NRI Strengthening & EPSCoR Program
The Strengthening Program of the National Research Initiative is designed to help institutions develop competitive research programs in high-priority areas of national need in agriculture, food, and environmental sciences. Strengthening Awards consist of Research Career Enhancement Awards (Sabbatical Awards), Equipment Grants, Seed Grants, and Strengthening Standard Research Project Awards. Ten percent of the NRI research budget is set aside for strengthening awards and post doctoral fellowships.
Research Career Enhancement Awards, Equipment Grants, Seed Grants, and Strengthening Standard Research Project Awards are available during each funding cycle to ensure that researchers at institutions and states that are underrepresented in terms of federal research funding receive a portion of the NRI research funds. Eligibility for all strengthening categories except Equipment grants includes (a) faculties of small and mid-sized academic institutions that are not among the most successful universities and colleges for receiving Federal funds for science and engineering research and (b) Project Directors at degree-granting institutions in USDA Experimental Program for Stimulating Competitive Research (EPSCoR) states. All degree-granting institutions that are not among the most successful in receiving federal science and engineering research funds are eligible for Equipment grants. When determining eligibility for these grant types, the following definitions apply:
- Small and mid-sized institutions are academic institutions with a current total enrollment of 15,000 or less including graduate and undergraduate and full- and part-time students.
- Limited institutional success means institutions that are not among the most successful universities and colleges for receiving Federal funds for science and engineering research.
Every 3 years the NRI determines which states are eligible for USDA EPSCoR funding by determining those which have had a funding level from the NRI no higher than the 38th percentile of all states, based on total funding for the previous 3-year period (excluding strengthening set-aside funds). The following states fall into this category for FY 2006-FY 2008:
Alabama |
Alaska |
Arkansas |
Delaware |
Hawaii |
Idaho |
Kentucky |
Louisiana |
Maine |
Nevada |
New Jersey |
New Mexico |
North Dakota |
Oklahoma |
South Carolina |
South Dakota |
Vermont |
West Virginia |
Wyoming |
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Other entities eligible for USDA-EPSCoR funds in FY 2006 include American Samoa, the District of Columbia, Guam, Micronesia, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The USDA EPSCoR States for fiscal years 2003-2007 are listed in tables linked to the fiscal years below. The states that were introduced in fiscal year 2006 are Delaware, Louisiana, New Jersey, and South Carolina. The states that were “graduated” in 2006 are Connecticut, Mississippi, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island.
Click on the fiscal year below to get a list of EPSCoR states with the number of funded projects for that fiscal year, the total funding for each state, and abstracts of the funded projects.
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