Leopold Center announces projects, program changesBy Jeri Neal As the Leopold Center competitive grants program enters its 14th season, changes are underway. The Center—currently in the middle of a visioning and program evaluation—suffered serious budget reductions in the recent Iowa legislative session. Historically, this program has been operated on an annual basis. A call for preproposals usually is issued in the summer for an early September submission. Proposals are accepted in November, evaluated over the winter, and approved in the early spring. Funding is initiated for new projects (or renewed for ongoing projects) on July 1, in keeping with the state fiscal year. The planned visioning and program evaluation, which would consider size, performance and potential to support the new initiatives currently under design at the Center, is likely to change the structure of the competitive grants program. The recent budget cuts, however, impact our ability to maintain funding for the competitive grants program as it is currently structured. What happens now? First, the Leopold Center plans to honor current commitments to investigators that were made late last winter for funding this year. However, we are not issuing a new call for preproposals (2003 RFP) this summer, and we have initiated a project-by-project evaluation to identify where and how the budget cuts will be absorbed. The evaluation is not just for competitive grants, but for all Center-funded projects and initiatives. As part of the new visioning and program redesign already on the drawing board, this evaluation will become an integral part of deciding how Center programs can effectively catalyze change in Iowa agriculture. And that is something to get excited about! |