Reviewers Needed For Federal Ag Grantmaking Programs
If you have been reading past OFAN alerts and updates, you know that the Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative (OREI) won big in the new Farm Bill, with more than a five-fold increase in funding, from $15 million in the 2002 bill to $78 million in the current bill.
Now that the Farm Bill is law, OREI and other sustainable agriculture research initiatives will need volunteers, including farmers and ranchers, to review grant applications to these programs. These programs include:
Why be a grant reviewer?
Bring sustainable agriculture expertise to the review process: Given the highly technical nature of many of the applications, the quality of the peer review greatly depends on the appropriate matching of the subject matter of an application with the technical expertise of a potential reviewer. When grants are reviewed by individuals with specific expertise in sustainable agriculture, more proposals will be recognized for their worth.
Ensure the most critical and important projects are funded: Each program receives far more applications than there is funding for. Grant reviewers can see to it that the most important projects are prioritized for funding.
Ensure the integrity and future success of the program: Competitive grant programs that fund projects that have a high degree of success and impact are more likely to be supported by Congress and the public in the future. As a result, the continued success of each competitive grant program is dependent upon grant reviewers who can recognize and recommend the highest quality projects with the most potential for success.
What is required of a grant reviewer?
Reviewers must be active/have expertise in research, education or extension/outreach relevant to the program. If selected as a grant reviewer s/he must participate in the following:
Read and submit written comments on grant proposals – A grant reviewer is typically assigned 12 to 20 proposals for which they must submit written reviews electronically.
Participate in a panel review meeting – Grant reviewers for AFRI, BFRDP, and IOP must attend a 2-4 day meeting (usually held in Washington, DC) with other grant review panelists to rank and recommend which proposals receive funding. At the meeting, the grant reviewer provides an oral review of the proposals s/he was assigned to review. Panel review meetings are not held for VAPG and it is unknown whether one will be held for FMPP. Ad hoc reviewers selected to review 2 or 3 proposals do not need to attend a panel review meeting.
Note: Typically grant reviewers cannot submit an application to the program in which they’ve agreed to serve.
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Thanks again for all your hard work and advocacy. From the OFRF Policy Team (Mark, Zach, and Tracy), enjoy your holidays, and have a safe and healthy New Year!
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