Basic Research to Enable Agricultural Development  (BREAD)

BREAD Ideas Challenge announced

See Dear Colleague Letter at http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=nsf13035 for details about the fourth competition.

CONTACTS

PROGRAM GUIDELINES

Solicitation  11-579

Important Notice to Proposers

A revised version of the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG), NSF 13-1, was issued on October 4, 2012 and is effective for proposals submitted, or due, on or after January 14, 2013. Please be advised that, depending on the specified due date, the guidelines contained in NSF 13-1 may apply to proposals submitted in response to this funding opportunity.

Please be aware that significant changes have been made to the PAPPG to implement revised merit review criteria based on the National Science Board (NSB) report, National Science Foundation's Merit Review Criteria: Review and Revisions. While the two merit review criteria remain unchanged (Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts), guidance has been provided to clarify and improve the function of the criteria. Changes will affect the project summary and project description sections of proposals. Annual and final reports also will be affected.

A by-chapter summary of this and other significant changes is provided at the beginning of both the Grant Proposal Guide and the Award & Administration Guide.

DUE DATES

Current but no Longer Receiving Proposals

SYNOPSIS

The National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) are partnering to support a new research program to be administered by NSF. The objective of the BREAD Program is to support innovative basic scientific research designed to address key constraints to smallholder agriculture in the developing world. A significant distinction between BREAD and other NSF programs is that proposals to BREAD must make a clear and well-defined connection between the outcomes of the proposed basic research and its direct relevance and potential application to agriculture in the developing world. The BREAD Program takes the activities of the Plant Genome Research Program (PGRP) to the next level by supporting a broader range of scientific research and by enabling funding to be allocated to international collaborators through subawards.

The Program's focus is on novel, transformative basic research at the proof-of-concept stage rather than its application or development. Especially encouraged are original proposals that address major constraints to the productivity of crops important to smallholder farmers, or on the development of novel and efficient production practices. Although the Program places an initial emphasis on crop improvement, it will also consider innovative basic research proposals from scientists in all fields of research in the biological and physical sciences and engineering as long as the proposed research is consistent with the Program objectives. Proposals are also expected to address project outcomes in the context of broader societal impacts, and as appropriate to the research proposed, engage international partners in scientific collaborations.

RELATED PUBLICATIONS

Frequently Asked Questions: Basic Research to Enable Agricultural Development (BREAD) (NSF 11-082)

Developing Country Collaborations in Plant Genome Research (Dear Colleague Letter) (NSF 04-563)

National Science Foundation Announces Partnership with Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to Foster Sustainable Agricultural Solutions Around the World (PR 09-053)

Basic Research to Enable Agricultural Development (BREAD) (NSF 10-589)

Basic Research to Enable Agricultural Development (BREAD) (NSF 09-566)

RELATED PROGRAMS

Basic Research to Enable Agricultural Development

Plant Genome Research Program

RELATED URLS

Frequently Asked Questions: Basic Research to Enable Agricultural Development (BREAD)

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

National Plant Genome Initiative Five Year Plan (2009-2013)

NSF Provides $20 Million to Support 15 Projects Through BREAD Program

Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR)

Emerging Technologies to Benefit Farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia (National Academy of Science, 2009)

IFDC - An International Center for Soil Fertility & Agricultural Development

InterAcademy Council - Publications

International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development

The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2008 (Food and Agriculture Organization, 2008)

United Nations Millennium Development Goals

World Development Report 2008: Agriculture for Development (World Bank, 2007)

THIS PROGRAM IS PART OF

Opportunities that Highlight International Collaboration

Plant Genome Research Program

What Has Been Funded (Recent Awards Made Through This Program, with Abstracts)