. PMSPs must conform to the guidelines found on the National IPM Centers Web site s Guidance in Developing a Pest Management Strategic Plan at Applications that update existing PMSP s (more than 5 years old) or those that address minor crop issues of the west will be given priority, particularly those which will provide input for materials on the EPA docket for review. Expected range for funding is $5,000 10,000 each, depending on scope and complexity. 5

7 E. Addressing Western IPM Issues Must be multistate/island and address one or more of the stakeholder identified priorities listed below (a-g below). Projects of this type may be approved for up to two years. Second-year funding is dependent on receipt of a satisfactory progress report for year 1. For a two-year project, if NIFA does not provide funding to UC, then year 2 sub-contracts will not be awarded. Submit separate budgets and budget narratives for year 1 and year 2 activities. All Addressing IPM Issues applications must include a logic model (see for samples of IPM logic models and this site also includes a template. Projects may be either outreach and implementation, or research projects. Outreach (Extension) and Implementation Projects This funding category enhances outreach efforts that support the wide-scale implementation of IPM methods or the associated impacts. Projects should be designed to maximize opportunities to build strategic alliances with industry and user groups resulting in increased adoption of IPM methods. This project type may be funded for up to two years at no more than $50,000 per project. Research Projects This funding category develops the research base needed for the construction of comprehensive pest management systems that have a strong likelihood of contributing to ongoing IPM implementation efforts. Research may be proposed to develop individual tactics needed for pest management systems that protect human health and the environment, including endangered species, beneficial organisms, and pollinators or to increase the understanding of how interactions among tactics alter the effectiveness of pest management programs within agricultural, natural, or community (urban) settings. The experimental approach should emphasize on-farm or on-site experiments. Long-term fundamental research is not appropriate for funding in this category. Novel, cutting-edge methods, for which data exist to support the likelihood of successful pest management and adoption, are encouraged. Research involving chemical pesticides must be designed to reduce risks associated with their use (e.g., amount applied, frequency of applications or measures to increase their selectivity to non-target organism or safety to the user or consumers). Applications must clearly demonstrate how the tactic or IPM system, once developed, can be incorporated into an existing management system. Projects funded in this category must demonstrate economic, social, and environmental benefits of IPM strategies and identify constraints or aids to greater adoption of IPM systems by users. This project type may be funded for up to two years at no more than $70,000 per project. Examples of Addressing Western IPM Issues include: (a) Development and implementation of IPM practices, including reduced-risk tactics and biopesticides; (b) Implementation of decision models in pest management; 6

8 (c) Research on the biology and ecology of invasive species (could include developing prevention, management, and rapid response programs); (d) Outreach and demonstration activities specific to IPM implementation; (e) Assess the impact (cost and benefits to human health, environmental, economic) of IPM adoption; (f) Host/pest/weed resistance in traditional or transgenic crop systems; or (g) Community IPM (urban pest management) and environmental quality issues. VIII. EVALUATION AND SELECTION CRITERIA All applications received will be acknowledged. A panel composed of reviewers from outside the West will be convened to review all the applications. You must not assume that reviewers are familiar with your program, abilities, and past accomplishments. Successful applications will address the criteria below. EVALUATION AND SELECTION CRITERIA 2013 Criteria Possible Points Proposal Preparation All components are included and the proposal is properly submitted. Information is presented clearly and adheres to the format described in this RFA. 10 Objectives and Anticipated Impacts The proposal is innovative and furthers the mission of the WIPMC. Specifically, the objectives will: establish IPM priorities; OR develop IPM methods that minimize pest / pest management tactics risks; OR help people to adopt IPM 20 7

9 Objectives tie directly to the goals of the appropriate project category, as follows: A. IPM Work Groups: The proposed activity or issue is either new or expands significantly on a previous effort. The composition of the work group adheres to the guidelines in the RFA (e.g., as multistate/island as possible, complex issues, leverages existing resources). 25 B. Outreach and/or Publications: The project will fill important existing gaps. A distribution plan for publication projects is clearly articulated. Outreach projects clearly identify the audience that will be targeted by their efforts. C. Surveys/Crop Profiles: The importance of the setting or crop to the region is explained. The priority for a new or revised document is demonstrated, with emphasis on updating those that are more than 5 years old. The planning process and involvement of stakeholders in identifying the necessity for and prioritization of crop profiles is detailed. D. Pest Management Strategic Plans: The importance of the setting or crop to the region is explained. The priority for a new or revised document is demonstrated, with emphasis on updating those that are more than 5 years old. The planning process and involvement of stakeholders in identifying the necessity for and prioritization of crop profiles is detailed. E. Addressing Western IPM Issues: Logic model is included Clearly demonstrate how will be incorporated into an existing system Maximize strategic alliances resulting in increased adoption of IPM Ability to demonstrate benefits of IPM strategies and identify constraints or aids to greater adoption of IPM systems. Evaluation plan: Include an appropriate strategy/process to evaluate the success of the project. The evaluation plan will effectively indicate when the anticipated impacts have occurred in the target audience that is, when the project has succeeded. Success is evaluated in terms of outputs, outcomes, impacts, and potential impacts. Outputs might include publications, information, data, meetings held, attendance at meetings held, etc. Outcomes are changes in knowledge, learning, behavior, or conditions specified in original situation. Impacts are specific changes in condition for those affected by the work. Potential impacts are the ways that the project s outputs could directly lead to changes in condition that will unfold in the future. Professional competence of the project team The CV(s) indicate that the PD and team have the expertise needed to carry out the project

10 Appropriate budget The budget is well-defined, reasonable for the proposed project, and within the project funding limits described in this RFA. 10 It follows guidelines described in the RFA and on the USDA-NIFA form. The budget narrative follows the order of the budget form and fully explains any assumptions in the budget. Combined applications have separate budgets and budget narratives for each project type. Underserved Population or IPM evaluation proposal 10 TOTAL POINTS 110 IX. APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION INFORMATION Applications are due on Monday, March 11. This RFA may be accessed at Applications must be submitted electronically, and all components must be in portable document format (PDF). Applicants will have to register at: the site prior to submitting a proposal to download the documents that applicants are required to use for submissions. The registration process is simple and should only take a minute. Please be sure to follow all directions on what to submit, format, length restrictions, due date, and other requirements. Length, Point Size, and Margins: Applications must not exceed six (6) pages in length, excluding Title and Summary page, Literature Cited, CVs, budgets and budget narratives, and other attachments. Applications must be typed in a 12 point or larger font, single-spaced or double-spaced, with 1-inch vertical and horizontal margins. Application must include: A. TITLE. Must be brief, clear, and specific. The title is limited to 100 characters (letters, punctuation, and spaces between words). B WIPMC APPLICATION FORM. This form must be signed by the authorized representative of the submitting organization and submitted as a PDF. C. SUMMARY (Project Summary form). Must be a clear summary of the project, its objectives, and procedures for accomplishing the objectives. Include a brief statement of how the proposed project meets WIPMC priorities (see Section II). The summary must not exceed 250 words. D. PROJECT NARRATIVE (Project Narrative form). This section must include only the topics below. Other forms and sections contain additional information. This is the section that is subject to the six (6) page limit. NIFA has determined that grant funds awarded under this authority may not be used for the renovation or refurbishment of research, education, or extension space; the purchase or installation of fixed equipment in such space; or the planning, repair, rehabilitation, acquisition, or 9

11 construction of buildings or facilities. Entertainment (food and drink) expenses are not allowable unless it is a critical and integral part of a meeting/activity. Previous Work, Related Experience, and Justification Provide a brief summary discussing pertinent experience, the status of current work, additional information needed, and how this project is expected to contribute to this need. All applications must include explicit citations that document the stakeholder-identified needs addressed by the proposed project. The nature of the project and its objectives will determine the ease of predicting success, but where feasible, it is appropriate to indicate the likelihood of achieving the objectives in a specified length of time. Objectives There must be a concise, complete, logically arranged and numbered series of statements defining the objectives of the project. Project Directors must group objectives in a way that seems most logical for the proposed project. Procedures A numbered procedure statement must correspond with each numbered objective. These statements must outline the essential working plans and methods that will be employed in attaining each objective. The procedure statement must show that the proposed work has the potential to provide data and information that will accomplish the objectives. Outputs, Outcomes, Impacts, and Potential Impacts Identify the project s expected outputs, impacts, and potential impacts and how they relate to the goals of the WIPMC as stated in this RFA. Outputs might include publications, information, data, meetings held, attendance at meetings held, etc. Outcomes are changes in knowledge, learning, behavior, or conditions specified in original situation. Impacts are specific changes in condition for those affected by your work. Impacts include adoption of technology, creation of jobs, reduced cost to the consumer, less pesticide exposure to farmers, access to more nutritious food, and a cleaner environment and healthier communities. Potential impacts are the ways that your project s outputs could directly lead to changes in condition that will unfold in the future. Evaluation Plans A discussion of plans to evaluate progress must be included. A timeline showing expected progress and expected outputs, outcomes, impacts, and potential impacts (see previous paragraph) would be helpful and could be used as a part of a future progress report to demonstrate satisfactory progress. Probable Duration All projects must have an end-date no later than February 28, 2014, except for IPM Issues Applications which must have an end date for Year 1 no later than February 28, 2014 and for Year 2 no later than February 28, 2015 Cooperation of Key Personnel and Institutional Units Involved Identify key personnel and each institutional unit contributing to the project. In multiple-institutional applications, each institution must be identified and the lead institution designated. Applications must 10

12 clearly define the roles and responsibilities of each person and institutional unit of the project team, if applicable. If the project includes consulting, collaborative, or sub-contractual arrangements, such arrangements must be fully explained and justified in the budget narrative and budget. In addition, evidence must be provided here that the collaborators involved have agreed to render these services. Acceptable documentation for this purpose includes letters of intent or statements of work from the individual or organization. Copies of either letters or messages from the collaborators will suffice for this purpose. E. LITERATURE CITED (Literature Cited form). Only those publications cited must be listed in this section. Fifteen (15) literature citations is the typical maximum for most projects. To provide uniformity, the following format could be used: Author(s). Title. Journal. Volume: Pages. Year. F. ADDITIONAL FORMS Curriculum vitae (CV forms). Project Directors, co-project Directors, and any collaborators who will receive a portion of the budget must provide current vitae (3 pages maximum) including a listing of the most relevant publications during the last 5 years. Budget (Budget form). A budget form must be included. A brief budget justification statement (Budget Narrative form) is required and must provide details for each line item in the budget. When preparing budgets, applicants should limit their requests for recovery of indirect costs to the lesser of their institution s official Federally negotiated indirect cost rate or the equivalent of 30 percent of total costs of the project. Additional details on budget issues are available, upon request, from the WIPMC office. Current and Pending Support (Current and Pending Support form). A completed Current and Pending Support form must be included for each Project Director and co-project Director. Conflict of Interest (Conflict of Interest form). A completed Conflict of Interest form must be included for each Project Director and co-project Director. National Environmental Policy Act Exclusion (National Environmental Policy Act Exclusions form [CSREES-2005]) is required. USDA-CSREES Assurance Statements (USDA-CSREES Assurance form [CSREES-2007]) is required. G. ADDITIONAL APPENDICES (e.g., letters of support). All appendices must be in electronic form. Because of computer virus concerns, all appendices must be combined in a single PDF document. Please be aware that reviewers are under no obligation to read appendices, and they must be used only to provide documentation of statements presented in the main proposal. H. SIGNATURES. The 2013 WIPMC Application Form of each proposal must be signed by the appropriate university/corporate officer and submitted at the same time as the proposal. VIII. FINAL REPORTING 11

13 A final report must be submitted to the WIPMC no later than 60 days after the expiration of the project. The final report must use the Western IPM Center Project Report form, found at For multiple year projects, an annual progress report must be submitted and approved by February 28, 2014 and before Year 2 funds can be released. Annual and Final reports should be sent by to the Associate Director, WIPMC. IX. SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS Applications must be submitted electronically, and all components must be in portable document format (PDF). Applicants will have to register at: the site prior to submitting a proposal to download the documents that applicants are required to use for submissions The registration process is simple and should only take a minute. If you have questions or problems with the submission system, contact Carla Thomas Associate Director Western Integrated Pest Management Center cthomas@ucdavis.edu The University of California Division of Agriculture & Natural Resources (ANR) prohibits discrimination or harassment of any person in any of its programs or activities (Complete nondiscrimination policy statement can be found at Inquiries regarding ANR s equal employment opportunity policies may be directed to Linda Marie Manton, Affirmative Action Contact, University of California, Davis, Agriculture and Natural Resources, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA 95616, (530)