The Western SARE Professional Development Program grants focus on educating and training agricultural professionals to increase their understanding and proficiency in sustainable agriculture so they, in turn, can educate and train other agricultural professionals.
Donor Name: Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education
State: Selected States
County: All Counties
Territory: American Samoa, Guam, Federated States of Micronesia and Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 11/01/2023
Size of the Grant: $100,000
Grant Duration: 3 years
Details:
Professional Development Program grants are designed to educate and train agricultural professionals about sustainable agriculture so they, in turn, can educate and train other agricultural professionals. Funded PDP grants must achieve this long-term outcome:
- Cooperative Extension, Natural Resource Conservation Service and other agricultural professionals are knowledgeable in sustainable agriculture principles and systems. They have ready access to resources that can help producers make informed decisions about adopting sustainable approaches with greater certainty and less risk.
Professional Development projects must improve the ability of agricultural professionals to conduct educational programs and activities in sustainable agriculture principles and systems and to respond to inquiries on the subject from farmers, ranchers, and the public. In a “train the trainer” fashion, this program focuses on increasing knowledge and capacity for agricultural stakeholders to provide further training and information to other agricultural professionals and producers.
Successful proposals for the PDP grant program should:
- Increase ag professionals’ sustainable agriculture knowledge, skills, and action using a multi-disciplinary approach.
- Have outreach plans that include environmental, social, and economic components of sustainability and clearly demonstrate how the project will effectively deliver this knowledge.
- Be written clearly with objectives that are easily identifiable.
- Demonstrate economic viability of the project.
- Include a robust plan for project evaluation.
Project approaches can include, but are not limited to the following:
- Workshops
- Conferences
- Curricula or Materials Development
- Demonstrations
- Web-based courses
- Tours
- Digital Media
Project Personnel Roles
- Principal Investigator (PI): person who has the authority to write and submit a proposal and carry out its contractual provisions.
- Co-Principal Investigator (Co-PI): responsible for duties as outlined by the project proposal and for assisting the PI in project execution. The Co-PI typically brings a background or skillset different from the PI that complements the project.
- Cooperator(s): may represent an educator, researcher, business, corporation, producer, or others that supports and participates in efforts outlined in the project and can provide meaningful insight to the project; roles should be clearly defined in the proposal.
Funding Information
The funding limit for the Professional Development Program grant is $100,000. These grants are cost reimbursable only.
Project Length
Projects may be 1-3 years in length. Project start and end dates are chosen by the PI with the earliest start date being April 1, 2024 and cannot exceed 36 months.
Geographical Areas
The Western region includes: Alaska, American Samoa, Arizona, California, Colorado, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, Micronesia, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Northern Mariana Islands, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming.
For more information, visit Western SARE.